The beautiful game in the beautiful city: A guide to the San Francisco Bay Area for the 2026 World Cup

Welcome to the San Francisco Bay Area! The first and most important thing to go over is logistics. It’s not so straightforward and can really determine your experience, as out-of-towners frequently get confused. 

Levi’s Stadium is located far from San Francisco. Coming from SF, it can take 60-90 minutes to get to-and-from Levi’s Stadium using transit, and there’s often delays during massive events. Traffic is apocalyptic. The parking lots are zoos. 

If you’re coming for a short visit, then stay near the stadium to minimize travel time. The area immediately surrounding Levi’s Stadium is a vast, sprawling, car-oriented expanse of private houses and office parks. You will need services such as Uber, Lyft, and Waymo to get around San Jose. You won’t have as many options to go exploring, and the food options are unremarkable, but you’ll get the most out of the game experience. 

If you have more time and care greatly about eating good food and cultural “big city” things, then you have the option of using Caltrain / VTA Light Rail / BART to explore (or stay in) San Francisco and Oakland. Note on timing: the night games (Austria vs. Jordan, Türkiye vs. Paraguay, Jordan vs. Algeria) will end late enough that everything will close by the time you get back to SF. 

If you have more time and care greatly about nature and hiking, then you will need to rent a car. Yes, San Francisco is one-of-one at intertwining cool architecture with jaw-dropping nature. You can fill your whole trip with stunning urban hikes within the city limits.

But if you want the best of the best, then you need to drive. The world-class must-see spots—Big Sur, Point Reyes, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe—are all about two-to-four hours away. All worthy day-trips, although staying overnight (be it camping or a hotel/cabin) will give you the full experience.

Matches on display

Group Stage

• June 13: Qatar vs. Switzerland — San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (3 p.m. ET)
• June 16: Austria vs. Jordan — San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (12 a.m. ET)
• June 19: Paraguay vs. Türkiye — San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (12 a.m. ET)
• June 22: Jordan vs. Algeria — San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (11 p.m. ET)
• June 25: Paraguay vs. Australia — San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (10 p.m. ET)

Levi’s Stadium is named San Francisco Bay Area Stadium for the World Cup

Round of 32

• July 1: Group D Winner vs. Group B/E/F/I/J Third Place — San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (8 p.m. ET)

Must-see game: Türkiye vs. Paraguay, because Turkey seems to have the best squad of this group. If Yildiz is back and healthy, they could make a serious run. 

Sleeper games: Jordan vs. Algeria will certainly have intensity, with Riyad Mahrez from Algeria being a player to watch.  

Attendance information 

Tickets are available on the Official FIFA Tickets Platform. The resale market for this group is softer than others, so you could get a good price on the secondaries. 

SJC Airport in San Jose is right next to the stadium and is highly advised for short visits. The airports in “San Francisco” and Oakland are both equidistant to the actual city of San Francisco, just a ~45 minute BART ride. The hotels in San Francisco are mostly in the downtown area, which is fairly rough, so I suggest finding one either in Fisherman’s Wharf or taking an Airbnb apartment if you decide to stay in SF. 

Food and places to see 

Food

When I go to 49ers games, I don’t eat much at the game, but the street carts grilling bacon-wrapped hot dogs after the game recognize me by face at this point. Puesto is a decent local spot that has a stand in Levi’s. 

The greater San Jose area has well-established Asian, Indian, and Latin American ethnic communities.  Indian, Mexican, and Vietnamese specifically are like croissants in Paris—any random median spot here can surpass most places’ best. If I had to pick one from each category, it’d be Surmai in Sunnyvale, Tacos Mama Cuca in San Jose and Doc Hong (for a normal banh mi) / Mommy’s Banh Mi (for a modern/new-age banh mi) / Pho Duoi Bo in East San Jose. 

There’s also a big Koreatown in Santa Clara, with 10 Butches and Chungdam being my go-to Korean BBQ spots (with lots of authentic markets all over). 

Best food from all the countries playing 

• Türkiye: Mangal / Meyhouse near Levi’s Stadium, Baklavastory and Anatolian Table in San Francisco
• Jordan: Mazra in Redwood City (about 30 minute Caltrain ride from Levi’s)
• Algeria: Kayma in San Francisco 
• Switzerland: Matterhorn in San Francisco 
• Austria: Naschmarkt (locations near Levi’s in Campbell and Palo Alto), Leopold’s in SF 
• Australia: Coffee Movement is not only proudly Aussie-owned, but is one of the most impressive 
• Qatar: There’s no strictly Qatari restaurant in the area yet, as most of the Middle Eastern food here is Levantine Arab (with Yemeni coffeeshops sprinkled into the mix). The Halal food scene in the Bay Area is otherwise thriving, with plenty of options from all over the world. There’s even Halal Texas-Indo BBQ (Fikscue) to be found. 

Soccer bars

Near the stadium, The Brit in downtown San and has a lively soccer community. PayPal Park (the San Jose Earthquake’s home stadium) has a massive outdoor bar area with very large screens. If you’re in San Francisco, then Maggie McGarry’s always has a rowdy soccer atmosphere. 

Nature

Following on from what I said earlier, if you’re in the area, you need to take in the area to the fullest.

If you’re only in the South Bay and without a car, then Mission Peak in Fremont is the closest to the stadium and can get the job done for your hiking fix. A tiny bit farther but much better is Castle Rock State Park in Los Gatos. 

If you’re in San Francisco and without a car, you can spend an entire vacation just hiking within the city itself. The Presidio / Chrissy Field area, Land’s End, Golden Gate Park, and Twin Peaks are all absolutely magical. 

If you have a car, it’s just a question of what you want to see and how far you want to drive.

• Beaches: Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay are the go-to beaches for locals, and can be driven within 45 minutes. For some of the most beautiful coastal driving / hiking / camping in the world, Point Reyes is about 2 hours north and Point Lobos in Carmel is about 2 hours south.
• Mountains: Lake Tahoe is about 3 hours east, located within the Sierra Nevada Mountain range if you’re seeking an Alpine-like mountain experience. 
• Forests: There’s plenty of good options to see Redwoods trees:  Henry Cowell and Reinhardt are ~45 minutes from Levi’s, while Armstrong State Park is around 2 hours north. 

Verizon fuels soccer culture and community impact year-round – uniting fans, supporting local businesses and creating unforgettable moments that celebrate the global game.