Hotels near The Ferry Building and Embarcadero

The 1898 Ferry Building, with its landmark clock tower modelled on the Giralda in Seville, has been reborn as the city's best food hall. Its nave is lined with artisan stalls selling local oysters, cheeses, chocolate, coffee and Vietnamese food, and the famous farmers' market spills onto the plaza outside three days a week.

Behind it stretches the Embarcadero, the revitalised eastern waterfront promenade that runs from the Bay Bridge toward Fisherman's Wharf, ideal for a stroll or a run with bay views. It is the best place in the city to eat your way through a single building.

Pro Tip: Time your visit for the Saturday farmers' market, the biggest and best of the week, and arrive hungry. Grab oysters or a coffee and take them out to the waterfront plaza for a view across the bay to the Bay Bridge.