| Introduction | | | | guarantee some of the world's finest dining. San |
| The City and County of San Francisco is the | | | | Francisco also has varied nightlife ranging from bars to |
| fourth-largest city in the state of California, in the United | | | | lounges to clubs. Major areas of nightlife in San |
| States. A consolidated city-county, mainland San | | | | Francisco are North Beach, the Mission District, the |
| Francisco is located on the tip of the San Francisco | | | | Marina, the Castro, and South of Market. San |
| Peninsula. Insular San Francisco includes several islands | | | | Francisco also boasts of legendary pop music venues |
| in the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Strait, | | | | such as The Fillmore and The Warfield. |
| notably Alcatraz, Treasure Island, and the Farallon | | | | Universities |
| Islands 27 miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean and also | | | | San Francisco Unified School District and the |
| most of the privately owned Red Rock Island near the | | | | Archdiocese of San Francisco's dozens of Catholic |
| Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. | | | | elementary and high schools serve the city. Despite its |
| History | | | | limited geographical space, San Francisco is home to a |
| San Francisco has a long history of events marking its | | | | multitude of Universities and Colleges. Public universities |
| growth from a small town to a big city | | | | include: |
| - In 1776, the Spanish were the first Europeans to | | | | - University of California, San Francisco, primarily a |
| settle in San Francisco | | | | graduate level health-sciences school, located north of |
| - In 1848, with the advent of the California gold rush the | | | | Forest Hill |
| city entered a period of rapid growth | | | | - San Francisco State University located in the |
| - In 1822, serious development by non-Spanish | | | | southwest corner of the city near Lake Merced |
| speakers began, when William Richardson, an English | | | | - University of California, Hastings College of the Law |
| whaler redeveloped a section of Yerba Buena in what | | | | located downtown at its Civic Center |
| is now Portsmouth Square in Chinatown. | | | | - City College of San Francisco, one of the largest |
| - In 1846, the Mexican-American War broke out. | | | | community colleges in the country is located in the |
| - On January 30, 1847, a naval force under | | | | Ingleside, with several extension campuses. |
| Commodore John D. Sloat claimed it in the name of | | | | - Private universities: |
| the United States and renamed it "San Francisco" | | | | - The Jesuit-run University of San Francisco, one of |
| - On April 18, 1906, a devastating earthquake resulted | | | | the first universities established west of the Mississippi, |
| from the rupture of over 270 miles of the San | | | | located in the center of the city |
| Andreas Fault, from San Juan Bautista to Eureka, | | | | - Golden Gate University, a business and law school |
| centered immediately offshore of San Francisco. | | | | located downtown |
| - The city was quickly rebuilt after the earthquake. | | | | - California Culinary Academy Le Cordon Bleu |
| - The phoenix on the city's flag represents San | | | | program located in the Tenderloin |
| Francisco's "rebirth" from the ashes of the fire that | | | | - Academy of Art University |
| resulted from the quake. | | | | - San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking |
| - In the 1950s San Francisco hired Harvard graduate | | | | - Alliant International University. |
| Justin Herman to head the redevelopment agency for | | | | Sports |
| the city and county. | | | | San Francisco is the home of many major league |
| - Justin Herman began an aggressive campaign to | | | | teams like |
| renew blighted areas of the city. | | | | - The San Francisco 49ers National Football League |
| - His planning led to the creation of Embarcadero | | | | team, who play at Monster Park |
| Center, the Embarcadero Freeway, Japan town, the | | | | - The San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball |
| Geary Street super blocks, and Yerba Buena | | | | team, who play at SBC Park |
| Gardens. | | | | - MLB 's Oakland Athletics |
| Place of Interest | | | | - NFL's Oakland Raiders |
| San Francisco's parks, museums, tours, and landmarks | | | | - The National Basketball Association's Golden State |
| are favorites for travelers the world over and offer an | | | | Warriors play across the bay in Oakland |
| array of activities to suit every visitor. But no particular | | | | - The regional National Hockey League team, the San |
| activity or place makes the city one of the most | | | | Jose Sharks play in San Jose |
| popular destinations in the world. It's San Francisco | | | | The Warriors and Sharks were once based just south |
| itself -- its charm, its atmosphere, its perfect blend of | | | | of San Francisco, at the Cow Palace, located several |
