5 Things To Do In Chinatown – San Francisco, California
Frank and I love to travel! Recently, we headed up to San Francisco and spent a weekend exploring the city like tourists do. It was pretty fun! I definitely think we’ll be visiting San Francisco again – especially since it’s only about 4 hours away north of us. We had a great drive up and then checked into our hotel. From there we explored a little bit of downtown and went to an awesome dinner where we had amazing crab!!! Then we headed back to the hotel for a relaxing night as we prepared for our next day of exploring San Francisco. We liked the hotels in Carmel and picked one we loved them most for this trip.
One of the spots we explored during our weekend trip to San Francisco was Chinatown. I remember visiting Chinatown when I was 18 and my sister and I flew to Russia with my parents. We had a brief visit to Chinatown then, so I was really excited to see how our adventure would be this time! Here is a list of 5 things to do in Chinatown.
1 – Check out the architecture. One thing I love to do is photograph the architecture in different places I visit. Chinatown was definitely filled with it – from buildings to statues and more., and you can get more info about architecture in sites like Archute online.
2 – Visit the local fresh food markets. I loved walking up and down the streets of Chinatown. There was shop after shop filled with fresh fruit, vegetables, meats and more!
3 – Get a massage. Frank and I found this little massage place in the middle of Chinatown and decided to get Head, Neck, Shoulder, Back and Leg Massages. I thought it was a full body massage, but apparently it’s somewhat different. It was different because we sat in comfy chairs in a dimly lit room with other people getting massages. It was a full hour long and we both felt pretty good afterward. I love getting massages – don’t you?
4 – Pick up a souvenir to take home. You’ll find a LOT of different Souvenir Shops as you walk up and down Grant. Whether you’re looking for toys, postcards, clothing, or jewelry, there are a lot of different options in Chinatown.
5 – Enjoy an authentic meal. Frank and I weren’t really sure where to go for dinner, so we asked the owners of the massage salon. Ok, so understand that if you do this, the chances are pretty high that he or she will refer you to a close friend or family’s business. In fact, she walked us all the way there and into the front door of the restaurant. She even got us a table. We were locked into eating there and there was no getting out. We ordered Chicken Fried Rice (great!), Sweet and Sour Chicken (good and different from what we’re accustomed to), Dumplings (much bigger with more dough than what we’re used to) and War Won Ton Soup (I admit that I couldn’t eat it because it just didn’t look good to me and I didn’t know what some of the ingredients were). It was definitely an experience though! And if you are looking for restaurants with stunning views, then you should try these San Francisco restaurants with a view.
While our visit to Chinatown in San Francisco may have been short, it was a lot of fun! I would definitely go back and visit if we traveled to San Francisco again!
Have you been to Chinatown in San Francisco before?
What was your favorite thing to do there?
I would love to get to SF one of these days. I had a layover there once, but only stayed in the airport.
What great ideas! I haven’t been to San Francisco in a long time.
i haven’t. not yet anyway. but i’m wondering why the food was at the bottom?!?!
Great list. I haven’t been to Chinatown in San Francisco in a very long time. This makes me want to go back.
I’ve been to San Fran but not Chinatown. I’d love to do some exploring and eating there next time.
Hi Shannon,
No, I’ve never been before. I’ve only recently left the Southeast for the first time so I am excited to see all that I can in the West. I do have family in SD so I think I will start my Cali journey down that way first and eventually make it up that way. How exciting China Town must be. Love all of those fresh foods at the market!
Happy Travels,
Victoria
Mom Does Reviews
Funny as the food you ate is so not what I’d get in Chinatown in SF 🙂 Glad you got in some massages – I never even knew they had that on Grant!
I have not been to that Chinatown but we have one in London that I love going to mainly for the food :).
I LOVE Chinatown!!
The food, the atmosphere, the whole she-bang! Everyone should go at least once.
I haven’t been to San Fran in years, but I want to go back badly. I didn’t make it to China Town on that trip, maybe next time looks like so much fun!
I’ve never been to California. I have noticed a few states have their own version of Chinatown. In Detroit there is a small area and there is even an Irish town.
I have visited San Francisco. But I didn’t get to visit Chinatown. I will have to hit that next time I visit.
I’ve never been to California before, but hope to some day and San Fransisco and China Town are at the top of my must visit places!
My husband’s former business partners were from China so when we traveled to San Francisco for conferences, we stayed in the Chinatown area. Loved the food there!
Oh, Chinatown! I love visiting various Chinatowns, but I’ve never been to the one in San Francisco. It looks like you had an amazing time!
I honestly would love to visit! It seems like a great place.
Wow, what amazing pictures! I love turning the corner and being in another world
I would so like to go to SF someday. The food looks good and I would definitely get a massage too if I was there LOL
We went to San Francisco last summer and spent some time in Chinatown. It was such a cool area. I really wish I would have gotten a massage though!
Sounds like a fantastic adventure. I would love to go to San Francisco and visit China Town!
I remember going there as a child with my family. I loved when my mom would let me buy a souvenir. I would always buy a paper fan that folded. The food was so good!
Love all these pictures! I would love to see China town in San Francisco one day
How fun! I love going to Chinatown in Chicago. I’d love to visit this Chinatown!
I have never been before. These look like great ideas for things to do when visiting a new place!
That massage sounds heavenly! We haven’t been to China Town in San Fran. Have to put that on the list for the next time we visit.
[…] doing some fun things in the city. We checked out Fisherman’s Wharf, Ride the Ducks and Chinatown, as well as enjoyed some yummy food and stayed in a comfortable hotel. We made our […]