San Francisco: What to Know Before You Go

San Francisco is smaller than people expect: about 11 km across, with the Ferry Building forty minutes' walk from Fisherman's Wharf. What wears visitors out is the hills and the weather, not the distances.

How the city fits together

Market Street runs diagonally from the Ferry Building on the bay towards Twin Peaks, and it's the spine of the city. North of it are the Financial District, Union Square, Chinatown, Nob Hill, North Beach and the waterfront piers. South of Market, known as SoMa, has SFMOMA and the convention centre. The Mission and the Castro lie to the south-west, and Golden Gate Park stretches west all the way to the ocean. The street grid was drawn straight over more than 40 hills, so two points close on a map can be a steep climb apart.

Microclimates

On summer afternoons fog pours in through the Golden Gate and covers the western half of the city, while the Mission, a few kilometres east, often stays sunny and several degrees warmer. Check the forecast by neighbourhood, not just for "San Francisco", and always carry a layer. Our what to wear guide explains how to dress for it.

Paying for transit

Muni runs the buses, the Muni Metro light rail and the historic F-line streetcars along the waterfront. BART runs under Market Street to the Mission, the East Bay and SFO. On both you can tap a contactless bank card or phone on the Clipper reader, or add a Clipper card to your phone wallet. Bank cards are charged the adult fare only, and on BART you tap in and out with the same card. Cable cars are a separate, pricier fare, and how you can pay on them has been changing, so check the SFMTA site before you ride. Waymo's driverless taxis work across the city through their own app.

ESTA and entry

Travellers from visa-waiver countries need an approved ESTA before flying. Apply on the official US government site (esta.cbp.dhs.gov) at least 72 hours before departure. The fee rose sharply in September 2025, and lookalike sites charge extra on top. Everyone else needs a visa.

Safety

Reported crime in the city fell sharply in 2025, and car break-ins dropped by more than 40 percent. They still happen, though, so never leave anything visible in a parked car, not even a jacket, especially at Twin Peaks, the Palace of Fine Arts and the bridge car parks. The Tenderloin, the grid of blocks between Union Square and Civic Center, has open drug use and people living on the street. It's rarely dangerous for visitors in daylight, but it's grim, and after dark we'd walk around it rather than through it. The stretch of Market Street between 5th and 8th Streets is similar.

Money and tipping

Sales tax is added at the till. Tip 18 to 20 percent at sit-down restaurants. Some restaurants add a staff benefits surcharge, shown on the menu. It isn't a tip. Plugs are the flat two-pin American type, and the tap water, piped in from the Sierra Nevada, is excellent.