The central hub — big hotels, department stores and theatres around Union Square, the cable-car lines, Chinatown and the Ferry Building a walk away. The most convenient and connected base, on top of the transport and the sights; busy, and it borders the edgy Tenderloin, so mind the block you're on.
A look around
What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.
$450–800
typical per night in United States
You pay for the postcode
One of the pricier addresses in San Francisco.
Where it sits
The circle is Union Square & Downtown and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.
How far is everything?
From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.
- Lombard Street22 min walk1.9 km
- Fisherman's Wharf & Pier 3928 min walk2.3 km
- The Painted Ladies & Alamo Square8 min taxi2.6 km
- The Palace of Fine Arts12 min taxi4.0 km
- The Mission murals & a burrito12 min taxi4.0 km
- Alcatraz14 min taxi4.5 km
- The Golden Gate Bridge22 min taxi7.2 km
- Golden Gate Park22 min taxi7.3 km
On your doorstep
What you’re living next to if you stay here.
- 3.Ride a cable car — The last manually operated cable cars in the world clank up and down the impossible hills, hand-braked by the gripman, with riders hanging off the running boards — a National Historic Landmark and pure San Francisco. Ride the Powell-Hyde line for the plunging views down to the bay; queue at the turntable, or hop on mid-route.
- 7.Chinatown — The oldest and one of the largest Chinatowns in North America — a dense, atmospheric warren of dragon-gate streets, temples, herbalists, dim sum houses and a fortune-cookie factory, just up from Union Square. Wander Grant Avenue and the quieter back lanes, and stop for dumplings; a vivid world within the city.
- 12.The Ferry Building Marketplace — The grand old ferry terminal on the Embarcadero, reborn as a gourmet food hall — artisan bakers, cheesemongers, oyster bars and coffee roasters, with a superb farmers' market outside on Saturdays and the bay and Bay Bridge alongside. The best of the city's food scene under one roof; come hungry for a graze with a view.
When are you staying?
Booking.com & Airbnb open searched to Union Square & Downtown; flights via Google Flights.