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San Francisisco hotels

What's On?                     Overview                     Prepare                     Highlights 

Hotels in San Francisco are spread across an area of some seven square miles, so consideration of what you want to do, and where you want to be based, is an important factor to consider.  San Francisco hotels will often provide parking for your hire car, but, otherwise, consider how far you want to walk - this is a very hilly city and long distances are only suitable for the sprightliest of visitors. As you'd expect, all types of hotel are provided in San Francisco, from budget right through to luxury.

the most popular location with tourists is the Fisherman's Wharf area of the city.... 

The Civic Center district is pleasant, and is a good hotel location for music lovers, being close to the Opera and Symphony buildings, whilst Chinatown is much more than just a tourist area, but is a genuine Chinese community offering authentic cultural experiences, much as Japantown (Nihonmanchi) also does. Union Square is right on the cable car line and an ideal location for designer shopping and the theatre district, whilst Richmond is a central location which offers hotels close to plentiful public transport options. Pacific Heights is an exclusive area with good shopping although a little out of town, and the Marina district is great for family hotels, as it includes the Exploratorium and some museums, as well as some nice boutiques. Probably the most popular location with tourists is the Fisherman's Wharf area of the city. Here you'll find a wealth of activities and attractions, including the ferry to Alcatraz and the sea lions of Pier 39.

Cheap hotels in San Francisco can be found using our price comparison facility and should always be booked in advance.

 

Overview

Overview

Charismatic, progressive and frequently foggy, San Francisco is a compact city of hills surrounded on three sides by water. Hit the streets to experience the city's unique mix of big-city buzz and laid-back joie de vivre and check out the vibrant alternative scene.

See

Cycle, walk or drive across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge for spectacular views of the Bay and the city. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art – an architectural attraction in itself – presents an engaging programme of exhibitions, while a trip to the Cable Car Museum recalls the city's unique transportation history. Take a ferry to Alcatraz Island and experience the strange combination of solitary confinement and spectacular city views.
Spend

You can sift out the key clothing, jewellery, sporting equipment and art from the department stores and designer boutiques around Union Square. Find vintage clothing shops and funky, trendy places for shoes, art, CDs, and DVDs in upper Haight Street (aka the Haight-Ashbury), Valencia Street in the Mission, and Hayes Valley. Souvenirs, from the tacky to the tasteful, abound in the shops of Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf.
Get Out

The vast Golden Gate Park is an oasis of green meadows, trees, flowers, lakes and trails, and home to the Californian art of the De Young Museum, which also boasts a great collection of Pacific Islander art. Hire skates or bicycles to make the most of its miles of smooth paths. To the west of the park lies China Beach, a quiet little stretch of sand at the edge of the Seacliff district, frequented by sunbathing locals (they take it all off at Baker Beach‘s nude strip at the northern end). Stroll among towering redwoods in Muir Woods, about 30 minutes north of the city, over the bridge in Marin County.
Culture

San Francisco's major performance venues are clustered around Union Square and the Civic Center, where you'll find the city's highly regarded theatre, ballet, opera and symphonic companies. Delve into the long-standing, vibrant music scene – with jazz and chamber music and hip-hop at venues such as Yoshi's in Oakland and the Great American Music Hall in the Tenderloin. Fans of stand-up comedy can find laughs at Cobb's and The Punch Line.
Eat & Drink

San Francisco is famous for its seafood, such as freshly steamed crabs at Fisherman's Wharf. Berkeley's Chez Panisse is the epicenter of Californian cuisine's local (often organic) artisanal cheeses and breads, and free-range meat. Inventive places such as Green's (at Fort Mason) keep vegetarians far from boredom. A thriving Latino community has created distinctive taqueria spicy salsas, grilled and marinated meats and fresh tortillas. The city's large Asian population means you're spoilt for choice for Chinese, Japanese, Thai or Korean.
New Perspective

Head for Coit Tower, where it's not only the views from the top that will impress – the superb Depression-era murals inside the base of the tower tell dozens of stories about 1930s San Francisco and California.

Prepare

Prepare

Sensible shoes and several layers will get you over those hills and save your skin when the fog rolls in. Respectful curiosity is a good calling card with the city's many ethnic and alternative communities.

San Francisco Year

San Francisco is a happening city! Celebrate the largest Chinese New Year outside Asia (Jan/Feb), and bring your wackiest running outfit for the Bay to Breakers footrace in May. Put on your coolest dancing shoes for the Love Parade, a huge summertime electronic dance festival, and get sore hands clapping the international talent performing at the San Francisco Jazz Festival in October. Clutch your sides in October too at Comedy Day, featuring dozens of comedians in Golden Gate Park.
Public Holidays

New Year's Day (1 Jan), Martin Luther King's Day (Jan), Lincoln's Birthday (12 Feb), President's Day (Feb), Memorial Day (May), Independence Day (4 July), Labour Day (Sep), Columbus Day (Oct), Veterans' Day (11 Nov), Thanksgiving (Nov), Christmas Day (25 Dec).
Weather

Get the trendy jacket ready, as winters in San Francisco are wet but mild – rarely at or below freezing, usually hovering just below 10°C (January is coldest). March and April frequently see rain. Summer fog keeps the average temperatures below 20°C – it's not uncommon to have overcast skies and slightly chilly weather in the dead of summer, but smart visitors always have plenty of layers handy, and a warm café or museum is often nearby. The best time to come is during the warm, sunny months of August and September, or slightly cooler October.
Electricity

110V AC, 60 Hz, two- and three-pin plugs are standard.
Dialling Code

+1 (USA), three-figure area code + seven-figure number.
Money

US dollar (US$) is the currency.
GMT

GMT -8 (GMT -7 in summertime).
San Francisco Tourist Info

San Francisco Tourist Board website

Fit In

Casual attire is most common, although you'll see more lace-up boots and eyebrow rings in the Mission and the Haight-Ashbury. A shirt or top and some kind of footwear is mandatory virtually everywhere, except for the beach or the park.

