Bay Area
Around Bay Area
Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Greater area · California · 9.2M people
Bay Area
“The City”, “The Town”, “The Bay”
Fog-kissed hills, salt air, and a city that never stops dreaming.
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Welcome to the Bay Area, where fog and sunshine share the skyline. Whether you're here for the tech, the food, or the hills, you'll find a neighborhood that feels like home. Grab a burrito and a BART card, and you're set.
Clubs for Bay Area
No clubs for Bay Area yet.
The room
Bay Area is big: its rooms are its areas'. This is San Francisco–Oakland's; the others are below.
One room for everyone around San Francisco–Oakland. It never closes; when it's busy it splits into tables. Once you're in, you stay until you leave.
Ask the neighbours
AllA good plumber, the best tacos, a lost cat: nobody has asked yet. Be the first.
Coming up
No events in the next month. Events made in the room show up here.
Marketplace
Things for sale, free and wanted, and rooms for rent, from people around Bay Area. Sign in to sell something.
Things to do
- Golden Gate Bridge Iconic suspension bridge connecting SF to Marin
- Golden Gate Park Large urban park with museums, gardens, and trails
- Alcatraz Island Historic island prison with tours
- Ferry Building Historic terminal with food market and waterfront
- Oracle Park Giants baseball stadium with bay views
- Chase Center Warriors basketball arena in Mission Bay
- Outdoors Hike the Marin Headlands
- Outdoors Bike across the Golden Gate Bridge
- With kids Visit the California Academy of Sciences
- With kids Explore the Exploratorium
- Evenings Live jazz at SFJAZZ Center
- Evenings Craft cocktails in the Mission
- Locals love neighborhood taquerias
- Locals love specialty coffee shops
Through the year
- Bay to Breakers May Iconic footrace across San Francisco
- Outside Lands August Major music festival in Golden Gate Park
- Hardly Strictly Bluegrass October Free annual bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park
- San Francisco International Film Festival April Showcases independent and world cinema
- Eat Real Festival September Street food and sustainable food celebration in Oakland
Mild year-round with foggy summers and wet winters. Best time is September-October for clear skies. Spring brings wildflowers, summer is cool and foggy, fall is warmest, winter is rainy. Best: September-October for clear skies
Talk like a local
- “hella”
- very or a lot
- “the City”
- refers to San Francisco proper
- “Karl the Fog”
- personified fog that rolls in
- “BART”
- used as a verb: to take BART
Getaways
- Napa Valley wine tasting World-famous wineries and vineyards
- Santa Cruz beach boardwalk Classic seaside amusement park
- Santa Rosa and Russian River Wine country and river recreation
- Vallejo's Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Theme park with animals and roller coasters
Local flavour
Teams
- San Francisco 49ers NFL
- San Francisco Giants MLB
- Golden State Warriors NBA
- California Golden Bears NCAA Division I
- San Francisco Dons NCAA Division I
- Saint Mary's Gaels NCAA Division I
- Oakland Roots SC USL Championship
- Golden State Valkyries WNBA
Also rooting for Athletics (MLB)
Eat and drink
- Sourdough bread Boudin Bakery's famous sourdough and the city's foggy climate are inseparable.
- Mission-style burrito The oversized, foil-wrapped burrito, born in the Mission District.
- Cioppino A hearty seafood stew from the Italian-American fishing community.
- Dungeness crab Seasonal delicacy served at waterfront restaurants and crab shacks.
- It's-It A local ice cream sandwich treat with a oatmeal cookie and chocolate coating.
Where people go
- Cable car lines The iconic, hand-operated cable cars climbing the city's steep hills.
- Victorian row houses Painted Ladies and other ornate Victorian architecture.
- Fog-shrouded hills The rolling, fog-covered hills that define the landscape.
- Waterfront piers Historic piers, ferries, and the Embarcadero along the bay.
- Taquerias Corner taquerias serving up burritos and tacos day and night.
- Redwood groves Coastal redwoods in nearby parks like Muir Woods and the East Bay hills.
- Tech campuses The sprawling campuses of major tech companies in the region.
Heritage and traditions
The Bay Area is proud of its progressive culture, tech innovation, and diverse communities. It's a place where creativity and activism flourish, from the Golden Gate Bridge to the streets of Oakland.
