The Big Cheap 2018: 100 Things to Eat, Do + See in SF Under $20
(Courtesy of @offthegridsf)

The Big Cheap 2018: 100 Things to Eat, Do + See in SF Under $20

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Whether you're looking to buy a home or simply grabbing a bite in the Mission, life in the city can be a bitch on a budget.

Which is why we've come up with 100 things to do in San Francisco for under $20. Go on, live a little.


  1. Take Western Addition art walk. // FREE, (Western Addition)
  2. Get the Lion's share.Fatted Calf Butcher's Happy Hour Demonstration // FREE, (Hayes Valley)
  3. Walk from Bay to Breakers.SF City Guides // FREE, (Embarcadero)
  4. View cherry blossoms.Japanese Tea Gardens // $6 (Golden Gate Park)
  5. Take a tour of Alfred Hitchcock's San Francisco.San Francisco City Guides // FREE (Mission)
  6. Beat the Sunday scaries.SoMa StrEAT Food Park // FREE (SoMa)
  7. Bring cash.The Saloon // $6 (North Beach)
  8. Drink your brunch.Bloody Mary hot spots // $3 to $9 (Citywide)
  9. Buy DIY.Urban Air Market // FREE, (Hayes Valley)
  10. Take a soundbath. Last Thursdays at Halcyon. // $20 advance, (SoMa)
  11. #Matchamonday.Matcha Tea Hubs in San Francisco // $3 to $6 (Citywide)
  12. Be weird.How Weird Street Faire // FREE, (SoMa)
  13. Snug a pug.Pug Sunday, Alta Plaza Park // FREE, (Pacific Heights)
  14. Stock up on the classics.Friends of the San Francisco Public Library Book Sale // Free, (Fort Mason)
  15. Cool off.Hamilton Pool. // $3 to $6 (Pacific Heights)
  16. Free Waffle Wednesday.Capital One Lounge // FREE (FiDi)
  17. Expand your horizons.The Roxie // $12, (Mission)
  18. Get a slice of the Big Eat. Pizzetta 211. // $15, (Outer Richmond)
  19. Get your game on.The Emporium. // (Fim)
  20. Shout "Bingo!"The Knockout // FREE, (Bernal Heights)
  21. Shuck your own oysters. El Rio // FREE, (Mission)
  22. Play all 18 holes.Urban Putt // $12, (Mission)
  23. Hock your CDs.Amoeba SF // FREE, (Haight)
  24. Wear a leotard.Alonzo King Lines Ballet // $15, (Civic Center)
  25. Unearth the next big appraisal.Treasure Island Flea Market // $11, (Treasure Island)
  26. Go on a safari.San Francisco Zoo // $17, (Lake Merced)
  27. Hear dueling banjos.Hardly Strictly Bluegrass // FREE, (Golden Gate Park)
  28. Hang with Mickey.Walt Disney Museum // $20 for students, (Presidio)
  29. Listen to a sonnet.Shakespeare in the park // FREE, (Golden Gate Park)
  30. Stalk writers.Lit Crawl // FREE, (Mission)
  31. Find Nemo. Aquarium of the Bay // $10 to $20 (Embarcadero)
  32. See a Keith Haring triptych.Grace Cathedral // FREE, (Nob Hill)
  33. Broaden your horizons.Exploratorium. // FREE Community Days (Embarcadero)
  34. Caffeinate after 10 p.m.Revolution Café // $1.50-$4 (Mission)
  35. Get sum.China Live // $9 (Chinatown)
  36. Buy vintage by the pound.Clothes Contact // $10 per pound, (Mission)
  37. Jam with Kool & The Gang.Stern Grove Festival // FREE, (Stern Grove)
  38. Dine on demand.Sprig. // $10-$18 (Lower Haight)
  39. Witness Backroom operations.Adobe Books // FREE, (Mission)
  40. Go off the Grid.Off the Grid // FREE, (Fort Mason)
  41. Beyoncé-worthy lemonade.Dirty Habit // $5 (South of Market)
  42. Purr-fect cup of tea.KitTea // $3-$5, (Fillmore District)
  43. March for equality. SF Pride Parade // FREE, (Embarcadero)
  44. Conquer Billy Goat Hill. // FREE (Noe Valley)
  45. Eat fish & chips on Treasure Island.Mersea // $15 (Treasure Island)
  46. Do a Doubtfire driveby. 2640 Steiner Street // FREE, (Pac Heights)
