What are your favorite movies set in San Francisco? So many famous films have been made in the City by the Bay that it’s hard to choose just one. Add to that lots of iconic San Francisco movie locations where they were shot, and you’re spoiled for choice. Whether you’re looking to learn more about your favorite or you just want to watch movies that take place in San Francisco, this list will help you find the best. Oh, and there’s a bonus at the end.
Movies Set in San Francisco
From classic films to Hollywood blockbusters, the best movies set in San Francisco come from a range of eras and genres. Cutting-edge action thrillers, romantic comedies, family favorites, and police dramas have all been filmed in the City by the Bay.
From the Golden Gate Bridge to North Beach, impossibly steep hills to iconic cable cars, they’ve been set in any number of beloved San Francisco movie locations.
Whether you love adrenaline-pumping car chase scenes or houses from your favorite San Francisco movies, this blog post will show you the best of them.
1. The Rock (1996)
First on my list of movies set in San Francisco is The Rock. This film is about an FBI chemist and a former SAS captain who break into Alcatraz with a team of Navy SEALs to stop a rogue group of Marines that’s threatening to launch chemical warheads at San Francisco unless the US government pays a ransom.
Starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage, a number of scenes from this action thriller were shot on and around Alcatraz. There’s great footage of the island and prison throughout the movie.
Additional scenes from The Rock were filmed at the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina, The Fairmont San Francisco hotel in Nob Hill, Pier 39, Jones Street, and Pacific Avenue.
If you’re looking for films set in San Francisco, this one packs a lot of classic locations into one movie.
2. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Next on my list of movies set in San Francisco is Mrs. Doubtfire. Starring Robin Williams in one of his most memorable roles, this time-tested comedy is about a divorced man who assumes a fake identity as an elderly British nanny in order to spend more time with his children.
Scenes from Mrs. Doubtfire were filmed at a number of locations in and around San Francisco. These include Pacific Heights and Telegraph Hill in the city, and Danville and Berkeley in the East Bay.
The house from the movie is located at 2640 Steiner Street on the corner of Broadway in Pacific Heights. There are great views of the San Francisco Bay from just outside of it.
Robin Williams’ character’s apartment is on Green Street in Telegraph Hill.
The restaurant scene near the end of the film was shot at Bridges Restaurant and Bar on Church Street in Danville.
The country club scene was filmed at the Claremont Club and Spa hotel in Berkeley. It’s a real hotel and you can stay the night if you want the full experience.
3. Bullitt (1968)
Another of the best movies set in San Francisco is Bullitt. This classic 1960s action thriller is about a policeman (played by Steve McQueen) who investigates a case after the witness he was assigned to protect is killed.
Bullitt is one of the most iconic movies that takes place in San Francisco. This is because of its famous car chase scenes. They’re what most people think of when they think of films set here.
Most of the movie was shot in the city. Famous locations include Grace Cathedral, Union Street, and Marina Green. There’s also a driving scene shot on Broadway where McQueen’s character passes the photogenic intersection with Taylor Street.
4. The Princess Diaries (2001)
One of my favorite movies set in San Francisco is The Princess Diaries. The story of Mia, an awkward teenage girl who discovers she’s a princess, is a heartwarming film starring a young Anne Hathaway and legendary star of stage and screen Julie Andrews.
The Princess Diaries filming locations span the whole city and cover a lot of the top San Francisco highlights. The house where Mia lives with her mother is on Brazil Avenue in the Excelsior. It’s a converted firehouse called Engine 43, and it’s still a private residence today.
The exterior of the school that Mia and her friends attend is in Cow Hollow at 2601 Lyon Street (at Green Street). It’s not actually a school; it’s a private home.
The basketball courts where Mia has heart-to-heart talks with her best friend Lilly are from a real school, though. They’re on the rooftop of The Hamlin School in Pacific Heights, which is why they have sweeping views over the city and the San Francisco Bay.
The scene where Mia and her grandmother go to the arcade were filmed at the Musee Mecanique in the Cliff House in Land’s End. It’s since been relocated to Fisherman’s Wharf.
The scene where Mia gets in a car accident was filmed in Russian Hill. The intersection of “Rose and Branch” is actually the junction of Broadway and Taylor.
Lilly and her brother Michael’s house is also located in Russian Hill. It’s on a tiny pedestrianized street called Phoenix Terrace, which is off Pacific Avenue between Jones and Taylor.
5. So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)
Next on my list of movies set in San Francisco is So I Married an Axe Murderer. This funny film is about a man named Charlie who falls in love with a woman named Harriet whom he later suspects is guilty of killing her husbands.
Starring Mike Meyers and Nancy Travis, this is one of my favorite romantic movies set in San Francisco. It’s a great one for date night.
Filming locations for So I Married an Axe Murderer include the Palace of Fine Arts, where the couple goes on their first date, and Alcatraz, where Charlie and his best friend take a tour.
Several places in North Beach star in the movie, too. The butcher shop is located on the corner of Union Street and Grant Avenue, and the bar where Charlie hangs out and does his poetry is the iconic Vesuvio Cafe on Columbus Avenue.
Charlie’s parents’ house is located at 327a Hugo Street in the Inner Sunset, and Poet’s Corner, the hotel where Charlie and Harriet stay at the end, is set in Dunsmuir House in Oakland.
6. Dirty Harry (1971)
Dirty Harry is another of the top movies based in San Francisco. This neo-noir action-thriller is about a police inspector who’s paired with an inexperienced cop to find the “Scorpio Killer”, a rooftop sniper who’s been murdering innocent people throughout the city.
Starring Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry is one of the most famous movies filmed in San Francisco. It was so popular that four sequels were made.
