Thinking of visiting San Francisco in January this year to visit family. I’d be staying in the city itself and using transit to visit family in a nearby Bay Area city. I’ve only been to San Francisco in the summer. I’ve been to Southern California cities in January and the weather sucked. Cloudy skies, endless rainy drizzle. Of course , that’s better than Chicago weather.
Can San Francisco be enjoyed in winter? Does January take the fun out of wandering around SF, seeing the neighborhoods, stooping in for a drink, dining al fresco? Or, is it more like Chicago? Enjoy the cultural activities without a threat of a blizzard?
It can be cold and wet in January. But it can be cold and wet in July too. Bring many layers of clothing. Go on a Hitchcock tour. Do not try to reproduced the Bullit chase route. Definitely go to Chinatown (Grant Street) and North Beach (Colombus St) in the winter. The light will never be the same in the same place twice.
If you’re from Chicago, SF weather will be like Eden in comparison. No snow, some rain, but you can probably get away with pants and a light jacket everywhere. And no snow!
If I may piggyback, my family will be visiting us in Santa Clara (South Bay) for 6 weeks over Dec-Jan. They want to do some… you know… CITY things. We don’t often go to SF, we’re suburban types.
And the Sporting Green was green! GREEN dammit! Is the Sunday Datebook section still pink, or just “pink tinted”? I haven’t read an actual, physical Chronicle in years.
araminty: Yes. Nearly all of those things sound wonderful. Myself, I have a lot more fun in Chinatown than Maiden Lane. I love, love, love the ruins of the Sutro Baths at the Cliff House. (you just go down the stairs carved into the cliffside, down to the rocks) Golden Gate Park is timelessly lovely; I love the Carousel and the Tea Garden.
The Mission district is awesome too! There are so many excellent murals. If you decide to lunch in the Mission, I recommend Taqueria Cancun; they handmake their own tortillas.
Be prepared for SF to be substantially different from the way it was in the 80s/ 90s, if you haven’t been there recently.
Well I like cold and grey weather so I’d say no. San Francisco is very mild compared to most of the rest of the country in both seasons. January averages 44-55F.
With luck the techies (who get credit for cleaning up 5th - 7th on Market, but blame for the rudeness and poor air, lack of appreciation of just how privileged they are to live in what still can be, a magical place.
Start by demolishing any building over 100’ - that 60 story monstrosity by/on the old Terminal is #1 on the list.
I don’t care how cool you think it is to be further from street (and the city) by building higher and higher towers - those belong in NYC, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. Anywhere except SF - keep it magical - bask in the fog as it rolls over Twin Peaks - grab a Market Street (antique) streetcar - the boat is always the fav - and just ride to the end and back - $2 gets you from the walls of the Financial District to the Castro and a few more neighborhoods in between.
San Francisco in winter is a lot like San Francisco in summer. The days are shorter and it sometimes rains, is all. Wear layers.
Also, the air quality is excellent. San Francisco’s air comes straight from the Pacific Ocean. Not to mention that the air quality in all of California with few exceptions has improved tremendously over the past fifty years.
Herb was born in Sacramento, so of course he thought Frisco was heaven. He was stuck up and only hung out with rich people. My people date back to the Gold Rush (not the restaurant, the event) and we say Frisco to piss off the Nob and Russian Hill types.
That said, he was a great writer who managed to put me in his column once.
Mark Twain once said ‘The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco’. It is basically the same all year round and never snows or freezes. The plus side to that is that it is very mild if you go there during the winter months. Expect 50’s - 60s F weather all the time.
The only time I have ever spent there was in January coincidentally a few years ago. I had a great time especially because I was coming from Boston so it seemed downright tropical at the time. Go and make sure you bring good walking shoes, mildly layered clothes (you don’t really need a true coat) and some stamina. I had the best time walking the perimeter of the city by foot in one day. It took me close to 12 hours but it was worth it.
San Francisco is geographically small and is one of the most interesting U.S. cities. Forget the car and everything you know U.S. cities. It isn’t one of those. Just start walking. You can’t get too far off because you will always see landmarks that you know or have heard of even if you have never been to California. Who knew that a conservative Southern boy like me would love the heart of the hippy culture on Haight-Ashbury (for an hour anyway), Golden Gate park, and the Golden Gate Bridge?
San Francisco has some of the best food in the U.S. as well. I would also recommend an Alcatraz tour. It is really interesting but you may need to book early because you can’t always go on demand. Weekdays are easier to get than weekends.
Skip tea at the Westin St. Francis. Instead go to the Sheraton Palace on Market Street. President Harding died there, but it has the Garden Court Restaurant, one of the most beautiful rooms in the world as well as the bar Maxfield’s which features The Pied Piper hanging over the bar. A huge original Maxfield Parrish painting.
Shopping trips are overrated (unless they are your thing) but the trip to Maiden Lane will feature a small art gallery designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that he borrowed his own ideas from for the Guggenheim. Maiden Lane was back in the 19th century named after the services you could purchase from the professional women who lived there.
Catch a ball game at AT&T park.
Visit Fort Point. Walk at least half way across the Golden Gate Bridge. Bring layers. This is a spiritual experience.
When going to the Wine Country, go to Yountville, about 10 miles north of Napa city. The Restaurant at Meadowood and The French Laundry are both nearby and have three Michellin stars, which means food as good as anywhere else in world. Also a lot of one star restaurants in the neighborhood. My favorite is Bouchon.
Coit Tower could probably be skipped to. I did for 30 years. Nice murals and good view, but it will take time and isn’t worth it in my opinion.
The Pink section is still pink. Willie Brown, the former mayor and state Assembly Speaker is the new Herb Caen, but only writes on Sunday. He is not quite as good a writer as Herb, but we have now found out that he was Herb’s best source, he has the inside scoop on all things political. And unlike Herb, if you happen to bump into him, he is a really nice guy, not the world’s most accomplished freeloader.
