It can be a challenge to park in San Francisco, especially anything close to Downtown. We often get asked by our brides and grooms about the best places to park around city hall for their wedding. One thing to mention, no matter which of the below options you choose for your wedding day, be sure and have a back up plan in case your chosen spot happens to be closed on your date. There is nothing worse then showing up somewhat late and then discovering that your parking garage is closed for some reason. There are a number of options and I will start with the most simple one:
- The Civic Center Parking Garage. This is probably the most convenient of all of the nearby options at City Hall. There is ample room and the lot rarely fills up. Recently they have raised their pricing so it’s no longer the bargain it once was. However, it is still less expensive than parking downtown and it is walking distance from the the entrance to City Hall. It’s also covered parking which provides an extra level of safety. I would still strongly suggest you never leave anything of value in the car and if you do, put it in the trunk out of site. There have been some break-ins at this parking lot. Always make sure to be aware of the closing time of this garage. It sometimes closes at 11 or earlier. If you decided to walk to the reception after your city hall wedding, you might end up having your car locked away for the evening. Definitely the favored place for city hall wedding parking and my personal favorite. For more details including parking rates and closing times, click this link: Civic Center Parking
- The War Memorial Opera House Garage. Another nearby option is at the Opera House behind San Francisco city hall off of Van Ness Avenue. It may appear to be a little farther away, but in reality it’s about the same distance assuming you use the back entrance to city hall. Just cross Van Ness street and you are there. It also offers covered parking and decent pricing. It’s usually available unless there is a big event going on there (like the opera!). But since most San Francisco city hall weddings are during the day, you should be able to park here with no problem. This is also our main backup garage in case of the closure of Civic Center Garage. Click here for details on Opera House parking. Update: Events have started to slowly return to the Civic Center area with Covid-19 less of a threat. Please make sure to check available information regarding events before settling on a particular Parking facility.
- Civic Center Street Parking. If you don’t need covered parking, there are quite a few spots on the street around City Hall. The pricing is better but some are limited in time. If you are going to be in the building for less than 2 hours, this might be a good option. Just remember that city hall weddings rarely occur on time so you need to allow some cushion. It’s actually quite possible to find spots right across the street from city hall. There is also a nice service available to help you locate and reserve street parking. Anytime you leave your car outside, there is a greater chance of break-ins. Especially now with the San Francisco politicians deciding to not aggressively enforce car them. During the day, you should be fine because this area is patrolled by the Sherriff’s Department. As a reminder, we have had some of our city hall grooms have to rush off to feed the meter right before the wedding. Be sure to allow lots of cushion. For more information click here: Reserved Street Parking
- The above options are the most common ways that brides and grooms find parking for their wedding. But there are many other possibilities. This article shows some other great places to park so check it out and happy parking! One more reminder, never leave items in plain site in your car.
