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San Francisco Guide
United States of America > San Francisco
Welcome to San Francisco, one of the country's most attractive
cities, San Francisco, the hilly city is blessed with gorgeous
views of the San Francisco Bay and the most famous bridge.
The North Beach is sandwiched between Chinatown and Fisherman's
Wharf. It's a lively stretch of strip joints, bars, cafes
and restaurants that started as the city's Italian quarter
and gave birth to the Beats in the 1950's.
Down the steep eastern face of the Telegraph hill, is the
Coit Tower. One of the city's most famous landmarks, the
tower is a prime spot to let loose your postcard-vista voyeurism.
The 360° views from here are superb.
The compact Castro, to the southeast, is the gay center
of San Francisco and one of the best neighborhoods for strolling
and watching the streetlife.
A decent place for relaxation, Golden Gate Park stretches
almost halfway across the wide peninsula, from the Pacific
Ocean to the Haight's Panhandle - a multi-purpose destination
for everyone. Ranging from gardens lakes to museums and
an aquarium.
The much-maligned but massively popular Fisherman's Wharf
is directly north of Russian Hill. There's no getting away
from the Wharf's unspeakable kitschiness, but it's still
fun. It's also the gateway for several top attractions (Alcatraz,
the Maritime Museum and the Historic Ships Pier).
If you want fanciful stuff and enjoy a chinese taste, a
few blocks north of Union Square is Chinatown, the most
densely packed pocket of the city and one of its most colorful
attractions. The most colorful time to visit Chinatown is
during the Chinese New Year in late January or early February,
with a parade and fireworks and other festivities.
Enjoy a panoramic view of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge
crosses the 2 mile mouth of the bay. At the time of its
completion, it used to be the longest suspension bridge
in the world and the 746ft (224m) suspension towers were
higher than any structure west of New York City.
Getting There and Moving Around
By air
The Bay Area has three major airports: San Francisco
International Airport on the west side of the bay, Oakland
International Airport on the east side of the bay, and
San Jose International Airport at the southern end
of the bay.
Most international flights use San Francisco (at Oakland
and San Jose, 'international' means flights to Mexico and
Canada), but all three are important domestic gateways,
so you should have little trouble finding a flight or connection
to just about anywhere on the continent.
By rail
Amtrak is the US national train system, and its Bay Area
terminal is at Jack London Square in Oakland. Traveling
north from Los Angeles, it's equally simple to transfer
to CalTrain at San Jose and take that service to San Francisco.
Amtrak's main Bay Area routes are the San Joaquin (Oakland
- Bakersfield), the Three Capitols (San Jose - Oakland -
Sacramento).
By road
To get into and out of state is easy with the frequent
interstate bus service. Also, one can drive a car thru the
Interstate highway to and from the city.
Moving Around
The simplest way to get around is by bus, taxis or cars.
There are also bus-BART combinations, which are useful if
you're heading to the East Bay.
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