San Francisco has declared a health emergency due to the mpox virus (formerly known as monkeypox). For more information, see the SF.GOV MPX website.
The centerpiece of the Bay Area, San Francisco is one of the most visited cities in the world, and with good reason. The cultural center of northern California, San Francisco is renowned for its mixture of scenic beauty and unique culture that makes it one of the most vibrant and desirable cities in the nation, if not the world.
Sandwiched between the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean on a small square of land seven miles (11 km) on each side, San Francisco offers a wealth of treasures for the visitor, from the windswept and often foggy bay to the steep hills lined with Victorian homes that overlook the spectacular scenery of the city. Great ethnic and cultural diversity shows itself in the city's varied neighborhoods, from the crowded and exciting streets of Chinatown to the eclectic attitudes of the Castro and the gleaming condominium towers built on the city's more recently gained tech-savvy reputation.
And yet San Francisco is just one of the cities which makes up the entire San Francisco Bay Area. At the center of a metropolitan area of 9.7 million people (2018), the city is a fantastic base to explore the treasures of San Francisco's neighbors to the east across the Bay Bridge, to the north past the Golden Gate Bridge, and to the south down the peninsula. There's enough to see that one could devote a lifetime to exploring the region, and it'll become clear why people continue to make their way to this special place.
Each district of San Francisco carries its own unique and distinct culture. This map is predominantly based on the 11 official governmental districts of San Francisco, but it has been adapted to suit the purposes of this travel guide. Some districts of particular interest to travelers have been broken up into popular neighborhood groupings, while others, mainly residential districts, have been merged.
Fashionable neighborhoods, e.g., the Marina District, Cow Hollow, and Pacific Heights, with extensive views and historical landmarks — Fort Mason, The Presidio, and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
A touristy waterfront neighborhood which encompasses Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39, and the ferry launch to Alcatraz Island, as well as a plethora of seafood restaurants and souvenir stores.
Two ritzy neighborhoods with upscale hotels, cable cars, panoramic views and steep inclines.
Two vibrant immigrant communities; the crowded and largest Chinatown outside of Asia next to the stylish laid back 'Little Italy', as well as Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower.
Union Square-Financial District
Union Square is the center of shopping, theater and art in the city, next to the many skyscrapers of downtown and Market Street.
The neoclassical Civic Center next to the grit of the Tenderloin. While the 'Loin' is grittier compared to its ritzier neighbors downtown, there is still plenty of interesting architecture and attractions to see here.
A rapidly changing neighborhood of downtown that is the center of a lot of new construction, including new skyscrapers; some of the city's newest museums; Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants; and Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors.
A historic neighborhood with many Victorian homes that was once a hotbed of African-American culture. Within the area is also Japantown, once the center of San Francisco's Japanese population, still populated with many Japanese stores and restaurants, and hotels that cater to Japanese travelers.
Famous for being the home of the Hippie movement, this once bohemian area is still an eclectic treasure.
Prior to European settlement in the area, the peninsula that now contains San Francisco was home to the Yelamu tribe, who were part of the larger Ohlone language group which stretched south from the Bay Area to the Big Sur of California. Due to San Francisco's characteristic foggy weather, the earliest European explorers completely bypassed what would later be called the Golden Gate and the San Francisco Bay. The first European settlement in the area was founded by the Spanish in 1776 as a mission community surrounding the Mission San Francisco de Asís, in what is today called the Mission Dolores in the Mission District. In addition to the mission, a military fort was built near the Golden Gate: El Presidio.
Upon gaining independence from Spain in 1821, the area became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the mission system gradually came to an end and private ownership of land became a possibility. In 1835, an Englishman named William Richardson founded the town of Yerba Buena, the first significant settlement on the peninsula outside of the Mission Dolores area. As the new settlement gradually grew, Yerba Buena developed a street plan and became attractive to settlers. Following the Mexican-American War the United States claimed California, and in July 1846 the U.S. Navy arrived to raise the American flag above Yerba Buena. Over the next couple of years, California officially became part of the United States and the name of the town was changed from Yerba Buena to San Francisco.
In 1848 the California Gold Rush started in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Prior to the opening of the Transcontinental Railroad, getting to San Francisco involved an arduous overland journey or a lengthy voyage by sea, but that didn't stop waves of fortune-seeking immigrants from making the trip, increasing the city's population from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands. Many who made their fortunes then settled in San Francisco, which at the time was the largest, most exciting city in California. Like other large cities, eventually San Francisco developed into districts by nationality or social status: the Italians in North Beach, the Chinese in Chinatown, and the wealthy mining and railroad titans on Nob Hill. During the gold rush years many major businesses were created and flourished in San Francisco (Wells Fargo Bank, Levis, Bank of America), and famous and infamous personalities alike settled in the city. Of course, with all this success came problems: the rapid growth of the city outstripped any efforts at city planning, meaning proper sanitation and infrastructure were largely undeveloped, which led to a cholera outbreak in 1855. Violence and corruption were evident, and anti-immigrant violence resulted in many race riots.
Emperor Norton
In 1859 Joshua Abraham Norton, who had been a wealthy businessman prior to losing his fortune on Peruvian rice, proclaimed himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States" and later "Protector of Mexico". While he was widely seen as eccentric, he was quite popular among many inhabitants of San Francisco due to his "decrees" calling for the dissolution of Congress or the construction of bridges or tunnels to cross San Francisco Bay. One of his more eccentric (though widely popular) edicts was banning use of the word "Frisco" (then as now a common shorthand for the city hated by its residents) and imposing a $25 penalty on its use. While Norton did not ever have any real authority, he was beloved by many of San Francisco's inhabitants and inspired many books and newspaper articles, both during and after his lifetime. When he died in 1880, some 10,000 people attended his funeral.
In the 1890s, there was a large campaign to modernize and beautify the city, the success of which led some officials to proudly call San Francisco the "Paris of the West." But in 1906, a devastating earthquake shook the city and a resulting fire leveled much of the city (in fact, almost 90% of the total damage was from the fire, and not from the quake). Nevertheless, officials at the time immediately set out on a plan to rebuild the city, with new parks, boulevards, the current civic center complex, and landmarks such as the Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill. In 1915, San Francisco hosted the Panama-Pacific Exposition (where the Palace of Fine Arts complex is now) to showcase the completely rebuilt city. The Balclutha, a ship that traveled to Oregon to acquire lumber for this purpose, is now docked in San Francisco as a museum and venue for historical reenactors to educate elementary-school students.
In the wake of the Great Depression of the 1930s, San Francisco remained largely unscathed. In fact, it was during this time that the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge were conceived and built. It was also during this time that the federal government established a prison on Alcatraz Island, which would hold some of the most notorious criminals of the era.
After World War II, San Francisco continued to grow in population. Aggressive urban planning projects led to a changing skyline, with more highrises in the city's financial district and new freeways rimming the city's waterfront. But in some sense the years after World War II were also unique in what didn't happen; while cable cars were once commonplace throughout North America, San Francisco remains the last place to still have them in daily use as actual transportation. Sprawl and auto-centric development have also happened in San Francisco, but less so than in most other American cities and it is therefore still one of the best destinations to explore the United States without a car. In later years, the waterfront freeways were deemed an eyesore and eventually torn down and replaced with the far more pleasant Embarcadero Boulevard.
