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San Francisco scene
SAN FRANCISCO
The Golden City
A guide to
The best time to visit

San Francisco

A city where the coldest summer really can be here.

Signature
The city by the bay
Best for
food · fog · views
Where
United States
Peak months
May · Jun · Jul · Aug
The city
§ I
Cable cars, sea fog, Victorian rowhouses on impossible hills.

Choosing when to visit San Francisco matters more than most people realise. Two travellers arriving three months apart can have entirely different experiences — different temperatures, different crowds, different photographs. A city where the coldest summer really can be here.

We've computed the “best” and “avoid” months for San Francisco from ten years of historical weather data. The verdict considers temperature comfort, rainfall, and daily sunshine hours — the metrics that actually change how a trip feels on the ground. For San Francisco, we point you toward May, June, July, August.

The four moods
§ II

San Francisco, four ways.

Every destination is really four destinations, worn by the seasons. Here — the four faces of the year in San Francisco.

01
Mar — May
Spring
Fog begins retreating

March — May: mild, warmer than reputation suggests.

Avg
17°
Rain
143mm
Sun
11.2h
02
Jun — Aug
Summer
The Karl the Fog era

June — August: paradoxically cool, fog engulfs the city.

Avg
20°
Rain
3mm
Sun
12.8h
03
Sep — Oct
Autumn
Indian summer

September — October: SF's true warm season. Wonderful.

Avg
20°
Rain
95mm
Sun
9.8h
04
Dec — Feb
Winter
Rainy and green

December — February: wet, cool, mild by American standards.

Avg
14°
Rain
335mm
Sun
7.5h
The verdict
§ III

When to book, when to skip.

Skip

No months are especially difficult here.

— fin —

Now, book San Francisco.

You have the weather. You have the season. Only one thing left.