san francisco historical walking tour

fact: you should never stop 
exploring your own city.

this outing proved that to us when we learned
roughly 1,000 new facts about san francisco while
walking around for 3 hours on the greatest
historical tour. it's important to remember
that even when you aren't able to go on
a trip somewhere far away, you can always
explore more in the place you live!

we went on emperor norton's fantastic
san francisco time machine tour, and
it was quite the treat. when i heard about
it i knew i had to book this for chase.
he is a history lover, and also the biggest
fan of our city. he already knows a lot
of SF's history, but he even said how much
more he learned on this tour! there were 
so many entertaining stories and details.

if you are wondering who "emperor norton" is,
let's just say...you need to go on the tour - haha,
he is a pretty interesting local legend from
sf's past, and your tour guide is led by...
him! can you believe he comes back from 
the 1800's to lead you all around the city? :)

and lead you around, he does.

he walks around 100% in character 

for the full tour, and it is hilarious to

walk behind him waving to everyone

in the streets and just walking around like

he owns the place. everyone loves it!

here we are right in union square, where the tour began.

from there we would start to learn the amazing stories

behind: emperor norton, the man and the myths • 

union square • the famous st. francis hotel • 

maiden lane • lotta's fountain • the 1906 

earthquake and fire • the palace hotel •  

jackson square • the barbary coast • 

portsmouth square • and more! 

^^notice chase already loving it in this pic

we loved learning about the places 

that we walk past daily and didn't know 

about! here are some fun photos..

a lot of the tour follows the famous

barbary coast pathway, which is 

an SF walking tour. we were lucky

to have a guide giving us all the details!

the beautiful st. francis hotel

was our very first stop.

"meet me at the clock"

we learned that this phrase used

to mean for someone to meet at this

clock at the st. francis hotel...you know,

back before cell phones and texting!

it's crazy to think of all the history

that has taken place in union square.

now it's known for all the high end 

shopping and hotels and restaurants,

but it was the center of this city and had

so many people & events pass through it.

maiden lane...already a favorite of mine

because of mocca's...but now i know 

all of the little secrets of this street. 

seeing it in an entirely new light now.

plus, we got a treat from these incredible

opera singers at the edge of maiden lane.

they are there constantly, but i've never

stopped and actually taken it in. we stood in

the exact spot where the acoustics bounce off

the city walls through the alley and right to

your ears. it was amazing to hear this really

beautiful opera singing right in the busy city!

literally stopping traffic in the middle

of the street for us to cross, haha.

lotta's fountain: sweetest story

that happened here on christmas

eve the year after the earthquake 

had hit...you have to go on the tour

to hear it, but it was one of my favorites!

then, the monadnock building.

the entry of this building is painted

with san francisco renaissance murals 

they put famous beloved san franciscans.

stop for a snack break 

at our favorite spot...

and onto the palace hotel! i will find

a reason to stay here one day. it is

beautiful and we saw photos of how it

was actually destroyed in the earthquake

and rebuilt from the ground up. gorgeous.

made a stop by the downtown

ghirardelli, where there was even

a sundae named after this guy!

then made our way downtown through

the financial district until we were 

right under this iconic SF landmark..

the transamerica pyramid. i've never

actually stood at the base of it until this!

if you can believe it, the ocean used

to come way further up to the financial

district -- to right here, on hotaling place..

basically to montgomery st.! this little 

street is so cool, and the wavy lines

in the cement represent the water since

it used to come all the way up to right there.

and, probably the coolest part 

of the tour -- discovering this

TUNNEL underneath an old

building. it was probably used

for some semi-shady reasons, but

it was amazing to see this hidden world

and literally touch a piece of history.

we walked back through chinatown and

learned about porstmouth square...can't believe

how different it used to be compared to today!

and crossing through chinatown

on our way to the final stop.

** the tour lasts just under 3 hours and is 2 miles long.
emperor norton's fantastic san francisco time machine 
departs thursdays & saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. 
from union square (you meet under the dewey monument statue). 
advance reservations are requested, cost is $20. subject to availability.

san francisco, you just made us
fall more in love with you on this
tour. you are truly a dreamer's city,
with magic mixed into your history.
we're lucky to live here amongst it all! 
xo