SF Sketchfest fills eighteen days of January with sketch, improv and stand-up, in rooms from Fort Mason to the Mission. Here is the city round them: choose a room, see what is near its door, save the places you want and plan the hours either side.
The 2027 lineup is announced in November. Until then, choose one of the festival's rooms and every place below is measured from it; before or after a show, the planner on your Vision Board does the sums.
A show's published start time is not its door time or its end. Tickets and changes: the festival's own site.
The end time is yours to set: festivals publish starts, not finishes.
Forty-two places, from a fortune you write yourself to a redwood forest over the bridge. Each card's picture is its own pin.
42 places
Neapolitan pizza and eleven more styles, New York to Detroit to Sicilian, from thirteen-time world pizza champion Tony Gemignani, with a full bar. Last seating 10pm Monday to Thursday, 11pm Friday to Sunday.
1570 Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
A North Beach saloon since 1948, on Jack Kerouac Alley across from City Lights, kept as a monument to the Beats' jazz, poetry and art. Open to 1am, 2am on Friday and Saturday; the bar is 21 and over.
255 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Jazz on Broadway, in the building that housed the 1950s club El Matador, with dinner during the sets. Sets at 7pm and 9pm Wednesday to Saturday, 10:30pm too on Saturday; no cover in the front bar, and all ages are welcome.
498 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133
The West Coast's first espresso house, it says, opened in 1956. For now it keeps short hours: 7am to 3pm Sunday to Wednesday, to 8pm Thursday to Saturday. Cash or card, and once a month a Saturday-afternoon family concert.
601 Vallejo Street, San Francisco, CA
An Italian deli and grocer on Columbus Avenue, in the family since 1896. Open to 5:30pm Monday to Thursday, 9pm on Friday and Saturday, 4:30pm on Sunday.
373 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA
On top of Telegraph Hill, a lift up to the observation deck, its ticket sold in the gift shop. Winter hours are 10am to 5pm every day. When the old lift is out of service, the view is 13 flights up.
1 Telegraph Hill Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94133
Watch fortune cookies folded by hand in a Chinatown alley, and write a fortune of your own. Ross Alley runs off Jackson Street, between Stockton and Kearny.
56 Ross Alley, San Francisco, CA 94133
Chinatown's main way in from the south, where Grant Avenue meets Bush Street. From Montgomery Street station, walk north to Bush, turn left to the gate and go through it up Grant.
Grant Avenue and Bush Street, San Francisco, CA
Eight hairpin turns down a red-brick block with a 27% grade, made a one-way switchback in 1922, between garden beds of hydrangeas, roses and poppies.
Lombard Street between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, San Francisco, CA
More than 90 restaurants, shops and attractions on one pier, and the sea lions of K-Dock, whose numbers rise and fall with the season. Shops 10am to 8pm, restaurants 11am to 9pm.
Beach Street and The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94133
A family-run hall of coin-operated machines on Pier 45, free to walk into and open every day of the year, 10am to 8pm. Bring coins; leave food and drink outside.
Pier 45, at the end of Taylor Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
A bayside landmark since 1862, open 9am to 10pm every day; its shops and restaurants keep hours of their own.
900 North Point Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
The island in the bay, part of a national recreation area: allow a few hours for its exhibits, audio tour and daily ranger tours. The only boat is Alcatraz City Cruises from Pier 33, about every half hour from 8:45am. It sells out early, and there is no food on the island.
Alcatraz Landing, Pier 33, The Embarcadero at Bay Street, San Francisco, CA
Food shops, restaurants and small counters under one roof at the foot of Market Street, the building open 6am to 10pm. The farmers market runs all year: Tuesday and Thursday 10am to 2pm, Saturday 8am to 2pm.
One Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111
More than 650 hands-on exhibits on Pier 15: giant bubbles, fog to walk through and the pitch-dark Tactile Dome, booked ahead. Closed Mondays; on Thursday nights After Dark runs 6pm to 10pm for 18 and over.
Pier 15, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA
Over the bay from behind the Ferry Building to downtown Sausalito, landing at Humboldt and Anchor Streets. Tap a contactless card; coming back, you pay on arrival in San Francisco. Check the January timetable before you go.
San Francisco Ferry Terminal, behind the Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA
Walk out over the Golden Gate on the east sidewalk, the city's side, open to walkers 5am to 6:30pm in winter. The Welcome Center at the southeast end opens 9am to 6pm; parking is scarce, so take Golden Gate Transit's 101, 130 or 150.
Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center, San Francisco, CA
Parkland laid over the Presidio Parkway tunnels between the Main Post and Crissy Field: free, no tickets, open every day, with food stalls whose hours follow the season.
210 Lincoln Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94129
Once a busy Army airfield, now beach, marsh and trail along the bay. Park free at East Beach; the Warming Hut sells hot chocolate, coffee and snacks.
Crissy Field, San Francisco, CA
Open Thursday to Sunday only, 10am to 5:30pm, on timed tickets. Awaking Beauty, on Sleeping Beauty's colour stylist Eyvind Earle, runs until 18 April 2027.
