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About San Francisco:

San Francisco is the leading financial and cultural center of Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The only consolidated city-county in California, San Francisco encompasses a land area of about 46.9 square miles (121 km2) on the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, giving it a density of about 17,179 people per square mile (6,632 people per km2). It is the most densely settled large city (population greater than 200,000) in the state of California and the second-most densely populated major city in the United States after New York City. San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California, after Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose, and the 14th most populous city in the United States—with a population of 805,235 as of the 2010 Census. The city is also the financial and cultural hub of the larger San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland metropolitan area, with a population of 7.6 million.

San Francisco (Spanish for "Saint Francis") was founded on June 29, 1776, when colonists from Spain established a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for St. Francis of Assisi a few miles away. The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. Due to the growth of its population, San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856. After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. During World War II, San Francisco was the port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States.

Today, San Francisco is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, and is renowned for its cool summers, fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of architecture, and landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, the former prison on Alcatraz Island, and its Chinatown district. It is also a primary banking and finance center.

Geography of San Francisco:

San Francisco is located on the West Coast of the United States at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula and includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay within its boundaries. Several islands—Alcatraz, Treasure Island and the adjacent Yerba Buena Island, and a small portion of Alameda Island, Red Rock Island, and Angel Island are part of the city. Also included are the uninhabited Farallon Islands, 27 miles (43 km) offshore in the Pacific Ocean. The mainland within the city limits roughly forms a "seven-by-seven-mile square," a common local colloquialism referring to the city's shape, though its total area, including water, is nearly 232 square miles (600 km2).

San Francisco is famous for its hills. There are more than 50 hills within city limits. Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, including Nob Hill, Potrero Hill, and Russian Hill. Near the geographic center of the city, southwest of the downtown area, are a series of less densely populated hills. Twin Peaks, a pair of hills resting at one of the city's highest points, forms a popular overlook spot. San Francisco's tallest hill, Mount Davidson, is 925 feet (282 m) high and is capped with a 103-foot (31 m) tall cross built in 1934. Dominating this area is Sutro Tower, a large red and white radio and television transmission tower.

The nearby San Andreas and Hayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, although neither physically passes through the city itself. The San Andreas Fault caused the earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. Minor earthquakes occur on a regular basis. The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city's infrastructure development. The city constructed an auxiliary water supply system and has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction. However, there are still thousands of smaller buildings that remain vulnerable to quake damage.

San Francisco's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Entire neighborhoods such as the Marina, Mission Bay, and Hunters Point, as well as large sections of the Embarcadero, sit on areas of landfill. Treasure Island was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from tunneling through Yerba Buena Island during the construction of the Bay Bridge. Such land tends to be unstable during earthquakes; the resultant liquefaction causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Most of the city's natural watercourses, such as Islais Creek and Mission Creek, have been culverted and built over, although the Public Utilities Commission is studying proposals to daylight or restore some creeks.

San Francisco Weather:

View Detailed 10 Day Weather Forecast for San Francisco, webcams, weather maps & more at Weather-Forecast.com

San Francisco Attractions:

Golden Gate Bridge:

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to Marin County. It is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and the United States. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Frommers travel guide considers the Golden Gate Bridge "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world".

Until 1964 the Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge main span in the world, at 4,200 feet (1,280.2m). Since 1964 its main span length has been surpassed by ten bridges; it now has the second longest main span in the United States, after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City.

Total length of the Golden Gate Bridge from abutment to abutment is 8,981 feet (2,737 m).

At 746 feet (227m) above water the Golden Gate Bridge had the world's tallest suspension towers until 1998 when bridges in Denmark and Japan were completed.

San Francisco Zoo:

The San Francisco Zoo is a 100-acre (40 ha) zoo located in the southwestern corner of San Francisco, California, between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean along the Great Highway. The zoo's main entrance, once located on the north side across Sloat Boulevard and one block south of the Muni Metro L Taraval line, is now to the west on the ocean side of the zoo off of the Great Highway.

This zoo is the birthplace of Koko the gorilla, and housed 693 individual animals representing about 197 species as of 2011.

The Insect Zoo opened in 1979 and features terrariums containing live arthropods, including millipedes, centipedes, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, tarantulas, scorpions, velvet ants, termites, walkingsticks and bees. Visitors can examine specimens under microscopes, and there are insect-themed books, videos, puppets and games.

Golden Gate Park:

Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of 1,017 acres (412 ha) of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles (5 km) long east to west, and about half a mile north to south. With 13 million visitors annually, Golden Gate is the third most visited city park in the United States after Central Park in New York City and Lincoln Park in Chicago.

