San Francisco, California
San Francisco self-guided walking tour: Chinatown and North Beach.
A free, original loop through Chinatown and North Beach: the Dragon Gate, Old St. Mary’s Cathedral, Waverly Place, City Lights and Jack Kerouac Alley, Washington Square, Saints Peter and Paul Church, Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill and the Chinese Historical Society of America. Read the stops here, then open the mapped route on your iPhone.
Start at the Dragon Gate
Begin at the Dragon Gate, where Grant Avenue meets Bush Street. The loop climbs Grant Avenue through Chinatown, crosses into North Beach on Columbus Avenue, then climbs Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower before dropping back through Chinatown on Stockton Street. The streets and steps on Telegraph Hill are very steep, so wear good shoes and take breaks; the rest of the route is gentler. Portsmouth Square is under renovation, which San Francisco Public Works expects to finish in 2028, so this loop does not stop there. The route follows mapped pedestrian paths, but it has not been walked on site by Daily Wander.
- On iPhone, get Daily Wander if you do not have it.
- Return to this page and tap Open the tour in Daily Wander. Check the preview, then choose Open in Daily Wander.
- In the app, review the route and choose Start this route or Save route. Keep this guide handy for the stop notes.
Museum visits, tickets and meals are separate and are not included in the walking time. Follow local signs, closures and diversions.
Eight stops, in walking order
The route uses public viewpoints. Check the linked sources for current access before planning a visit inside.
Stop 1
Dragon Gate
Begin at the Dragon Gate, where Grant Avenue meets Bush Street marking the entry to Chinatown. San Francisco Public Works, which maintains the gateway, notes that it was dedicated on October 18, 1970, and follows traditional Chinese gateway design, built in stone from base to top beneath a green tiled roof. Stand on the Bush Street side for the classic view through the arch, with Grant Avenue climbing north behind it. Then walk through the gate and head uphill on Grant Avenue.
Stop 2
Old St. Mary’s Cathedral
Walk two blocks north on Grant Avenue to the red brick church on the corner of California Street. The Paulist Fathers, who have run Old St. Mary’s since 1894, describe it as the first cathedral built in California. Its cornerstone was laid in July 1853 on granite cut in China, and its New England bricks came around Cape Horn as ships’ ballast. It was dedicated at Christmas 1854. Fire after the 1906 earthquake gutted it, but the building stayed standing. Look up at the brick bell tower.
Stop 3
Waverly Place
Continue north on Grant Avenue, turn left on Sacramento Street, then right into Waverly Place, the lane between Grant and Stockton. After the 1906 earthquake, several dozen Chinese family associations made their homes here, and San Francisco Public Works calls it “the street with painted balconies.” Its Chinese name comes from the Tien Hau Temple at No. 125. The street was rebuilt in 2006, when overhead wires went underground and ornamental streetlights replaced wooden poles. Look up at the colorful balconies and rooftops above the shops.
Stop 4
City Lights Booksellers and Jack Kerouac Alley
Leave Waverly Place at Washington Street, return to Grant Avenue and walk north past Pacific Avenue, then turn right down Jack Kerouac Alley to Columbus Avenue. City Lights, on the corner, opened in 1953, founded by Peter D. Martin and poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti as the country’s first paperback bookstore. It is City Landmark #228, and Ferlinghetti and Shigeyoshi Murao were acquitted of obscenity charges for publishing and selling Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.” The alley took Kerouac’s name in 1988, when streets were renamed for writers at Ferlinghetti’s suggestion.
San Francisco Small Business Commission: City Lights Legacy Business Registry report
Stop 5
Washington Square
Walk northwest on Columbus Avenue, crossing Broadway, for about four blocks to Washington Square at Union Street. San Francisco Recreation and Park lists it as one of the city’s first parks, established in 1847, covering 3.17 acres. Sidewalk cafes and restaurants line its edges, and Saints Peter and Paul Church faces it across Filbert Street. The lawn hosts festivals and free movie nights during the year. Find a bench on the lawn for a view of the church’s twin spires.
