United States
San Francisco
Match
62
- Beach first63
- Culture first61
- Food & nightlife66
- Family trip60
- Nature first62
- Good weather64
- On a budget59
The nine measures
Each scored 0 to 100 against fixed anchors, so a score means the same thing on every page. Open a row for the figures behind it.
Beaches & swimming. Scores 60 out of 100.60
| Score | 60 |
|---|---|
| Swim season months | 0 |
| Beaches 10 km | 44 |
| Coast distance | 2 km |
| Water distance | 2 km |
Sea reaches 21 °C or more in 0 months, 44 beaches lie within 10 km, and the water is 2 km away.
Places to eat. Scores 83 out of 100.83
| Score | 83 |
|---|---|
| Restaurants within 2 km of centre | 2,359 |
| Effective number of cuisines within 2 km | 39 |
2359 restaurants within 2 km of the centre, spread across an effective 39 kitchens.
Museums & heritage. Scores 44 out of 100.44
| Score | 44 |
|---|---|
| Museums within 10 km | 57 |
| Museums within 2 km of centre | 29 |
| Share of museums within 2 km % | 51 |
| Unesco sites within 50 km | 0 |
57 museums mapped within 10 km, 51% of them within 2 km of the centre, and 0 whole UNESCO inscriptions within 50 km.
Nightlife. Scores 68 out of 100.68
| Score | 68 |
|---|---|
| Drinking venues within 4 km | 1,434 |
| Drinking venues within 2 km of centre | 928 |
| Share of drinking venues within 2 km % | 65 |
| Nightclubs within 4 km | 97 |
1434 places to drink within 4 km, 97 nightclubs among them, and 65% of the drinking venues within 2 km of the centre.
Nature & day trips. Scores 60 out of 100.60
| Score | 60 |
|---|---|
| Protected land share 50 km % | 17 |
| Landscape blanket share 50 km % | 4 |
| Land share of disc % | 57 |
| Park area within 2 km | 45 hectares |
17% of the 50 km disc around the city is protected land, and there are 45 hectares of park within 2 km of the centre.
Good for families. Scores 57 out of 100.57
| Score | 57 |
|---|---|
| Tourist attractions within 2 km | 48 |
| Park area within 2 km | 45 hectares |
| Theme parks within 30 km | 1 |
48 tourist attractions within 2 km beside 45 hectares of park, and 1 theme park within 30 km.
Sights concentration. Scores 63 out of 100.63
| Score | 63 |
|---|---|
| Notable places within 2 km | 147 |
| Min wikipedia languages | 5 |
147 notable places within 2 km of the centre, counting places with a Wikipedia presence in at least five languages.
Value for money. Scores 43 out of 100.43
| Score | 43 |
|---|---|
| Price level global | 100 |
| Daily budget | — |
National price level of 100 against the United States at 100, scored on a fixed scale from 20, the cheapest countries anyone travels to, to 160, the most expensive.
Year-round weather. Scores 78 out of 100.78
| Score | 78 |
|---|---|
| Monthly daytime high | 14 °C to 23.2 °C |
| Monthly rainfall | 0 mm to 105 mm |
| Dry months | 7 |
Daytime highs run 14-23 °C across the year, with 7 month(s) at 40 mm of rain or less.
When should you go?
The figures behind each month, shaded against this city's own year: the deepest cell is its best month for that measure and the palest its weakest.
Temperature and rainfall are thirty-year climate normals, averaged over the years shown. San Francisco: 1981-2010 normals, Alameda Naval Air Station (9.1 km from centre).
Getting there
| Flying from | San Francisco |
|---|---|
| GuadalajaraGDL | 3 h 45 m no fares OAK · 18 km |
| Las VegasLAS | 1 h 25 m no fares OAK · 18 km |
| San DiegoSAN, CLD | 1 h 30 m no fares OAK · 18 km |
| Mexico CityMEX, NLU, TLC | 4 h 15 m no fares OAK · 18 km |
| Los AngelesLAX, BUR, SNA, VNY | 1 h 20 m no fares OAK · 18 km |
| SeattleSEA, BFI | 1 h 55 m no fares OAK · 18 km |
| FrankfurtFRA, HHN | 11 h 25 m no fares SFO · 18 km |
| DubaiDXB, DWC | 16 h 0 m €1,005-1027 1 stop SFO · 18 km |
| TokyoHND, NRT | 10 h 25 m no fares SFO · 18 km |
| Salt Lake CitySLC | 1 h 45 m no fares OAK · 18 km |
The busiest departure cities for San Francisco, with a place kept for each other part of the world. Busiest means arriving passengers where an official count exists, and where none does, the number of non-stop services flown: official route statistics are published by the European reporting countries and by nobody else, so a table ranked on them alone would offer a reader in New York or Tokyo ten European cities. Flying times are estimated from the distance between airports, and every row is a city flown non-stop. Where the typical offer connects anyway, the stops are shown. Under each figure is the airport the flight lands at and how far that is from the centre, because the nearest airport is not always the one a route is flown to. Typical return fares for 2026-08 to 2026-10, cached market data up to 7 days old. The figure is the middle half of the offers found, so a single price means they agreed and a range means they did not; for a typical route that middle half spans about a quarter of the median, and for the least settled routes rather more than the median itself.
Before you go
| Measure | San Francisco |
|---|---|
| Currency | US Dollar (USD) |
| Sockets | AB120 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right |
| Time zone | UTC-8, UTC-7 in summer |
| Emergency number | 911 |
| Elevation | 16 m |
| Main airport | San Francisco International Airport (SFO)18 km from centre142 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 13 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | San Francisco |
|---|---|
| City population | 873,965 |
| People per km² | 1,455 |
| Museums within 10 km | 50 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 |
| Distinct cuisines in the centre | 108 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | None |
Compare San Francisco with
Every comparison with a written verdict behind it.