Cable Cars:

The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system. An icon of San Francisco, California, the cable car system forms part of the intermodal urban transport network operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, or "Muni" as it is better known. Of the twenty-three lines established between 1873 and 1890, three remain (one of which combines parts of two earlier lines): two routes from downtown near Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf, and a third route along California Street. While the cable cars are used to a certain extent by commuters, their small service area and premium fares for single rides make them more of a tourist attraction. They are among the most significant tourist sites in the city, along with Alcatraz Island and Fisherman's Wharf. The cable cars are the only mobile National Monument in the world, and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The cable cars are not to be confused with San Francisco's heritage streetcars, which operate on Market Street and the Embarcadero.

Eclectic Mix of Architecture:

The architecture of San Francisco is not so much known for defining a particular architectural style, rather, with its interesting and challenging variations in geography and topology and tumultuous history, San Francisco is known worldwide for its particularly eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture.

Icons of San Francisco architecture include the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Coit Tower, the Palace of Fine Arts, Lombard Street, Alamo Square, and Chinatown.

Alcatraz Island:

Alcatraz Island is located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. Often referred to as "The Rock," the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison (1868), and a federal prison from 1933 until 1963. Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of Aboriginal Peoples from San Francisco who were part of a wave of Native activism across the nation with public protests through the 1970s. In 1972 Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Today, the island's facilities are managed by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area; it is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. Hornblower Cruises and Events, operating under the name Alcatraz Cruises, is the official ferry provider to and from the island. Hornblower launched the nation's first hybrid propulsion ferry in 2008, the Hornblower Hybrid, which now serves the island, docking at the Alcatraz Wharf.

It is home to the abandoned prison, the site of the oldest operating lighthouse on the west coast of the United States, early military fortifications, and natural features such as rock pools and a seabird colony (mostly Western Gulls, cormorants, and egrets). According to a 1971 documentary on the History of Alcatraz, the island measures 1,675 feet (511 m) by 590 feet (180 m) and is 135 feet (41 m) at highest point during mean tide. However, the total area of the island is reported to be 22 acres (8.9 ha).

Landmarks on the island include the Main Cellhouse, Dining Hall, Library, Lighthouse, the ruins of the Warden's House and Officers Club, Parade Grounds, Building 64, Water Tower, New Industries Building, Model Industries Building, and the Recreation Yard.

Chinatown, San Francisco:

Chinatown, in San Francisco, California is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia.Since its establishment in 1848,it has been highly important and influential in the history and culture of ethnic Chinese immigrants in North America. Chinatown is an enclave that continues to retain its own customs, languages, places of worship, social clubs, and identity. There are two hospitals, numerous parks and squares, a post office, and other infrastructure. Visitors can easily become immersed in a microcosmic Asian world, filled with herbal shops, temples, pagoda roofs and dragon parades. In addition to being a starting point and home for thousands of Chinese immigrants, it is also a major tourist attraction, drawing more visitors annually than the Golden Gate Bridge.

San Francisco Fog:

The fog of San Francisco Bay is a specific type of fog. It is a sea fog identified as advection fog, which is characterized by the lateral transfer of temperature by wind blowing over cooler water. In circumstances such as these, often, the water is cool enough to lower the temperature of the air to the dewpoint, causing fog generation. Coastal areas having Mediterranean climates, such as that of San Francisco, have especially frequent sea fog blowing off the ocean to just a few miles inland. Once the fog has been generated as such, heated air in California's Central Valley lowers the air pressure, causing the relatively higher pressure air out at sea to force the fog inland into the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Francisco's fog is created when warm, moist air blows from the central Pacific Ocean across the cold waters of the California Current, which flows just off the coast, creating a cool, moist wind.

Financial District, San Francisco:

The Financial District is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, that serves as its main central business district. It is home to the city's largest concentration of corporate headquarters, law firms, insurance companies, real estate firms, banks, savings and loans, and other financial institutions.

The area is marked by the cluster of high-rise towers in the triangular area east of Grant Avenue, south of Washington Street, west of the Embarcadero that rings the waterfront, and north of Market Street. The city's tallest buildings, including 555 California Street and the Transamerica Pyramid, and many other tall buildings, such as 101 California Street and 345 California Street are located there. Montgomery Street ("Wall Street of the West") is the traditional heart of the district.

