Why San Francisco?
The city of forty-eight hills
San Francisco is a vibrant city that offers a unique blend of history, culture, and natural beauty.
Whether you're fascinated by history, food, technology, nature, or art, San Francisco has something to offer.
It may measure less than 50 square miles and have a population that doesn’t even crack a million, but San Francisco justly ranks as one of the greatest cities in the world. Famous for grand-dame Victorians, cable cars, a dynamic waterfront, and a soaring golden bridge, this city truly has it all. With trend-defining cuisine ranging from Michelin-starred dining to outrageous food trucks; world-renowned symphony, ballet, theater, and opera; plus almost boundless outdoor adventures, San Francisco justifiably stands out as one of the ultimate must-visit cities on any traveler’s wish list.
The hardest part may be deciding where to go first. (Well, that and packing for the city’s famously unpredictable weather.)
Despite its famously steep hills, San Francisco is remarkably easy to get around. Clanging cable cars are beloved icons and a convenient way to travel between the waterfront and Union Square. Historic streetcars run along the Embarcadero with stops for Fisherman’s Wharf, the Ferry Building Marketplace, and Oracle Park, home of the Major League’s Giants baseball team. For an easy, affordable ride, look for one of hundreds of bikeshare stations and hop on a Bay Wheels bike (or ebike) and go.
Neighborhoods
My favorite Neighborhoods of San Francisco
Alamo Square
Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood in San Francisco, California with a park of the same name. Is characterized by Victorian architecture that was left largely untouched by the urban renewal projects in other parts of the Western Addition.
The neighborhood's focal point and namesake, consists of four city blocks at the top of a hill overlooking much of downtown San Francisco, with a number of large and architecturally distinctive mansions along the perimeter, including the "Painted Ladies", a well-known postcard motif.
The "Painted Ladies", are often shown in the foreground of panoramic pictures of the city's downtown area. A number of movies, television shows and commercials have been filmed in or around Alamo Square.
Castro & Haight-Hasbury
The Castro District, commonly referred to as the Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco. The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States. It remains one of the most prominent symbols of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activism and events in the world.
Haight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the counterculture of the 1960s. Here you can find plenty of second-hand and vintage clothes shops and for those music lovers, this neighborhood is home of Jimmi Hendrix house.
South of market "SOMA"
South of Market (SoMa) is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, situated just south of Market Street. It contains several sub-neighborhoods including South Beach, Yerba Buena, and Rincon Hill.
SoMa is home to many of the city's museums, to the headquarters of several major software and Internet companies, and to the Moscone Conference Center.
Before being called South of Market this area was called "South of the Slot", a reference to the cable cars that ran up and down Market along the slots through which they gripped cables. While the cable cars have long since disappeared from Market Street, some "old timers" still refer to this area as "South of the Slot".