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SF Holiday Destinations: Free and Indoors Edition

Thursday December 4, 2014

Have you seen the forecast? I’m not sure the sun will be coming out til February.

If you’re deep into the holiday spirit but don’t exactly want to skate around Union Square in the rain, worry not. San Francisco has a few indoor holiday gems.

 

1. Illuminique Under the Dome at the Westfield Mall

The Westfield Mall in Union Square puts on a nightly holiday light show under their glass dome. It runs every half hour and lasts 6 minutes. Add in dinner and a movie, and you have yourself a fun festive, rainy night.

If you take Muni metro or BART, you don’t even have to walk outside!

 

2. Life-size Gingerbread House at The Fairmont

The Fairmont goes all out for the holidays, with a walk-through, life-size gingerbread house. Last year, we watched as kids moseyed on through, checking over their shoulders and picking off treats to eat. The hotel also has a play area where kids can write letters to Santa and mail them off.

(And then you can either have drinks or dine at The Fairmont’s (indoor rainforest) Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar or its fine dining restaurant, Laurel Court. OR, you can cross the street and head to our favorite Top of the Mark, with 360 degree views of San Francisco.)

 

3. The Westin

The Westin St. Francis across from Union Square also has a large gingerbread house, but more of the artistic variety. There’s not much to do other than gaze at the rotating house, but it might be a welcome respite from the (literal and figurative) storm outside.

 

4. Hyatt Regency

The Hyatt Regency across from the Embarcadero has a massive small town with toy trains passing through. You can also have some hot chocolate under a sea of twinkling lights.

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