Union Square:

Union Square is a 2.6-acre (1.1 ha) public plaza bordered by Geary, Powell, Post and Stockton Streets in San Francisco, California. "Union Square" also refers to the central shopping, hotel, and theater district that surrounds the plaza for several blocks. The area got its name because it was once used for rallies and support for the Union Army during the American Civil War, earning its designation as a California Historical Landmark. Today, this one-block plaza and surrounding area is one of the largest collections of department stores, upscale boutiques, gift shops, art galleries, and beauty salons in the United States, making Union Square a major tourist destination, a vital, cosmopolitan gathering place in downtown San Francisco, and one of the world's premier shopping districts. Grand hotels and small inns, as well as repertory, off-Broadway, and single-act theaters also contribute to the area's dynamic, 24-hour character.

Fisherman's Wharf:

Fisherman's Wharf is a neighborhood and popular tourist attraction in San Francisco, California. It roughly encompasses the northern waterfront area of San Francisco from Ghirardelli Square or Van Ness Avenue east to Pier 35 or Kearny Street. The F Market streetcar runs through the area, the Powell-Hyde cable car lines runs to Aquatic Park, at the edge of Fisherman's Wharf, and the Powell-Mason cable car line runs a few blocks away.

Pier 39:

Pier 39 is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. At Pier 39, there are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, an interpretive center for the Marine Mammal Center, the Aquarium of the Bay, virtual 3D rides, and views of California sea lions hauled out on docks on Pier 39's marina. The marina is also home to the floating Forbes Island restaurant. A two-story carousel is one of the pier's more dominant features, although it is not directly visible from the street and sits towards the end of the pier. The family-oriented entertainment and presence of marine mammals make this a popular tourist location for families with kids.

North Beach, San Francisco:

North Beach is a neighborhood in the northeast of San Francisco adjacent to Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and Russian Hill. The neighborhood is San Francisco's Little Italy, and has historically been home to a large Italian American population. It is still home to many Italian restaurants today, though many other ethnic groups currently live in the neighborhood. It was also the historic center of the beatnik subculture. Today, North Beach is one of San Francisco's main red light and nightlife districts as well as a residential neighborhood populated by a mix of young urban professionals, families and Chinese immigrants connected to the adjacent Chinatown.

South of Market, San Francisco:

South of Market (or SoMa) is a relatively large neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States located just south of Market Street and contains several sub-neighborhoods including South Beach, Mission Bay and Rincon Hill.

SOMA is home to many of San Francisco's museums, include SFMOMA, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Museum of the African Diaspora. The Cartoon Art Museum, the children's Zeum, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum are also in the Yerba Buena area. The Old Mint, which served as the San Francisco Mint from 1874 to 1937, has been restored and is schedule to reopen to the public in 2012 following an 8-year renovation. The Center for the Arts, along with Yerba Buena Gardens and the Metreon, is built on top of Moscone North. Across Howard Street, built on top of Moscone South, is a children's park featuring a large play area, an ice skating rink, a bowling alley, a restaurant, the Zeum, and the restored merry-go-round from Playland-At-the-Beach. The children's park and Zeum are joined to Yerba Buena Gardens by a footbridge over Howard Street.

Baker Beach:

Baker Beach is a public beach on the peninsula of San Francisco, California, U.S.. The beach lies on the shore of the Pacific Ocean to the northwest of the city. It is roughly a half mile (800 m) long, beginning just south of Golden Gate Point (where the Golden Gate Bridge connects with the peninsula), extending southward toward the Seacliff peninsula, the Palace of the Legion of Honor and the Sutro Baths. The northern section of Baker Beach is "frequented by clothing-optional sunbathers". As such it is considered a nude beach.

Conservatory of Flowers:

The Conservatory of Flowers is a greenhouse and botanical garden that houses a collection of rare and exotic plants in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California. With construction completed in 1878, it remains the oldest building in the park, and the oldest municipal wooden conservatory remaining in the United States. It is also one of the first municipal conservatories constructed in the country. For these distinctions and for its associated historical, architectural, and engineering merits, the Conservatory of Flowers is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historical Places, is a California Historical Landmark, and a San Francisco Designated Landmark.

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park:

The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, USA. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility. The park is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the San Francisco Maritime Museum -- a name that dates from 1951, but changed when the collections were acquired by the National Park Service, in 1978. Today's San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park was authorized in 1988; the maritime museum is among the park's many cultural resources. The park also incorporates the Aquatic Park Historic District, bounded by Van Ness Avenue, Polk Street, and Hyde Street.

Japanese Tea Garden:

The Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco, California, is a popular feature of Golden Gate Park, originally built as part of a sprawling World's Fair, the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894. For more than 20 years San Francisco Parks Trusts' Park Guides have given free tours to San Francisco Parks trust members, providing context and history for this historic Japanese-style garden.

