So you’re coming to San Francisco and want to shoot those perfect iconic views and locations for the gram. Here are over 100 Instagram worthy spots in San Francisco to photograph! This list includes outdoor parks, art installations, iconic buildings, hotels, museums, food parks, and flower shops. Pretty much everything besides restaurants, bars, and cafes, which I’d be happy to share in a follow up post. Most of these spots, aside from the museums, are also currently open, but 75% of this list are outdoor locations.
These are roughly organized by San Francisco neighborhood from north to south so you can plan your Instagram photo shoot day accordingly. Please remember if you go take photos of some of the iconic San Francisco houses, be respectful of the residents who call that property home.
Presidio
- Crissy Field
- Crissy Beach
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Fort Point
- Baker Beach
- Cliff House Building
- Sutro Baths
- Lands End Labyrinth
- Legion of Honor Museum
- Lincoln Park Steps
- The Walt Disney Family Museum
- Lover’s Lane
Marina & Fisherman’s Wharf
- Palace of Fine Arts
- The Wave Organ
- Marina Green
- Aquatic Park Pier
- Hyde Street Pier
- Rainbow Stairs at Ghirardelli Square
- Cable Car Turnaround: Beach & Hyde Street
Chinatown, North Beach, & Russian Hill
- Grant Avenue Lanterns in Chinatown
- Dragon’s Gate Chinatown: Bush & Grant Avenue
- Coit Tower
- Filbert Steps
- Washington Square Park
- Lips Mural: 700 Columbus Avenue
- City Lights Bookstore
- Jack Kerouac Alley
- Crooked Lombard Street
- Ina Coolbrith Park
Cow Hollow & Pacific Heights
- Bougainvillea House: 2850 Union Street
- Lyon Street Steps
- Princess Diaries School House: 2601 Lyon Street
- The Bud Stop
- Alta Plaza Park
- Mrs. Doubtfire House: 2640 Steiner Street
- Lafayette Park
- Mondrian Style Apartment Building: 2451 Sacramento Street
Japantown & Fillmore
- Japantown Peace Plaza
- Cottage Row: Sutter to Bush Street, Between Webster and Fillmore Street
- The Fillmore
- Hotel Kabuki
Golden Gate Park
- Conservatory of Flowers
- Bison Paddock Golden Gate Park
- Japanese Tea Garden
- San Francisco Botanical Garden
- Stow Lake
- deYoung Museum
- California Academy of Sciences
- Shakespeare Garden
- Dutch Windmill
Nopa & Haight
- Alamo Square Park
- The Painted Ladies
- Buena Vista Park
- Haight & Ashbury Street Intersection
- University of San Francisco
Nob Hill
- Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel
- The Fairmont San Francisco
- Huntington Park
- Clift Hotel
Union Square & Financial District
- Maiden Lane
- Union Square
- Cable Car Turnaround: Powell Street Station
- Yerba Buena Gardens
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- Contemporary Jewish Museum
- Museum of the African Diaspora
- Cartoon Art Museum
- Citigroup Center Atrium
- Exploratorium
- The Ferry Building
- Embarcadero Plaza
- Sue Bierman Park
- Rincon Park
Soma & Mission Bay
- The Palace Hotel
- Salesforce Park
- Taber Place Murals
- South Park
- Oracle Park (formerly known as AT&T Park + PacBell Park)
- Spark Social
- SoMA StrEAT Food Park
Civic Center & Hayes Valley
- San Francisco City Hall
- Asian Art Museum
- The Phoenix Hotel
- Patricia’s Green in Hayes Valley
Mission, Castro, & Noe Valley
- Ampersand Flower Market
- Carlos Santana Mural: 19th & Mission Street
- Clarion Alley Murals
- Balmy Alley Murals
- Mission Dolores Park
- Sanchez Street Stairs
- Castro District Rainbow Crosswalk
- Harvey Milk Plaza
- The Castro Theatre
- Purple, Blue, & Teal House: 14th Street between Noe & Walter Street
- Corona Heights Park
- Kite Hill
- Seward Mini Park
- Twin Peaks
- Billy Goat Hill
- Rainbow House: Clipper Street between Douglass & Diamond Street
Sunset
- The 16th Ave Tiled Steps
- Grandview Park
- Stern Grove Park
- San Francisco Zoo
- San Francisco State University
- Lake Merced
- Fort Funston
Potrero Hill , Bernal Heights, & Dogpatch
- PH Mural at Crossfit PH
- Potrero Hill view at 20th & Wisconsin Street
- Potrero Hill Postcard Mural: Connecticut & 17th Street
- Bernal Heights Park
Excelsior & Hunter’s Point
- Princess Diaries House: 724 Brazil Avenue
- Flora Grubb Gardens
- Flights of Fancy Steps: 859 Innes Avenue
Looking for San Francisco restaurant recommendations? Let me know and I’ll do a follow up post on that. I lived in San Francisco for close to 8 years but also grew up across the Bay in Berkeley so I have a lifetime worth of spots to recommend.
Have you been to any of these spots? If they look familiar, many of them have been featured on my Instagram feed before. Like this post? Be sure to check out some of my other Bay Area and Northern California content before you go.
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