The northern neighborhoods of San Francisco offer a wealth of pedestrian-friendly sights and activities. Our proposed walking itinerary includes time in the Presidio District at a leading spa, a stroll through the Marina District and our favorite spots for light bites, wine and dinner.

Start your day at the 13,000-square-foot SenSpa (1161 Gorgas Avenue). Located in a renovated World War I Army barracks, this exceptional wellness center offers 14 treatment rooms and one couples room with a Jacuzzi and steam shower. The full-service spa menu includes massages, aromatherapy and integrative medical sessions such as acupuncture and nutrition counseling. I recommend the Swedish-inspired Muscle Refresher massage, which is ideal for both men and women. Afterward, the Warming Room offers chaises longues set around a working fireplace. Other amenities include a bamboo garden and a eucalyptus steam room.

Duly pampered, head out into the urban bustle. Turn left on Gorgas Avenue from SenSpa, and walk for five minutes to the idyllic setting that is the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (3301 Lyon Street). The classical rotunda and colonnades of the Palace are set in parklike grounds and front a lagoon inhabited by swans, herons, ducks, geese and turtles. Built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition by the architect Bernard Maybeck, the structure was designed to represent the reawakening of San Francisco after the devastating 1906 earthquake.