| big metropolis with small-town hospitality. Some of its | | | | yards south of San Francisco, in Daly City. The city is |
| main attractions are: | | | | also home to some famous golf courses, including the |
| - Alcatraz Island | | | | Harding Park Golf Course and the courses of the |
| - Cable Cars | | | | Olympic Club. |
| - California Academy of Sciences | | | | Hotels & Accommodation |
| - Coit Tower | | | | Luxury Hotels |
| - Ferry Building Marketplace (and Farmers' Market) | | | | San Francisco has elegant and grand hotels in its |
| - Fisherman's Wharf | | | | possession. Westin St. Francis, Westin Saint Francis, |
| - Ghiradelli Square | | | | Palace Hotel, Argent Hotel, Mark Hopkins |
| - Golden Gate Bridge | | | | Intercontinental, Hilton, Fairmont, W San Francisco, Pan |
| - Lombard Street | | | | Pacific, Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Renaissance Parc |
| - Pier 39 | | | | 55, Ritz Carlton - are some of these big names. |
| - The Cannery | | | | All famous luxury hotels like Hilton, Hyatt, Palace Hotel, |
| - Yerba Buena Center for the Arts / Yerba Buena | | | | etc. have their branch in Fisherman Wharf. |
| Gardens | | | | Budget Hotels |
| Museums & Art Galleries | | | | If the visit to San Francisco is in a particularly busy |
| Notable San Francisco Museums include | | | | season and booking in prominent hotels are over, |
| - The Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), | | | | here's a list of moderate to very inexpensive |
| - The Palace of the Legion of Honor, | | | | alternatives - Alisa Hotel, Edward II Inn & Suites, Hotel |
| - The M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, | | | | Beresford Arms, King George Hotel, The Marina Inn, |
| - The Asian Art Museum. | | | | The San Remo Hotel. |
| Other museums include | | | | Tours and Sightseeing |
| - The International Museum of Women, | | | | San Francisco has different type of organized tours |
| - The Museum of the African Diaspora, | | | | they differ in the contents as well as the transport |
| - The Contemporary Jewish Museum, | | | | system. Tours are available by Bus, Boat, BART (Bay |
| - The Museum of Craft & Folk Art, | | | | Area Rapid Transit) or on foot. The San Francisco |
| - The Mexican Museum. | | | | Visitor Information Center, at Powell and Market |
| In terms of performing arts, San Francisco boasts | | | | streets, distributes free route maps. Blue & Gold Fleet |
| - The San Francisco Symphony, | | | | and Red & White Fleet are two boat tours available. |
| - The San Francisco Opera | | | | And Gray Line Bus tour is the San Francisco's largest |
| - The San Francisco Ballet. | | | | bus tour operator. The self-guided Private SUV tour, |
| San Francisco's Ballet and Opera are some of the | | | | 49-mile drive is one easy way to grasp the beauty of |
| oldest continuing performing arts companies in the | | | | San Francisco and its extraordinary location. Beginning |
| United States. | | | | in the city, it follows a rough circle around the bay and |
| Shopping | | | | passes virtually all the best-known sights, from |
| Like its population, San Francisco's shopping is both | | | | Chinatown to the Golden Gate Bridge, Ocean Beach, |
| worldly and intimate. Every persuasion, style, era, and | | | | Seal Rocks, Golden Gate Park, and Twin Peaks. |
| fetish is represented, not in big, tacky shopping malls, | | | | Transport |
| but in hundreds of quaint, dramatically different | | | | San Francisco has the most extensive public transit |
| boutiques scattered throughout the city. San Francisco | | | | system on the West Coast and one of the most |
| has many shopping areas, but the following places are | | | | diverse in the country. Muni is the city-owned public |
| where one will find most of the actions: | | | | transit system, which operates the Muni Metro light rail |
| - Union Square & Environs | | | | system. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is the |
| - Chinatown | | | | regional transit system, which connects San Francisco |
| - Union Street | | | | with the East Bay, through an underwater tunnel, and |
| - Chestnut Street | | | | Northern San Mateo County, California communities |
| - Fillmore Street | | | | and San Francisco International Airport on the San |
| - Haight Street | | | | Francisco Peninsula. In addition, a frequent commuter |
| - SoMa | | | | rail service, Caltrain, operates between San Francisco, |
| - Hayes Valley | | | | San Jose, California and Gilroy, California. |
| Food & Drink | | | | San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is located |
| San Francisco's restaurants are so renowned that | | | | 12.9 km (8 miles) south of the city in San Mateo |
| many people visit the city just to eat -- and with good | | | | County on a landfill extension into the San Francisco |
| reason. The city's brilliant chefs, combined with | | | | Bay. It is the only major international hub airport in |
| California's abundance of organic produce, seafood, | | | | California other than LAX in Los Angeles. |
| free-range meats, and Northern California wine, | | | | |