The Best Places to View the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco [7/15]

The Golden Gate Bridge is the ultimate landmark of San Francisco. Even people who don't know much about San Francisco, know about it. We visited the Bridge on our second day in the city and I wanted to make sure we saw plenty of it and from various places. Obviously we also saw the bridge while on the ferry boat to Alcatraz, but it's far away in that case. In this post I want to talk about the best places to view the Golden Gate Bridge from, that will delight you and also give you great photo opportunities.

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Best Places to view the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

Vista Point

This is the obvious tourist spot to view the bridge, but one you shouldn't miss since you want to drive across the bridge as well. A sidenote: crossing the bridge costs 7.25$ and is collected via electronic toll. If you rent a car for your stay, like we did, you don't have to pay until you get the bill from your rental company (but check beforehand!). Otherwise you can log online to prepay for it, or you can pay two days after crossing. Everything else will result in a fine. At the vista point you can find free parking, lovely views of the bridge and a overpriced souvenir shop. Beware that dense fog can cover up the bridge, and limit you from seeing it. We spent about 30 minutes here, and continued to our next spot. Of course from here you can walk the bridge by foot, which is thrilling.

Fort Point

Fort Point is a masonry seacoast fortification located at the southern side of the Golden Gate at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. This fort was completed just before the American Civil War by the United States Army, to defend San Francisco Bay against hostile warships. The fort is now protected as Fort Point National Historic Site. You can park for free in front of the port. Entrance to the port is also free. No tourist exploitation here (and that's rare in the bigger cities). The inside is impressive as are the views of the Golden Gate Bridge from here. I love the vantage point you get from here, as well as being able to see underneath the Bridge.

Baker Beach

I saved the best for last. After Fort Point we continued to Baker Beach. The beach lies on the shore of the Pacific Ocean to the northwest of the city. It is roughly a half mile (800 m) long, beginning just south of Golden Gate Point (where the Golden Gate Bridge connects with the peninsula). Again, parking here is free. Take off your shoes, roll up your pants and stroll along the wide sandy beach. I loved catching the huge waves with my camera, and having a great view of the Bridge. We probably stayed longer then we should but it's hard to leave Baker Beach. It's definitely marked as one of our favorite places in San Francisco.

End of part Seven

To be continued...

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