A traveler's guide to San Francisco
September and October are the secret summer. Pack a layer anyway. The fog does not check the forecast you read at home.
San Francisco is seven miles by seven and spends the afternoon arguing with the weather. Walk the neighborhoods. The bridges are the backdrop. The city is a bakery in the Mission, a park that ends at the ocean, and a cable car you ride once.
When to go
Fall is clearest and warmest. Spring is green and windy. Summer visitors are often cold at 4 p.m. while the rest of California bakes. Winter is rainy and quiet, which suits the museums.
Neighborhoods
North Beach and Russian Hill for the first walks. The Mission and the Castro for evenings. The Richmond for bakeries and the park. Skip a day that is only Fisherman's Wharf.
Eating
Sourdough is a souvenir. The meal is Cal-Mexican, a seafood counter, dim sum in the avenues, or a natural-wine bar that takes walk-ins at 5:30. Coffee is a local sport. Join it.
If you only remember this
- Muni and your feet beat a rental car.
- Hills are real. A short map line can be a climb.
- Book one dinner. The rest can be counters.
- Jacket in the bag, even in July.