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