Every weekend, we search for the best activities and fun things to do in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Whether you’re looking for unique events, the best new restaurants, or free activities, there are always plenty of memorable ways to make the most of your weekend around SF.
For more ideas, check out our July guide and free activities guide.
Don’t miss Circus Bella, carnival games, and local eats at Hayes Valley Carnival on July 18! If you’re looking for a family-friendly plan this weekend, the 115-year-old Hayes Valley Carnival returns Saturday, July 18, 2026, with a free street fair featuring Circus Bella performances, carnival games, local food vendors, and activities across Hayes Street, Patricia’s Green, and the PROXY space.
Grace Cathedral has been transformed with a dazzling light show called Aura. The show uses large-scale light projections incorporated with the architecture of the cathedral, and is accompanied by original music. Tickets sell fast, so we recommend getting yours soon.
🇺🇸 Fourth of July weekend discount: Use code USA25 between July 3-5 for a special discount on AURA tickets!
Celebrate Bastille Day at Embarcadero Plaza with food, wine, live performers and pétanque — free to attend.
A free Bastille Day festival at Embarcadero Plaza featuring food vendors, a bar serving wine and beer, live music and dance performances, pétanque games, a waiter’s race, and free walking tours by San Francisco City Guides.
Looking for the ultimate weekend escape from San Francisco? Head to the prehistoric playground by heading across the bridge that is Dinos Alive: An Immersive Experience at Oakland’s Kaiser Convention Center (near Peralta Park).
This thrilling, family-friendly step back in time transports you millions of years into the past, featuring over 40 life-sized animatronic dinosaurs that roar, move, and breathe—including a towering T-Rex and Brachiosaurus. Beyond walking among these moving giants, you can dive into ancient seas via a Virtual Aquarium. The youngest paleontologists can dig for fossils in the interactive “Budding Experts” space.
For tickets and details, go here to secure your spot in this epic “time machine”.
Catch the free World Cup semi-final screening at Salesforce Park on July 14 at 12 PM.
Salesforce Park is hosting free World Cup watch parties, including a free semi-final screening on Tuesday, July 14 at 12:00 PM with multiple 100-inch screens on the main plaza; pizza and drinks will be available from nearby vendors.
Don’t miss The Odyssey on 70mm IMAX — the gold-standard viewing experience.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, starring Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, and Tom Holland, opens Thursday, July 16. In San Francisco you can catch 70mm IMAX screenings at AMC Metreon 16 and select Bay Area theaters including Alamo Drafthouse New Mission and AMC Kabuki 8.
Shop handmade crafts, jewelry, textiles and more at the de Young’s two-day artisan fair.
The de Young Museum in San Francisco is hosting a two-day artisan fair on July 17–18, 2026, at Wiley Court, featuring a curated selection of crafts, jewelry, textiles, and home furnishings. The fair runs 9:30 am–5:00 pm each day and does not require a museum ticket for entry.
SF has just unveiled a 13-mile trail that links 12 national park sites across San Francisco, just in time for Fourth of July weekend
The Golden Gate Dozen Trail is a new 13-mile continuous hike-and-bike route linking 12 national park sites across San Francisco, running from Crissy Field to Fort Funston. The route is listed on AllTrails and includes turn-by-turn directions and accessible options via the Parks Conservancy.
Whale’s Tail Bar opens Saturday, May 23 for weekend summer gatherings in Golden Gate Park.
Whale’s Tail, a temporary garden bar in Golden Gate Park, opens Saturday, May 23 from 12:00 to 18:00 and will operate every Saturday and Sunday through October. The family- and dog-friendly pop-up at 14th Avenue East Meadow offers drinks (21+), live music, food, yoga and other activities.
Stern Grove is the nation’s longest‑running free nonprofit music festival, with gates opening at 12pm and concerts around 2pm.
The Stern Grove Festival returns to Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove in San Francisco with a free summer series of open‑air concerts. The season kicks off June 14, 2026, and features weekly Sunday performances, ticket lotteries, community box offices, and paid reserved tables for some shows.
A small Haight-Ashbury museum dedicated to San Francisco’s counterculture history.
The Counterculture Museum in Haight-Ashbury explores San Francisco’s role in major countercultural movements — from the hippies and the Beat Generation to civil rights and women’s liberation. Time included the small museum on its list of best places to visit and stay; the museum is open Wednesday through Sunday with general admission $10.
SF City Guides offer free educational walking tours throughout San Francisco almost every day. The volunteer-run tours explore some of San Francisco’s most fascinating neighborhoods, focusing on history and local folklore. There are over 70 tours offered, with multiple happening a day.
Experience Monet’s luminous Venetian paintings and iconic Water Lilies at the de Young.
Monet and Venice opened March 21, 2026, at the de Young Museum in San Francisco and runs through July 26, 2026. The exhibition highlights Claude Monet’s Venetian paintings alongside works from across his career, including his iconic Water Lilies series.
Enjoy free weekly live music at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell this July.
The Golden Gate Park Bandshell hosts free weekly concerts throughout July 2026, presenting local performers and themed events like the SF Free Folk Festival and Crucial Reggae Sundays. The series is produced by Illuminate and features multiple shows each week, typically on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Walk through massive red-thread installations that explore living between places, histories, and identities.
If you’re looking for a thought-provoking museum stop this weekend, the Asian Art Museum opens Chiharu Shiota’s Two Home Countries on April 3, 2026—a large-scale installation of red-thread networks and related works exploring memory, identity, and absence. The temporary exhibition runs through July 20, 2026, in the museum’s Yang Yamazaki Pavilion.
San Francisco has plenty of neighborhoods with great shops, from small, local boutiques to larger brands. There are so many places to explore if you need to do some shopping, including Haight Street with numerous vintage stores, or the Fillmore, packed with boutiques and restaurants.
There’s never a bad weekend for live music in the Bay Area. Visit our full running concert guide for a breakdown of the biggest concert tours in town.
