9 Best Things to Do in Winter in San Francisco

The Union Square Christmas tree lighting event kicks off the season as the 83-foot-tall tree glows to brilliant life with around 40,000 brilliant twinkling LEDs and hundreds of ornaments. The tree-lighting ceremony is the place to be in downtown San Francisco, as it's a highlight of the holiday season for locals and visitors alike. The square also lights a giant menorah every day at 5 pm during Hanukkah. Before the first night of Hanukkah and before the tree lighting ceremony, the celebration begins with live music and performances to warm up the crowd for the main event.

The San Francisco Botanical Garden is open 365 days a year, with many gorgeous flowers blooming and on display even in the winter. The camellia gardens in the Moon Viewing Garden burst into brilliant life in the winter, as do the magnolia trees, whose blooms are among the signature flowers of the garden. Succulent gardens and aloes from South Africa also bloom this time of year, and you can even see bird activity like hummingbirds. It's all ready and waiting in the heart of downtown San Francisco.

Mount Davidson offers a wide range of winter activities to enjoy, including hiking and engaging in the unusual Japanese tradition of forest bathing. Forest bathing might seem like an odd activity, but it's believed to have both physical and mental health benefits, such as lowering heart rate and blood pressure, reducing stress, and making you feel generally rejuvenated. If forest bathing isn't your thing, however, Mount Davidson is also a popular hiking destination. If you climb to the top of this wooded area in the heart of the city, you can see a massive cross from the overlook. It's a striking sight and one that is very popular for photographers.

Watching "The Nutcracker" by the San Francisco Ballet's full company is a holiday tradition for San Franciscans. The SF Ballet was the first company to perform the entire ballet in America, with the first production occurring in 1944 and continuing ever since. The ballet offers stunning production values, intense and athletic performances, and elegant surroundings. The company itself has been around for longer than the show and is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing inclusion, diversity, and equity to the arts. The ballet company can be found in the heart of downtown.

Whale-watching tours are a constant source of fun all year long in San Francisco, and in the winter, you have a great chance to see a pod of whales. Several organizations offer these tours that can get you out on a boat in the Pacific to catch humpbacks breaching the water. These noble creatures were once an endangered species but have now come back from the brink, and thousands of people head out to see them at play every year. Just be sure in the winter to bundle up, because it can get super cold.

The Haas-Lilienthal House is a historic mansion dating to 1886 that allows you to step back in time to see what upper-middle-class Victorian life was like in San Fran. This was the home of the Haas family through multiple generations, and the Foundation for San Francisco's Architectural Heritage took possession in 1972. Today, the mansion is preserved exactly as it was, with authentic period furnishings and decor. You can take a docent-led tour through the house and see what life was like for the wealthy of the bygone Gilded Age. It's just 8 minutes from the center of downtown.

The Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square is one of the highlights of the city's public square, with plenty of shopping, skating, and fun to be had. This ice rink allows you to get out and glide around in classic holiday fashion, but it's also close to all the Union Square festivities. Just steps away from the ice rink, you'll find holiday shopping, fine and casual dining, brilliant and cheerful decorations, the Union Square Christmas Tree towering 80-plus feet into the air, and the holiday menorah that is lit every day during Hanukkah.