This time of year in Bay Area
- Hardly Strictly Bluegrass October Free music festival in Golden Gate Park
Say it like a local: “Karl the Fog” — The Bay Area's famous fog
Festivals
- Outside Lands August Annual music festival in Golden Gate Park
- Eat Real Festival September Celebrates street food and local vendors
- Carnaval San Francisco May Latin American carnival in the Mission District
- Hardly Strictly Bluegrass October Free music festival in Golden Gate Park
- Chinese New Year Parade February Largest celebration of its kind outside Asia
- Oakland Pride September LGBTQ+ celebration with parade and festival
Landmarks with a story
- Alcatraz Island Former federal prison and historic landmark
- Mission San Francisco de Asís Oldest surviving building in San Francisco
- Asian Art Museum Houses significant Asian art collections
- Grace Cathedral Episcopal cathedral on Nob Hill
- Fort Point Civil War-era fort under Golden Gate Bridge
- Oakland Museum of California Showcases state's history and art
Food traditions
- Mission-style burritos Large foil-wrapped burritos with rice and salsa
- Dungeness crab season Winter tradition of fresh crab at markets
- Sourdough bread Famous tangy bread from local bakeries
- Cioppino Seafood stew from Italian fishermen
- It's-It ice cream Ice cream sandwich with oatmeal cookie
Music and arts
- Psychedelic rock 1960s counterculture music scene
- San Francisco jazz Historic jazz clubs and festivals
- Oakland hip-hop Influential rap and hip-hop scene
- Beat poetry Literary movement centered in North Beach
A little history
- 1849 Gold Rush brought rapid growth
- 1906 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed much of city
- 1967 Summer of Love in Haight-Ashbury
- 1990s Tech boom with Silicon Valley expansion
- 1970s LGBTQ+ rights movement milestones
Rivalries
- Cal vs Stanford (Big Game) Annual college football clash
- Giants vs Dodgers Historic baseball rivalry
- SF vs Oakland Friendly city pride competition
- 49ers vs Raiders Bay Area football rivalry, though Raiders moved
- Game day 49ers game day tailgates
- Game day Giants baseball at Oracle Park
- Outdoors Hike in Marin Headlands
- Outdoors Bike across Golden Gate Bridge
- With kids Exploratorium
- With kids California Academy of Sciences
Bay Area English is diverse with a mix of Californian, tech slang, and immigrant influences. Locals often refer to San Francisco as 'The City' and use terms like 'hella' (a lot) and 'hella' in casual speech.
Only here
- Golden Gate Bridge fog phenomenon
- Cable cars are national historic landmarks
- Alcatraz escape attempts
- Summer of Love legacy
New here? A few tips
- Layer clothing; weather changes quickly with fog
- Learn to use BART for easy transit
- Try a Mission-style burrito first
- Respect hills; wear comfortable shoes
- Embrace diversity; many cultures coexist
Make this page better
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Areas in Bay Area
San Francisco–OaklandCaliforniaFog-kissed hills, salt air, and a city that never stops dreaming.San JoseCaliforniaWhere innovation and sunshine are always in seasonStocktonCaliforniaWhere the Delta meets the valley's bounty.ModestoCaliforniaHeart of the Central Valley, where the orchards meet the Sierra.VallejoCaliforniaWhere the river meets the bay, and the ferry hums home.MercedCaliforniaThe gateway to Yosemite, rooted in the valley.Santa CruzCaliforniaSalt air and redwood shade.NapaCaliforniaWhere every hill is a vineyard and every glass tells a story.
Nearby
Every areaSanta RosaCaliforniaWhere the river winds through redwoods and vines.SalinasCaliforniaWhere the fields meet the seaMariposaCaliforniaSmall-town heart at the edge of the wild.Gold CountryCaliforniaWhere the foothills keep their goldSonoraCaliforniaGold Country calm, where the Sierra meets the past.SacramentoCaliforniaWhere rivers meet and every meal is from the farm.ClearlakeCaliforniaLife moves at the pace of the lake.FresnoCaliforniaSun-soaked fields and friendly faces
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA. Areas from the US Census Bureau and Statistics Canada; places from GeoNames. Local flavour was written with a model and may have mistakes. Team names identify teams; no endorsement.