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This all-in-one driving tour is marked with blue-and-white seagull markers, and winds its way through the most picturesque parts of the city. It can be challenging to follow, keeping an eye out for the markers and the traffic at the same time, but you can get a map of the route from the Visitor Information Center (see Planning Your Trip).

The road that leads up to the top of “Mount Tam” is appropriately called Panoramic Highway. All the way along, it provides you with dramatic views of the Marin Headlands, both on the Bay and ocean sides, and as you approach the summit, far-reaching views of the Bay Area.

This road hugs the bluffs, high above the waves, on the southern edge of the Marin Headlands. It affords some of the most famously beautiful views of the north tower of Golden Gate Bridge, looking back at the city in the distance. The way is punctuated with old military bunkers, since this entire area was once given over to the army to guard the western shores.

More famous panoramas await you here, as you wind your way up the two mountains. You can get 360-degree views of the city to the east, the ocean to the west, the Bay to the north, and the valleys to the south.

Broad and straight, this coast highway begins at Cliff House at the northern end and eventually meets the famous Highway 1, which takes you, via dramatic cliffs, down to Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur – and eventually, to Mexico.

This street cuts a great swathe through the city centre. It starts in the south at Duboce Street, then rises to glorious mansions and Bay vistas after Geary Expressway.

Blending gently with the Berkeley Hills, the Oakland Hills offer some beautiful parks, such as Redwood Regional Park. Skyline Boulevard provides access to most of this ridge area, with many picnic groves and hiking options along the winding way.

Pick up this bucolic road (Highway 35) at Lake Merced, and it will take you all the way down the woody spine of the Peninsula to Santa Cruz. It’s a total immersion in nature, just minutes from the populated areas around the Bay.

Behind Stanford University (see Palo Alto and Stanford) is the quiet town of Portola Valley. From here, these picturesque switchback roads ascend to meet Skyline Drive. They are very narrow in places, and you can’t go more than 10 mph (16 kmph), but the timeless beauty of the Bay Area forests makes it worthwhile.

This gently mountainous region is almost entirely undeveloped. The main town, Boulder Creek, is like a small frontier settlement, where craftspeople sell their wares, and country stores cater mostly to locals. This is an area that time happily forgot.