  47. See Julian Schnabel's Symbols of Actual Life.Legion of Honor. // $15, (Sea Cliff)
  48. Re-enact Full House. Painted Ladies // FREE, (Alamo Square)
  49. Ask for sprinkles.Powder Shaved Snow. // $7, (Lower Haight)
  50. Walk a Rainbow. // FREE (Castro)
  51. Get garlic breath.Thanh Long // $9, (Outer Sunset)
  52. Read up.City Lights Books. // FREE, (North Beach)
  53. Travel across Fog Bridge.Pier 15 and 17 // FREE, (Embarcadero)
  54. Steam your buns.The Chairman Truck // $3-$4, (Tenderloin)
  55. Catch the light show.Bay Lights // FREE, (Embarcadero)
  56. Explore a tide pool. // FREE
  57. Read the rare prints. Prelinger Library //FREE, (SoMa)
  58. Drink the Kool-Aid.LSD Museum // FREE, (Mission)
  59. Ogle the Buns.Tartine Manufactory // FREE, (Embarcadero)
  60. Feel the good vibrations.Antique Vibrator Museum // FREE, (Nob Hill)
  61. Be sketchy.111 Minna // $20, (SoMa)
  62. Remember the good times.Harvey Milk Photo Center // FREE, (Lower Haight)
  63. Pay your respects.Presidio Pet Cemetery. // FREE, (Presidio)
  64. Elevate happy hour. Lord Stanley. // $15 (Nob Hill)
  65. Listen to a primo uomo sing a bel canto. Maiden Lane // FREE (Union Square)
  66. Might as well jump.House of Air // $18, (Presidio)
  67. Sink 100.Skeeball Tour of SF // FREE, (San Francisco)
  68. Hustle on rollers.Church of 8 Wheels // $10, (Lower Haight)
  69. Recreate The Notebook.Stow Lake // $20, (Golden Gate Park)
  70. Volunteer in exchange for lunch. Free Farm Stand // FREE, (Mission)
  71. Rebel against breakfast norms.Craftsman and Wolves // $7, (Mission)
  72. Get on the TL. Tenderloin Museum. // $10, (Tenderloin)
  73. Slow dance.Makeout Room // FREE, (Mission)
  74. Get in line.Burma Superstar // $11, (Richmond)
  75. Measure romance. Musée Mécanique // FREE, (Embarcadero)
  76. Get insider access. Detour App // FREE
  77. Scramble on. Planet Granite// $20, (Presidio)
  78. Find peace.SF Zen Center // FREE, (Lower Haight)
  79. Learn to Lindy Hop. 920 Special // $9, weekly beginner drop-in (Pacific Heights)
  80. Camp with a view.Kirby Cove Campground // $12.50 (Marin Headlands)
  81. Plant something you can't kill.Succulence // $3-$20, (Bernal Heights)
  82. Dunk it.Bob's Donuts // $0.95-$1.75, (Nob Hill)
  83. Dip it.Fondue Cowboy // $20 for sweet fondues, (South of Market)
  84. Snap a selfie.Slacker Hill // FREE, (Marin Headlands)
  85. Enter the Sequence. SFMOMA.// FREE for members, (SoMa)
  86. Save a rat.San Francisco SPCA // $20, (Pacific Heights)
  87. Get groovy.DNA Lounge // $15, (Mission District)
  88. Pre-roll with your homies. The Apothecarium // $7, (multiple locations)
  89. Stream the movie adaptation.San Francisco Public Library // FREE (multiple locations)
  90. Go ahead, order extra guac. El Tonayense // $2.50, (Mission)
  91. Real-life Night at The Museum.Cal Academy Nightlife // $12-$15, (Golden Gate Park)
  92. Know your status.San Francisco Aids Foundation // FREE, (South of Market)
  93. Eat some crickets.Don Bugito // $6.50-$10.50, (Embarcadero)
  94. RSVP. Muir Woods. // FREE (Marin)
  95. Snap a killer IG. //Free (City Wide)
  96. Blossom.Conservatory of Flowers. // $9 (Golden Gate Park)
  97. Sushi meets burrito.Sushirrito SOMA // $9-$13, (South of Market)
  98. Chill with your fur-child.Dog-friendly parks and beaches // FREE, (San Francisco)
  99. Bike the Presidio.Presidio // FREE, (Presidio)
  100. Make your voice heard.City Hall // FREE, (Civic Center)

This article was originally published in April 2018.

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