Hi,

We plan to visit San Francisco in May but we have a car. Would anyone know if there is free parking near a metro station that would be safe to leave the car all day?

Thanks for your help

Near a metro station... sorry! No way. But you can park free behind the Exploratorium (Palace of Fine Arts) or at the Presidio, near the Bay.

Downtown parking south of Market lots run about $14/day (everyone just bumped up from $12 - I think because Muni just raised their prices?)

These lots are around the Embarcadero station to the South - don't know if anyone else knows of anything cheaper.

If you are really desperate for free parking - you can check out by the end of the "N" line - it heads way out by the ocean. Muni maps can be found here: http://www.sfmuni.com/cms/mms/maps/indxmaps.htm

Here's a link to city-run garages - along with prices:
http://www.sfgov.org/site/dpt_index....=13451#garages

Most neighborhoods require parking permits for stays beyond two hours - but some of the outlying areas are still a free-for-all.

I would suggest not leaving your car in a park at night. Too dark to be walking around, although SF is generally a safe city, but still...

You will find some "free" parking in the Mission district, along Guerraro or on the side streets. Try and park as close to Market Street as possible so that you can catch some sort of public transportation.

Otherwise, stay at the Columbus Motor Inn, where they offer free parking. This will probably be your best option, as you do not want to be spending a lot of time parking the car and then taking public transportation to and from your hotel.

Good luck!

Are you staying outside of SF and just visiting SF for the day? If that is the case and you want to park your car outside SF and take public transportation into SF, then that is no problem.

Check out the BART train - http://www.bart.gov/index.asp

There is free parking at most of the stations.

You can park for free along the ocean at the end of the N Judah or L Taraval MUNI line. You can park for free on Grandview, right below Upper Market, and catch a 48 bus to connect to a street car back into town. For this latter choice it might be best to get a transit map to see the options.

Closer than the beach would be the West Portal area. It's a residential area just to the west of Twin Peaks with shops/restaurants, etc. Granted, it's been a couple of years, but I recall free parking if you get off West Portal itself and park a couple blocks away (near the library would be closest to the station). I believe the K, L, or M lines all travel between there and downtown.

Note, though, that I'd probably just pay the $14 to park south of Market rather than endure the inconvenience of traveling a half hour each way.

Thanks to all!

We are going to stay in a hotel near the airport and find the Bart system very expensive (would cost $14.20 return for both of us) and trying to find a cheaper way to spend the day downtown.

I will check into the other Bart stations that have free parking but might be cheaper to use then the Millbrae one. I will check out the locations you have suggested near the Bay or Market street. I will also check out the Grandview option or the West Portal area near the Library