Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
www.castrostreetfair.org.
On the
first weekend in October,
Reggae in
the Park
(Sharon Meadow, Golden
Gate Park) draws thousands to
dance and celebrate the soulful
sounds of reggae.
y
415/458-1988.
On a Sunday near October 12, the
Italian Heritage Parade
celebrates
Columbus's landing in the Americas.
The festival includes a parade along
Columbus Avenue and sporting
events, but mainly, it's a great
excuse to hang out in North Beach
and people-watch.
y
415/434-
1492, www.sfcolumbusday.org.
Halloween
(Oct 31) is a huge night
in San Francisco. A fantastical
parade is organized at Market and
Castro streets, and a mixed gay/
straight crowd revels in costumes of
extraordinary imagination.
WINTER.
Late October and early
November, the two-week
San Fran-
cisco Jazz Festival
presents eclec-
tic programming in an array of
fabulous jazz venues throughout the
city.
y
800/850-SFJF or 415/788-
7353, www.sfjazz.org.
Each Decem-
ber, the
San Francisco Ballet
performs the holiday classic
The
Nutcracker.
Order tickets to this
Tchaikovsky tradition well in advance.
y
415/865-2000.
Chinese New
Year
celebrations spill onto every
street in Chinatown, including
parades of marching bands, rolling
floats, barrages of fireworks, and a
block-long dragon writhing in and
out of the crowds. The revelry runs
for several weeks and wraps up with
a memorable parade through China-
town that starts at Market and 2nd
streets and ends at Kearny Street.
Chinese New Year begins with the
New Moon on the first day of the
new calendar year and ends on the
full moon 15 days later—thus, dates
vary between January and February
each year.
y
415/982-3000, www.
chineseparade.com.
On the Sunday
before March 17, everyone's an hon-
orary Irish person at the
St. Patrick's
Day Parade,
which starts at
12:45pm at Market and 2nd streets
and continues to City Hall.
The Weather
San Francisco has a temperate,
marine climate, which means rela-
tively mild weather all year round.
Summers bring dense fog and low
temperatures with highs only in the
70s (20s Celsius). The “Indian sum-
mer” of September and October
bring temperatures up to the 90s
(30s Celsius) but can drop down sig-
nificantly. Always bring layers as it
could be warm in one neighborhood
and cold in the next. For up-to-the-
minute weather reports, log on to
www.sfgate.com/weather.
Useful
Websites
•
SF Gate (local newspapers
Chronicle
and
Examiner
website):
www.sfgate.com
•
The Bay Guardian
(local free weekly): www.sfbg.com
• Citysearch: sanfrancisco.citysearch.com
• San Francisco Reservations: www.hotelres.com
• PlanetOut (Gay & Lesbian travel guide): www.planetout.com
• Opentable (Restaurant reservations): www.opentable.com
• Travel guides for families: www.gocitykids.com, www.gokid.org
• Up-to-the-minute worldwide weather reports: www.weather.com
