Ghirardelli Square

beautiful

The line may be long, but WORTH it to enjoy the treats!

Tourist trap. The shop doesn’t have much variety (compared to the shop at Pier 39), so you’re better off ordering from the 800 number. If you want to see a chocolate factory, Hershey is the place to go.

i used to work in an architecture firm whose office was in one of the restored chocolate factory buildings, the cocoa building, at ghirardelli square. it was great: there’s a beach across the street, there were amazing views of the bay and alcatraz, and they give out free chocolate downstairs.

Being a native Californian, I’ve been lucky enough to visit San Francisco several times. Somehow I never made it to Ghirardelli Square until this past February.

Although you can but Ghirardelli chocolate at Target and the grocery store now, it was still really cool to go here. They give you a yummy chocolate sample for just walking through the doors. We shared an ice cream sundae covered in delicious Ghirardelli chocolate, made right on the premises.

Watching the men producing the syrup was fascinating. I had an idea how chocolate was produced due to a visit to the Schokoladen Museum in Cologne, but it this is a far more intimate setting.