The real San Francisco
About 4,100 buildings from OpenStreetMap, from the painted wooden houses of North Beach to the towers of the Financial District at their real heights, a first piece of the city by the bay. More of the city comes later.
Instant San Francisco BETA
Explore or race by bike, on foot or on horseback through San Francisco, from Chinatown to the bay!
The north-east of San Francisco in 3D, by the bay: Chinatown and the Dragon Gate, the Transamerica Pyramid, the Ferry Building, Union Square and Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill, every building from OpenStreetMap.
Free · no account · works on PC, tablet and phone
What there is to do
Towers, cable cars and the bay
The Transamerica Pyramid, Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill, the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero, Union Square and the cable car turntable on Powell Street, and Chinatown along Grant Avenue.
A race: Chinatown to the Bay
Down Grant Avenue through Chinatown, along Bush Street through the Financial District, down Market Street to the Ferry Building, along the Embarcadero and back past the Transamerica Pyramid.
This is San Francisco
San Francisco lies on the tip of a peninsula in northern California, between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, a city of steep hills, painted wooden houses and summer fog. It grew from a small Spanish mission into a boom town in the Gold Rush, burnt down in 1906 and was rebuilt at once. Today it is known for its cable cars, the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown and the tech companies of the Bay Area.
- The Golden Gate Bridge in the fog
- The cable cars climbing the hills
- Chinatown, the oldest in North America
- Alcatraz, the prison island in the bay
- The earthquake and fire of 1906
- The Beat poets of North Beach
Places, elements and landmarks
Transamerica PyramidThe white pyramid of the Financial District, 260 metres tall, the sign of San Francisco’s skyline since 1972.
Ferry BuildingThe ferry terminal at the foot of Market Street, with its clock tower after the Giralda of Seville, now a food hall.
Coit TowerThe slim concrete tower on top of Telegraph Hill, built in 1933 with the money of Lillie Hitchcock Coit.
Dragon GateThe gate into Chinatown on Grant Avenue at Bush Street, with green tiled roofs, dragons and two stone lions.
ChinatownThe oldest Chinatown in North America, along Grant Avenue and Stockton Street, with lanterns over the street.
Union SquareThe square of the big shops and hotels, named after the rallies for the Union before the Civil War.
Cable carsThe last cable cars in the world still running in city streets, pulled up the hills by a cable under the road.
Washington SquareThe green heart of North Beach, the Italian quarter, before the white church of Saints Peter and Paul.
City LightsThe bookshop of the Beat poets on Columbus Avenue, which published Allen Ginsberg’s Howl in 1956.
Ready to go?
Play Instant San FranciscoStill in development: expect some rough edges.