Sat on a hilly peninsula overlooking the shimmering waters of San Francisco Bay on the northern California coast, San Francisco is often lauded as one of the USA’s most beautiful cities. Laidback, arty and foodie, the locals pride themselves on the uniqueness of their city – with its distinct neighbourhoods and show-stopper sights, it really is the perfect place to dawdle.
Renowned for the fog that rolls in from the ocean across the bay to blanket the city, San Francisco has two particularly famous sights. One is the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, stretching 1.7 miles over the Golden Gate Strait, a triumph of Art Deco design and civil engineering. The other is the infamous Alcatraz, once USA’s most notorious penitentiary until its closure in 1963; visiting the island brings thrilling history, stories of escape attempts and impressive views of the city skyline together.
San Francisco’s neighbourhoods are made to be wandered. You can stroll through North America’s oldest Chinatown, admire the hundreds of murals in the Mission District and the old, ornate mansions of Pacific Heights, go shopping in Union Square and find souvenirs in Fisherman’s Wharf and feel the energy of the Castro Quarter, synonymous with gay culture. Downtown sits on the water, fronted by the Embarcadero and the Ferry Buildings, now an atmospheric gourmet market, with plenty of piers and shops to explore.
One can’t talk about San Francisco without mentioning its cable cars. The world’s last manually operated cable car system, in operation since 1873, you haven’t truly experienced San Francisco until you’ve ridden on one of the three – Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason and California Street – remaining lines. Operated on a simple cable pulley system, they are particularly handy when you need to go up one of the city’s notoriously steep streets, just don’t forget to hold on tight!
