Venture into the heart of downtown San Francisco’s most historic neighborhoods and discover a world where greed and vice once prevailed over all else, raising a city along with it.
Join the Gold, Greed, and Gunslingers Tour to bring this infamous port and the cutthroat days of Yerba Buena that followed back to life in the streets of San Francisco.
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Gold, Greed, and Gunslingers: Forging San Francisco
The Gold, Greed, and Gunslingers: Forging San Francisco tour turns the pages of San Francisco’s early days in real-time. You’ll learn the history of Yerba Buena, the Barbary Coast, and Chinatown while visiting iconic buildings and cultural stops. The City By The Bay was once home to some of the West's most dangerous and twisted individuals, and each stop covers another thrilling chapter that connects to what makes the city special today. Hear these stories and their impact on this historical San Francisco walking tour!
Meeting location: Hilton Financial District, at the intersection of Merchant and Kearny Streets.
Starting Time:
Pet Policy: Pets are welcomed!
Alcohol Policy: No Drinking Permitted
Adults Only: No
Where to Meet, Park, and Directions
Hilton Financial District, at the intersection of Merchant and Kearny Streets.
Visit parkopedia.com for the most up-to-date parking info.
There are paid parking lots and meters around the meeting area
Sydney Town
Hear about the first Committee of Vigilance, created to combat the Sydney Ducks. These Australian criminals came to San Francisco and transformed this now peaceful part of the city into a vile and dangerous place. Hear about fires they set and their sin-filled fueled neighborhood.
Portsmouth Square
The heart of Chinatown, where paying rent in San Francisco first became a problem. Stand where the gold rush was announced for the first time and listen in as we discuss the early and expensive life led by miners in Yerba Buena before and after the madness of the Barbary Coast was born.
Hotaling Place
Follow us to the Jackson Square Historic District, once home to the Hoatling Whiskey Company. It is the only part of the city that survived the deadly 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and many say the firefighters’ love for Hoatling Whiskey saved it—a typical mindset for the Barbary Coast!
The quaint charm of downtown San Francisco disguises a notorious reputation. Discover how San Francisco’s story began amid an explosion of violence and lust for gold. But change came quickly as discarded ships turned into landfills, and the sneering saloons of the Barbary Coast came to stay. A graveyard of ships and sailors seeking golden fortunes built the City By The Bay. Find out how on the Gold, Greed, and Gunslingers San Francisco history tour.
Barbary Coast’s cruel and seedy past now lies covered by the tides of history, out of reach and out of time. Embark on a journey to look through the tourist attractions of the city’s modern face on the Gold, Greed, and Gunslingers tour. Hiding underneath the rubble are tales of sinister intentions that built the West. Explore the forgotten world of Little Chile, the Sydney Ducks, and Sam Brannan on the best historical walking tour in San Francisco.
Walk to San Francisco’s Chinatown, the first in the nation, and hear harrowing, violent stories of Chinese life in the Wild West. Learn the history of old Chinatown and bridge the gap between the days of the Tongs, their criminal activities, and our modern world. We reveal it all on this walking tour through the streets of Chinatown and its adjacent neighborhoods.
The raucous saloons and dance halls of the Gold Rush have faded. Eaten up by the 1906 earthquake, they are mere memories now, but traces of this indecent time remain. See the Old Ship Saloon and Hoatling’s Place in the Jackson Square Historic District. Not devoured by the sea or thrown into the earth, they remind us of the Barbary Coast’s infamous legacy. Book your place on the Gold, Greed, and Gunslingers: Foraging San Francisco Tour to learn about it all!
Legends of the Barbary Coast have captivated Americans for generations. Whether you heard about it in passing or read about i ... t growing up, it's a thrill to see where all that debauchery went down. San Francisco’s Barbary Coast may be long gone, but you can walk over the ships and boats that brought the city’s most heinous characters into town. They are holding up most of the pier! Experience this once-in-a-lifetime journey on our Gold, Greed, and Gunsligners San Francisco walking tour!
Our downtown San Francisco walking tour isn’t just about the history of this legendary city. We wouldn’t be doing our job ... if we didn’t provide you with recommendations on the best dim sum in Chinatown along the way! You’ll smell the savory scents of Chinese cuisine as we lead you through the alleyways of this historic neighborhood. Chances are you are going to get hungry. Let our experienced tour guides lead you to a fantastic dinner after the tour. There is no better time to discuss all the exciting things you learned!
The streets of downtown San Francisco are packed with history and fascinating facts. Our Gold, Greed, and Gunslingers: Forgin ... g San Francisco tour is the perfect way to learn them all. Walking the 7x7-mile city is perfectly doable and great exercise! Plus, it's a great way to see its unique neighborhoods and get your bearings, and public transportation is easy to use! Hop on the MUNI or BART, head downtown, and meet us downtown for the best historical walking tour in San Francisco.
The hustle and bustle of a big city can be overwhelming if it's your first time visiting San Francisco. Every corner is packe ... d with historical and cultural landmarks. The crowds don’t stop moving, nor do you, making it so easy to miss something important! Don’t make the mistake of skipping out. Book a Gold, Greed, and Gunslingers tour to hear about every significant moment in San Francisco's history exactly where it stands today.
Chinatown has a reputation as an exoticly brilliant neighborhood. Combining the old-world feel of China with the fate-fueled ... manifest of the Wild West, it holds a unique palace in the heart of San Francisco and the nation. If you want to learn how this neighborhood came to be and how the city developed around it, reserve your spot on this tour. Our Gold, Greed, and Gunslingers tour digs into San Francisco’s fabled history in full detail!
San Francisco Ghosts Boos and Booze Haunted Pub Crawl
Enjoy some liquid courage while hearing ghostly tales of San Francisco's most historic haunts and drinking hotspots.
Tour Meeting Location: Tours meet at the High Horse - Jackson Square Historic District 582 Washington St.
Tour Times: Daily @ 5:30PM
Tour Length: Approximately 2 hours
Ghost tours are held nightly, rain or shine!
San Francisco Ghosts: Gold and Ghouls Tour
San Francisco Ghosts reveals the sinister world at the fringes of the City by the Bay.
Tour Meeting Location: All tours meet at Union Square, 333 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94108, on the corner of Powell Street and Post Street, across from the giant lit sign that says "Saks Fifth Avenue".
Tour Times: Daily @ 3:30PM
Tour Length: Approximately 1 hour
Ghost tours are held nightly, rain or shine!
Taste of San Francisco: Flavors of the Mission District Melting Pot Food Tour
Learn the diverse and unique story of San Francisco through food and history. San Francisco has been the epicenter for change. From the hippie movement of the 60s to the current gentrification taking place with the tech boom.
Tour Meeting Location: Meet your guide at Mexico Liberty Bell, Dolores Street & 19th Street San Francisco, CA 94114
Tour Times: Daily @ 11AM
Tour Length: Approximately 2 hours
Ghost tours are held nightly, rain or shine!
Vintage Murder and Mystery True Crime Tour of San Francisco
Join this investigative tour into the infamous people and historic places in San Francisco's history, and the secrets they'd rather have kept hidden from their friends and neighbors.
Tour Meeting Location: Please meet your tour guide at Lotta's Fountain at Market St and Kearney St.
Tour Times: Daily @ 4:30PM
Tour Length: Approximately 1 hour
Ghost tours are held nightly, rain or shine!
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