Burlingame - city in San Mateo County, California, United States

Burlingame is in California's Bay Area on the Peninsula. It is a suburb of San Francisco located north of San Mateo and South of Millbrae. Burlingame is just south of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) along US Highway 101.

Understand

Three areas within Burlingame will be of greatest interest to visitors.

The Bayshore Area: Hotels are located here along the shore of San Francisco Bay.

Broadway: The quaint older section of town. Interesting shops and family owned restaurants. Immediately off of US101.

Burlingame Avenue: The more commercial side of town with high end shopping and a variety of dining options.

Get in

By car

From US Highway 101 exit Broadway Burlingame. From Interstate 280 exit Trousdale.

By bus

By train

Caltrain stops Burlingame and Broadway. CalTrain's "Burlingame" station is immediately adjacent to downtown. CalTrain connects to BART at "Millbrae" station, about three miles north of Burlingame. Metered parking spaces for private vehicles are usually available in all areas of Burlingame. The shopping areas along Burlingame Ave and Broadway Ave are usually busier.

• Burlingame railway station, 290 California Drive. 2021-11-28
• Broadway railway station, 1190 California Drive. Weekend and holiday service only. 2021-11-28

By air

San Francisco International Airport (IATA: SFO) is located ten minutes north of Burlingame along US-101.

Downtown Burlingame (intersection of Burlingame Ave and Lorton Ave) is a 10-minute ($20) taxi ride from San Francisco International Airport.

Get around

While having a car would be most convenient, if you only spend your time within one of the primary areas of interest described above (Bayshore, Broadway, or Burlingame Avenue) the pedestrian friendly features and good weather for most of the year make Burlingame fun on foot.

Taxis are usually available infront of bars and restaurants during the evening. In the morning and afternoon taxis are usually available quickly with a phone call to a local cab company. Try Luxor Cabs.

The Burlingame Trolley, a free shuttle bus, connects several hotels near SFO along the Bayshore area with Broadway and downtown Burlingame Avenue. The service runs Monday through Saturday from 11:30AM–8:18PM with a driver break from 3:51PM-5PM.

There is a pedestrian footbridge over US101 which connects the Bayshore area to Broadway. Take care when crossing the street at either end of the footbridge as traffic moves quickly in a complicated set of intersections.

See

• Museum of PEZ Memorabilia, 214 California Dr, +1 650 347-2301. Tu - Sa 10AM-6PM. A PEZ museum and store, featuring the world's largest PEZ dispenser, which dispenses normal-size PEZ dispensers. Adults $3.00, children and seniors $1.00

Do

Buy

Eat

Bayshore Area

• Kincaid's Bayhouse, 60 Bay View Pl, +1 650 342-9844. Offers fish, chops and steak. Nice view of San Francisco Bay and airplanes landing at SFO. Full bar, nice happy hour offerings. Walking distance from the Hilton, Embassy Suites, Doubletree, Red Roof Inn, and Crown Plaza.
• Knuckles Historical Sports Bar, 1333 Bayshore Hwy, +1 650 696-2696. Inside the Hyatt Hotel. Free popcorn and buckets of fresh peanuts, you help yourself and just toss the shells on the floor. 30 Beers on tap. Refreshingly not like most airport hotel bars, so much so you might even spot a local.

Broadway

• Il Piccolo Cafe, 1219 Broadway Ave, +1 650 348-4147. This is a quaint neighborhood cafe in the Italian tradition. Offers coffee drinks, wine, beer and a small assortment of food. Café has a nice outside seating area in the front and the side alley.
• Cafe Figaro, 1318 Broadway, +1 650 344-8277. Intimate Italian restaurant, open lunch and dinner. Reasonable prices, extensive menu choices, and a full bar. Friendly service, tasty filling food.
• Mivan Restaurant, +1 650 342-9944. 1232 Broadway, Greek and Mediterranean cuisine with generous portions at reasonable prices. Open lunch and dinner. Friendly service.
• Ristorante Rocca, 1205 Broadway, +1 650 344-3900.

Burlingame Avenue

• Stacks, 361 California Dr, +1 650 579-1384. Open for breakfast and lunch only. This restaurant serves fantastic, if expensive, breakfasts! Crêpes, frittatas, and Belgian waffles are their specialties.
• Hola, 1448 Burlingame Ave, +1 650 375-1000. Competent margaritas, chips, salsa, and Mexican dishes. Somewhat dark and dingy interior. Popular with the "I got divorced, so I bought a Harley" crowd. Loud on weekend nights.
• Straights Cafe, Burlingame Ave. Singaporean dining is classy and unique.
• La Cornetta, Burlingame Ave. Mexican.
• Tea Plus Noodles, Howard Ave. Inexpensive authentic Vietnamese Pho.
• Archipelago, Howard Ave. Asian-Californian fusion.

Drink

Broadway

• Behan's Irish Pub, 1327 Broadway, +1 650 344-0265. Locals spot. Beer garden in the back open until midnight. Free jukebox.

Burlingame Avenue

• The Alibi, 220 Lorton Ave. A dive bar popular with locals.
• Paddy Flynn's, 246 Lorton Ave, +1-650-344-0284. 2016-01-31
• Steelhead Brewery, 333 California Dr, +1-650-344-6050. Brewpub and billiards. 2016-01-31

Sleep

• Crowne Plaza San Francisco Airport, 1177 Airport Blvd, +1 650-342-9200. Crowne Plaza SFO is 1 mile away from the San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
• Embassy Suites - Airport, 150 Anza Blvd, 37.5916°, -122.3502°, +1 650 342-4600. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. All rooms include a living room and separate bedroom with wi-fi, flat screen TVs, coffeemaker, refrigerator, microwave and wet bar. Amenities include complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast, and evening reception, and free airport shuttle.
• Holiday Inn Express, 1250 Bayshore Hwy, +1 650 347-2381.
• San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront, 1800 Old Bayshore Highway, +1 650 692-9100.
• Vagabond Inn Executive Burlingame (Vagabond Inn Executive San Francisco Airport Bayfront (SFO)), 1640 Bayshore Highway, +1 650 692-4040. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon.

Go next

• San Jose — 101 South. About 40 to 70 minutes away.
• San Francisco — 101 North. About 15 to 30 minutes away.