Does anyone know what kinds of activities there might be in San Francisco to celebrate the New Year's? We will be staying right at Union Square, but don't mind travelling for festivities any where in the city.

Do you mean public festivities, as opposed to restaurants, clubs, etc. that hand out noisemakers at midnight?

Boy oh boy. San Francisco has lots to do on NYE.

You will have fireworks on the wharf and that is easy to get to from U.S. You can do very fancy dinners with lovely views from hotels where you are located. You have to RSVP now.

The various neighborhoods have celebrations both sanctioned and not sanctioned. All of the clubs have major parties and they cost quite a bit too.

The Chronicle Pink section just placed a few NYE concerts etc. this weekend. Maybe contact them on line for details. It always surprises folks but, it is VERY COLD in SF on NYE...VERY. We sometimes get downpours too. Despite the weather we have a great time just dress for the possibilities.

Closer to the date, you can search SFgate.com Entertainment section.

Yes, we're looking for "public" events. We're not really party people (i.e. dancing and noisemakers) -- more "spectators", so the plan is to have a quiet dinner, then meander over to places that might have some public festivities.

Thanks for the links to the Chronicle. Will check there as the date gets closer.

I see from the S.F. tourism site that there will be fireworks at the Ferry Building.

All ideas welcomed!

always surprises folks but, it is VERY COLD in SF on NYE...VERY.

Welllll, there's "very cold" and then there's "very cold". The average low temperature (as in middle of the night-low) in San Francisco on December 31st is 42 degrees (the record low is 29 degrees). That is really really cold to those of us who live here, but it doesn't hold a candle to cold in most places in the USA on New Year's Eve!

One of the most difficult things to do for new years eve, is to try to find a restaurant that does not serve a "special" NYE menu that's really "jacked up" in prices. You had better start the search now.

Also, taxis are difficult to find if you are far from Union Sq around midnight & need to get back. In your case, I would try to find a restaurant near US or the Ferry building. Watch the fireworks from the Embarcadero (not from Fisherman's Wharf) and hope that the cloud cover is high enough to see them. Then walk back from the Embarcadero to US (this may be too long of a walk for some people). I don't know if you will be able to see the fireworks from Union Sq because of the tall buildings. You can probably see them from Nob Hill - but that's a steep walk up.

I've never witnessed any "neighborhood" sponsored celebrations in the last 30 years or so. Lots of people on Chestnut St, Union St, & North Beach - but the other neighborhoods have always seemed quite dead (Noe Valley, Haight, even the Castro).

Stu Dudley

Stu: My husband thought to walk back from the Ferry Building as well, but I remember making that walk just as it was getting dark around 5 p.m. (still early, I thought). I may have been paranoid, but I was actually frightened. There were stretches of Market Street that seemed somewhat isolated, even at that early hour. I tried to keep up with other people walking the same way, but as they "dropped off", I found myself alone for several blocks. I ran into several people who looked like derelicts (forgive me for this characterization). I wonder if it might not be even worse later in the evening?

And speaking of COLD, we're from Hawaii, so anything below 65 degrees is cold for us. We'll be sure to bundle up!

You don't have to walk the entire way back along Market to get to US--walk up Sutter or Post, usually less bums.

we stayed at hotel vitale a couple years ago with our dog. we had thought the ferry building would be open late and that's where we'd have dinner but they closed at 5! we ended up eating at the asian place next to harbor court and then had nice time watching fireworks etc
it does get packed down there tho. we got a bay view just in case it was raining but it was clear and cold- perfect if you were bundled up.
there was some stuff going on at the ice skating rink down at the embarcadero too

>>ferry building would be open late and that's where we'd have dinner but they closed at 5! <<

Who is "they"? I would really be surprised if Slanted Door closed at 5 on New Years Eve. Sens at Embarcadero 4 would probably be open also. Boulevard will undoubtedly be open on NYE, along with about 5 of it's neighbors.

Stu Dudley

Have to agree with Stu and SAB. The Ferry Bldg. SHOPS probably closed at 5:00, but certainly not the restaurants! Also, I walk up Market Street (I work in the Embarcadero, across the street from the Ferry Bldg.) to Union Square all the time, and unless you've gone PAST Union Square (i.e. above 5th Street), I simply don't know what could have frightened you. The stretch of Market Street from the Embarcadero to Fifth Street is full of all kinds of people all the time -- yes, there are some you probably wouldn't invite home for dinner, but frightened? I'm trying to be nice about this, but you're seriously overstating the "fear factor" (not that YOU weren't frightened, I'm sure you were, but it's a city, and there are all kinds of people, and we live and work among them....for goodness sake, the Four Seasons is on Market Street in that stretch).

Market Street at 5:00 p.m. is usually thronged with commuters, particuarly on the stretch between Third Street and the Embarcadero. On a weekend, obviously, there's no evening rush hour, but even so, it's populated and well-trafficked. I work in downtown S.F. and walk along Market Street in the early evening hours up to Union Square quite frequently. I would maybe hesitate to do this alone in the dead of night, but I've gotten out of late worknights or dinner dates and walked to my Muni/Bart station on Market without thought of harm. I do agree that the stretch of Market heading west from Powell Street towards Civic Center is not quite so agreeable.

yes, we hadn't made reservations anywhere since we were kind of winging it and had our dog with us so we had wanted to get something from mistral or somewhere. that's what i meant when i said they closed at 5. boulevard also looked like they had something really festive going on