After Boston made the decision long ago that it would be better off by leveling its three hills, San Francisco became the only real city in America built upon hills and in no small part that affords this city an ambiance that rivals the best cities in the world. There is a reason that the city’s number one revenue source comes from so many people interested in San Francisco tours; it’s often ranked as the most romantic city in America.
San Francisco has a café sensibility that makes so many Europeans feel right at home, and when the weather is inviting, spending time together at a sidewalk table with some wine and conversation can give you an intimate experience regardless of the world whizzing by all around you. In fact, the contrast of you slowing down together in the midst of the passing world sets a mood and conveys a connection between you. The same warm weather days will also suggest that you get out to some of the most beautiful rocky coast beaches in the US, and located just on either side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Baker Beach can be found where the Presidio meets the Pacific Ocean just south of the Golden Gate Bridge. At the north end, clothing is optional and the beach is large enough to offer your own space even on its busy days. For a more secluded, clothing optional beach without traveling far, Black Beach is located just over the Golden Gate Bridge to the north on the ocean side of the bridge.
Possibly one of the best ways to get amble around San Francisco that is fun, convenient and affords you endless easy and spontaneous stops wherever you wish, is by bicycle and there are plenty of rental shops in North Beach, Fishermen’s Wharf, and the Marina Neighborhood if you don’t have your own. If you combine biking with the buses and ferries – both of which accommodate bikes without additional charges, there is almost nowhere that you can’t go around San Francisco.
The ferries can lend romance with or without a objective, but skip the popular destinations of so many San Francisco tours like Alcatraz or Sausalito and instead pack a picnic lunch and head for the larger of the two islands in the San Francisco Bay, Angel Island where there are gradually sloped grassy hills with few locals and even fewer tourists around. You will likely have nothing more to entertain you than the passing boats, the city view, and three bridges framing your 360 degree views.
There is one place where romance and tourists can coexist and that would be the wine country of Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley. It’s the one activity which might actually be enhanced by joining in with others. The wine country is too far outside of San Francisco to even consider biking so you’ll need more substantial transportation and there’s no point in driving yourselves; that would compromise your ability to enjoy all of the wineries’ offerings and get yourselves home safely. Utilize the services of a wine country tour which will plan your trip for you, do the driving, get you special treatment at the tasting rooms, and ensure that you return home without any problems, regardless of how much wine you experienced along the way. The tours won’t bog you down either as once you’re at a particular winery you’re free to do as you please so no one will care if you sneak off to be alone at every stop along the tour.
Possibly one of the most romantic spots overlooked by visitors during their San Francisco tours is the Golden Gate Park. This massive green space has museums, wild animals, flower gardens, lakes, trails, sports and most importantly, expansive fields and meadows where you can find space of your own on a beautiful day and just be with someone you love off amongst the trees or lying on the opened grass off by yourselves far from any roads or people. There is so much space and so few roads and landmarks that people often have trouble meeting up in fields with others even when they are trying.
San Francisco offers so many settings where romance can happen naturally, that you don’t need to get somewhere or do something to remove yourself and head to a destination in order to find yourself feeling romantic. Just being in and around San Francisco promotes spontaneity and serendipity and the most romantic memories are often the ones which come naturally in the moments between destinations.