Besides being a beautiful city to visit, from the 1950s forward San Francisco became known as the city of the cool, quirky, unusual, and counterculture. There were the Beatniks of the 1950s and 60s, and the hippies in the 1960s and 70s. "Only in San Francisco" became part of the lexicon to describe San Francisco's counterculture and rebel population, a reputation that still exists today. The film industry also made San Francisco world-famous and instantly recognizable; the city provides a superb backdrop for a movie, regardless of genre or topic.
Since 2000, San Francisco has experienced a development boom. Even with the burst of the dot-com bubble, the economy has remained robust and the city government pushed for redevelopment of its blighted industrial section known as "South of Market". Today, the SoMa area is crowded with new condominium and office buildings, new tourist attractions, and dot-com industries. The city's efforts shielded it somewhat from the 2008 recession and subsequent real estate crash. Today the financial sector is second only to tourism as San Francisco's largest industry, with the city consistently remaining at the top five of the world's most popular tourist destinations. The rise of Silicon Valley and high-tech industries have also contributed significantly to San Francisco's economy, with many tech workers living in San Francisco but commuting to the rest of the Bay Area for work. San Francisco is not without its problems, however, as the large influx of high-income university-educated professionals in the tech and finance sectors has also led to skyrocketing rents and consumer prices, which have made San Francisco among the most expensive cities in the world, and driving many long-time low-income residents into homelessness.
"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." — attributed to Mark Twain
The best time to visit San Francisco is late September through October, when it is relatively the warmest. All year long, it never gets too cold for winter clothing, and it rarely gets warm enough for shorts and sandals. You will typically need a sweater after sunset, and a windbreaker if you're out by the western part of the peninsula. Prepare to dress in layers to adequately face the microclimates––wind conditions can change within less than a mile's walk.
San Francisco has a mild climate, with cool, wet winters and dry summers. In most months, you can expect the high temperature to be in the upper 50s, 60s or low 70s °F (15-25 °C). However, these mild temperature readings belie a unique climate not shared by other major cities in the state or country.
Summer days usually start out under fog, slowly burning off towards the ocean into a sunny albeit windy afternoon. Measurable precipitation during the summer months is rare, although light drizzle is possible. Humidity is very constant, but rarely uncomfortable. At late afternoon, when the fog and wind returns people generally find themselves needing a jacket (and this is summer!). There are some days when the fog lingers all day.
In the winter, the rainy season is in full swing. That being said, the chances for a calm, windless, sunny day are actually higher in the winter than in the summer! However, the overall temperatures are going to be lower in the winter. There have long been one-week warm spells in February. In the last couple years (2021-2022), these have gotten longer, lasting through February and even into January.
Spring and fall are not so much seasons in themselves in San Francisco, but rather they are quick transitional periods with some days resembling summer and others the winter. Fall in particular is a good time to visit because the summer wind & fog has mostly gone, but the rainy season has not yet started. The late summer month of September, as summer transitions into fall, is the warmest and driest month of the entire year for San Francisco. Heat waves can occasionally occur around this time of year.
Within these general rules, San Francisco also has a series of microclimates created by the city's topography and maritime setting. Large hills in the city's center block much of the fog, wind, and precipitation that rolls in from the Pacific Ocean. Because of this, there can be significant weather differences in different parts of the city and the surrounding Bay Area at the same time. Generally, the more windward areas along the coast (e.g., the Outer Sunset) are cooler and foggier, while the more leeward areas in the east are warmer and drier (e.g., the Mission). Temperature differences of 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit or so are common on days where the fog persists on the western side of the city. These differences continue as you move east, out of the city, into the East bay, and into the outer East Bay (on the other side of the hills from Berkeley and Oakland), where it can be much hotter and drier. Local meteorologists routinely have three forecasts: one for the coast, one for the bay, and one for the inland areas. In short, if you don't like the weather, perhaps travel a few miles east or west to your desired climate.
San Francisco literature finds its roots in the city's long and often tumultuous history, its diversity, and its attraction to eclectic characters; the city was a major center for the Beat poetry movement and seems to also hold an uncanny attraction for science fiction writers. Among the most famous works set in San Francisco:
San Francisco has been the backdrop for many films, due in part to the Bay Area's vibrant filmmaking community and the city's proximity to Hollywood. The production companies of George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, along with the animation company Pixar are just a few of the big players who call the San Francisco area home. Among the better films set in San Francisco:
San Francisco is known for its Victorian architecture, particularly in the central and northern neighborhoods (e.g., Haight-Ashbury, Alamo Square, Noe Valley, Castro, Nob Hill, and Pacific Heights). The city has one of the most restrictive building and planning codes in the world, which helps preserve the historical architecture in certain areas and create a severe shortage of housing stock, which drives up the price of housing. The exorbitant price of housing, both buying and renting, is a favorite topic of San Francisco locals. It helps to explain why there are so few families in San Francisco (another favorite topic).
San Francisco has also undergone high-rise construction boom centered in SoMa, just south of what was historically the center of downtown. This was one of the few areas of the city left for development (i.e. without entrenched anti-development policies). Unlike other major cities like New York and Chicago, San Francisco is not known for having buildings built by star architects. This may be due to the difficulty of getting projects approved in the city.
San Francisco prides itself on its openness to diversity in race, gender, sexual orientation and personal style. This trait is widely considered to be one of the defining features of the city, and it draws both visitors and transplants alike.
Tobacco smokers beware: as in the rest of California, smoking is illegal in bars, restaurants, and other public places. Additionally, the City of San Francisco has a local ordinance that require smokers to go all the way to the curb (or if there is no curb, at least 25 feet from any building - not simply the entrances). Bay Area people can be particularly vocal about personal habits, so take care and be mindful and respectful of others when smoking, even in places where it is allowed.
On the other hand, smoking marijuana is remarkably well-tolerated. While still illegal under federal law, California law allows for the possession, use, and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana for adults 21 and over. Using marijuana in public is illegal, but this rarely enforced. You shouldn't smoke marijuana just anywhere, and the rules of etiquette are difficult to navigate. You might find people smoking marijuana at large concerts, but not small concerts, or people smoking marijuana on a street corner in the middle of the day in some neighborhoods (e.g., Haight-Ashbury) but frowned upon in others (e.g., the Financial District).
Public nudity has been celebrated among some residents. However, this has not been without controversy, and there is now a law banning some public nudity, with nudists actively opposing the law.
It's worth mentioning that natives tend to dislike many of the nicknames given to their city. Instead of saying "San Fran", "Frisco", or "SFO", most refer to San Francisco by its full name or just "The City".
The Bay Area has of one of the most vibrant high-tech startup scenes in the world. While the venture capital firms are largely in the South Bay, many of the small startups and tech workers are in San Francisco.
San Francisco's visitor information centers offer maps, brochures and other information for tourists.
English is the dominant language spoken in San Francisco. San Francisco is home to the second largest Chinese community in the United States after New York City, and Cantonese is commonly spoken in the various Chinese-dominated neighborhoods, with an increasing Mandarin-speaking minority. Like much of California, there is also a large Latin American population, so Spanish is also commonly spoken in San Francisco, especially in the Mission District. In addition, there is also a large Filipino community, and Tagalog is commonly heard in Filipino neighborhoods. Most municipal government services are available in English, Cantonese, Spanish and Tagalog.
