Wikimedia Foundation/Administrative space/Visiting San Francisco

We look forward to meeting you in person, and hope the resources on this page will help you find your way in San Francisco. Please do not hesitate to contact your trip coordinator if you need further information!

Transit

San Francisco, and the Bay Area generally, have a number of public transit options. A Clipper card will get you on the various public transport systems.

BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is a light rail system that connects several cities in the bay area, and crosses the San Francisco Bay. Fare varies depending on the distance of your trip. There is a great article on wikiHow about how to ride BART.
MUNI (San Francisco Municipal Railway) is the system that serves the city of San Francisco itself, with several subway lines and a bus system. MUNI fare is generally around $3 for any bus or subway.
For excursions, you may be interested in the various public ferries, with service from the Ferry Building and Pier 41.
511.org is a great trip planning resource for all the Bay Area transit systems.

Taxi cabs and ride sharing options are generally easy to find, especially in the area around the office and the hotels we typically use. If you need to call a cab, try Luxor at 1-415-282-4141, or Yellow Cab at 1-415-333-3333.

Travel to/from airport

San Francisco Airport (SFO) is located south of the city. The easiest way to get into town is via BART. From the airport, you will want to find the AirTrain, which is a free train service within the airport; it will take you to the BART station. Board any BART train headed toward San Francisco; fare each way to the Montgomery Station (closest to the Wikimedia offices) is $8.95. You need to have a ticket before entering the station, and scan it upon entry and exit.

Please note that BART's hours of operation are limited; the first trains on weekends are at about 8am, and service stops about midnight. If you have a late night or early morning flight, please check in advance to see whether BART is running.

Hotel locations

Most hotels that we use are about a 15 minute walk to the Wikimedia offices. If you want to take a cab, they are generally easy to hail in inner San Francisco.

This OpenStreetMap shows the location of the Wikimedia Foundation office, and this map shows you how to get there from the Montgomery BART station. If you're staying at the Club Quarters, this map shows how to get there from BART, while this map shows how to get from there to the Wikimedia Foundation office.

You will find plenty of shopping and restaurants near your hotel. Check out the Wikivoyage article on Union Square-Financial District and the Wikipedia article on the plaza and neighborhood.

One area you will probably want to avoid is the Tenderloin district, generally to the west of your hotel. It is not the worst urban area you will find, but it is one of the higher-crime areas of the city. (It is not all bad though; if you're adventurous, you will find some great art galleries, bars, and music venues in the Tenderloin. Just keep your wits about you.)

If you want to venture forth a bit, you may want to explore the Mission (oldest neighborhood, strongly Hispanic; lots of inexpensive food), the Castro (more upscale neighborhood, world famous as a nexus of LGBTQ+ culture, lots of good food), Haight St. (core of the hippie movement), North Beach (largely Italian neighborhood), Chinatown (largely Chinese neighborhood) If you're looking for nature, Golden Gate Park, The Presidio, and Ocean Beach are good destinations -- or if you have some more time, there are lots of nice hikes in the Marin Headlands or the Berkeley Hills. If you're a confident urban bicyclist (or if you're planning to stick to the parks, or the Embarcadero bike path), there are places to rent bicycles on Stanyan St. by Golden Gate Park, and along the Embarcadero. You can also rent a bike on 4th Street between Folsom and Harrison; this will probably be closer to your hotel.

For more travel tips, check out Wikivoyage's article on San Francisco.

There is lots to explore, and we hope you enjoy your visit. Feel free to ask your trip coordinator for recommendations!

Weather

People from out of town often think "Ah, I'm going to California. Sunshine, warm ocean breezes." Not so. San Francisco is temperate in the sense that it almost never drops below freezing, but it gets very cool and foggy in the evenings any time of the year. Bring a sweatshirt and a windbreaker! You also may encounter warm weather any time of year, so a pair of shorts is not a bad idea, but do not be surprised if they never come out of your suitcase!