As San Francisco continues its strong start to 2023, events are popping up all over the Bay Area, like flowers pushing their heads up as Spring arrives. This month’s is quite a well rounded list of the best things to do in SF in March, it includes sporting events, St Patrick’s Day shindigs, stargazing, adults-only cabaret shows and a VR experience created by an Oscar-winning director! Which of these will you be doing? Read on to find out.

1. WATCH SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS IN SPRING TRAINING AT ORACLE PARK (MARCH 27)

Watch the Giants warm up for the season on the first Spring Training season at the magnificent Oracle Park, right on San Francisco’s picturesque waterfront. It’s got to be one of the most scenic settings for a stadium in the U.S. It might be a while since they won the World Series, but they are the one of the most successful baseball teams in the league and it’s a good opportunity to see their new battling line-up.

2. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, AT THE GOLDEN GATE THEARE (MARCH 22-26)

Following 2016’s wildly acclaimed Broadway revival, the classic Fiddler on the Roof is out on tour! A landmark show born of the Golden Age of American musicals, Fiddler is a boisterous, heartfelt tale of love and acceptance set in a Russia on the edge of revolution. Among the show’s countless iconic songs written by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick are If I Were A Rich Man, Matchmaker, Matchmaker and Sunrise, Sunset.

Golden Gate Theatre

More information here.

3. CELEBRATE SAINT PATRICK’S DAY (MARCH 17)

Believe it or not, but the San Francisco celebration of the patron Saint of Ireland is one of the largest in the U.S. with usually well over 100,000 people coming out in the city for the day. There’s a block party in North Beach, near the waterfront, at Schroeders and Royal Exchange (more information here). Or you can visit the United Irish Cultural Center, near Merced Park, for a more authentically Irish flavor (more information here).

St Paddy’s day itself is March 17 this year, which is a Friday, so perfect timing really. If you can remember St Patrick’s Day, it definitely wasn’t one of the best things to do in SF in March!

4. FREE MUSEUM DAYS – (VARIOUS DATES)

For several days a month – and sometimes every day of the month for certain people – our museums are free. We have some great museums. You should make the most of it these opportunities.

Exploratorium: free admission for EBT cardholders and San Francisco Medi-Cal or CalFresh recipients. Also free for California public school teachers.

SF Botanical Gardens: free admission second Tuesday of every month.

Japanese Tea Gardens: free Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9-10 am.

De Young Museum: free first Tuesday of every month. Also free every Saturday for Bay Area residents.

SFMOMA: free first Thursday for Bay Area residents.

Legion of Honor: free Saturdays for Bay Area residents and free Tuesday’s for all.

5. EXPLORE THE DARK SIDE OF SF (EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT)

San Francisco has a fascinating and unique criminal history. On this tour we start off by transporting guests back to the Gold Rush era, when Vigilance Committee’s took over “policing” of the city (which is where the term ‘vigilante’ originates). Then we stroll through back alleys that were red light districts in the nineteenth century. After that we explore Chinatown, hich was full of opium dens, brothels and gambling hellholes during that period. Finally, we walk the streets of the infamous Barbary Coast, where sailors had to be wary of what they drank in the bars and dance halls, in case crimps would drug and shanghai them onto a ship leaving San Francisco for the East  (which is how the term was invented). And we haven’t even mentioned the Fatty Arbuckle Affair, the original Hollywood sex scandal.

During the tour there are a couple of opportunities, in between haunting tales and true crime history, to visit various historic bars and fun speakeasies, dating from those bygone eras.

More information here.

6. GO TO A CONCERT (VARIOUS DATES)

There are always some great concerts happening in San Francisco, almost all popular musicians will play here at some point in their career, but if you’re looking for ideas on things to do this month how about either Marc Anthony, Depeche Mode or Stevie Nicks? Or all of them? What the hell?!

7. ENJOY A GOOD LAUGH (VARIOUS DATES)

FunCheapSF have a ton of fun and cheap events around the Bay Area (who would have thought), mostly comprising comedy nights. Some of the comedians are pretty damn good and who couldn’t do with a good laugh right now? Definitely one of the best things to do in SF in March.

More information here.

8. GAZE AT THE STARS FROM OAKLAND (VARIOUS DATES)

Nocturnal is a new program at Chabot Space & Science Center created for adults 21+ to enjoy an evening exploring the intersection of art and science in an atmosphere filled with unique multi-media experiences, art installations, music and curated activities all while enjoying music, drinks and a fun-filled evening that ends with telescope viewings.

For our inaugural event, we will focus on the brilliance and beauty of the night sky exploring constellations, planets and other celestial bodies that inspire art and keep us in wonder.

Chabot Space and Science Center

As Oscar Wilde said, “we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars”. Keep looking up!

More information here.

There are also free telescope viewings (weather permitting) on Friday and Saturday nights, from 7.30-10.30 pm. Believe it or not, but the three historic observatory domes are fully 1,500 feet above the bay and the micro-climate in Joaquin Miller Park is quite unique, often affording great views of the night sky.

More information here.

9. EXPERIENCE VIRTUAL REALITY AS A REFUGEE (ALL MONTH)

CARNE y ARENA is an Academy Award®-winning, groundbreaking and immersive virtual reality experience by director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Based on true accounts, CARNE y ARENA allows visitors at Richmond Waterfront to walk in a vast space and live a fragment of the refugees’ personal journeys through the use of state-of-the-art VR technology.

More information here.

10. GO TO A CABARET SHOW IN CHINATOWN (TO MARCH 4)

The Great Star Theatre in Chinatown is hosting this adults-only show, Champagne Cabaret, through March 4. It’s a show like no other – aerialists, dancers, musicians, magicians and others perform and share their most intimate fantasies in performances that will make you blush (apparently – it’s hard to tell in the dark). Dinner and then a show at this historic San Francisco theatre? It is in Chinatown / North Beach.

More information here.

If you have any feedback on the 10 Best Things to Do in SF in March please email us or reach out on social media, we’d love to hear from you.

– By Damien Blackshaw (Twitter)