Get Around

Get Around

Neatly packaged above the Bay, San Francisco offers undulating views, urban enclaves and expansive parks.

Most attractions lie within the triangle bounded by Fisherman's Wharf, Market Street, and Van Ness Avenue, in the north-east corner of town. Get around via BART trains or Muni buses and streetcars, but make sure you get a transport map, especially if you want to brave the buses.

Downtown consists of the busy Financial District and the bustling Union Square shopping district to the south-west of Market Street. To the north you'll find Italian-flavoured North Beach, Chinatown and touristy Fisherman's Wharf – farther west are the upscale Marina and Cow Hollow. The south-east has the Latino Mission District, while the hippie haven of Haight-Ashbury and the gay district of the Castro are closer to the centre of the city. The west is home to Japantown and the Victorian-style buildings of Western Addition, as well as 'the Avenues' residential area – the Richmond district to the north of Golden Gate Park, and the Sunset district to the south.
Muni

The San Francisco Municipal Railway, or 'Muni', has both streetcars (running above and below ground) and buses – between them they cover just about anywhere in the city you'll want or need to go. Market Street lines can get pretty crowded at rush hour. You'll need exact change, and always ask for a 'transfer' (paper receipt) – it lets you change to another streetcar or bus for free for a few hours and it's your proof of purchase. The fare is the same for a streetcar or bus.
Foot

Walking is a great way to see San Francisco, and you can cover large areas of this compact city in a day. Hills do get in the way, but depending on your ability and inclination, you can usually go around them or scale them intrepidly. From the summit of one of the city's many hills, you'll get sweeping views of the Golden Gate and the cliffs of the Marin headlands to the north, while the Bay and the cities and hills beyond it lie to the east.
Ferry

The ferry provides an excellent vantage point on the city and the Bay – especially the Golden Gate, best at sunset. It's the only way to get to Alcatraz, and it's a fine way to get to other places such as Marin County and Oakland. Be mindful of timetables, as the service might end earlier than you would expect and is less frequent than it could be.
Cable Car

San Francisco is renowned for its cable cars. From the arcane science of operating the grips and brakes to the rhythmic and jolly bell-ringing (there's an annual contest), riding a cable car is a quintessential San Francisco experience. Note that the fare is higher than on buses or streetcars and they don't take transfers (tickets) from other transport. Note also that cable cars are basically visitor attractions (the locals take streetcars or buses), so expect queues at the terminus of each line (in Fisherman's Wharf and Downtown) – or avoid them by boarding closer to the middle of the line.
BART

The Bay Area Rapid Transit system, better known as BART, only serves a thin slice of San Francisco (mainly Market Street and the Mission District), but it's essential for getting to key places outside the city such as the airport, and to cities in the East Bay such as Oakland and Berkeley. While BART shares stations with Muni streetcars along Market Street, it is a separate system requiring its own fare.
Taxi

San Francisco is slightly infamous for its taxis – or lack of thereof. On a busy day such as Valentine's Day (14 Feb) they can be precious few and far between, and likewise when the bars close at 2am be prepared to wait a while. Cabs are most plentiful around hotels, and many restaurants will call one for you.
Transport Tips

A Fastpass gives unlimited travel on all Muni streetcars, buses, and cable cars, as well as all BART stations in San Francisco – it's good for a calendar month. A weekly pass gets you on to all streetcars and buses, and (for a small additional fee) cable cars.
Time Travel

Have a glimpse of the city's 18th-century Spanish past when you go and visit the Mission. Shield your eyes from the sparkle of 19th-century silver and gold coins at the Old Mint. Shake, rattle and roll at Lotta's Fountain, the gathering place for survivors of the 1906 earthquake and fire.
San Francisco Transport Links

511 Transit website

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) website

Highlights

Highlights

San Francisco's hills are daunting, but the views are divine and most of its treasures are nestled down below.

San Francisco's most iconic attractions lie along the northern waterfront, from bustling Fisherman's Wharf to the stately Golden Gate Bridge, a marvel of engineering and deco design. Golden Gate Park offers museums, glades, and miles of walking and cycling paths, and the nearby Haight-Ashbury and Inner Sunset neighbourhoods are crammed with places to eat and shop.

Head to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, in one of the city's signature pieces of contemporary architecture, which anchors a collection of shopping, entertainment, and exhibition spaces in the South of Market area. You can catch a baseball game the home of the Giants, AT&T Park, with an intimate old-time feel and (from the upper decks) views out over the Bay.
Sightseeing Tips

A City Pass gets you into several museums (once each) over nine days, and on to Muni streetcars and buses and cable cars over seven days. Cable cars only move in one direction, and it's fun to see the drivers rotate them 180° on the turnaround platforms at the ends of the Powell or Hyde Street lines. And don't forget to catch feeding time at the lion house at the San Francisco Zoo.

Content provided by Frommer's Unlimited © 2009, Whatsonwhen Limited.