Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39: Sea Lions, Sourdough, and the Musée Mécanique

Fisherman's Wharf is San Francisco's most visited area and also its most commercially saturated. The original fishing industry that gave it the name still operates on a small scale — a few working boats dock at the eastern end — but most of the waterfront is now souvenir shops, chain restaurants, and the Pier 39 tourist complex. Within this, there are things worth doing and things that exist purely to extract money from visitors.

The Sea Lions at Pier 39

In January 1990, shortly after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, California sea lions began hauling out on the floating docks at Pier 39's marina. Hundreds arrived within weeks. The marina operators eventually accepted them, the docks were modified, and the colony has been there ever since — ranging from a few dozen to over 1,000 animals depending on the season (late summer sees the largest numbers as they return from breeding grounds).

The sea lions are free to watch from the dock viewing area. They are loud, pungent, constantly jostling for position, and genuinely entertaining. The Marine Mammal Centre has educational displays nearby. No entry required.

Sourdough Bread and Clam Chowder

San Francisco sourdough has a specific character that doesn't replicate elsewhere — the bacterial culture (Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis) produces a more sour flavour than other sourdoughs. Clam chowder served in a hollowed sourdough bowl is the definitive Fisherman's Wharf food.

Boudin Bakery (160 Jefferson Street): the oldest sourdough bakery in San Francisco, operating since 1849 using a starter culture maintained since then. The Boudin at Fisherman's Wharf has a bakery tour upstairs (small fee) showing the production process. The clam chowder bowl is good. Queues form at peak times.

Swan Oyster Depot (1517 Polk Street, not at the Wharf but nearby): a ten-stool counter diner run by the same family since 1912. Dungeness crab, raw oysters, Louie salads. The queue for the counter is typically 45–60 minutes; it opens at 10:30 AM and runs until it sells out. Worth the wait.

Musée Mécanique

Inside Pier 45 (the Shed), the Musée Mécanique houses one of the largest collections of antique coin-operated machines in the world — fortune tellers, mechanical orchestras, mutoscopes, early arcade games, pre-cinema peephole viewers. The machines are operational, costs 25 cents to a dollar each, and the collection spans from the 1880s to the 1970s.

Free to enter; bring quarters. One of the genuinely interesting attractions in the Wharf area and widely undervisited by comparison with the sea lions.

Ghirardelli Square

A 19th-century chocolate factory converted into a retail and restaurant complex. The original Ghirardelli Chocolate manufacturing moved out; the name remains and there are Ghirardelli ice cream shops. The square has decent restaurants and the architecture is good. Not essential, but a pleasant stop if you're in the area.

Our Take

Sea lions (free), clam chowder at Boudin, and the Musée Mécanique. Those three things are the Fisherman's Wharf visit. Everything else is optional or overpriced. If you have time, Swan Oyster Depot for a late morning meal is the best eating on the waterfront.