Downpours are another thing altogether. Though temperatures rarely drop below 45 even in January, the city looks grim and cold in rain. On skin-soaking afternoons, you may want to do nothing more than sequester yourself at Jack's Beer Spot down by Fisherman's Wharf and test your share of its 169 brews. Still, the dampness doesn't diminish San Francisco's quintessential sense of elegance. The City Hall, built in 1915, is a luxurious gilt-domed building that seems more appropriate to a parliament than a mere municipal bureaucracy.
Banners herald the arts companies located nearby, including the acclaimed opera and ballet.
The performing arts spill into the streets. On a single day, you may be entertained by Andean flute players, a mime painted in gold, a burned-out rock guitarist and a homeless escape artist wriggling his way from chains in the best tradition of Houdini. The city's gracious style stretches from vaulted, elaborately molded ceilings of historic buildings such as the Wells Fargo Bank to the modernistic buildings in the financial district, such as the pyramid-shaped Transamerica Building, and the posh hotels commanding the summit of Nob Hill. Chinatown is a-clatter with pastry stands, noodle shops and herb stores selling dried mushrooms and ginseng. South of Market has been transformed from an industrial zone to a throbbing scene of dance clubs.