San Francisco and Oakland Airports are connected to downtown SF by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system.
Passengers arriving in SFO can walk (5 minutes from United's domestic terminal) or take a free airport shuttle (AirTrain) to the BART station (which is adjacent to the G side of the International Terminal). The BART ride from SFO to San Francisco's downtown stations costs $8.95 one-way and runs frequently, every 15 or 20 minutes depending on the time of day. BART trains run through San Bruno, South San Francisco, Colma, and Daly City before reaching the city of San Francisco, from where the SF MUNI can take travelers anywhere in the city. BART operates to midnight from 4AM on weekdays, 6AM on Saturdays and 8AM on Sundays.
SFO is also connected to San Francisco by SamTrans routes 292, 397, and 398. Routes 292, 397, and 398 are $2 to San Francisco and they are operating non-stop.
From Oakland Airport, passengers can take a people mover to the BART station and continue there directly to San Francisco. The fare from Oakland Airport to downtown San Francisco via the people mover and BART is $10.20 (of which the connector comprises $6). The total fare will automatically be deducted from your transit ticket/Clipper Card.
The San Jose airport is served by a free shuttle to both VTA Light Rail and Caltrain called the Airport Flyer — VTA Route #10 (dead link: January 2023). Passengers arriving in San Jose can use Caltrain to reach San Francisco directly (this costs $7.50 one-way). Caltrain also links with the BART system at the Millbrae intermodal station. Also, when riding Caltrain, be sure to buy your ticket at the automated station kiosks before boarding, as they are not sold on the trains.
Taxis are considerably more expensive than the public transportation options. A taxi from SFO to the city can easily cost more than $40, and over $60 from OAK. Ride sharing services such as Uber or Lyft can be as low as $35 to/from SFO and $40 to OAK at low traffic times, but can be more expensive than a regular taxi at busy times. Pickups from both airports are in different locations than the taxis - at departures (not arrivals) at SFO, and at the signposted "Smartphone App Rides" section at 2E on the second curb away from arrivals at OAK. Taxi and van prices from San Jose to San Francisco are significantly higher, easily over $100. Shared vans will cost around $14. If you plan to drive from a car rental area near the SFO airport to downtown San Francisco, you can take the 101 freeway. When returning a rental car to SFO, remember to take the rental car exit, otherwise you will have to wind your way slowly back to the rental car center.
Amtrak, +1-800-872-7245 serves the Bay Area with long-distance and intercity trains. San Francisco's long distance station is across the bay, outside city limits, in Emeryville. Passengers can arrive in Emeryville, 37.840682°, -122.292477°. or Oakland's Jack London Square Station, 37.7942°, -122.2747°. in the East Bay and may take an Amtrak Thruway bus over the Bay Bridge to San Francisco's Amtrak stops at the Salesforce Transit Center at Mission & Fremont St; the Embarcadero Center (Drumm & California St) in the Financial District; Pier 39 in Fisherman's Wharf, and at several other downtown destinations (Amtrak passengers are not subjected to any extra charge for the bus). Travelers on some shorter distance Amtrak routes can also transfer to BART trains at the Richmond or Oakland Coliseum stations. Alternatively, riders approaching the Bay Area from the south may transfer to Caltrain at San Jose's Diridon Station for a direct ride to Fourth and King Streets in San Francisco. A particularly scenic method is to disembark at Jack London Square and take the ferry (San Francisco Bay Ferry) to San Francisco.
Amtrak routes serving the Bay Area are:
There are two regional rail systems which serve San Francisco:
Caltrain, +1-510-817-1717 operates a regional rail service from San Jose to its San Francisco terminal at Fourth and King in SoMa. The service also runs between San Jose and Gilroy during rush hour. Caltrain is very useful for travel between San Francisco and communities on the Peninsula, Silicon Valley or South Bay. On weekdays Caltrain provides two trains per hour for most of the day but run more during commute hours, including "Baby Bullet" limited services that cruise between San Francisco and San Jose in 57 minutes; on weekends and public holidays trains run hourly, except that after 10PM only one train runs, leaving at midnight. The 4th & King terminal is served by Muni Metro (see 'Get around') giving connections to the rest of the city. Fares vary depending on how far you go. Tickets must be purchased before boarding the train from ticket vending machines at any of the stations or from ticket clerks at staffed stations. Tickets are checked on the trains and anyone found without a ticket is liable to a substantial fine. Cyclists should use the designated car at the northern end of the train; bike space is often limited during commute hours.
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), +1-415-989-2278 provides a regional frequent rail service connecting much of the East Bay and Contra Costa County with San Francisco and the San Francisco Airport through the Transbay Tube, a tunnel underneath San Francisco Bay. BART operates five routes, of which four run through San Francisco. There are three or four trains per hour on each route; consequently trains within San Francisco are generally less than a 5-minute wait. In the East Bay, BART runs mostly on elevated track; in downtown San Francisco it runs in a subway under Market Street, and several underground stations provide easy access to downtown areas and simple transfers to the Muni Metro subway. BART also meets Caltrain at Millbrae. Bicycles are allowed on BART except between stations designated in the schedule brochure during commute hours. Fares vary depending with distance traveled, and start at $1.75 for trips within the city. You will need to insert your ticket into barriers when entering and exiting the system. Tickets hold a balance, deducting the appropriate price for each trip, so someone who plans to use the system several times can buy a $10 or $20 ticket and not worry about fares until the card is used up. The BART vending machines accept any credit card only twice within any 24 hour period. BART also accepts the Clipper Card, and BART ticket machines can be used to refill Clipper Cards, sold at the manned booth.
Salesforce Transit Center (formerly Transbay Terminal), 425 Mission (Huge multi-block complex bounded by Mission, Howard, Beale and 2nd Streets. Marker at approximately where the main entrance at (Minna St & Shaw Alley).), 37.78851°, -122.39800°. The location serves as a mall, bus station and an outdoor park at the roof top. The bus station is served by Greyhound, AC Transit, Golden Gate Transit, MUNI and WestCat Lynx. SamTrans & Capitol Corridor/Amtrak Thruway are at Fremont & Mission St. Other intercity bus companies have their own bus stops in different parts of the city. Check schedules and websites: 2019-09-02
Some of the above long-distance bus companies also make stops in Oakland and San Jose (and/or additional Bay Area cities) to pick up passengers on the outbound trip and drop off on the inbound trip.
Several regional bus systems serve San Francisco from the surrounding areas in the greater Bay Area. 511.org compiles information from all of the Bay Area's different regional bus, train and ferry systems into one site including a handy trip planner program. Basic services are provided to major destinations or cities at all times, with the greatest amount of service provided during rush hour into SF in the morning and leaving at night. The bus services share a central San Francisco terminal at the Transbay Terminal in SoMa on Beale St between Mission and Howard Streets.
In many ways a boat is the ideal way to approach San Francisco. The city's spectacular skyline is best appreciated from the water, and from the deck of a boat the bay and its bridges and islands can be viewed as a whole. Cruise ships and private yachts are regular visitors to San Francisco, and passenger ferries regularly link other Bay Area cities to San Francisco.
