Where to Stay in San Francisco

Best Areas to Stay in San Francisco

One of America’s most beautiful cities, San Francisco lies in the center of California’s Pacific coast, celebrated for its old-fashioned cable cars, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz prison, its legendary LGBT scene, and host of iconic companies, from Levi’s to Twitter. The city proper is relatively compact, but the metropolitan Bay Area is home to over eight million people, living in an incredibly diverse array of neighborhoods.

Downtown San Francisco is anchored by Market Street, the city’s main drag, lined with stores and office towers, beginning at the Embarcadero on the harborfront. Market runs southwest from here past the iconic skyscrapers of the Financial District, the shopping hub of Union Square, and the elegant government buildings of Civic Center before reaching the Castro, the center of LGBT life in San Francisco. Below Market Street is South of Market (SoMa), a former industrial enclave now home to its own skyscrapers, tech start-ups, high-end restaurants, and museums. North of Downtown lie some of the city’s most enticing neighborhoods, all eminently walkable: Chinatown, one of the oldest in the US, Italian-American North Beach, known for its connection with Beats, and Fisherman’s Wharf, the city’s fun, touristy harborside district. Further afield is the old hippie hangout of Haight-Ashbury, the green spaces and world-class museums of Golden Gate Park, the Golden Gate Bridge itself, and the Mission, the historic Latino neighborhood now known for some of the best eating and drinking in the city. On the other side of the harbor lies gritty Oakland, student enclave Berkeley, and the romantic waterside village of Sausalito.

We’ve covered our favorite neighborhoods to visit and stay in more detail below, but with more time these districts are also worth checking out:

Embarcadero:

Downtown’s breezy harborfront features a couple of key attractions: family-friendly Exploratorium at Pier 15, Fisherman’s Wharf at Pier 39, and the Ferry Building Marketplace, crammed with food stalls, bars and a farmers’ market. Our best hotels in San Francisco here are the 1 Hotel, Hyatt Regency, and Hotel Griffon.

Civic Center

Civic Center Plaza anchors the city’s administrative heart, with grand City Hall the main attraction (tours available) – this is where Mayor George Moscone and iconic gay City Supervisor Harvey Milk were tragically murdered in 1978. San Francisco’s professional opera, symphony and ballet companies are all located nearby, while the Asian Art Museum is one of the nation’s best. Our favorite hotels here include Ramada Limited San Francisco, San Francisco Proper, and YOTEL San Francisco.

Fillmore/Japan town

The Fillmore District (with Fillmore Street its main drag), is one of most important entertainment areas in the city, especially for live jazz, blues and rock-and-roll (see The Fillmore). Adjacent Japan town is a compact but alluring neighborhood of Japanese stores and eateries. We like the Embassy Suites San Francisco and Hotel Kabuki here.

Cow Hollow & Marina

Harborside Marina District is mostly residential, but does encompass the historic Fort Mason and Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, as well as the must-see Palace Of Fine Arts. Just to the south, Cow Hollow primarily refers to the strip of galleries, bars, restaurants and stores along Union Street. Attractions here include the Fairfield By Marriott Inn. Lombard Street is packed with relatively cheap hotels: we like the Cow Hollow Motor Inn, Chelsea Inn, and Seaside Inn.

Russian Hill

Upscale Russian Hill is best known as being the home of crooked Lombard Street, the section between Leavenworth and Hyde that famously winds its way around impossibly steep hairpins. Also here is the mural-rich Diego Rivera Gallery at San Francisco Art Institute, and the bars and restaurants of Polk Street. There is not a lot of accommodation at Hampton Inn here, but Russian Hill is close to Fisherman’s Wharf, North Beach, and Downtown.

Don’t rent a car.

Parking is expensive, the traffic is horrible, and parking spots are hard to come by. Public transportation is great in San Francisco and beyond that, an Uber is always a great option. Plan accordingly for sightseeing because, despite San Francisco’s relatively small size, it can take an hour or more to get from one side of the city to another on public transportation due to the hills and traffic.

In the Bay Area

it’s all about “micro-climates”. San Francisco is often inundated with mist or cool breezes, and in the city proper temperatures rarely exceed 80°F and usually hover in the mid-60s, even in the summer. Yet a few miles inland it can be scorching hot for much of the year – be prepared for wild swings of temperature if traveling throughout the area. When I lived in the Inner Sunset I would regularly walk to Cole Valley for coffee. And in just that span of 7 or 8 blocks, the skies would clear and the weather would change from cloudy and cool to sunny and warm.