We rode around the city on the Big Bus Tours and this was a stop. I really didn’t know what this was or what to expect but my wife know all about it. It’s a row I’d houses that is across from a nice park that had been in many television / movies. There is even a guy in IG that offers tours of his house! We stopped for 15 minutes, took photos and kept moving through the city.

This was my wife’s thing to do, and I must admit it was pretty cool to see what we’d seen on screen so often. The park across the road from the houses is nice although clearly gets pretty busy in the weekends (when we were there). We got there on one of the hop on, hop off buses that makes one of its stops just down the hill - too easy.

This iconic landmark is free to visit and worth a quick stop if you are in the area. Parking is available on the street and availability was good when we visited. To get a good view of the painted ladies, we walked into the park directly opposite them.

The payment noted ladies are apparently one of the most photographed places in San Francisco…. Why? There’re 7 houses that are ok but really nothing special at all. So we’re from the UK where we have houses that look like these normally, there really is nothing special about these houses. Its a long walk to get there which we didn’t mind but we’re totally underwhelmed. Walk a couple of blocks further to Divisadero and explore the independent shops and cafes - much better use of time

I am not sure what I was expecting. The houses (Painted Ladies) are subdued in color so perhaps I was expecting something more vibrant. The surprise was the exceptional view of the city behind them AND the adorable dog face in one of the upper windows of the homes that kept peeking out. If you are up this way doing other things and enjoy gazing at lovely architecture, great check out the Painted Ladies. If you do not, you can skip this one.