Ferries run to San Francisco from Larkspur, Sausalito and Tiburon in Marin County, from Vallejo in Solano County and from Richmond, Alameda and Oakland in the East Bay. In San Francisco, the ferries dock at one or both of the city's two ferry terminals at Fisherman's Wharf and the Ferry Building, the later of which is a very short walk from the Amtrak San Francisco bus stop as well as Embarcadero Station, where the BART and Muni trains stop, and the stop for the historic streetcars that run above ground down Market Street. For more information on boat connections:
There are four major highway approaches to San Francisco. US 101 comes up the eastern side of the SF peninsula and is the most direct route from the south, although it often backs up with traffic. Interstate 280 is a more scenic route into the city from the same direction, but with poorer connections than 101. Interstate 80 approaches the city from the east over the San Francisco Bay Bridge. From the north, US 101 takes you over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Traffic is heavy and parking is limited and expensive, so you will likely be better off parking outside the city at a BART, Caltrain, or ferry station. Walking or MUNI can get you around once inside San Francisco.
See also: Bay Area public transit
Cross streets. San Francisco streets are numbered (100 per block) from the beginning of the street, and even and odd numbers are always on opposite sides. In the absence of GPS navigation, it is best when getting an address to also ask for a cross street or neighborhood name. Most of the time, if a street touches Market Street (San Francisco's main street), that's the zero block. Addresses change by 100 each block, so a building at 1275 Foo street is often 12 to 13 blocks away from where Foo St. hits Market St.
Numbered streets and avenues. San Francisco has both numbered streets, in the Mission, the Castro, and SoMa, and numbered avenues in the largely residential Sunset and Richmond districts. Mixing numbered streets and avenues when asking directions may leave you miles from your destination. This can be confusing, as San Franciscans will not say "Street" or "Avenue" unless it is required to avoid ambiguity. Thus, they won't say "I live on Fifth Avenue," but will say "I live near Fifth and Geary." Street signs generally don't have "Street" or "Avenue" either; they just say "GEARY" or "MASONIC", although numbered streets and avenues do.
Multiple street grids. One of the most confusing aspects of driving in San Francisco is the presence of multiple street grids, particularly in the downtown area where two grids intersect at an angle along Market Street. Even more confusing are streets in the middle of the standard blocks, like New Montgomery Street.
No left turns. Several key San Francisco arterial streets, including 19th Avenue and Market Street, do not have space for dedicated left turn lanes and therefore bear No left turn signs at most intersections. As a result, you will be frustrated when you drive for miles on these streets with no opportunity to turn left. The trick, of course, is to go around the block with multiple right turns after passing one's desired street, which requires you to stay in the right lane, not the left lane.
Walking can be an enticing option to get from one neighborhood to another, as the city is compact and most of the tourist sites are in its northeastern portion. San Francisco is a city of friendly neighborhoods, but it is also a big city so be aware of your surroundings and keep in mind the dangers that commonly accompany a city of San Francisco's size.
However, streets that often go straight up and down hills may make walking challenging when attempting the uphill portions (but provide good exercise). Driving can be difficult up and down hills but have breathtaking views. There are many stairway walks scattered throughout the city when the streets are too steep. You can find maps that include hiking trails, bikeways, and the grade pitch of all streets marked in varying colors by how steep each segment is, that can help you orient to city walks suitable to your ability and temperament, such as the downloadable map issued by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
Locals rarely use the designations "street" or "avenue," even when differentiating the numbered streets and avenues. Numbered roads designated "Street" are on the east side of the city, south of Market in Downtown, Castro, Noe Valley, and Mission. Numbered roads designated "Avenue" put you in the Richmond and Sunset districts on the west side.
San Francisco has one of the most comprehensive public transportation systems in the United States—arguably the most comprehensive system west of Chicago—and is expanding its network with a regional transportation hub in SoMa and a new subway line going under downtown. Transport services within San Francisco are provided by several agencies, but transferring between them is easy now with a Clipper Card. Clipper is accepted on essentially every transit system you'll encounter:
Information on all the Bay Area's transit agencies can be found by dialing 511 while in the Bay Area or by visiting the 511 website, which has a useful trip planner.
Again, this is the main system you'll use when you're in the city. Muni consists of several types of trains and buses:
These are mainly used for getting in and out of the city:
If you have strong legs and can tolerate traffic with intermittent bike lanes, bicycles can be a convenient form of transportation in San Francisco. Although it's dense, San Francisco is fairly small in land area—just 7x7 miles from north to south and east to west—so it's fairly quick to get from one end to the other. But much of the terrain is hilly and hard to pedal up. Do not be misled by maps depicting the city's strict, regular street grid, as even the straightest of San Francisco's streets might include steep hills or even staircases instead of a roadway. San Franciscans who bike frequently find ways to "wiggle" — taking winding routes to avoid hills — around the steepest hills in the city. You might try using this flat route finder. You can also put your bike on the front of the Muni buses if you get desperate. Some maps compress the horizontal scale of the western half of the city.
A classic and relatively easy ride is from the tip of Golden Gate Park's panhandle in the Haight, along paths and JFK Drive through the park to Ocean Beach. JFK Drive is lightly trafficked, and closed to cars on Sundays.
Downtown, SoMa, and the Sunset, and Richmond districts are relatively flat. There are a number of bike paths and bike routes on city streets; the San Francisco Bike Coalition keeps a lot of information about them. There are a number of bike rental companies in town, including Wheel Fun Rentals, Dylan's Bike Rental, Bay City Bike and Blazing Saddles Bike Rentals with locations in Fisherman's Wharf, and the Bike Hut in SoMa. San Francisco Bicycle Rentals, with shops at Haight, Fisherman's Wharf and Ferry Building, charges $5 extra to drop off a bike at a different shop.
The Golden Gate Bridge has sectioned off pathways on each side for pedestrians and bicyclists. If you choose to ride a bicycle across the Golden Gate Bridge, be aware that walkers always stay on the east side of the bridge and bikes are often to ride on the west (ocean) side of the bridge. When the bridge is closed to pedestrians during nighttime, you may continue to bicycle across by stopping to press the buzzer at the automatically closed gates to be buzzed in and out. It is a pet peeve of many locals to have to dodge bicycles while jogging or strolling.
Watch out for the numerous streetcar and cable car tracks in the street. You don't want to get your bike's wheels caught in the groove next to the rail, or the slot for the cable car's grip. Like anywhere, when crossing train tracks, you should approach them from as close to perpendicular as you can.
For a large city, San Francisco taxis are surprisingly inefficient and expensive, starting at $3.10 just for getting in the door. You can get an idea of how much particular taxi trips cost in San Francisco using the SFMTA's webpage.
Except for near downtown business hotels, tourist destinations, and nightlife areas, taxis can be hard to find and hail—and calling for a taxi can mean a 30-45 minute wait, if the driver shows up at all.
If you are heading to the airport, call ahead with a specific pickup time to one of the many taxi companies. Schedule your taxi ahead of time because if you are going beyond 15 miles, you will end up paying 50% extra.
There has been considerable controversy in San Francisco about increasing the number of taxis, but the situation is improving.
