Daly City is a city in northernmost part of San Mateo County on the Peninsula of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, directly south of San Francisco proper.
Understand
[edit]Daly City is San Francisco's immediate neighbor to the south. It is known as the "Gateway to the Peninsula". This is possibly confusing to outsiders, but in local parlance, San Francisco is not "on the peninsula." The Peninsula instead refers to everything south of San Francisco, north of where the Bay runs out. While this way of using the term should technically make the Peninsula an ithsmus, this technicality has been lost on the local dialect.
- Climate
Daly City has a mild climate, with wet, mild winters and dry summers. In most months, you can expect the maximum temperature to be in the 50s, 60s, or 70s degrees Fahrenheit (between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius). Evenings are usually in the 50s or 60s. Be prepared for cool humid weather, even in the summer (except September) when persistent fog often envelops the city. When it's not foggy, however, Daly City has a tendency to feel quite exposed, with low buildings, little shade, and long walking distances.
- Ethnicity
Daly City has quite varied ethnic composition, with a proportionately large Asian population, and an especially large Filipino community.
- Neighborhoods
Westlake, Broadmoor, St. Francis, Serramonte, Original Daly City, Hillside, Crocker, Southern Hills, Bayshore
Get in
[edit]
By plane
[edit]There are three airports in the San Francisco Bay Area:
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO IATA) located about 10 mi (16 km) south of the city.
- Oakland International (OAK IATA) in the East Bay.
- Mineta San Jose International (SJC IATA) in Silicon Valley, about 1 hour south of San Francisco.
Oakland and San Jose tend to offer more discount airline flights, while San Francisco Airport attracts more international flights and can be more convenient for those staying in the city.
By train
[edit]- 1 BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), ☏ +1-415-989-2278. Provides a regional frequent rail service connecting much of the East Bay with Daly City, San Francisco and the San Francisco Airport through the Transbay Tube, a tunnel underneath San Francisco Bay. BART operates five routes, of which four reach Daly City. BART also meets Caltrain at Millbrae. Bicycles are allowed on BART except between stations designated in the schedule brochure during commute hours. Fares vary depending with distance traveled, and start at $1.40 for trips within the city. You will need to insert your ticket into barriers when entering and exiting the system. Tickets hold a balance, deducting the appropriate price for each trip, so someone who plans to use the system several times can buy a $10 or $20 ticket and not worry about fares until the card is used up.
- San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans), ☏ +1-800-660-4287. The administrative body for the principal public transit and transportation programs in San Mateo County: SamTrans bus service, including Redi-Wheels paratransit service, Caltrain commuter rail and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority. Caltrain and the TA have contracted with the District to serve as their managing agency, under the direction of their appointed boards.
By car
[edit]Two major freeways serving Daly City are U.S. Highway 101 and Interstate 280. Interstate 280 essentially bisects Daly City geographically as well as in terms of the areas with the highest commercial and residential density. Interstate 280 is less congested than U.S. 101 and therefore offers a preferred route into San Francisco (and locations further north and east) as well as southern peninsula locations.
Get around
[edit]In general, a car is your best bet unless you're going to the movie theater next to the BART station.
Waymo's self-driving taxi service has expanded to Daly City from San Francisco.
See
[edit]- 1 Mussel Rock Park. Daily 6AM-7PM. Look for parking lot at junction of Skyline and Westline Drives. A hilly expanse fronting the ocean where you can hike, seek out a beach, see whales, and take in a sense of nature in the midst of this densely packed city. Watch out for loose dogs though. Free.
Do
[edit]- Hiking on San Bruno Mountain
- 1 Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva Ave. Indoor arena and events center built in 1941. It's biggest event is the Grand National Rodeo. It also some some concert and other events.
Buy
[edit]- 1 Skyline Plaza. Outdoor shopping center.
- 2 Serramonte Center. A mall just south of where the coastal Hwy CA 1 and mid-peninsula Interstate 280 meet.
- 3 Westlake Shopping Center.
Eat
[edit]Daly City has some of the best Filipino food in the United States. Almost every restaurant that serves Filipino food will be excellent. However, remember that many of the cheaper, counter-serve places will often sell out of popular dishes long before closing, with people often coming in to get to-go orders for families back home, so you may want to aim for one of the more sit-down places later in the day, provided you aren't price sensitive.
Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]- 1 BridgePoint Inn, 3255 Geneva Ave, ☏ +1 415-467-5600.
- 2 Hampton Inn San Francisco-Daly City, 2700 Junipero Serra Blvd, ☏ +1 650 755-7500. A nice hotel with free breakfast, a gym, a business center, and a game room.
Go next
[edit]• Colma, the Bay Area's necropolis.
| Routes through Daly City |
| END ← San Francisco ← | N  S
|
→ Colma → San Jose |
| Bodega Bay ← San Francisco ← | N  S
|
→ Pacifica → Santa Cruz |
| Oakland ← San Francisco ← | N  S
|
→ Colma → SFO/Millbrae |