When the FIFA World Cup 2026™ starts this summer, fans heading to the San Francisco Bay area will experience a vibrant and welcoming region.
“From iconic San Francisco landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street and the Coit Tower to the beauty of Napa Valley’s wine country to Oakland’s cultural heritage to the world’s innovation hub in Silicon Valley” the region is well suited to international visitors, says Mitch Germann, spokesman for the San Francisco Bay Area host committee.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026™ is expected to bring an estimated 260,000 visitors and between $480 and $630 million in economic impact to the Bay Area,” Germann says.
While the matches will be played at the San Francisco Bay Area stadium in Santa Clara, visitors will stay throughout the region. They are expected to crowd area bars and restaurants too, to watch some games with local fans.
The Golden Gate Bridge in thick fog in San Francisco (© Adobe)
“It’s a monthlong party,” says Cyril Hackett, who owns San Francisco sports bars Mad Dog in the Fog and the Kezar Pub. He expects to host people from towns in Ireland, cities in Ghana and all corners of the world.
The San Francisco Travel Association sees the city’s role in hosting soccer matches as putting the city on the world stage, an opportunity to showcase its attractions while strengthening the local economy and community.
Region offers varied attractions
Santa Clara County, where the matches will be played, is roughly 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. The stadium is home to the American football team the San Francisco 49ers, whose name refers to a group of fortune hunters significant to American history. In 1849, thousands of people inspired by the discovery of gold nuggets came westward to search for gold. This gold rush changed the nature of the California territory.
Today, Santa Clara is the heart of Silicon Valley’s high-tech industry.
With video game titles displayed nearby, a visitor interacts with an exhibit at the Computer History Museum. (Courtesy of Computer History Museum)
Germann says the innovation-focused community is already feeling “a surge of excitement and pride” about welcoming the FIFA World Cup 2026™. Visitors can choose from two museums dedicated to technology — the Intel Museum at the chipmaker’s headquarters in Santa Clara or the Computer History Museum in nearby Mountain View, California.
(© Leroid David/FIFA)
Less than an hour away from the stadium, Half Moon Bay offers stunning coastline views; hiking at Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve; restaurants and brewpubs like Half Moon Bay Brewing Company; and beaches such as Mavericks, where you can watch elite surfers and drive the scenic Highway 1 route.
The city of San Francisco offers iconic landmarks, recreational activities, museums, shopping, restaurants and a range of cultural options. (Amtrak trains run between Santa Clara and Oakland, California, and Oakland is a ferry ride away from San Francisco.)
Weather in Santa Clara in late June and early July is generally sunny and dry, with lows of about 58 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius) and highs of about 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius). San Francisco, famous for its fog rolling in from the bay, is generally cooler than Santa Clara in the summer.
The famous Golden Gate Bridge (which is actually orangish red) dominates San Francisco Bay. The nearby historic Alcatraz Island, a former penitentiary, is a tourist spot accessible by ferry from downtown San Francisco’s Embarcadero waterfront. Nearby is the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience, where visitors can order a hot fudge sundae or pick up sweet souvenirs; Fisherman’s Wharf, with its basking sea lions; and the expansive interactive Exploratorium museum.
A San Francisco cable car descends Hyde Street to Fisherman’s Wharf and the ferry to Alcatraz. (© Scott Woodham/Shutterstock)
One way to get around town is on one of San Francisco’s historic street cars. Another is to rent a bicycle, on which you can tool around town and over the Golden Gate Bridge all the way to the quaint town of Sausalito.
An hour and a half’s drive north brings one to the famous Napa Valley wine region.
“There’s so much to see here,” Hackett said. “It’s a world-class city.”
[Editor’s note: Teams and locations for some matches are not set at the time of publication.]