Before coming to San Francisco, download apps for some popular alternatives to hailing a taxi (e.g. Uber, Lyft, and the taxi hailing app).
Lyft and Uber are the two major players in San Francisco that provide a ride-hailing platform for taxi-like services. Uber is vastly larger, and Lyft is originally known for a whimsical, homespun feel. These two companies are very price-competitive, with prices often differing by only a few cents, although it's sometimes useful to compare prices for some rides, like going to the airport, which may differ by several dollars.
Before your visit, download and install the Uber and Lyft applications to your smartphone, and set them up with your credit card information. When you need a ride anywhere in the city, launch either app and arrange a ride. There is always a very good number of ride-hailing drivers available at all times, so you typically can get a ride within 10 minutes or less.
You can share the ride with strangers ("Lyft Line" or "Uber Pool") for a reduced price and longer ride times, or you can keep the ride private if you want to arrive to your destination as quickly as possible. Both apps have different options for the kind of ride you can hail.
Lyft and Uber are by far the quickest way to get around the city, though a typical ride roughly costs twice as much as public transit. Lyft and Uber drivers are not employed by either company, although there is a screening process. The drivers are everyday people who use the app to sell rides in their own vehicles, so treat them respectfully as you would a friend giving you a ride. If you have any concerns or complaints about your ride, contact Lyft or Uber and they will typically respond in a timely manner.
Perpetually-clogged traffic, steep hills, a confusing system of one-way streets downtown, expensive parking, and a fleet of parking control officers who zealously enforce parking laws can make driving in San Francisco extremely frustrating. Visitors to the city should seriously consider alternatives to driving when possible. A car is only useful for visiting destinations outside of the city, and even then you may be better off using public transit (especially crossing the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County), a taxi, or another car sharing service.
Car rental is expensive, registration fees are the highest in any U.S. state, and because collisions are common, rates for liability insurance (legally required) are high as well. In addition, traffic from the Golden Gate Bridge uses surface streets either along CA-1, 19th Avenue or US-101 on Lombard and Van Ness.
The most difficult problem with a car in San Francisco is parking. It is scarce throughout the city. Garages, where they are available, are expensive ($20–30/day downtown). The city has a variable-pricing scheme which makes parking on the most popular streets even more expensive. San Francisco has some of the strictest parking laws and enforcement in the country.
For day trips into the city, consider a park-and-ride at a Peninsula Caltrain or BART station, at an East Bay BART station, or at a North Bay ferry terminal.
When parking on a hill (there are many in San Francisco), always apply the parking brake and turn your wheels ("curb your wheels") so that the car will roll into the sidewalk instead of the street if the brakes give out. For example, when the car is facing uphill, turn the wheels toward the street; when facing downhill, turn the wheels toward the curb. Failure to park properly risks having your car roll downhill, and it is against the law; you will be ticketed for failing to curb your wheels.
When parking on any street, pay extremely close attention to all street signs, e.g., no parking during rush hour times (typically 7-9 am and 4-7 pm), street cleaning every two weeks or every morning, loading-only zones, etc. The SFMTA enforces these street signs very religiously. You will get a parking ticket (or worst, your car will get towed and ticketed) for even the smallest infractions. Also pay attention to any red curbs, which indicate no parking.
If your vehicle gets towed, you must pay an exorbitant amount of money at the city pound to retrieve it ($300 or more), plus the fine on the parking ticket. The typical parking ticket usually costs at least $70.
Vehicle break-ins are common occurrences in San Francisco. At best, a car window could get smashed and some valuables stolen, and at worst, the car could get stolen (although this is more of a problem for older cars). When leaving your car on the street overnight, take everything with you; never leave anything visible in the car.
Motorcycles and scooters are common in San Francisco, for good reason. The city is one of the most motorcycle-friendly places in the U.S. Street parking for motorcycles is plentiful and very cheap ($0.30 to $0.80 an hour). There are several motorcycle rental shops, along with many dealers, service shops, and motorcyclist hangouts.
As elsewhere in California, motorcyclists and passengers are required to wear helmets. When parking on the street, it is legal to park in between cars, as long as the parking meter is paid for. Parking on sidewalks is illegal.
"Lane splitting" (riding in between two lanes) is legal in California, but there are specific rules. Look up these rules on the California Department of Motor Vehicles website.
Motorcycle theft is a problem; always use a disk lock or secure your bike to a stationary object using a cable or chain.
Segways are somewhat popular among tourists. If you want to blend in, avoid them. So far there is only one authorized Segway dealer that rents out Segways, though various tour operators (many of whom operate from Fisherman's Wharf) offer guided trips throughout the city.
San Francisco has much to see — these are just the most significant sights. For more detail see the individual district sections, often linked from this entry.
Two passes are available which offer discounts to many interesting attractions:
There are many highlight walks you can take to really capture the feel of the city and see a whole lot of attractions at the same time. Some of the best ones are:
Perhaps the most recognizable landmark in San Francisco and one of the most famous bridges in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge, spanning the Golden Gate, has been called one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and is the first thing you see of San Francisco if driving in from the north, as it is one of the major road routes into and out of the city. Overlooking the Golden Gate is the Presidio, a former military post with beautiful architecture and a very scenic park setting. Just outside the Presidio is the gorgeous Palace of Fine Arts, built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition and reminiscent of Roman and Greek architecture.
Within the center of the city, the famous cable cars run up and down the hills of San Francisco between Market Street and Fisherman's Wharf and offer quite a ride (see above under Get around for more info). Atop one of those hills, Telegraph Hill in North Beach, is Coit Tower, a gleaming white tower dedicated to the San Francisco firefighters. At high, the hill is a healthy hike from the nearby neighborhoods just below. Another prominent tower nearby is the Transamerica Pyramid, the tallest and most recognizable building in the San Francisco skyline, located among the skyscrapers and highrises of the Financial District. Perhaps the most famous view of that skyline is from Alamo Square Park in the Western Addition district, home to the famous Painted Ladies row of Victorian houses, with many other pretty Victorians encircling the lovely park.
Over on Russian Hill is the famous stretch of Lombard Street between Hyde & Leavenworth, the (nearly) crookedest street in America. The city also has a twistier but less scenic stretch of street, Vermont Street on Potrero Hill. Other street oddities in San Francisco include 22nd Street between Vicksburg and Church in Noe Valley and Filbert Street between Leavenworth and Hyde on Russian Hill — At a 31.5% grade, these streets share the honor of the steepest streets in San Francisco.
San Francisco is also well known for its collection of unique and intriguing neighborhoods. Most tourists start with Fisherman's Wharf; although many of the locals consider it a tourist trap, it is a great place to see amazing street entertainers, watch sea lions, visit museums, or take a cruise to the infamous Alcatraz Prison or the pleasant Angel Island. Working fishing boats still come into the small harbor here, and the district is home to several excellent seafood restaurants. The fresh breeze from the bay can provide a bracing setting.
Chinatown, centered around Grant Street from Bush to Columbus, is part tourist trap, part an exhibit of local life. Good eating places abound, and the side streets especially have stores one wouldn't find in a mall. Stockton Street is where most locals do their shopping for groceries; be sure to sample some of the dim sum and other specialties offered in the many bustling shops. However, many local Chinese prefer to eat and shop in the new Chinatowns located in other neighborhoods such as on Clement Street between 2nd and 12th Avenues in the Inner Richmond neighborhood. The Muni #1 (California) and #2 (Clement, does not run at night) buses get people from one Chinatown to the other.
