Things to Do Near Moscone Center: A Conference Visitor's Guide

Moscone Center sits on Howard Street between 3rd and 4th Streets in SoMa, and most conference visitors stay, eat, and work within a few blocks of it. That corridor is a real part of San Francisco, but it is a small one, and it is not the part most locals would show you. This guide covers what is close, the practical stuff nobody tells you, and how to use a free evening or half day to see a neighborhood the convention circuit misses.

Within a Few Blocks

Yerba Buena Gardens, the lawn and garden complex built above Moscone North, is the closest open space, with the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial waterfall and free lunchtime concerts from the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival in the warmer months. SFMOMA is on 3rd Street a block north, open 10am to 5pm (closed Wednesdays, open until 8pm Thursdays; visitors 18 and under free). The Museum of the African Diaspora at 685 Mission Street is free on the second Saturday of each month. For the full museum rundown, see our guide to the city’s major collections.

Practical Tips

Bring a layer, whatever the month. San Francisco summers are colder than most visitors expect. Mornings and evenings run in the 50s with wind, and July and August are peak fog season. Downtown stays warmer than the coast, but you will want a jacket after dark year-round.

Transit is simpler than it looks. BART runs directly from SFO to the downtown stations; Powell Street is the closest to Moscone, about a 10-minute walk. BART and Muni Metro share the same downtown stations under Market Street, and contactless credit cards and phones work at the fare gates. The F line runs historic streetcars along Market Street and the Embarcadero.

About street conditions. Parts of SoMa, 6th Street, and the Tenderloin have visible homelessness and drug use. The city concentrates most of its services for unhoused residents in the Tenderloin, which is one reason conditions are more visible there than in other neighborhoods; it is also a dense, working-class residential neighborhood where 28,000 or more people live. Market Street and the Embarcadero are the busiest walking corridors after dark. Our Tenderloin guide covers the neighborhood’s history and how to walk it.

Where to Eat

The Ferry Building is a 15-minute walk down Market Street or one subway stop to Embarcadero: permanent food shops daily, plus the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturday mornings and smaller Tuesday and Thursday lunch markets. The Heart of the City Farmers Market runs Wednesdays and Sundays at Fulton Plaza in Civic Center.

The Larkin Street corridor in the Tenderloin, a 15-to-20-minute walk from Moscone, is one of the city’s best-value food streets. Saigon Sandwich at 560 Larkin has made banh mi since 1981 (cash only, sandwiches around $5 to $7), Pho 2000 and Lers Ros are on the same street, and Brenda’s French Soul Food is two blocks west at 652 Polk, with long weekend lines. Details are in our Tenderloin guide. Sit-down options within walking distance of Moscone are in the cards at the bottom of this page.

If You Have a Free Evening

On Thursdays, the Exploratorium’s After Dark (18 and over) runs 6 to 10pm on Pier 15, SFMOMA and the Asian Art Museum stay open until 8pm, and Grace Cathedral sings free choral evensong at 5:30pm on Nob Hill.

Any night of the week, The Saloon at 1232 Grant Avenue in North Beach, a bar operating since 1861, has live blues with afternoon and evening sets. For stand-up, Cheaper Than Therapy plays Wednesday through Sunday at the Shelton Theater on Sutter Street near Union Square, and the Punch Line at 444 Battery Street in the Financial District has run its Sunday showcase for more than 40 years. For what is on this specific week, see Things to Do in San Francisco This Week.

If You Have Half a Day, Leave the Corridor

Most conference visitors never get past SoMa and the Financial District. A half day fixes that.

Chinatown and North Beach: walkable. The Dragon Gate at Grant Avenue and Bush Street is about three-quarters of a mile from Moscone; Grant runs through the oldest Chinatown in North America and straight into North Beach’s Italian cafes. Plan two to three hours for both.

The Mission: two BART stops from Powell to 16th Street or 24th Street. Murals in Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley, taquerias, and the sunniest weather in the city.

The Embarcadero: walk the waterfront north from the Ferry Building toward Fisherman’s Wharf. The Bay Bridge is lit at night, and the F streetcar runs the full length if you want a ride back.

Golden Gate Park: take the N Judah from any downtown Muni station to 9th Avenue and Irving Street, a short walk from the museum concourse, the Japanese Tea Garden, and the Botanical Garden (free for everyone daily from 7:30 to 9am).