As usual, the first thing I wanted to do in San Francisco was check out the views from as high up as possible. The cool thing about San Francisco is that you can get views pretty much anywhere – they do, after all, call it the City of Hills. Still, I dragged Jordan to Coit Tower – 210 feet in the air and just a few blocks from where we were staying – so I could be sure I wasn’t missing a thing.

Getting to Coit Tower

The first thing you need to know if you want to visit Coit Tower is that you have to work for it. The tower itself is at the top of a hill. We climbed the Greenwich Street steps, which is definitely a hardcore workout. They do wind through public gardens and past beautiful buildings, and you can glimpse some previews of the views you get at the top. Next time, though, I would take the bus!

The murals at Coit Tower

Once you make it inside the tower, there are murals depicting life in San Francisco during the depression – fascinating to this history buff, but maybe not to most visitors. And then, you ascend to the top in an elevator (thank goodness, because my feet were past done!)

The views from Coit Tower

From the observation deck you can see all of San Francisco: the Golden Gate and Bay bridges, downtown, and more – we even spotted our apartment building!

If you want to visit Coit Tower: It’s located on Telegraph Hill in the Northeast part of the city – easy to visit the same day you do Fisherman’s Wharf. You can climb the Greenwich or Filbert Street steps as we did, or take the 39 Bus. It costs $8 for non-residents to take the elevator to the top (well worth it), and guided tours are also available for purchase.

For more photos of cities from above: Boston, New York, New York again