Header

Main Content

Fisherman’s Wharf & Pier 39

Home » Fisherman’s Wharf & Pier 39

Your gateway to the bay, this is the best place to hop on a ferry or a sightseeing tour- or to enjoy everything the bay has to offer from the comfort of a shop or chowder house.

History: Perhaps more than any other neighborhood, Fisherman’s Wharf owes its existence to the vision of one person: Henry Meiggs, a real estate speculator who arrived in San Francisco in 1849 and singlehandedly sold the city on the notion of building a north-shore harbor.

Don’t Miss: Ghirardelli Square is a brick-bound landmark for sweet-toothed history buffs. Once an operating mill, dessert is the main output here now, with Ghirardelli chocolate shops as well as Kara’s Cupcakes. ElizabethW also offers hand-blended fragrances, while Yap dispenses Yap Wrap fashion harnesses (little dogs love them).

Seafood is as ubiquitous on the Wharf here as it is fresh, though you can;t go wrong with either The Codmother Fish and Chips or the more upscale Scoma’s. Opportunities for kid-friendly fun abound: the new Madame Tussauds, the San Francisco Dungeon with its haunted house- style Aquarium of the Bay, ferry rides around Alcatraz, and San Francisco Whale Tours. The area is also popular with more than just humans: Walk to the edge of the pier and behold San Francisco’s biggest sea lion haunt.