10 Great Views of San Francisco's Union Square at Christmas

Christmas Tree in Union Square, San Francisco

Betsy Malloy Photography

San Francisco's answer to New York City's Fifth Avenue is Union Square, the United States' third-largest shopping area.

Around Christmas, Union Square always gets gussied up for the season. A huge Christmas tree goes up in the middle; an ice rink sprouts seemingly from nowhere, and all the shoppers take a stroll across the square to enjoy the scene. And all the stores surrounding the square fill their windows with Christmas scenes. Macy's leads the way, with their entire store facade decked in lights.

Also during the holidays, you'll find Winter Walk SF – a pop-up plaza that fills two blocks of Stockton Street with daily events.

You can visit Union Square any time of year for great shopping. Find out more in this Union Square visitor guide.

01 of 07

Christmas Tree in Union Square

Union Square Christmas Tree

Betsy Malloy Photography

The big tree in the middle of Union Square is Macy's Gift to the City of San Francisco. It goes up every year and is usually lit for the first time on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Since 2011, the 83-foot-tall big tree is artificial - which lets just one more big evergreen stay put in the forest where it grew up.

Early evening, about the time this picture was taken, is a good time to see the Union Square Christmas decorations at their most cheerful.

Continue to 2 of 7 below.
02 of 07

Union Square Ice Rink

Ice Skating at Union Square

Betsy Malloy Photography

The Union Square Ice Rink is open over the holidays, and into mid-January. Its hours include most of the day and last well into the evening, with 90-minute sessions starting every even hour. You can buy tickets on the spot — or avoid disappointment and get them online ahead of time. Get all the details about the ice rink at their website.

Continue to 3 of 7 below.
03 of 07

Macy's Union Square Christmas Lights

Macy's Christmas Windows, San Francisco Union Square

Betsy Malloy Photography

One of the biggest department stores in town - and in fact in the entire western United States, Macy's has lots of storefront area to decorate. The big, five-story entrance windows take a colored glow, while the smaller windows in the section next door get filled with sparkling lights.

They unveil their holiday windows about a week before Thanksgiving.

Continue to 4 of 7 below.
04 of 07

Nieman Marcus Christmas Tree

Nieman Marcus Christmas Tree, Union Square San Francisco

Betsy Malloy Photography

The multi-story entrance atrium at Nieman-Marcus is eye-popping anytime, with its gorgeous, gold-colored stained glass ceiling recycled from an earlier era department store called the City of Paris, which was built in 1896.

At Christmas, they put a big tree up. If you stop and look at it for a few minutes, you might wonder how they get that big thing into the store, but rumor has it that it's a faux fir, built around a modular metal frame.

From the Nieman-Marcus Rotunda Restaurant, you can have afternoon tea while checking out the top of that gorgeous tree — or watching the shoppers down in the square.

Continue to 5 of 7 below.
05 of 07

Christmas Windows

Saks Fifth Avenue Christmas Window at Union Square

Betsy Malloy Photography

Some of the Union Square department stores do nice holiday display windows but don't expect the extravagances you might see on New York's Fifth Avenue. The windows at Saks Fifth Avenue are often the nicest ones around the square.

Continue to 6 of 7 below.
06 of 07

Battle of the Gingerbread Houses: Westin San Francisco

Gingerbread Castle at the Westin St. Francis

Betsy Malloy Photography

According to the San Francisco Visitor's Bureau: "an elaborate gingerbread house war is waged every year between two of the area's most historic hotels: The Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill and the Westin St. Francis on Union Square, just a few blocks to the south. These two vie every year to out-gingerbread each other in a friendly holiday spirit." This creation was in the lobby of the St. Francis.

Continue to 7 of 7 below.
07 of 07

Holidays at the Westfield San Francisco Centre

A purist might claim that the Westfield San Francisco Centre isn't really in Union Square because it doesn't face the square itself, but it's only a short walk away and certainly part of the holiday shopping scene.

Check their website in November for a full list of holiday activities, including the lighting of their unique upside-down, crystal Christmas tree.

And while you're there, you can pose for a free holiday photo in Santa’s shop or with a holiday-themed backdrop. And if you haven't ever seen spiral escalators, it's worth a walk over there just for that.