California · United States
Where to stay in San Francisco
San Francisco is a city in California, United States, home to about 874,000 people.
- Best months
- April to October
- Nearest airport
- SFO18 km · San Francisco International Airport
- Currency
- USDUnited States dollar
- Time zone
- America/Los Angeles
- Language
- Carolinian, Chamorro, Hawaiian
About
About San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 826,079 in 2025. Among U.S. cities with a population of 200,000 or more, San Francisco is ranked first by per capita income, third by population density, and sixth by aggregate income as of 2024.
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 in the 1600s completely bypassed what would later be called the Golden Gate and the San Francisco Bay. In 1769, the bay was discovered by overland explorers who realized there was a strait blocking their path up the coast.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in San Francisco
See
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.
- San Francisco CityPASS
Do
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.
- Chinese New Year Festivities
- Fourth of July
- Italian Heritage Parade
- Tree Lighting Ceremony at Ghirardelli Square
- Pink Saturday
- San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade and Celebration
- Halloween in the Castro
- Critical Mass
- Bay to Breakers
- Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon
- Fleet Week
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of San Francisco to stay in
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.
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.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in San Francisco
18 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hugo Hotel | 1.2 km | |
| Queen Anne Hotel | 1890 | 1.5 km |
| The Red Victorian | 1977 | 2.8 km |
| Hotel Normandie | 1.4 km | |
| Hotel Whitcomb | 0.6 km | |
| Inn at the Presidio | 4.2 km | |
| YMCA Hotel | 1.1 km | |
| Herald Hotel | 1.2 km | |
| Hotel Majestic | 1.4 km | |
| Park View Hotel | 3.1 km | |
| Inn San Francisco | 1.9 km | |
| LUMA Hotel San Francisco | 2022 | 2.6 km |
| Mansion on Sutter | 1.4 km | |
| Noe's Nest Bed and Breakfast | 2.7 km | |
| Park Central San Francisco – Hyatt Affiliated Hotel | 0.0 km | |
| Parker Guest House | 1.6 km | |
| San Francisco Proper Hotel Proper Hospitality | 2017 | 0.9 km |
| Union Hotel | 1.2 km |
All 18 hotels in San Francisco, with their history and operators
When to go
The best time to visit San Francisco
The most comfortable months for a city stay in San Francisco are April to October. September is the warmest month, with average highs of 24 °C; December is the wettest, with about 119 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to San Francisco: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is San Francisco International Airport (SFO), about 18 km from the city centre in a straight line; Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK, 19 km) and San Carlos Airport (SQL, 33 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
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.
Getting around
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. 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.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
SFO · San Francisco International Airport
OAK · Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport
SQL · San Carlos Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in San Francisco
Eat
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.
Drink
The best way to find a good bar or club is to ask the advice of a local; but barring that 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.
Stay safe
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 and Ingleside in Southeast San Francisco, as well as the Tenderloin, parts of Western Addition (including the Fillmore District), and parts of the Mission. San Francisco has relatively little violent crime, with most of these murders occur in the southeast neighborhoods of the city.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
San Francisco: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit San Francisco?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in San Francisco are April to October. September is the warmest month, with average highs of 24 °C; December is the wettest, with about 119 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to San Francisco?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is San Francisco International Airport (SFO), about 18 km from the city centre in a straight line; Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK, 19 km) and San Carlos Airport (SQL, 33 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in San Francisco?
United States dollar (USD).
Nearby
Destinations near San Francisco
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.