One of my favorite pastimes is watching 49ers games and seeing San Francisco landmarks get shown. It’s very funny to me, because the actual game is happening over an hour away in a suburban office park. That shouldn’t deter you from staying in San Francisco if you ever make it out for a 49ers game, because with both transit and shuttle services, getting to the game from the city is straightforward. Just make sure to plan it out by giving yourself enough time to actually enjoy San Francisco.
Otherwise,
if you are staying closer to the stadium, then I highly recommend renting a car. Santa Clara is located in what’s called the South Bay, and it’s one massive suburban sprawl with not-great transit coverage. There’s some very pretty nature in the surrounding hills but otherwise it won’t feel much different than any other strip-mall-suburbia.
Places to stay in San Francisco
Avoid the downtown/Union Square area for hotels. Try to stay closer to Fisherman’s Wharf… the Wharf itself is super touristy and not worth hanging out, but it’s much safer than the downtown hotels. You’re much closer that way to North Beach, Russian Hill, the Marina, and the Embarcadero… and downtown/the financial district are still easily accessible.
In the South Bay, it’s a sprawl so if time is limited and you don’t have a car, just stay in Santa Clara as close to the stadium as possible.
Things to do in San Francisco
SF is best enjoyed like a signature 13-play 8-minute Kyle Shanahan drive, where he takes his time and calls run plays over and over again. It’s a Big Walking city. If you have the good health and fortune to be able to walk around (or scooter/bike around), and if it’s not raining, then structure your day around big walks across scenic parts of the city.
- My favorite part of the city is the stretch from Aquatic Park through Fort Mason all the way down to Chrissy Field. If you’re crunched for time, you can easily just start from the Marina Green area and keep walking down Chrissy Field beach to get a spectacular angle of the bridge.
- Alternatively, the stretch from Crane Cove Park through Chase Center and Oracle Park is also really nice and bike-able, with some great bakeries such as SOHN, Breadbelly, and Arsicault in the general vicinity.
- If it’s colder/foggier, then do Golden Gate Park. Start on the Panhandle side and work your way westward until you get to Ocean Beach.
- If you’re after a foodie experience, then Bernal Heights has a lot of little gems. El Buen Comer for mole, Pinhole Coffee, Black Jet Bakery, Avedano’s sandwiches, and Holy Water for craft cocktails/beers are all some of my favorite spots within a half mile radius.
If you’re staying in the South Bay closer to the stadium, then I recommend renting a car and taking a day trip as far down south the coast as you can go. Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Big Sur are all spectacular.
- Santa Cruz: Beaches and redwood hiking galore. Some of the most elite beer in the world is found in the block with Humble Sea and Private Press Brewing.
- Monterey: The aquarium is awesome but pricy/sells out, whale watching tours however are freaking awesome, and the kayaking in Elk Horn Slough gets you extremely close to some adorable sea otters. Alta Bakery can hang with any of the bakeries I listed in my bakery article, Alvarado St Brewery has a great kitchen for lunch/dinner (the location in Carmel is even better).
Best places to eat in San Francisco
- If you’restaying near Levi’s:
- North Sunnyvale area: Surmai for Indian seafood, Slice of Homage for pizza/wings, Tres Potrillos and Chavez Supermarket are two S-tier taqueria right next to each other.
- A bit further south in Santa Clara, past Levi’s, is Santa Clara’s Koreatown with more Korean options than you can possibly eat. 10 Butchers and Chungdam are incredible KBBQ experiences, not as cheap.
- In Milpitas, you have Koi Palace for dim sum, Wah Jeeh Wah for Indian BBQ, and IBU Taproom for some elite craft beers.
- If you don’t mind waiting in line for a while:
- Four Kings for an upscale mind-blowing Chinese dinner, Khao Tiewfor Thai food, Hamburguesa for their burgers, and Tony’s Pizza(although the Yelp waitlist app makes it easier) and be sure to try the squash blossoms + El Jefe pizza.
- On a casual Day Trip:
- If you’re doing the Marina walk, I highly recommend (from east-to-west): Equator Coffee’s breakfast frittata sandwich, Lucca Deli’s chicken mango chutney salad with added horseradish, and then Angela’s Ice Cream for dessert.
- If you’re in the Golden Gate Park area, I recommend (from east-to-west): Sandy’s Muffuletta for a sandwich, Flywheel Coffee at the beginning of the park, and then finishing off with Hook Fish at the very end (ideally paired with an Ocean Beach sunset, although you should order it ahead).
- Other elite sandwiches if that’s what you’re after: Dolores Deluxe in the Mission, Deli Board closer to downtown, and Molinari’s / Little Vine in North Beach.
- My hottest burrito take is that El Farolito / La Taqueria / all the hyped up Mission spots are a little over rated. I’m personally a fan ofLa Vaca Birria.
Levi’s Stadium parking, rideshare, and transit options
- If you’re coming from SF, you can take Caltrain and connect at the VTA Light Rail in the Mountain View station, which goes directly to the stadium.
- If you’re coming from the East Bay/Sacramento, Amtrak also takes you right there.
- Otherwise, I had positive experiences on the M Ride party bus, it’s around 50ish bucks and goes directly from SF to the Stadium. Varies based on the game but it was fun.
- Whatever you do, do NOT drive and park there. It’s not worth it. Take a rideshare. If you use Waymo, my favorite hack is to connect my YouTube Premium and play from my “Liked Videos”… my own personal little concert.
Tailgating at Levi’s Stadium
Get there early, it’s a massive parking lot. The Green and Blue lots usually have a lot of tailgates happening. Show up with a case of beers and make friends. There’s some unofficial organized tailgates happening that you can find on social media, they usually take a donation and offer an all-you-can-eat/all-you-can-drink type buffet. I see 3rdRail9ers get mentioned a lot on Reddit.
The 49ers game-day experience
The online chatter about how hot and sunny it is in the visitor’s side understates it, if anything. It can really get miserable so don’t forget the sunscreen and to drink a lot of water. The Museum is worth checking out, it’s pretty cool seeing the five Lombardi trophies IRL.
