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Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

Photo: Daniel Lu ( User:dllu ), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

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Ferry Building

One Ferry Building · San Francisco, CA

Why you should go…

The Ferry Building opened in 1898, designed by A. Page Brown, and still serves as a ferry terminal. Its 245-foot clock tower carries four dials, each 22 feet across. Inside, the ground-floor marketplace holds nearly 50 local food merchants, restaurants and eateries, from a tea house to a mushroom shop and a seafood market. The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market sets up on the plaza outside with California growers and food makers.

  • #food hall
  • #farmers market
  • #historic landmark
  • #waterfront
  • #local shops

Good to know

General shopping guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Vendor hours are their own thing

    Market stalls and independent sellers keep shorter hours than the building around them, and quiet days end early.

  • Bring a tote and a little cash

    Smaller sellers do not all take cards, and bags are rarely free.

  • Weekdays browse, weekends buzz

    Pick the weekday for a proper look at the shelves and the weekend for the atmosphere.

  • Ask about shipping

    If something will not survive the suitcase, plenty of sellers will send it home for you.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Ferry Building, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    San Francisco Bay Ferry

    Under $25

    Passenger ferries linking San Francisco's Ferry Building to Oakland, Alameda, Sausalito, and other bay towns.

    Right next doorSwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    Local Gem

    San Francisco Railway Museum

    Free

    A small nonprofit museum on the Embarcadero celebrating San Francisco's cable cars and vintage streetcars.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Museums
    Iconic

    Exploratorium

    $25–$50

    Hands-on science, art and human-perception museum on San Francisco's waterfront with hundreds of interactive exhibits.

    0.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Shopping
    Iconic

    Union Square

    Free

    Shop the department stores and boutiques around a 2.6-acre downtown plaza, then hop a Powell Street cable car.

    0.9 mi awayMore like this

  • Shopping
    Quirky Fun

    International Spy Shop

    Free

    Fisherman's Wharf shop selling spy gadgets and surveillance gear, with an on-site airsoft range.

    1.5 mi awayMore like this

  • Shopping
    Iconic

    Ghirardelli Square

    Free

    Browse shops and restaurants in the brick buildings of a former chocolate factory near the San Francisco waterfront.

    1.7 mi awayMore like this