The oldest public Japanese garden in the United States, this complex of many paths, ponds and a teahouse features native Japanese and Chinese plants. The gardens 5 acres (2.0 ha) contain many sculptures and bridges.

San Francisco Opera:

San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.

It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) and is the second largest opera company in North America[citation needed]. The Opening Night Gala of San Francisco Opera is considered to be one of the most prominent events in the musical and social life of San Francisco.

San Francisco Aquarium-Aquarium of the Bay:

Aquarium of the Bay is a public aquarium located at Embarcadero and Beach Street, at the edge of Pier 39 in San Francisco, California. The Aquarium is focused on local aquatic animals from the San Francisco Bay and neighboring waters.

The Aquarium of the Bay is an affiliate of The Bay Institute and is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art:

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art. The museum’s current collection includes over 26,000 works of painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, design, and media arts. The building complex was designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta.

SFMOMA's Research Library was established in 1935 and contains extensive resources pertaining to modern and contemporary art, including books, periodicals, artists’ files, and lecture recordings. The museum also houses a restaurant, Caffè Museo, and a coffee bar run by the Blue Bottle Coffee Company.

San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge:

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a pair of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay of California, in the United States. As part of Interstate 80 and the direct road route between San Francisco and Oakland, it carries approximately 280,000 vehicles per day on its two decks. It has one of the longest spans in the world.

The toll bridge was conceived as early as the gold rush days, but construction did not begin until 1933. Designed by Charles H. Purcell,and built by American Bridge Company, it opened for traffic on November 12, 1936, six months before the Golden Gate Bridge. It originally carried automobile traffic on its upper deck, and trucks and trains on the lower, but after the closure of the Key System, the lower deck was converted to road traffic as well. In 1986, the bridge was unofficially dedicated to James B. Rolph.

The bridge consists of two main spans of roughly equal length, a western span connecting downtown San Francisco to Yerba Buena Island and an eastern span connecting the island to Oakland. The main part of the western span is a suspension bridge while the main part of the eastern span is a cantilever bridge. During the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, a section of the eastern span's upper deck collapsed onto the lower deck and the bridge was closed for a month. Reconstruction of the eastern span as a self-anchored suspension bridge began in 2002; the new span is scheduled to open in 2013.

San Francisco Airport:

San Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO (from "San FranciscO"). The airport has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe and Asia.

It is the largest airport in the San Francisco Bay Area and the second busiest airport in California after Los Angeles International Airport. In 2009 San Francisco International Airport was the tenth busiest in the United States and the twentieth largest airport in the world, by passenger count. It is the fifth largest hub of United Airlines. It also serves as Virgin America's principal base of operations. It is the sole maintenance hub of United Airlines. SFO has numerous passenger amenities, including a range of food and drink establishments, shopping, baggage storage, public showers, a medical clinic, and assistance for lost or stranded travelers and military personnel. It has the Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library, and permanent and temporary art exhibitions in several places in the terminals. Free Wi-Fi is available to the public in most of the terminal area.

Although located in San Mateo County, SFO is owned by the City and County of San Francisco. SFO Enterprises Inc. was created by the San Francisco Airport Commission to oversee its business purchases and operations of ventures such as owning Honduran airports.

San Francisco Hotels:

Luxury Hotels San Francisco:

The Ritz-Carlton
St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco
Hotel Vitale, a Joie de Vivre hotel

Mandarin Oriental, San Francisco
Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco
Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square
Omni San Francisco Hotel
Argonaut Hotel - a Kimpton Hotel
Taj Campton Place
Parc 55 Wyndham
Grand Hyatt San Francisco
InterContinental San Francisco
JW Marriott San Francisco Union Square
Palace Hotel
Hotel Nikko San Francisco
Westin San Francisco Market Street
Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf
Hyatt Regency San Francisco
Hilton San Francisco Financial District
Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf Hotel

Budget Hotels San Francisco:

Capri Motel
Economy Inn Presidio
Presidio Inn & Suites

Alpha Inn and Suites San Francisco
Knights Inn - Downtown San Francisco
Coventry Motor Inn
San Francisco at The Presidio Travelodge
Baldwin Hotel
Chelsea Motor Inn
The Mosser
Hotel Vertigo
Castle Inn
The Stratford
Hotel des Arts
Andrews Hotel
Lombard Motor Inn
Nob Hill Motor Inn
The Opal San Francisco
Hotel Bijou
Encore Express Hotel