2024 Thanksgiving Weekend: 50 Free Guided Walking Tours (SF)

Nicolas Raymond

Relatives in town? Show off the beautiful city by taking them on one of San Francisco City Guides free guided walking tours of San Francisco’s greatest neighborhoods. There is a full slate of free tours on Thanksgiving weekend, Thursday through Sunday.

Tour starting times range from 9:30 am to 2 pm and there are 50 different tours for you to choose from over the four day weekend including the Japanese Tea Garden (yes, even on Thanksgiving Thursday), Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and many more.

Tours are free, but donations to the tour guides are greatly appreciated.

2024 Thanksgiving Weekend Free Tours

Thursday, November 28, 2024 – 5 Tours

• 10:00 am Chinatown
• 11:00 am Gardens in the Sky: Salesforce Transit Center and Rooftop Park
• 11:00 am Mission Dolores Neighborhood
• 1:00 pm Japanese Tea Garden*
• 2:00 pm Making Waves on the Waterfront

Friday, November 29, 2024 – 12 Tours

• 9:30 am Japanese Tea Garden*
• 10:00 am Cityscapes And Public Places
• 10:30 am Palace Of Fine Arts/Marina
• 11:00 1850’s San Francisco: Paris Of The Pacific
• 11:00 am Fisherman’s Wharf: A Hidden History
• 1:00 pm Architectural Gems South of Market
• 1:00 pm Cityscapes And Public Places
• 1:00 pm Japanese Tea Garden*
• 1:00 pm Presidio: From Military Base to National Park with Tunnel Tops
• 1:30 pm Gold Rush City
• 2:00 pm Cable Cars: Halfway to the Stars
• 2:00 pm Murals And The Multi-Ethnic Mission District

Saturday, November 30, 2024 – 18 Tours

• 10:00 am 1840s San Francisco and the Astonishing Legacy of America’s “First Black Millionaire”
• 10:00 am Chinatown
• 10:00 am Coit Tower Murals
• 11:00 am Ferry Building
• 11:00 am Mission Murals
• 10:30 am Golden Gate Park: East End Flowers & Tunnels & Bears, Oh My!
• 10:30 am Telegraph Hill Stairway Hike
• 11:00 am 1850’s San Francisco: Paris Of The Pacific
• 11:00 am Castro: Tales Of The Village
• 1:00 pm Japanese Tea Garden*
• 1:00 pm Embarcadero Skyway and Art Tour
• 1:00 pm Presidio: From Military Base to National Park with Tunnel Tops
• 2:00 pm 1906: Earthquake And Fire
• 2:00 pm Boom & Bust
• 2:00 pm Gardens in the Sky: Salesforce Transit Center and Rooftop Park
• 2:00 pm Japantown
• 2:00 pm Land’s End: Sutro Heights
• 2:00 pm Noe Valley: A Village Within the City

Sunday, December 1, 2024 – 15 Tours

• 10:30 am Fort Mason To Aquatic Park
• 10:30 am Mission Dolores Neighborhood
• 11:00 am Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco
• 11:00 am Billionaires’ Row: Outer Broadway Architecture
• 11:00 am Castro: Tales Of The Village
• 11:00 am Downtown Deco
• 11:00 am Golden Gate Bridge
• 11:00 am Haight-Ashbury
• 1:00 pm Presidio: From Military Base to National Park with Tunnel Tops
• 1:00 pm Japanese Tea Garden*
• 1:00 pm Architecture Downtown
• 1:00 pm Terrific Street: The Devil’s Playground
• 2:00 pm Cable Cars: Halfway to the Stars
• 2:00 Gold Rush City
• 2:00 pm Nob Hill

*Although the tour itself is free, the afternoon Japanese Tea Garden tour may require separate admission charge to the gardens for non-San Francisco residents

Japanese Tea Garden Admission Fee
FREE – San Francisco Residents and Veterans
FREE for all – Mon/Wed/Fri between 9am and 10am

Non-Residents – Tickets

• FREE for all – Mon/Wed/Fri between 9am and 10am
• Adults: $18.75
• Seniors (ages 65+ w/ID) $10.75
• Youth (ages 12-17) $10.75
• Children (ages 5-11) $6.75
• Children (under 5) – FREE