104 Montgomery Street, The Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129
The vegetarian restaurant the San Francisco Zen Center founded in 1979, in Fort Mason Center, where the BATS rooms are. Dinner Tuesday to Sunday, 5pm to 9pm, with vegan and gluten-free dishes always on.
Fort Mason Center, Building A, 2 Marina Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94123
Trails on the rocky cliffs above the ocean, from the Lands End Lookout visitor centre past the concrete ruins of the Sutro Baths. The Cliff House restaurant is closed.
Lands End Lookout, 680 Point Lobos Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121
Art in Lincoln Park, open Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30am to 5:15pm; from 4:30pm the permanent collection is free. Miró: Proof Against All is on until July 2027.
100 34th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121
Old-growth coast redwoods, the tallest living things on earth, on six miles of trails. Open daily from 8am to about sunset. Driving, reserve parking ahead; there's no phone signal in the woods.
1 Muir Woods Road, Mill Valley, CA 94941
Golden Gate Park's art museum, open Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30am to 5:15pm, its observation tower to 4:30pm. Treasures of the Pharaohs is on until 31 January 2027, the festival's last day: book ahead.
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118
Golden Gate Park's science museum, open 9:30am to 5pm, from 11am on Sunday; planetarium shows are booked ahead. Thursday NightLife, 6pm to 10pm, is 21 and over with ID.
55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118
The oldest public Japanese garden still open in North America. Every visitor books a time slot ahead; it opens at 9am, last entry 4:30pm in winter. The Long Bridge is being restored.
75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118
North America's oldest public wood-and-glass conservatory, 10am to 4:30pm, closed Wednesdays, with a free light show outside every night from half an hour after sunset. Last winter it shut for upkeep from 21 January to 4 February: check 2027's dates.
100 John F Kennedy Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118
A National Historic Landmark since 1964. Two lines climb from the Powell and Market turntable to the Fisherman's Wharf area, and one runs from California and Market to Van Ness. A single ride is $9; at the turntables, buy before you board.
Powell Street and Market Street, San Francisco, CA
One of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the country, a few blocks from Montgomery Street station. Open 10am to 5pm, Thursday noon to 8pm, closed on Wednesday; 18 and under get in free.
151 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
California's oldest restaurant in continuous service, it says, from 1849. Weekdays 11am to 9pm, Saturday 4pm to 9pm, closed Sunday. Book, or walk in for a seat; the counter is kept mostly for one or two.
240 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94111
Prime rib aged 21 days, served on Van Ness since 1949. Dinner every night, from 5pm on weekdays and 4pm at weekends, to 10pm; call or book ahead.
1906 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA
On Market Street since February 1979. Dinner Tuesday to Sunday, last seating 9:30pm, and lunch Friday to Sunday; bookings open 60 days ahead.
1658 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Open Thursday 1pm to 8pm and Friday to Monday 10am to 5pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday; timed tickets are best. Art from Contemporary Cambodia closes on 25 January; Kim Minwook's carved wood runs to 29 March.
200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Open weekdays, 8am to 6pm. Docent tours go on Fridays at 11am and 1pm: sign up at the kiosk in the Goodlett Place lift lobby, after a bag check at the door.
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102
The park facing the Painted Ladies of Postcard Row, open 5am to midnight. In winter its restrooms close at 5:30pm.
Hayes Street and Steiner Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
The oldest intact building in San Francisco, with its museum, cemetery and basilica: weekdays 10am to 4pm, weekends to 5pm. No booking; guided tours are paused, but you can always go round yourself.
3321 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
One of the city's most popular parks, between Church, Dolores, 18th and 20th Streets, open 6am to 10pm; the J-Church streetcar runs along its west side. In 1906 it sheltered more than 1,600 people after the earthquake.
19th Street and Dolores Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
The Bakery on Guerrero Street, since 2002, open every day 7:30am to 6pm. Order and pay at the register, then find a seat.
600 Guerrero Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Walks of about 90 minutes through the Mission's murals, from the arts centre on 24th Street near Harrison, on Saturdays at 1:30pm, no booking needed. January's dates aren't up yet.
2981 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Improv off the festival, on Mission Street: a ticket gets you into any other show that night with room, and usually only the 9pm Friday and Saturday shows sell out. Beer, wine and soft drinks at the bar.
2965 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA
922 feet up, the city's second-highest summit, open 5am to midnight, and windy: dress for it. A car-free promenade is being built until mid-2027, so some paths are closed.
501 Twin Peaks Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94114
Every place round the venue you chose, at its straight-line distance. Streets, rivers and stairs make the real way longer: the route link on each card asks a map for it.
Save the places you want, here in this browser, then see whether one fits round your show. Download it or print it to take along.
Nothing saved yet: press ♡ Save on a place above.
The festival's dates, its venues and the shows listed here come from SF Sketchfest's own pages: its schedule ↗ and its venues ↗. Its line-up is not out yet: shows join this page when the festival announces them. Checked 17 October 2026.
Every place links to its own site, which has the last word: hours, prices, bookings and what is on all change, so look before you set out. Distances here are straight lines between points on OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), never walking distances.
The pins' city scene is drawn for the Guide (see the Credits).
