San Francisco

San Francisco is a huge city with several district articles containing sightseeing, restaurant, nightlife and accommodation listings — consider printing them all.

   

San Francisco is a major city in California, the centerpiece of the Bay Area, well-known for its liberal community, hilly terrain, Victorian architecture, scenic beauty, summer fog, and extreme ethnic and cultural diversity. These are only a few of the aspects of the city that make San Francisco one of the most visited cities in the world.

San Francisco is located on a small seven-by-seven mile (11x11km) square of land at the tip of a peninsula between the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific coast. It has a population of almost 800,000, but is the center of a metropolitan area of millions. San Francisco is just one of the cities which makes up the entire San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco's neighbors, cities and towns to the east of the Bay Bridge, north of the Golden Gate Bridge, and south of the city are all in separate counties, each with their own city government and local public transportation systems.

San Francisco has a mild climate, with wet, mild winters and dry summers. In most months, you can expect the temperature be in the 60s or 70s degrees Fahrenheit (between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius). Be prepared for cool humid weather, even in the summer (except September), when persistent fog often envelops the city.

San Francisco's sharp topography has created a series of microclimates. For instance, there is more fog on the western side of the city, closer to the ocean. There can also be large variances in rainfall between different parts of the city thanks to the tall hills in the center of the peninsula (generally with more rain taking place on the western side, while the eastern side experiences more sunlight).

By plane

San Francisco Bay Area Airports

• San Francisco International, [4] (IATA: SFO) located about 10 mi (16 km) south of the city.
• Oakland International, [5] (IATA: OAK) in the East Bay.
• Mineta San Jose International, [6] (IATA: SJC) in Silicon Valley, about 1 hour south of San Francisco.

Oakland and San Jose tend to offer more discount airline flights, while San Francisco Airport attracts more international flights and can be more convenient for those staying in the city. Private pilots should consider Oakland (ICAO:KOAK) rather than SFO, as the separate general aviation field there is more accommodating to light aircraft.

Landmarks

The Palace of Fine Arts

• The Golden Gate Bridge, located at the Golden Gate, is perhaps the most recognizable landmark in San Francisco and one of the most famous bridges in the United States, and has been called one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. The bridge spans the Golden Gate, a strait between San Francisco and Marin County to the north, and is one of the major road routes into and out of the city.
• The famous cable cars run up and down the hills of San Francisco between Market Street and Fisherman's Wharf and offer quite a ride. See above under Get around for more info.
• The Presidio, located in the Golden Gate district, was founded in 1776 and was the longest-running military post in the U.S. before closing as a base in 1994. It is now a part of theGolden Gate National Recreation Area and contains the Fort Point National Historic Site. From its vantage point overlooking the spectacular Golden Gate, Fort Point protected San Francisco harbor from Confederate & foreign attack during & after the U.S. Civil War. Its beautifully arched casemates display the art of the master brick mason from the Civil War period. The Palace of Fine Arts is a beautiful building, built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition and reminiscent of Roman and Greek architecture.
• Coit Tower, atop Telegraph Hill in North Beach, is dedicated to the San Francisco firefighters (who fought a massive blaze in 1906 after the earthquake that destroyed much of the city center), and the tower is rumored to be designed to resemble the nozzle of a fire hose. At 250' high, it is a healthy hike from the nearby neighborhoods just below the hill.
• The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest and most recognizable building in San Francisco, located among the skyscrapers and highrises of theFinancial District.
• Alamo Square Park in the Western Addition district is home to the famous Painted Ladies row of Victorian houses on its east side along Steiner Street, with many other pretty Victorians encircling the lovely park.
• Lombard Street. The (nearly) crookedest street in America, between Hyde & Leavenworth on Russian Hill. The city has a twistier but less scenic hill-climb along Vermont Street, south of McKinley Square on Potrero Hill. You can get a view of Lombard from the Powell & Hyde cable car line.
• 22nd Street between Vicksburg and Church in Noe Valley and Filbert Street between Leavenworth and Hyde on Russian Hill - At a 31.5% grade, these streets share the honor of steepest streets in San Francisco.
• The Mission Dolores Church in the Mission District is one of the oldest structures in the city with superb city views from Dolores Park. The walls of many nearby buildings, especially on alleys between Market and Valencia are painted with a fantastic collection of murals of all sorts.

