Neighborhood
Financial District
Downtown towers, power lunches and after-work spots.
About Financial District
The Financial District is the city's office core, a canyon of towers between Market Street and the waterfront, built on Gold Rush landfill over what used to be Yerba Buena Cove. On a weekday it hums. On a Sunday it can feel abandoned, and it has felt emptier since offices went hybrid.
The reason to come is the eastern edge: the Ferry Building, the Embarcadero promenade, and the old brick blocks of Jackson Square that survived 1906. It is also the most connected place in the city, where BART, Muni, the ferries, the F-line and the California Street cable car all meet.
It is sheltered from the worst of the fog, so it is often several degrees warmer than the Wharf a mile north.
Our neighborhood lines are based on DataSF's Analysis Neighborhoods, adjusted where visitors use a smaller area or a different name: Dogpatch and Fisherman's Wharf stand on their own, and the Richmond and the Sunset are each kept whole.
How Far Is It?
- Union Square0.6 mi · a 10 minute walk
- Fisherman's Wharf1.5 mi · 10 min on the F-line
- Golden Gate Park4 mi · 15–20 min drive
- Golden Gate Bridge3.5 mi · 12–15 min drive
- SFO airport14 mi · about 30 min direct on BART
Getting here: Embarcadero and Montgomery Street stations serve BART and Muni Metro, with direct trains to the airport. Ferries to Sausalito, Tiburon, Larkspur, Oakland and Alameda leave from behind the Ferry Building. The California Street cable car starts at Market and Drumm, and the F-line runs the waterfront. Garages are plentiful and pricey.
What to See
The Ferry Building
An 1898 terminal with a 245-foot clock tower, now a food hall. The farmers market runs Saturday 8am–2pm, and Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Transamerica Pyramid and Redwood Park
The city’s most recognisable tower, with a half-acre grove of redwoods and a fountain at its base, recently reopened to the public.
Jackson Square
The oldest commercial blocks in San Francisco, brick buildings that survived the 1906 fire, now galleries and design showrooms.
Salesforce Park
A rooftop park above the transit center, with a free gondola up from the street and an amphitheatre.
Sue Bierman Park
A flat playground and lawn right off the Embarcadero, and the best place to release small children downtown.
The Embarcadero Promenade
A wide, flat waterfront path running from the ballpark to Fisherman’s Wharf, past piers, public art and the Bay Bridge lights.
Things to Do
The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
The best market in the city, with prepared food and a bay view behind the building.
Sue Bierman Park Playground
Shaded, flat and right between the Ferry Building and the Exploratorium.
Take a Ferry
Sausalito and Tiburon for a day trip, Oakland or Alameda for a cheap half-hour on the water.
Walk the Embarcadero
Flat, stroller-friendly, and about 35 minutes from the Ferry Building to Pier 39.
The Exploratorium
Technically the next pier north, and the best hands-on science museum in the country. Closed Mondays.
Where to Eat
Ferry Building Counters
Oysters, tacos, coffee and pastries under one roof, with tables outside on the bay side.
Tadich Grill
California’s oldest restaurant, open since 1849. Mesquite-grilled fish and cioppino at a wooden counter.
Belden Place
A pedestrian alley of café tables, busy at weekday lunch and dead at the weekend.
Kokkari Estiatorio
Greek, with a fireplace and a lamb dish people plan trips around. Book ahead.
Red Chilli House
Sichuan cooking, quick lunches, and a good value in a district that is not known for it.
Upcoming in Financial District
Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
Foodwise Sunday Supper: A Farm to City Feast
World of Dumplings
Trick-or-Treat at the Ferry Building
Head West Marketplace at the Ferry Building
Union Square Holiday Ice Rink Opens
La Cocina San Francisco Street Food Festival
Fall SF International Tea Festival 2026
Let’s Glow SF: Free Downtown Holiday Projection Festival (Dec 4–13, 2026)
Places We Rate in Financial District
Blue Bottle Coffee (Ferry Building)
Exploratorium
Ferry Building Marketplace
Fraenkel Gallery
Gallery Wendi Norris
Humphry Slocombe (Ferry Building)
Salesforce Park
Guides
Day Trips from San Francisco Without a Car: Sausalito, Muir Woods, Napa
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Read the guide →Outside Lands 2027: Dates, Tickets and Getting There
Outside Lands 2027 is August 6-8 in Golden Gate Park. What the festival has announced so far: dates, ticket types, the shuttle…
Read the guide →Lunar New Year Flower Fair in San Francisco Chinatown
San Francisco's Chinatown Lunar New Year Flower Fair: where it is, the 2026 dates and hours, what is for sale, and when…
Read the guide →Questions People Ask About Financial District
Is the Financial District worth visiting?
On a weekday, for the eastern edge: the Ferry Building, the Embarcadero promenade, Jackson Square’s pre-1906 brick blocks and the free rooftop Salesforce Park. At the weekend much of the district closes and the streets empty out.
When is the Ferry Building farmers market?
Saturday from 8am to 2pm is the big one, with smaller markets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The building itself is open daily.
What is there to do in the Financial District with kids?
The Sue Bierman Park playground right by the Embarcadero, the Exploratorium one pier north, a ferry ride across the bay, the redwood grove at the base of the Transamerica Pyramid, and the rooftop Salesforce Park with its gondola.
How do you get to the Financial District?
Easily. Embarcadero and Montgomery Street stations serve both BART and Muni Metro with direct trains to the airport, the F-line runs the waterfront, ferries dock behind the Ferry Building, and the California Street cable car starts at Market and Drumm.
Recently Closed or Moved
2 places in Financial District have closed, moved or changed name. Each one keeps a page saying what happened, when, and where that was checked.
- Vaillancourt Fountain DEMOLISHED
- Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco MOVED