Stop 6
Saints Peter and Paul Church
Cross the square to the Filbert Street side and stand opposite the twin spires. The parish traces its founding to 1884, when its first church stood at Filbert Street and Grant Avenue; the 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed it. Work on this church began in 1913 and it was completed in 1924, with spires rising 191 feet. Joe DiMaggio married Dorothy Arnold here in 1939. Look above the three entrances for the mosaic line from Dante’s “Paradiso” and the round rose window.
Stop 7
Coit Tower
Walk east on Filbert Street to Stockton Street, go one block north to Greenwich Street and turn right. The climb up Telegraph Hill is steep, so take it slowly. At the top, in Pioneer Park, stands Coit Tower, completed in 1933 with a bequest from Lillie Hitchcock Coit and designed by the firm of Arthur Brown, Jr. Artists of the Public Works of Art Project painted the murals inside its base in 1934. The same bequest paid for the volunteer firefighters monument in Washington Square. Walk around the plaza for views of the bay.
Stop 8
Chinese Historical Society of America
Head back down the west side of the hill on Filbert Street, then work south to Stockton Street and follow it through Chinatown to Clay Street. Turn right for No. 965, the Julia Morgan–designed Chinatown YWCA building, now the landmarked home of the Chinese Historical Society of America, founded in 1963. Its permanent exhibits trace the people, places and movements of Chinese American history. The society’s website lists museum hours on Wednesdays and Saturdays. To finish, take Joice Street to Sacramento, follow Stockton south, then Pine Street east to Grant Avenue and the Dragon Gate.
Keep the route with you
The tour link opens a route preview with an iPhone handoff. You can also download the GPX and open it from Files → Share → Daily Wander. The app shows the route; this page supplies the stop descriptions.
San Francisco walking-tour questions
How long is this San Francisco walking tour?
The mapped loop is about 2.5 miles (4.1 km). That is roughly 50 minutes of moving time at 3 mph; allow 2½–3 hours with stops.
How do I get up to Coit Tower, and do I need a ticket?
San Francisco Recreation and Park says parking at the tower is very limited and suggests the Muni 39 Coit bus from Fisherman’s Wharf, or walking up Telegraph Hill by the Filbert Street or Greenwich Street stairs. The surrounding Pioneer Park is open to walk around, but the elevator to the observation deck needs a ticket bought at the tower, and the Rec and Park website lists current prices, with a lower rate for San Francisco residents. The elevator is sometimes out of service, which means climbing 13 flights of steps.
Can I visit Portsmouth Square on this Chinatown walking tour?
Not for now. San Francisco Public Works says Portsmouth Square, Chinatown’s historic central plaza at 733 Kearny Street, is getting a complete renovation, with major construction from spring 2026 and completion expected in 2028. The work includes removing the pedestrian bridge over Kearny Street, so this loop skips the square until it reopens.
Can I follow the route on my iPhone?
Yes. Tap Open the tour in Daily Wander, check the route preview and choose Open in Daily Wander. If you need the app, install it first and return to this page. The page supplies the stop notes; the app shows the walking route.
Does the walk return to the start?
Yes. The loop starts and finishes at the Dragon Gate at Grant Avenue and Bush Street.
Can I download the GPX instead?
Yes. Download the GPX from this page, save it in Files on iPhone and share it to Daily Wander. The route geometry is available under the Open Database License.
Make another walk from your hotel
For a different distance or a loop from another starting point, use the US walking-route planner. Daily Wander can suggest a separate loop from the location you choose.
More self-guided tours: Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans French Quarter, New Orleans Garden District, Nashville, Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia, Boston Freedom Trail, St. Augustine, San Diego and Amsterdam.
Original itinerary by VANTH Studio. Reviewed October 18, 2026. Route geometry from OpenStreetMap via the FOSSGIS pedestrian router; distance measured along the track. Actual time depends on your pace, stops and diversions. Access to venues is controlled by their operators.