I got the idea of free walking tours run by cityguides from a lovely Canadian lady who I sat next to on my flight home from Chicago; we spent a lot of time talking about San Francisco, and she said they were one of her favourite things to do in the city.
I can't believe I'd never thought to do one before! As a student (read: broke), I'm always looking for free ways to get to know the city better.
Me and my lovely roommates chose to do Victorian San Francisco tour, which took place in the Pacific Heights area - it's right in the middle of the city, around Lafayette Park Square, but is an area I haven't visited before.
Most of the city was destroyed in the 1906 fire which followed the earthquake, but the flames didn't reach as far as the 'Western Addition'.
Because of this, the neighbourhood has some of the oldest and most beautiful architecture in the city. Also some of the most expensive - the houses go for about $3 million!
San Francisco is a truly Victorian city - founded in 1849 with the Gold Rush. I thought it was interesting that the period was referred to as 'Victorian' - in my mind, the Victorian era was thoroughly British! But as the guide told us, during the 19th Century Britain was still the leading world power, meaning a lot of our culture continued to have an impact in America even after the Revolution.
Most of the houses in the neighbourhood are Italianate-style, which are really ornate and beautiful. Most of them also have false fronts (like the one below) to make them seem even more impressive!
Although the Italianate style is more visible in Pacific Heights, some of the houses are also designed in the Queen-Anne style, which means they often have turrets. Apparently the house below is haunted!
On a similar note, it's Halloween in a few days - so it was nice to see some of the houses in the neighbourhood getting into the spirit!
It's also a good thing the Victorians of San Francisco invented the cable cars - have you seen the size of some of the hills?!
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