"San Francisco - Paris of the West " a San Francisco Travel Page by Callavetta

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!