Closer to Downtown is the Civic Center, with its impressive Beaux Arts buildings including City Hall and the War Memorial Veterans Building, the celebrated Asian Art Museum, music and theater venues (including large concert halls and a renowned Symphony and Opera), and the main public library. Nearby, within the highrises of Downtown, Union Square is the heart of the city's main shopping and hotel district, while SoMa to the south is rapidly gentrifying, home to the city's main convention center and several new museums.
To the west of Downtown is Haight Ashbury, famous for being a center of the Hippie movement in the 60s and 70s. While tourism has softened the image of the neighborhood somewhat, the area still retains its distinct feel with small organic coffee shops and store after store selling marijuana-themed goods, tie dye tee shirts and hand bands. Nearby at the top of Market Street is the Castro, the center of San Francisco's Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Transgender (LGBT) community, with numerous theaters and small shops and restaurants. Next door is the Mission District, home to the Mission Dolores Church, one of the oldest structures in the city, and a fantastic collection of murals of all sorts on the walls of many nearby buildings, especially on alleys between Market and Valencia.
Treasure Island, an artificial island half-way between San Francisco and Oakland connected to the Bay Bridge, has excellent views of the San Francisco and Oakland skylines and quirky structures from the international fairground-turned-navy base-turned-neighborhood. Accessible by Muni bus #25 from the Transbay Terminal in SoMa.
When the morning is foggy, you may want to spend a few hours in one of the city's many world-class museums. Many museums offer free admission on certain days during the first week of every month. Golden Gate Park is home to the copper-clad M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, which houses an impressive collection of contemporary and indigenous art. The de Young Museum's former Asian collection is now permanently housed in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, located in the Civic Center. Across from the de Young Museum stands the California Academy of Sciences, which holds a huge array of science exhibits, including an aquarium and a natural history museum. Lincoln Park, across the Richmond district from Golden Gate Park, is the home of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, which houses an incredible collection of European art and makes for a good companion visit to de Young Museum, given that admission to either includes same-day admission to the other.
In Nob Hill, the Cable Car Museum offers exhibits on the famous moving landmarks of San Francisco and the opportunity to view the machinery that powers the cable cars. Another fun transportation museum is the small but charming San Francisco Railway Museum, on the streetcar line in the Financial District. Nearby SoMa is home to a growing number of museums, most notably the extensive, and renowned San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, but also smaller specialized museums like the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Children's Creativity Museum, the Cartoon Art Museum, the Museum of the African Diaspora, the California Historical Society Museum, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Down near the Castro is the GLBT History Museum, while a hill overlooking the Castro holds the Randall Museum, a lovely little children's museum off the beaten path.
At the Hyde Street Pier in Fisherman's Wharf you can board several historical ships, including the 1886 Balclutha clipper ship, a walking-beam ferry, a steam tug, and a coastal schooner. At Pier 45 just to the east, the World War II submarine USS Pampanito and the World War II Liberty Ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien can be visited. Nearby is the Aquarium of the Bay on Pier 39 and the Wax Museum. Just down the Embarcadero from the Wharf is the Exploratorium at Pier 15, which will keep your kids busy for an entire day with their science and perception exhibits. And just outside the Wharf in the Marina district is Fort Mason, home to a few cultural museums.
San Francisco has numerous parks, ranging from the tiny to the huge. The most famous of them is Golden Gate Park in The Avenues, a massive (roughly 1/2 mile-by-four mile) urban oasis with windmills, bison, museums, a carousel and much more hidden among its charms. The park contains the antique palatial greenhouse of the Conservatory of Flowers, the modern and ethnic art focused de Young Museum, the large Japanese Tea Garden, the new California Academy of Sciences building designed by Renzo Piano and the Strybing Arboretum, a collection of plants from across the temperate world. Defining the extreme northwestern corner of the city is Lands End in Richmond, which provides majestic views of the Marin Headlands, the Golden Gate Bridge from the ocean side, and the Pacific Ocean itself. At the extreme western end the well known Cliff House provides both semi-casual and a more formal eating and drinking place overlooking the intriguing ruins of Sutro Baths.
Near the physical center of the city is the Twin Peaks, one of San Francisco's highest points (875' above sea level); providing spectacular views in all directions. Tour buses can get backed up here during the day, but it's a great place to really appreciate the city from above, especially at and after sunset. Temperatures up there can be quite a bit lower than in the rest of the city, so bring a jacket. Nearby in the Lake Merced area is the San Francisco Zoo, a large and well maintained zoo which is a great place to go if you are traveling with children or have a fondness for penguins, primates, lions or llamas.
While not particularly well known for its beaches, San Francisco has a couple of good ones along the Pacific Ocean — but the water is brisk, the winds can be rough, and due to strong rip currents swimming at any of them is not recommended. Ocean Beach along the Sunset district is the largest and most famous beach, with plenty of sand and people enjoying themselves. China Beach in Richmond and Baker Beach in Golden Gate are smaller, rather secluded beaches with lovely views.
Off the coast of San Francisco is one of the most productive marine environments on Earth, which attracts abundant marine life including blue whales, gray whales, humpback whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions, leatherback sea turtles, and many species of seabirds. The rocky Farallon Islands, roughly 30 miles offshore from San Francisco, are part of a National Marine Sanctuary and provide nesting habitat for tens of thousands of seabirds. The islands are also known for attracting large numbers of great white sharks from September through November. It is possible to take boat tours to the Farallon Islands throughout most of the year and go whale watching, departing from Fisherman's Wharf or the Marina in San Francisco.
On sunny days hipsters flock to Mission Dolores Park, so named due to its location across the street from the Mission Dolores Basilica. The park often comes to resemble a large party, with music, coolers of beer and, er, uh...medical marijuana treatment. Mission Dolores Park is situated on a slight slope on the edge of the Mission neighborhood, just a few blocks from the district's many restaurants and bars. The east side of the park is bounded by Dolores Street, a hilly and scenic drive lined with palm trees and Victorians.
In the southern half of the city is the often overlooked but wonderful Bernal Heights Park, a small park on top of a hill overlooking the entire eastern half of the city, with excellent views of the skyscrapers in the Financial District, the Mission District, and the hills in the southeastern corner of the city. A wide trail runs around the base of the park below the peak which can be walked in ten to fifteen minutes. Bernal Heights Park is dog friendly, so much so that a coyote is often observed there.
One of the best ways to see San Francisco is from the waters of San Francisco Bay. There are many companies offering harbor tours of varying durations and prices but they all provide marvelous views of the bay, the bridges, the island of Alcatraz and the city.
Only specific island tours are allowed to land at Alcatraz, but the typical harbor tour will circle the island at a slow crawl, giving you plenty of opportunity to photograph the now-inactive prison from the water.
Also consider taking a ferry from San Francisco across the bay to Tiburon, Sausalito, or Alameda. Same views for a fraction of the price.
