We have just 4 days to explore San Francisco but visiting Alcatraz was top of our agenda.

We were advised to book tickets well in advance so booked online. We went on the early bird which worked out well as it was not overly crowded (which is was as we were leaving around lunchtime).

Best known as the home of the penitentiary where the worst of America’s worst prisoners were locked away, and also known as “The Rock,” Alcatraz was used as a military prison as early as 1861. From 1934 to 1963 it became a federal prison housing between approximately 200-300 prisoners at a time including some of the country’s most notorious criminals like Al Capone, George Machine Gun Kelley, Robert Stroud (aka The Birdman of Alcatraz), Alvin “Creepy” Karpis and Arthur R. “Doc” Barker.

The film, ‘Escape from Alcatraz’ was actually filmed here so it was not spurring that the cells and exercise yard looked exactly as I remember from the movie. The audio guide is essential, it was recorded by both ex-prisoners and guards who spent time on “The Rock.” Their recollections and voices add an eerie element to the recording.