Crossing the strait of the Golden Gate from San Francisco to the Marin headlands for 1.7 miles is the world-renowned Golden Gate Bridge, easily identified by its International Orange color. Opened in 1937, the bridge was built at a cost of $35 million in principal and $39 million in interest and 11 workers’ lives. The single-suspension span is anchored by twin towers that reach skyward 746 feet, and was once taller than any building in San Francisco. To support the suspended roadway, two cables, each more than 7,000 feet in length and both containing 80,000 miles of wire stretch over the top of the towers and are rooted in concrete anchorages on shore. More than ten years in planning due to formidable opposition, but only four years in actual construction, the Golden Gate Bridge brought the communities of San Francisco and Marin counties closer together.

General Visitor Info

Pedestrians including wheelchair users and bicyclists can go on the sidewalks of the bridge during daylight hours but roller blades, skateboards and roller skates are not permitted. There are vista points on both north and south sides of the bridge with parking lots. For information on sidewalk closures due to construction, visitgoldengatebridge.org/bikesbridge/bikes.php.
If you can’t visit the bridge in person, do the virtual bridge walk and don’t forget to check out the view from the top of the south tower.

How to Get There

From downtown, take #38 Geary Boulevard to Park Presidio and transfer to #28 northbound to get to the Golden Gate Bridge. If you’re taking Golden Gate Transit from San Francisco, the #10, #70 or #80 lines will take you to the bridge.
For additional information, routes and schedules, please visit the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency andGolden Gate Transit sites.
Surrounding Neighborhoods
Get more information on the neighborhoods here.

Golden Gate Bridge Tours & Photo Experience


Passion. Ingenuity. Danger. Triumph. Learn why the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and hear incredible stories about the challenges and dangers that workers had to overcome to build the Bridge on personally guided 45-minute tours.

The 2013 tour season runs April 1–Oct. 6, 2013. Tours are offered seven days per week, six times per day (10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm, and 3:30 pm)

Please plan to arrive at the Bridge at least 30 minutes before your tour time in order to find parking and obtain audio equipment. Tours leave promptly and tickets are not refundable.

Advance tickets at www.goldengatebridgetour.com or (877) 349-7625. Walk-up tickets are sold at the Round House, subject to availability.

Golden Gate Bridge Photo Experience:
Did you ever think you could:
  • Ride your bike or walk your dog up the main cable?
  • Let your baby crawl up the cable?
  • Pose for a family portrait atop the Bridge?
  • Smooch your sweetie on top of the 746-foot-high tower?
  • Get a perfect shot of yourself standing in front of the Bridge, even when it’s completely fogged in?
Yes, you can (virtually), and in just a few minutes' time! For more information, visit www.ggbridgephotos.com

Did You Know?

The Golden Gate Bridge has lost 7,500 tons (in weight) since it opened in 1937.
It is estimated that 5,000 - 10,000 gallons of paint are used to repaint the Golden Gate Bridge each year.
Three babies have been born on the Golden Gate Bridge. All of them have been boys.
The name came from the fact that the Golden Gate Strait (named by John Fremont) is the entrance into San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean.
International Orange was selected as the color of the bridge because it provided visibility in the fog for passing ships and also because it was a color that fit in naturally to the bridge’s setting and the surrounding land area.
The bridge has only been closed three times due to weather since it was built; all three times due to high winds gusting close to or over 70 miles per hour.
The bridge has also been closed for visits from dignitaries President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President Charles de Gaulle of France and also on its 50th and 75th Anniversaries.
Movies that included the Golden Gate Bridge:
 
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Monsters Vs. Aliens (2009)
Milk (2008)
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Hulk (2003)
The Core (2003)
The Rock (1996)
Interview with a Vampire (1994)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) 
The Abyss (1989)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
A View to a Kill (1985)
Basic Instinct (1982)
Superman (1978)
Dirty Harry (1971)
The Birds (1963)
Vertigo (1958)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Credit by : http://www.sanfrancisco.travel/icons/Golden-Gate-Bridge.html