San Francisco Entertainment

San Francisco is one city that loves to play, whether it be inline skating through the park or sipping a Napa Valley chardonnay in a wine bar. The city is full of things to do after dark, and visitors wont have to look far to find some entertainment. The bar scene is fantastic, with something for everyone spread around the various neighbourhoods. Fans of the cultural arts will also be more than satisfied with the quality and selection of performances. To find out whats happening during your visit, pick up a free copy of the weekly entertainment newspaper SF Weekly.

Nightlife

From posh piano bars to genuine back-alley dives, San Francisco has a tremendous variety of entertainment after dark. Nob Hill has its upscale hotel bars and panoramic skyline lounges. North Beach was once the centre of beatnik activity, and still has an element of unpretentious watering holes. Fishermans Wharf, though touristy, is a great people-watching area. Union Square and the marina are hot with well-heeled singles and SoMa has emerged into a hub of nighttime activity with its nightclubs, supper clubs and live music venues. The Mission District and Haight Street are still the funkiest neighbourhoods in town, although the dive bars are quickly being replaced by trendy cocktail lounges; and for the best gay and lesbian action, theres no place like The Castro. Dress is casual at all but the most upscale skyline lounges, and most bars tend to close between midnight and 02:00.

Theatre and music

Special concerts and cultural performances take place in San Francisco all year long. San Francisco Performances handles much of the schedule with everything from chamber music to modern dance held at venues like the Buena Yerba Center. Theres also the citys legendary opera company, as well as the more comedic Pocket Opera group, who performs farcical versions of popular operas in English. There is a large dance following here, with a number of local companies, as well as travelling troupes such as the Joffrey Ballet and the American Ballet Theater making regular stops here throughout the year. Modern dance can be seen at Cowell Theater and the ODC Theater.

Theres also a huge live music scene in San Francisco which goes back to the days when the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin lived here and played at the Filmore East. Today, the music is as strong as ever, with music venues scattered all over the city. SoMa, North Beach, Haight Street and the Mission are the top spots, hosting dozens of bands every night of the week.

Festivals

San Francisco has dozens of world-class musical, artistic and cultural festivals to keep things even more exciting than usual. Most of them occur during the summer, when the rains go away and the city becomes an open-air party zone.

• Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with gusto in the Mission District, with a parade, Mexican music, dancing, food and more throughout the streets (May).
• The Haight Street Fair brings even more craziness than usual to this neighbourhood, as art, live music and entertainment fill the streets (June).
• The North Beach Festival turns the area around Washington Square Park into a lively Italian market with great food, music and other fun events (June).
• The Castro Street Fair makes this usually flamboyant gay neighbourhood even more festive with its art, crafts, music and food (October).
• The San Francisco Jazz Festival is one of the worlds premier jazz events, bringing jazz greats to the city for three weeks of incredible music (October).