Down at Fisherman's Wharf, hundreds of sea lions bark and honk, fighting for space on rafts just off Pier 39. On cloudy, drizzly days, the city is a bit more daunting, but enchanting nonetheless. Fog settles around hills and bay, creating mystery and romance. It's a perfect day to stop off at the Buena Vista Cafe, home of Irish coffee, or to visit Alcatraz, the legendary Rock where Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly were imprisoned. Or catch a museum dedicated to modern or Asian art or such scientific oddities as jellyfish and the tectonic shifts that create earthquakes.
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.