Neighborhoods

Chinatown

• Fisherman's Wharf is a great place to see amazing street entertainers, eat excellent seafood, watch sea lions, visit museums, or take a cruise to the infamous Alcatraz Prison or the pleasant Angel Island. Working fishing boats still come into the small harbor at Jones and Jefferson, the endpoint of the Muni Historic F-streetcar. There are also small day and party boats available. The fresh breeze from the bay can provide a bracing setting.
• Chinatown, centered around Grant Street from Bush to Columbus, is part tourist trap, part an exhibit of local life. Good eating places remain, and the side streets especially have stores one wouldn't find in a mall. Stockton Street, the street paralleling Grant to to west is the main street where most locals do their shopping for groceries. Be sure to sample some of the dim sum and other specialties offered in the many bustling shops. However, many local Chinese prefer to eat and shop in the new Chinatowns located in other neighborhoods such as the Inner Richmond neighborhood or on Clement Street between 2nd and 12th Avenues. The Muni #1 (California) and #2 (Clement, does not run at night) buses get people from one Chinatown to the other.
• The Civic Center has impressive Beaux Arts buildings including City Hall and the War Memorial Veterans Building, the celebrated Asian Art Museum, music and theater venues (including large concert halls and a renowned Symphony and Opera), and the main public library.
• The Castro is the center of San Francisco's Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Transgender (LGBT) community, with theaters and small shops and restaurants.
• Treasure Island. An artificial island half-way between San Francisco and Oakland connected to Yerba Buena Island which the Bay Bridge passes through. The island has excellent views of San Francisco & Oakland skylines and quirky structures from the international fairground-turned-navy base-turned neighborhood. Accessible by Muni bus #108 from the Transbay Terminal downtown.

Museums

When the morning is foggy, you may want to spend a few hours in one of the city's many world-class museums. Golden Gate Park is home to the copper-clad M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, which houses an impressive collection of contemporary and indigenous art. The de Young Museum's former Asian collection is now permanently housed in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, located in the Civic Center. Across from the de Young Museum stands the California Academy of Sciences, which re-opened in September 2008 after extensive renovations.

The California Palace of the Legion of Honor is in Lincoln Park in the northwest corner of the Richmond district. In Nob Hill, the Cable Car Museumoffers exhibits on the famous moving landmarks of San Francisco. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Moscone Center, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Zeum, the Cartoon Art Museum, the Museum of the African Diaspora and the Museum of Craft and Folk Art are all located in SoMa, south of Union Square. The Contemporary Jewish Museum, which was designed by Daniel Liebeskind and opened in June 2008, is the latest major addition to San Francisco's museum scene.

At the Hyde Street Pier in Fisherman's Wharf you can go on board several historical ships, including the 1886 Balclutha clipper ship, a walking-beam ferry, a steam tug, and a coastal schooner. At Pier 45 just to the east, the World War II submarine USS Pampanito and the World War II Liberty Ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien can be visited. Nearby on Pier 39 is the excellent Aquarium of the Bay.

The Exploratorium at the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina will keep you busy for an entire day with their science and perception exhibits. Also in the Marina district is Fort Mason, home to a few cultural museums.

Parks/outdoors

Baker Beach

• Golden Gate Park, in The Avenues district, is a massive (roughly 1/2 mile-by-four mile) urban oasis with windmills, bison, museums, a carousel and much more hidden among its charms. The park contains the antique palatial greenhouse of the Conservatory of Flowers, the modern and ethnic art focused de Young Museum, the large Japanese Tea Garden, and the Strybing Arboretum, a collection of plants from across the temperate world.
• Lincoln Park, in the Richmond, defines the extreme Northwestern corner of San Francisco. It provides majestic views of the Marin Headlands, the Golden Gate Bridge from the Ocean side, and the Pacific Ocean itself. At the extreme western end the well known Cliff Houseprovides both semi-casual and a more formal eating and drinking place. The Legion of Honor museum at the center of the park houses many incredible artworks.
• Twin Peaks, accessible by car or on foot via Twin Peaks Boulevard (north of Portola Drive, just east of Laguna Honda). The small parking area at the northern tip of Twin Peaks Boulevard (875' above sea level) is near the physical center of the city, and one of its highest points, providing spectacular views in all directions. Tour buses can get backed up here during the day, but it's a great place to really appreciate the City from above, especially at and after sunset. Temperatures up there can be quite a bit lower than in the rest of the city, so bring a jacket.
• San Francisco Zoo. Located in the Lake Merced area at the end of the L streetcar line near Ocean Beach, this large and well maintained zoo is a great place to go if you are traveling with children or have a fondness for penguins, primates, lions or llamas. It is Northern California's largest zoological park.
• Beaches. While not particularly well known for its beaches, San Francisco has a couple of good ones along the Pacific Ocean - but the water is brisk, the winds can be rough, and due to a very strong riptide swimming at any of them is not recommended. Ocean Beach along the Sunset district is the largest and most famous beach, with plenty of sand and people enjoying themselves. China Beach in Richmond and Baker Beach in Golden Gateare smaller, rather secluded beaches with lovely views.