San Francisco City Guides - Free Walking Tours

Unforgettable earthquake history tour with Matt! He conveyed the 1906 earthquake with remarkable clarity and depth—covering the geological causes, the firefighting challenges, and the city’s recovery. Through interactive discussion, historical photographs, and powerful stories of community resilience, he brought the history to life. Matt also emailed a day in advance with helpful details to prepare for the tour. An insightful and memorable experience I’d recommend to anyone.

I did a walking tour of the Golden Gate Bridge and had such a great experience! Our guide, David, was incredibly knowledgeable and shared so much fascinating information—not just about the bridge itself, but the history and engineering behind it, too. He was engaging, easy to follow, and made the whole tour feel both informative and enjoyable. Highly recommend if you want to learn more than just what you see on a postcard!

Great Chinatown tour with Richard. He has a way of making the area come alive He showed us hidden alleys in addition to interesting buildings, the temple, Portsmouth Park, etc. Richard shared a lot of information and stories about Chinese culture. I highly recomend this tour. Lasted a tad over 2 hours.

I did three tours with the SF City Guides during my vacation, and all three were great (Cable Cars, The Haight and Japanese Tea Garden). The guides were knowledgeable, inspiring AND amusing. Don’t hesitate to sign up!

I love SF City Guides in general and this was another fun one. The guides care so much about their tours and do an incredible job of bringing history to life. I cannot recommend these tours enough for people visiting the city or locals.

Engaging and Informative Gold Rush Tour – Perfect Pace and Great Guide! My husband and I (both in our 50s) recently took the Gold Rush walking tour with San Francisco City Guides, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I chose this tour specifically because my husband loves learning about history when we travel, and this did not disappoint! The guide was knowledgeable, engaging, and clearly passionate about the city's rich past. We learned fascinating details about San Francisco’s Gold Rush era while strolling through parts of the city we might not have explored otherwise. The pace was just right—not too fast—and allowed us to take in the sights and ask questions along the way. It was a great mix of history, storytelling, and sightseeing. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys learning while traveling, especially if you're looking for something active but not strenuous.

Ellen’s free 9am tour (July 7, 2025) of the Japanese Tea Garden really elevated our experience, and ended up being our favorite of the three gardens in Golden Gate Park because of it. So informative, engaging, and accommodating to our large tour group. Would strongly recommend doing a tour if you’re visiting this garden. We signed up in advance, but many others joined in person on the spot.

We did the 1906 earthquake and fire tour with Matt! This was a great tour especially since there is no true museum for the fire and earthquake. As far as I know the only walking tour fully covering this event. Matt was very knowledgeable and a fantastic communicator. He sent us an email prior to the tour with all the information we needed to know. Definitely recommend to anyone that loves history!