War Memorial Opera House — Attraction in San Francisco

2025 June I went back for La Bohème, and it was amazing. Let me explain why: My show was on a Saturday, and I went early enough that I was able to find free street parking just one block away.

I arrived at the venue a few mins before the door opened, and when they started letting people in, the ticket scanning process was quick and smooth.

The interior was decorated to match the aesthetics of La Bohème, with street performers, immersive photo ops, overall decorations to emulate a certain time period. I was into it.

The buffet at the basement level was a new discovery, and I might add that as part of my future show viewing!

The show was such fun! Music was good, the actors were amazing, the stage and props were well done! Overall a fantastic performance, and I recommend it.

2024 I went to see The Magic Flute in the middle of June, so the weather in the city was nice. Windy, but nice.

Parking at the Civic center garage was a flat $17, so I went there a couple hours before the show's start time to grab some dinner as well.

The area is walkable, but not ideal when you are in opera watching attire. I would likely opt for dinning at the venue's restaurant next time to make my life easier.

Will call was easy and smooth with a quick show of ID, but once you are past the entrance it's quite packed with patrons. The staff were helpful and friendly.

The interior was beautiful, and has an old time-y classic opera house design. I enjoyed the atmosphere a lot.

Bathroom was clean but not enough stalls, leading to longer wait time. There were free single use cups available for folxs to get water from the water fountain, which was a life saver for me because once I got to my seat, I realized it was hot. That is the biggest flaw I've witness that evening. The lack of air flow or AC made it almost suffocating.

The seats were also extremely small. Worse than a budget airplane seat. I'm an average size 4-6, so I fit the seat just fine. But if someone wants to get in and out of the row, you bet you'll be intimately aquatinted with strangers when they walk pass you.

The show was......interesting. I won't comment on that as each show is a different interpretation that does not represent the venue as a whole. However, kudos to the SF Opera for being innovative and not shy from trying new things!

I appreciate the walking groups after the show. Although I could not locate the group towards the Civic center garage at the venue for departure, I did locate them as I was walking towards our common destination.

Overall, it was a good venue with great people. If you are going to watch an opera, this is a great...

My husband, daughter, and myself attended the Nutcracker performance (SF Ballet) in December and this location made a spectacular experience all the more memorable! We went on a Sunday afternoon and had no issues finding parking in a garage by the Civic Center which we paid $10 for. The garage was a little tight for my husband's 2016 Dodge Ram and if you need a lot of clearance for a bigger sized vehicle I would maybe recommend another parking lot. The exterior architecture of the old building is beautiful and when you enter you will find beautiful marble floors, friendly staff, and several levels accessing the sections for seating. The main floor and basement offer a cafe/restaurant and souvenirs as well as classic Christmas decorations. When we found our seats in the balcony, the lighting was dim with velvet red curtains and gold interior. The seats were fairly comfortable and were plush although they do not recline at all. If you have a fear of heights, I would recommend sitting closer to ground level as the incline to accommodate all of the upper level and balcony seating is intense. The sound from the orchestra is very well balanced and soothing and the stage takes a crescent shape making it appear bigger and more visually appealing. The performance had me in tears as I watched the amazing talent during the two hour show (minus the 20 minute intermission)! The dancers, the costumes, the music and composition, and overall experience is one of the best I've ever had in my life and worth every dollar! I hope to come back again in the near future to...

We came Friday to see Cinderella with the SF Ballet at 8pm. The tickets are easy to get online, they have a system to generate the best seating options for the price you want to pay. I believe you can purchase parking lot tickets as well, but we did not get that since we parked elsewhere and bussed to the War Memorial. The artists’ interview is an hour before the show starts, you can come early to watch that. If you are late, they will not let you be seated so make sure you come on time. The opera house is beautiful, the staff are very nice and helpful. The bathrooms are clean and you can easily walk up the stairs to your seating or take the elevator. They offer snacks, concession items, food, and alcoholic drinks outside the seating areas. Everyone was dressed up, little girls wearing beautiful dresses, some people in silk and sequin. We dressed up and still felt underdressed. The show was 2.5 hours with two 15 minute intermission. The performance by SF Ballet was amazing, the orchestra sounded so good. This is perfect for a date night, a family night out, or maybe even a solo date. SF Ballet is renowned and I believe everyone should experience it at least once...