Most tours leave from docks at Fisherman's Wharf near Pier 39. Tickets can be purchased at kiosks along the waterfront walk. Buy tickets a day or two in advance during the summer high season.
Boats usually leave roughly hourly starting around 10AM and ending around 5PM. Multi-lingual guides are available on some tours. Prices range from $20–40, more for sunset, dinner, or whale watching tours.
There is an incredible array of events going on in San Francisco — virtually every day there will be something of interest to anyone going on, and San Francisco's mild climate ensures that practically every weekend will bring another major festival or some sort of large event. Listed here are just some of the really big events going on:
San Francisco is famous for its exuberant and visible lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, who always put together some very festive events:
The Bay Area has several professional sports teams, although most of those teams play in nearby San Jose and Oakland rather than San Francisco itself. The National Football League's San Francisco 49ers moved from Candlestick Park (which has since been demolished) in San Francisco to Santa Clara in 2014.
The San Francisco Giants are the city's Major League Baseball team, playing their home games at the lovely Oracle Park (recently renamed from AT&T Park) in SoMa and commanding a large and devoted fan base. With the Niners' move to Santa Clara, the Giants were the only team in America's major sports leagues playing in the city itself for a few years, but they've now been joined by the NBA's Golden State Warriors, which moved from their longtime home in Oakland to the new Chase Center, located on the Mission Bay waterfront a few blocks south of Oracle Park, in 2019. As far as college sports go in San Francisco, the only NCAA Division I program in the city itself is the San Francisco Dons, representing the University of San Francisco and playing various college sports including baseball, basketball, soccer and volleyball at their campus in Western Addition. The San Francisco State Gators, an NCAA Division II program, play various college sports including baseball, basketball and soccer at their campus near Lake Merced. However, if you're interested in college football, you'll have to leave the city to see it—neither of the city's NCAA programs has a football team. The Bay Area's three Division I football teams are in Berkeley (California), the Peninsula near Palo Alto (Stanford), and in Silicon Valley (San Jose State).
San Francisco is a hotbed for underground music; a highly diverse array of musical styles is represented (e.g., rock, pop, experimental, weird folk, and avant-jazz). Shows occur every night, with as many as fifteen small shows occurring each Thursday through Saturday night. Much of this activity is not always well covered in the mainstream media; useful community-driven resources for finding about local shows include the Transbay Calendar.
There are three world-class research universities in the Bay Area: University of California, San Francisco with two large campuses in San Francisco focused on biomedical research and training; University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley; and Stanford University in Palo Alto. Many of the major businesses in the area have a connection to one of these universities.
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the city's largest employers and is dedicated solely to the education of health and the biomedical sciences. Unlike many other universities, it does not have undergraduate programs and only admits graduate students. Also in the University of California system is the Hastings College of the Law, a major law school located in downtown San Francisco. The San Francisco State University is another major public university that offers a broader range of studies than the UC colleges in the city. Rounding off the city's public colleges is the City College of San Francisco, a two-year community college.
San Francisco also has numerous private colleges and universities, some of them large, such as the University of San Francisco located in the Richmond district, and Academy of Art University with properties throughout the city.
While San Francisco's economy is linked to it being a world-class tourist attraction, its economy is diversified. The largest employment sectors are professional services, government, finance, trade, and tourism. Its frequent portrayal in music, films, literature and popular culture has helped make the city and its landmarks known throughout the world. San Francisco has developed a large tourist infrastructure with numerous hotels, restaurants, and top-notch convention facilities.
While it's been a long time since people considered Montgomery Street in the Financial District to be the "Wall Street of the West", San Francisco remains the undisputed financial capital of the West Coast, home to the headquarters of some of the world's major financial institutions such as Wells Fargo Bank as well as the regional headquarters of the United States Federal Reserve. Many major financial institutions and banks are based in the city or have set up regional headquarters here.
San Francisco's proximity to Silicon Valley has made the city increasingly attractive for high-tech companies. While most of the large technology companies are in the valley, many tech workers live in San Francisco and commute to work. San Francisco has also been making itself a center of biotechnology.
San Francisco is the arguably most expensive city in the U.S., and prices of many things, including groceries, restaurant meals and rent have even surpassed those of notoriously expensive New York City.
If you want it, chances are likely you can get it in San Francisco. There are a wide range of small and locally owned businesses throughout the city's neighborhoods; in fact, San Francisco has for the most part repelled the development of large chain retailers and big box stores that are common across America.
If it's tourist trinkets you're looking for, Fisherman's Wharf has the typical souvenir, T-shirt, and camera shops, along with plenty of specialty stores. However, San Francisco's most popular shopping area is Union Square, which has all the big national department stores (Macy's, Saks, Nordstrom, etc.) and plenty of fancy boutique stores, as well as a few shopping centers thrown in.
For small, upscale boutiques, Union Street, Fillmore Street, and Chestnut Street in the Golden Gate area are lined with unique and trendy places, and all three streets are among the best spots in the city to window shop. Nob Hill is also full of specialty places.
But if you don't have a luxury dollar to spend and still want to walk away with something unique, there are plenty of shops in Chinatown for you, selling Oriental handicrafts of all descriptions, and no chain stores in sight. Japantown also offers plenty of great shops selling authentic souvenirs, including the excellent Kinokuniya Stationery/Bookstore. The Haight is full of excellent independent record and book stores, with Amoeba Music dominating the scene.
For basic supplies, try the ubiquitous 7-Eleven convenience stores and Walgreens pharmacies. If you need groceries, Safeway is the dominant supermarket chain in the city. There are Safeway stores in SoMa, near Fisherman's Wharf, and near the Financial District, but not near Union Square. The closest supermarket to Union Square is the upscale Bristol Farms supermarket at Westfield San Francisco Shopping Centre.
San Francisco is a "foodie" city with a vast array of restaurants. In fact, San Francisco has more restaurants per capita than any major city in North America, with 1 restaurant for every 250 residents (in comparison, New York City has 1 restaurant for every 940 residents). The price range is huge, of course, and you can spend anywhere from a small fortune to a couple bucks for every type of cuisine. In addition to the range of ethnic restaurants you'd expect to find, bay area food culture focuses on "artisanal" food (see the Ferry Building) and fresh fruits and vegetables (see Alice Waters), drawing from the nearby farms in California.
San Francisco is known for specialties such as the Mission burrito, and cioppino. The Mission burrito is considered to have been invented in the Mission District, and in fact there is a particular taqueria on Valencia Street that claims credit for the invention, although their burritos are just OK and a number of taquerias in the Mission serve much better examples of the style. Burritos are much larger than tacos and contain rice, making them even more filling.
Cioppino started as a fisherman's stew in North Beach and is a local variation on stews from the region of Liguria, from which many 19th-century San Franciscan fishermen hailed. It's a large tomato- and white wine-based soupy stew of fish and seafood with bread.
A more recently invented local specialty in San Francisco is the sushi burrito, which, as the name suggests, is a cross between a sushi and a burrito, and was created by local fast-casual chain Sushirrito in 2008.
In San Francisco, you would be well-served by using an online restaurant rating website to find the best restaurants. Yelp.com, for example, is actively maintained by San Franciscans. All the best restaurants (and bars) are mobbed on the weekends, so you'll do well to check out the availability on opentable.com or similar websites.
