"San Francisco - Paris of the West" San Francisco by Callavetta
San Francisco Travel Guide: 10,931 reviews and 18,554 photos
As much as I love to travel and see all of the incredible places and things the world has to offer, flying home to San Francisco never fails to take my breath away. The green hills, the blue waters of the bay, the Golden Gate stretching across the mouth of the bay, the tall buildings crowded onto the Cities hills, all come together to create a diversity that mirrors the people of this great area.
One of the best ways to get a good perspective of San Francisco is to put some distance between the City and yourself. Marin Headlands is a great place to do this. Drive across the Bridge and take the first Sausalito exit, turning right and looping back under the highway. Drive up up up to the highest point for fantastic views. Be careful of cyclists. In San Francisco we "share the road".
San Francisco is all about diversity. One of the best ways to discover what that means is to get out on foot and walk. Start in North Beach, SF's Little Italy and home to the "Beats". From there it's only a couple of blocks to our world famous Chinatown. Head on to Japantown, the Mission District, the Castro, Haight Ashbury.... San Francisco has it all.
One of the best ways to see the city is from the water. There are a variety of options for doing this. Take a ferry ride to Sausalito, Tiburon or Larkspur. There are multiple trips daily and it can be great fun to go to Sausalito or Tiburon for lunch. On a clear day, the view from any of these charming towns is incredible. Tour Alcatraz. It's impossible not to consider how prisoners felt looking across the narrow expanse of water at the city, so near but so far away! Take one of the bay tours available; Hornblower, Blue and Gold, Ride and White. Or if you're lucky like I was, you might even find a friend with a sailboat!
- Pros:The incredible diversity
- Cons:Expensive Cost of Living
Reviews (54)
Al Fresco by the Bridge
Restaurants
(6)
I've been wanting to go to Waterbar for about a year and yesterday was the PERFECT day. Situated on the Embarcadero, not... more travel advice
Hornblower Cruise
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This past week I took my out of town work team on their first sightseeing tour of San Francisco. What better way to kick... more travel advice
Funky Dining on Chestnut Street
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I recently met my daughters at one of their favorite Chestnut Street restaurants, Bistro Yoffi. This is decidedly one of... more travel advice
The Pier 39 Squaters
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(1)
One of the most commonly taken photos in San Francisco, is oddly enough these Pier 39 squatters. The sealions are noisy,... more travel advice
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Local Customs (7)
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See All Colma - "Deadsville"
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Share Your TravelsLatest Activity in San Francisco
- Replied to fj40ahoy's Travel San Francisco Forum Forum Question "Walking around down town"
- Uploaded a Photo to "Al Fresco by the Bridge"
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Comments (80)
Your tips and photos bring back nice memories of the years when I lived in Berkeley and often went over to San Francisco. (This was quite some time ago. They were still agonizing about whether to start building BART or not.) Somehow I have never heard of the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon.
Gosh, and I thought Sydney Harbour Bridge and the number one world rated fireworks display was more famous than both. Very helpful tips by the way. Cheers.
Hi Katherine - Nice to meet you! Thanks for stopping by my HP. What a great place you live in - I loved our visit there last April.
Janet has been telling me what a wondeful and interesting person you are so I thought I would check out your pages! Good job!
Water Bar! I will always remember the fantastic meal we had together. It was one of my most memorable days in SF. You are the perfect hostess.
I will be in SF next month. I am an old native that can't wait to return. I want to try all the restaurants that you have listed! I lived on California Street just near Clement and 4th so I know the area well. It has changed so much since I lived there.
We've got our flight booked, we will be in San Francisco from 9/9-9/14 :-) Hope we can make plans to get together!
very good page, I add a lot of information to my SF trip planner! Hope to meet you in SF, ILse
You have a place to work? With a courtyard? And a job in one place? And you are there working? Well... if a boy can come out of the country, I guess a girl can get a real job... ;-) I hope you're happy & well!
lovely bit of local colour. a great read. thanks
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