San Francisco
One of the USA's most attractive cities, San Francisco's hilly streets provide some gorgeous glimpses of the San Francisco Bay and its famous bridges. This is a mosaic of a city, a big picture made from the colorful tiles of bustling Chinatown, the gentrifying Mission, clubby SoMa, hippie Haight-Ashbury and faux-hemian North Beach.
When to Go
You can visit San Francisco comfortably any time of year. The climate here always feels Mediterranean and moderate -- with a foggy, sometimes chilly twist. The temperature rarely drops lower than 40°F, and anything warmer than 80°F is considered a heat wave. Be prepared for rain in winter, especially December and January. Winds off the ocean can add to the chill factor, so pack warm clothing. North, east, and south of the city, summers are warmer.
What to See
Union Square: The heart of San Francisco's downtown since 1850, the 2˝-acre square takes its name from the violent pro-union demonstrations staged here prior to the Civil War. At center stage, the Victory Monument, by Robert Ingersoll Aitken, commemorates Commodore George Dewey's victory over the Spanish fleet at Manila in 1898. The 97-ft Corinthian column, topped by a bronze figure symbolizing naval conquest, was dedicated by Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 and withstood the 1906 earthquake. After the earthquake and fire of 1906, the square was dubbed "Little St. Francis" because of the temporary shelter erected for residents of the St. Francis Hotel. Actor John Barrymore, the grandfather of actress Drew Barrymore and a notorious carouser, was among the guests pressed into volunteering to stack bricks in the square. Completely renovated in 2002, the once dowdy square now has an open-air stage and central plaza, an outdoor café, gardens, and a visitor information booth. Four sculptures by the artist R. M. Fischer preside over the space, which fills daily with a familiar kaleidoscope of characters: office workers sunning and brown-bagging, street musicians, the occasional preacher, and a fair number of homeless people.
Chinatown: Prepare to have your senses assaulted in Chinatown. Pungent smells waft out of restaurants, fish markets, and produce stands. Good-luck banners of crimson and gold hang beside dragon-entwined lampposts, pagoda roofs, and street signs with Chinese calligraphy. Grant Avenue and Stockton Street are the main drags, but check out the district's narrow side streets; at No. 56 Ross Alley (west of and parallel to Grant Avenue between Washington and Jackson Streets), you can watch fortune-cookie bakers in action. Three flights of stairs lead up to Tin How Temple, at No. 125 Waverly Place, where elderly ladies can often be seen preparing "money" to be burned as offerings to various Buddhist gods or as funds for ancestors to use in the afterlife.
Haight-Ashbury: East of Golden Gate Park is the Haight, still home to a wandering tribe of Deadheads, with anarchist book collectives and shops selling incense and tie-dye T-shirts. Once an enclave of large middle-class families of European extraction, the Haight began to change during the late 1950s and early 1960s. By 1966 the Haight had become a hot spot for rock bands like the Grateful Dead -- whose members moved into a big Victorian near the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets -- and Jefferson Airplane, whose grand mansion was north of the district at 2400 Fulton Street. The Haight's famous political spirit -- it hosts regular boycotts against chain stores -- exists alongside some of the finest Victorian-lined streets in the city. The area is also known for its vintage merchandise, including clothes, records, and books.
Lombard Street: The block-long "Crookedest Street in the World" makes eight switchbacks down the east face of Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth streets. Residents bemoan the traffic jam outside their front doors, and occasionally the city attempts to discourage drivers by posting a traffic cop near the top of the hill, but the determined can find a way around. If no one is standing guard, join the line of cars waiting to drive down the steep hill, or avoid the whole morass and walk down the steps on either side of Lombard. You'll take in super views of North Beach and Coit Tower whether you walk or drive -- though if you're the one behind the wheel, you'd better keep your eye on the road lest you become yet another of the many folks who ram the garden barriers.
Nob Hill: Once called the Hill of Golden Promise, this area was officially dubbed Nob Hill during the 1870s when "the Big Four" -- Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Collis Huntington, who were involved in the construction of the transcontinental railroad -- built their hilltop estates. By 1882 so many estates had sprung up on Nob Hill that Robert Louis Stevenson called it "the hill of palaces." But the 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed all the palatial mansions, except for portions of the Flood brownstone. Though Nob Hill lacks the quirky flavor of other San Francisco neighborhoods, it exudes history.
North Beach: 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 1950s. The neighborhood is hemmed in on the east by Telegraph Hill, which features tree-shaded stairways that ramble down the steep eastern face of the hill, and Coit Tower - one of the city's most famous landmarks. The 210-ft-tall Coit Tower stands as a monument to the city's volunteer firefighters.
Golden Gate Bridge: The suspension bridge that connects San Francisco with Marin County has long wowed sightseers with its rust-color beauty, 750-ft towers, and simple but powerful art deco design. At nearly 2 mi, the Golden Gate, completed in 1937 after four years of construction, was built to withstand winds of more than 100 mph. Though frequently gusty and misty (walkers should wear warm clothing), the bridge offers unparalleled views of the Bay Area. The east walkway yields a glimpse of the San Francisco skyline as well as the islands of the bay. The view west takes in the wild hills of the Marin Headlands, the curving coast south to Land's End, and the majestic Pacific Ocean. A vista point on the Marin side affords a spectacular view of the city. On sunny days sailboats dot the water, and brave windsurfers test the often-treacherous tides beneath the bridge.
Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39: This is the most popular -- and commercial -- of San Francisco's waterfront attractions, drawing millions of visitors each year to browse through its dozens of shops.
Alcatraz Island: Alcatraz operated as an 'escape-proof' prison from 1933 to 1963. Al Capone, 'Machine Gun' Kelly and Robert Stroud, the 'birdman of Alcatraz,' were among the prison's unsavory residents. North of Alcatraz, Angel Island served as an internment camp during WWII; it's now a popular place for walking, hiking, biking, picnics and camping. Both islands are accessible by ferry from Fisherman's Wharf.
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