Scenes from the original film were shot in places like the skyscraper at 555 California Street in the Financial District, the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street in SoMa, City Hall in the Civic Center, the Fort Mason Tunnel, Potrero Hill, and the Aquatic Park.
With five Dirty Harry movies in the series, there’s plenty more of the city and the Bay Area to see. From the 3rd Street Bridge to China Basin, Land’s End, the Ferry Building, the Mark Hopkins Hotel, the Marin Headlands, and Santa Cruz, the films show off a range of places in and around San Francisco.
7. A View to a Kill (1985)
The James Bond film A View to a Kill is another of the most memorable movies in San Francisco. The plot centers around Bond (played by Roger Moore) and villain Max Zorin (played by Christopher Walken).
Zorin plots to flood and destroy California’s Silicon Valley by detonating explosives beneath the lakes along the area’s earthquake fault lines. As always, Bond foils his plans and saves the day.
Like most Bond films, this one was set in multiple locations throughout the world. But the the movie comes home to San Francisco in the end, and the most famous scene takes place in an airship flying around the Golden Gate Bridge.
Other local filming locations from A View to a Kill include Fisherman’s Wharf and San Francisco City Hall in the Civic Center.
Dunsmuir House in Oakland (remember it from So I Married an Axe Murderer?) was used as the home of oil heiress Stacey Sutton.
8. Milk (2008)
Milk is next on my list of the top movies set in San Francisco. A biopic about the life and tragic murder of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, this film is a truly local story. It stars Sean Penn, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Harvey Milk.
Much of the movie was filmed in San Francisco. Shooting locations for Milk include Duboce Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Fire Department, City Hall, Chinatown, Grace Cathedral, Noe Valley, Treasure Island, Market Street, and Castro Street.
Even the scene set in New York was filmed in San Francisco. The Forest Hill MUNI Station stood in for the steps of the Christopher Street subway station in Manhattan.
9. Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
As the name implies, Escape from Alcatraz is another movie set in San Francisco. This film is an action thriller about a convict who’s sent to the prison on Alcatraz Island and decides to break out.
Like the Dirty Harry movies, this film stars Clint Eastwood. Much of the filming took place on Alcatraz itself. Other scenes were shot in production studios elsewhere in California.
10. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Another of the best movies set in San Francisco is The Pursuit of Happyness. This film is about a struggling salesman (played by Will Smith) who takes custody of his son after his long-suffering wife, Linda, separates from him.
The Pursuit of Happyness features famous San Francisco filming locations like Golden Gate Park, Candlestick Park (now closed), Glen Park Station, the skyscraper at 555 California Street (remember it from Dirty Harry?), Duboce Park, and the old Pacific Coast Stock Exchange at 301 Pine Street in the Financial District.
The family home is set in a house at 1161 York Street (at 24th Street) in the Mission, and the fictional daycare center is located at 20 Ross Alley in Chinatown.
11. Basic Instinct (1992)
Next on my list of films set in San Francisco is Basic Instinct, a famous provocative neo-noir 1990s thriller. This movie is about Nick Curran (played by Michael Douglas), a violent San Francisco police detective who investigates the brutal murder of a rock star that might involve crime novelist Catherine Tramell (played by Sharon Stone).
Basic Instinct was filmed in a number of locations around San Francisco. Catherine’s mansion is in Pacific Heights, and she’s interrogated in a police precinct located at 850 Bryant Street at the Hall of Justice in SoMa. Her beach house is south of the Bay Area in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Other filming locations include the Embarcadero and the iconic Tosca Cafe on Columbus Avenue in North Beach. The car chase scene went down roads like Kearny Street and Dunnes Alley, too.
12. Vertigo (1953)
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is another of the most famous movies made in San Francisco. It’s the story of a neurotic ex-police officer who’s hired to prevent an old friend’s wife from committing suicide. He suffers from a fear of heights, and he’s tricked into thinking that the wife has fallen to her death from a bell tower.
Considered one of Hitchcock’s masterpieces, Vertigo features some of the most famous filming locations in the city.
These include Fort Point by the Golden Gate Bridge, Ernie’s Restaurant at 847 Montgomery Street (now closed), the Brocklebank Apartments at 1000 Mason Street on Nob Hill, Claude Lane near Union Square, Coit Tower, and the Palace of the Legion of Honor.
13. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Adapted from Amy Tan’s celebrated novel, The Joy Luck Club is another great San Francisco movie. It’s the story of four Chinese immigrant women and their relationships with their daughters.
The movie was filmed at a number of locations in and around San Francisco. The interior of Harold and Lena’s place was shot at 610 Rhode Island Street in Potrero Hill. Ying Yang’s apartment was at 901 Union Street in Russian Hill, and Waverly’s apartment was at 180 Manchester Street in Bernal Heights.
Other scenes were filmed in Chinatown, Golden Gate Park, and places like Filoli, a historic mansion south of the city in Woodside.
BONUS: Full House
It’s not a movie, but Full House is one of the most famous TV shows filmed in San Francisco. It’s about a widowed father who raises three daughters with the help of his brother-in-law and his best friend. It was a popular 1980s sitcom, and it still has a loyal fan base.
The house from Full House is located at 1709 Broderick Street in Lower Pacific Heights. Scenes from the show were filmed throughout the city, including places like Alamo Square (with the famous Painted Ladies), the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, and the San Francisco Bay.
Best Movies Set in San Francisco
I hope this list of movies set in San Francisco has helped you learn more about your favorites and discover some great new films to watch.
There are lots of cinematic classics set in the City by the Bay, and it’s fun to see them and spot beloved local landmarks. I hope these movies inspire you to visit the places they were set as well. It’s a fun way to explore San Francisco!
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