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A Rainy Day in San Francisco: Museums and Markets

A rainy-day San Francisco plan built around museums and the Ferry Building, with NOAA's rain normals and links to our place pages.

People with umbrellas on a wet San Francisco street.
A rainy day on a San Francisco street.

Spend the day under a roof: two big museums, a market, and an arcade of old coin machines.

NOAA’s downtown normals put December at 4.76 inches, the wettest month in its table, so plan for this from November to March.

Stops link to our place pages. Fares and rules checked against official pages on 27 October 2026.

  1. MorningSFMOMAOur page has the operator link and what we could confirm.
  2. Late morningYerba Buena GardensSeveral museums are a short walk away, per our page. Dry out and regroup.
  3. MiddayFerry Building MarketplaceLunch under a roof. BART’s Embarcadero station is close, per BART.
  4. AfternoonExploratorium or Asian Art MuseumPick one. Our Exploratorium vs California Academy of Sciences compares the science museums.
  5. Late afternoonMusée Mécanique or Cable Car MuseumBoth are free to enter per our guide, with coins only if you want to play.

More rainy-day help: Rainy Weekend in San Francisco and Rainy-Day Things to Do With Kids.

More Plans

One Day in San FranciscoThe first-timer route.A San Francisco WeekendTwo days.San Francisco With KidsTwo family days.Free and Low-Cost San FranciscoListed as free.

What We Could Not Confirm

  • We did not confirm walking or riding times between stops from an official source, so none are listed. Check SFMTA or BART for live trip planning.
  • Opening hours and prices change. Each place’s own page on this site links to the operator, and we do not repeat hours here.
  • NOAA’s table is monthly averages; a given week can be dry or wet.

Questions People Ask

Are cable cars running in the rain?

SFMTA’s pages we read do not say. Check SFMTA for service alerts.

Sources

  1. SFMTA, Muni fares: https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/muni/fares (read 27 October 2026)
  2. SFMTA, Cable cars: https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/muni/cable-cars (read 27 October 2026)
  3. NOAA NCEI, 1991-2020 monthly normals: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/normals-monthly/1991-2020/access/USW00023272.csv (read 27 October 2026)

Cite this page: Project SF, “A Rainy Day in San Francisco: Museums and Markets”, projectsf.com/itineraries/rainy-day-in-san-francisco/ (updated ).