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City in California, United States
Photo: Pedro Xing, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
Historically home to one of California's original Spanish missions, San Rafael is now a mid-sized Bay Area commuter town with beautiful hills, peaceful nature, interesting architecture, and a bustling downtown area centered around 4th Street. San Rafael is the cultural and political center of Marin County, and offers its own set of attractions as well as easy access to other parts of the county.
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The 20th of the 21 California missions, San Rafael was founded as an asistencia or adjunct to Mission Dolores in San Francisco in 1817, but was promoted to full mission status in 1822. San Rafael was a hospital mission, tending the sick from Spanish settlements and natives. The first mission secularized, it was used by General John C. Fremont during the Mexican-American War, and during statehood as the Marin County Courthouse. The original church was torn down in 1861, and a series of Catholic churches were erected at that site. The mission chapel has been restored in 1949, and tours of the site as well as a museum containing three original mission bells are open to the public.
The Civic Center is the only example of a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed government building in the world, and was considered to be well ahead of its time, making it a creative choice as the backdrop of the film Gattaca. Ninety-minute tours of the building leave every Wednesday and Friday at 10:30AM from the café on the second floor (room 233) and cost $10 ($5 for seniors and students). A branch of the county's public library, where you can see a model of the Civic Center, is located on the fourth floor. Next to the building is the large Duck Pond, officially the Civic Center Lagoon, a nice, shady area to take a walk or feed ducks.
Rafael Theater
The Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center is a beautifully restored Art Deco theater that was seen in the film American Graffiti. It plays independent films, popular foreign films, and documentaries daily and is located at the heart of 4th street.
China Camp was established as a village by Chinese immigrants. Now it's a state park with hiking trails, a beach, and a museum. The natural scenery includes marshes, forests, and views of the bay. If you keep your eyes open, you may still stumble across shards of Chinese pottery during your visit.
Featuring a swimming pool, fishing pier, snack bar, picnic areas, and volleyball and tennis. A fishing license is not needed when fishing from the pier, but is required when fishing from shore.
Forest Meadows Amphitheater
Shakespeare and other classic plays performed every summer in an outdoor theater. Sit near the front to make sure you can hear clearly, and consider bringing or renting cushions for the wooden bench seats. Bring a jacket or a blanket for evening performances—San Rafael cools down quickly when the sun sets.
Food, rides, art and performances at a large fair held every summer near the Civic Center. Don't miss the firework shows every night of the fair, culminating on the Fourth of July.
The hills north of San Rafael have some hiking trails, as does China Camp, though for really great views you have to go a little further afield to other parts of Marin.
Hiking trail with views of George Lucas properties, pretty far outside of town off Lucas Valley Road. You'll recognize the trailhead from the, well, big rock.
Simply the best Indian food in Marin, relaxed and quiet atmosphere, excellent service, and a retractable ceiling to let in the sun on a warm day.
Puerto Rican cuisine and tropical ambiance make this restaurant very popular with the locals.
Mom & pop taqueria in Montecito plaza.
Coffee shop vibe, but the menu has a variety of food, including wraps and pita. Grab a bite to eat or just chat over coffee.
This charmingly retro shop calls itself a café, and yes, there are drinks and sandwiches, but the real draw here is the ice cream. Good old-fashioned ice cream, by the scoop or in the form of splits, shakes, floats, freezes, or malts. Vegan/dairy-free options.
Authentic British pub & grill, same location since 1971. Serves lunch & dinner. Great salads, burgers, fish & chips, bangers & mash, sausage rolls, and other standards.
Unpretentious coffee place with a unique approach to coffee.
Accommodations geared towards the extended stay traveler. 112 guest rooms complete with fully equipped kitchens, on-site laundry facility, indoor pool, outdoor hot tub, meeting room, breakfast in the morning, business center, Wireless Internet throughout the property, flat screen televisions in all rooms, and fitness center on-site.
B&B.
A small, quaint, eclectic hotel, with unusual and uniquely decorated theme rooms. The restaurant is likewise unusual and pleasing, and yes, the jazz is a nice addition. Mexican-Italian-Californian cuisine in an artsy interior, and outdoor dining in spring and summer. The whole affair is located in a quiet district, near the center of town. Rates include a very nice continental breakfast.
Tent camping in the woods of China Camp State Park. Toilets and showers available.
A great place to stock up on farm fresh vegetables & fruit, bread from many local bakeries, and gourmet cheeses and fresh seafood. Grab a cup of coffee, sample a fresh crepe or waffle, and get to know some of the most dedicated farmers in Marin.
Unlike the Civic Center farmer's markets, this market is more focused on entertainment. Approximately 100 farmers, food vendors, and artists attend each week.
The Mall at Northgate
American suburban malls have gone out of fashion, and this slowly dying mall in the Terra Linda neighborhood is no exception. Most shops are boarded up, the old movie theater is roped off, and what was once a food court is now a pitiful shell of itself. The mall still has a Macy's and a handful of shops and small restaurants, but the main draw now is the activities: escape rooms, an arcade, bounce houses for kids, and a small roller skating rink.
Popular local store for board games, card games, and role-playing games. Has a huge variety that will interest anyone from families looking to pass time on a car ride to serious roleplayers or wargamers. In the back you'll sometimes see groups playing Warhammer, Magic, or Pokemon. The staff are knowledgeable and very helpful.
By ferry
Ferries run from the ferry terminal in Union Square-Financial District, downtown San Francisco.
By bus
The San Rafael Transit Center is a hub for local buses, with service to other parts of Marin provided by Marin Transit and service to Sonoma County, San Francisco, and Richmond provided by Golden…
By train
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, or SMART, has two stations in San Rafael, connecting it with Novato, Larkspur (with connections to the Golden Gate Ferry to San Francisco), and places in Sonoma…
By plane
The nearest major airports are San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Oakland International Airport (OAK).
Downtown San Rafael is based on a grid network, with numbered streets running east-west and lettered streets running north-south.
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Oakland · International · OAK
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