San Francisco · United States
March
Rain tailing off, crowds still absent — the first genuinely pleasant month of the year.
Strong option
#5 of 12 months
There are better months for San Francisco — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
15.1°C
Low
9°C
Rain
72mm
Sun
6.5hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How March scores in San Francisco
Weather
Good
Value
Very good
Crowds
Excellent
Events
Above average
Atmosphere
Very good
What you gain in March
- ↑March marks the start of the dry-season transition. Rainfall drops to 72mm (roughly half of January's volume) and the frequency of sunny spells increases noticeably. The hills are still brilliantly green from winter rain, creating an unusually lush backdrop against the city's famous painted houses and bay views — a combination that disappears by May as the grass dries to California gold.
- ↑Crowds remain low and prices affordable: Alcatraz Night Tours are bookable with a week's notice, the Ferry Building Saturday market is attended by locals not tour groups, and the queue at Tartine Bakery — perennially one of the city's most discussed food destinations — is half the length it will be in summer.
- ↑The St. Patrick's Day parade (third Saturday in March) is one of the city's most enthusiastically attended civic events, with the Mission District Irish-American community and SoMa bars both fully engaged. The Irish-Latino cultural crossover in the Mission is a uniquely San Francisco experience.
What you sacrifice
- ↓March is still a transitional month — week-long stretches of clear weather can be interrupted by late-season storms, and the microclimate variability between neighbourhoods means dressing for two weather systems in a single day remains necessary.
- ↓Evening temperatures drop to 9°C and below, making outdoor dining on the many patios and terraces uncomfortable without a coat. The city's indoor dining culture handles this well, but it's a real constraint on the alfresco experience.
How March compares to October (best month)
| Factor | March | October ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 6 | 9 |
| Value | 7 | 6 |
| Crowds | 8 | 6 |
March in other destinations
Lisbon (16.6°C)Barcelona (15.8°C)Tokyo (13.8°C)Bali (30.8°C)Santorini (14.6°C)Paris (11.5°C)New York (9.7°C)Marrakech (22.3°C)Amsterdam (9.2°C)Maldives (30.8°C)Rome (15°C)Bangkok (34.3°C)Istanbul (11.6°C)Vienna (10.3°C)Seoul (9.6°C)Dubrovnik (13.9°C)Rio de Janeiro (29.7°C)Kyoto (14.3°C)Phuket (33°C)Cape Town (25.4°C)Prague (10°C)Amalfi Coast (15°C)Mexico City (26°C)Medellín (28°C)Fiji (30°C)London (12°C)Sydney (25°C)Iceland (4°C)Tulum (30°C)Dubai (29°C)Singapore (32°C)Hoi An (28°C)Chiang Mai (34.5°C)Miami (26.7°C)Florence (14.8°C)Queenstown (19.5°C)Madrid (15°C)Porto (17°C)Edinburgh (9°C)Copenhagen (7°C)Budapest (11°C)Kraków (9°C)Tbilisi (13°C)Palawan (31°C)Hanoi (22°C)Osaka (14°C)Goa (34°C)Cusco (19°C)Buenos Aires (27°C)Mykonos (15°C)Zanzibar (32°C)Sri Lanka (32°C)Costa Rica (27°C)Cancun (30°C)Krabi (34°C)Athens (16°C)Seville (21°C)Cartagena (32°C)Siem Reap (33°C)Havana (28°C)Split (14°C)Taipei (22°C)Kuala Lumpur (33°C)Valletta (17°C)Ho Chi Minh City (35°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (11°C)Dominican Republic (29°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (27°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (24°C)Jordan (17°C)Azores (18°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (21.5°C)Cairo (25.1°C)Kenya (28.5°C)Jaipur (30.8°C)Las Vegas (22.5°C)Madeira (20.5°C)Vancouver (10.5°C)Muscat (31.5°C)Lima (26.4°C)Cinque Terre (14°C)Kotor (14°C)Tel Aviv (21°C)Santiago (27°C)Bogotá (18°C)Bruges (10.1°C)Penang (33.1°C)Lombok (31.4°C)Cape Verde (26.5°C)Fez (19.5°C)Kerala (33°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (21°C)Oslo (5°C)Auckland (22°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within San Francisco, not across destinations. Methodology →