Ethnic food and neighborhoods:
San Francisco restaurants are also very corkage friendly. Average corkage fee appears to be in the $15 range, with some of the more pricey places charging $25–35.
Vegetarians and vegans will find SF a paradise, however contrary to popular belief the city has one of the lowest rates of vegetarian consumers in the nation.
The best way to find a good bar or club is to ask the advice of a local; but barring that a copy of The SF Bay Guardian or the SF Weekly or a quick search on yelp/google will help you find something suited to your personal taste.
The great diversity of nightlife in San Francisco, sometimes within one neighborhood, reflects the diversity of cultures there. Here's a sampling:
San Francisco, despite being much smaller than New York City, sports more microbreweries. Anchor Brewing Company (makers of Anchor Steam, found throughout the US) is brewed on Potrero Hill, though it is generally not open to the public (tours are available by reservation). Similarly, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers opens its doors on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons, though its location in Hunter's Point makes it a long Muni ride if you're traveling without a car. The other microbreweries are housed in brewpubs:
Other destinations for beer drinkers include the City Beer Store and Tasting Bar on Valencia St in the Mission (your best bet for beer to go), the Mission's Monk's Kettle, and the famous Toronado Pub on lower Haight Street, which specializes in Belgian ales.
The surrounding Alameda, San Mateo, and Marin Counties also host many microbreweries worth trying - in particular, Fieldwork, Alvarado Street, and Sante Adairius. Many of these are accessible by BART. And although Santa Rosa is 45 minutes north of San Francisco, no beer lovers should skip the renowned Russian River Brewing Company in downtown Santa Rosa.
San Francisco offers a wide range of accommodations, from a healthy supply of hostels and budget hotels to the lavish, luxurious hotels in the city center, as well as just about everything in-between. The majority of accommodations are in the northeastern portion of the city, in and around the popular areas of Downtown, Chinatown, and Fisherman's Wharf. As one moves into the mostly residential neighborhoods to the west, the sleeping options filter down to small inns and bed and breakfasts.
Decide if you want to be in walking distance of your destinations, or are up to driving and parking (which can be quite an undertaking in some of the busier areas of San Francisco) or taking public transit. If you have a specific destination in mind, look also in the Districts sections.
Hotel costs are particularly variable in San Francisco. The price of a night's stay, especially in the SoMa neighborhood, depends significantly on what's happening at the Moscone Convention Center that week (dead link: January 2023). Hotel rates can triple when the biggest events are underway. If your trip dates are flexible, you can save a lot of money by avoiding busy dates (it amounts to about half the year). In general, the biggest hotels are more expensive than smaller chains and local outfits.
If you'd rather stay closer to the San Francisco International Airport, there are plenty of standard airport accommodations in the cities surrounding the airport — Brisbane, Burlingame, Millbrae, San Bruno and South San Francisco. From there, you can drive or take BART or Caltrain into San Francisco.
The area codes for San Francisco are 415 and 628. You must dial 1+area code+number for all calls within the city (if you're using a mobile phone, the "1" is not necessary). For calls within the US or Canada, dial 1+area code+number (again, the "1" is not needed when using a mobile phone), and for international calls, dial 011+country code+city code(if applicable)+number. Pay phones are getting less and less commonplace as nearly everyone in San Francisco has a mobile phone. They only take coins and phone cards with a dial-to-use number. Local calls start at $0.50.
To get online, free wifi is available on Market Street and a bunch of other locations; look for the network "#SFWiFi". Many coffee houses and cafes also offer wireless connection for free or a small fee, or try the Apple Store on Stockton at Ellis near Market in Union Square or any of the many public libraries, especially the main branch on Market near Civic Center station. Internet cafes are available at a sprinkling of city center locations.
Blue mailboxes for mail such as letters and postcards are on many street corners. USPS post offices sell stamps and ship packages, and several private companies provide additional services.
A look at Stanley Robert's People Behaving Badly series will give you an inside look of usually petty crime in the city. However, it is very unlikely you'll encounter any violent or petty crime as long as you use your common sense and are vigilant.
The areas that one should be most cautious are in the neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, Sunnydale, Ingleside, and Potrero Hill in Southeast San Francisco, as well as the Tenderloin, parts of Western Addition (including the Fillmore District), and parts of the Mission. San Francisco is still susceptible to violent crime, and most of these murders occur in the southeast, less economically fortunate, neighborhoods of the city. Gang violence touches even busy and thriving areas such as the Mission Street retail corridor, although most instances of violent crime are directed to specific targets and are not random acts. The SoMa district used to be somewhat dangerous; however, gentrification (something that has become fairly common and a social issue in SF) has transformed it into a rather hip and much safer neighborhood with plenty of art galleries and clubs. However, it is best to be careful even now.
San Francisco also has the largest homeless population per capita in the United States. If someone begs from you, you may either politely say you do not have any change or just keep walking, and he or she will generally leave you alone. The main homeless area is around 6th and Market, heading towards the Civic Center, and in the Tenderloin. Haight Ashbury also has lots of panhandlers, and the area near Golden Gate Park at the end of Haight Street near Stanyan is notorious for junkies and should be avoided at night.
Pickpocketing, purse snatching, and other forms of petty crime are common as with any other large city. Be especially cautious on crowded Muni trains and buses, in heavily touristed areas such as Fisherman's Wharf, and during the busy holiday shopping season.
Do not leave valuables in your vehicle, especially when parking on public streets. Car break-ins are very common in San Francisco, and any valuables in plain sight are in danger of being stolen. During your visit, you will probably see small piles of broken glass on sidewalks throughout the city, which are the result of such crimes. If you cannot carry all valuables with you, try to keep them in the trunk and park your vehicle in secure parking garages, which are slightly safer than street parking but are not completely free from crime either. Bicycle theft is extremely common so bikes should be securely locked to a sturdy surface, even if you're going to only be gone a minute.
Be careful to check for ticks after hiking in fields in the Bay Area. There is a high rate of lyme disease transmission in the Bay Area. If a bulls' eye rash develops at the tick bite site, immediately seek medical help and treatment with antibiotics.
Rogue waves can occur at Ocean Beach along the Pacific edge of San Francisco. It is not uncommon for unsuspecting tourists to be swept out to sea during high surf conditions. A good rule of thumb is to avoid facing away from the ocean. Strong currents are also a hazard for swimmers.
San Francisco is home to many people of different nationalities and language backgrounds. Therefore, many countries have established full service consulates (Consulates-General) in San Francisco to provide consular services for their nationals living in (northern) California and in the adjacent states in the northwestern part of the U.S. (or the entire west coast) as well as visa services for others seeking to visit their respective countries (if required). The Honorary Consulates are there for commercial and business purposes and offer limited or no consular services except in emergency situations. Most of the consulates are in downtown San Francisco and in the adjacent Pacific Heights & SoMa areas. They can also be located in other parts of town too:
Bikes can be rented from around the northern waterfront (Pier 41/Fisherman's Wharf/Aquatic Park area) or near Golden Gate Park for trips to Marin County via the Golden Gate Bridge. Stanyan near Haight at the end of the park has several good shops. Golden Gate Transit also serves the North Bay from San Francisco, and has bike racks on most buses.
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