The famous Lombard Street, east-west of San Francisco
San Francisco is a cultural, commercial and financial center in California, US. It is a popular tourist destinations and has a number of worldwide-recognizable landmarks and attractions like the Golden Gate bridge, the Alcatraz Island, the Cable Cars, the San Francisco Bay.
San Francisco is the perfect destination for a long vacation so a week could be the ideal choice to visit its rich cultural and artistic heritage.
The best time to visit San Francisco is from September to November. It may seem like an odd choice but autumn offers some of the city’s warmest temperatures year-round, not to mention fewer crowds than summer. Spring is another good time to visit thanks to its mild temperatures and lack of rain (compared to other parts of California).
How to best experience San Francisco?
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Top things to do & see in San Francisco
Select the following sights and activities to discover best tickets and tours available in San Francisco.
The city of San Francisco
| Country | USA |
| State | California |
| Time in San Francisco |
UTC−08:00 (PST) Summer (DST) UTC-07:00 (PDT) |
| Language spoken | English |
| Currency | U.S. dollar ($) |
| Religion (2014) |
Christianity (48%) Hinduism (5%) |
| Airports |
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Oakland International Airport |
Here California presents itself in a different guise: just as Los Angeles is exasperatedly American, so San Francisco offers itself in a more European and snobbish atmosphere, a more tolerant, measured, captivating and cosmopolitan mentality.
Sparkling under the sun, in the clear, wind-swerpt air, sometimes covered by the mist rising from the surrounding waters, San Francisco lives in the sign of the two entities, the Ocean and the Bay, on which history and architecture of the city are based, symbolized bythe colossal but harmonious Golden Gate.
Where is San Francisco?
The City and County of San Francisco is a cultural, commercial, and financial center in the U.S. state of California. It 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.
When was San Francisco founded?
San Francisco was founded on 29 June 1776, when colonists from Spain established Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate and Mission San Francisco de Asís for St. Francis of Assisi a few miles away.
Why Lombard Street is so famous?
If there is one thing that marks San Francisco, it is the presence of roads so steep that they are almost impassable. The city stands on several hills and from these you can enjoy a breathtaking view. Lombard Street is located between Hyde and Leavenworth and it is known as the steepest street in San Francisco but it is not really true. In reality this road has an inclination of 40 degrees and is zigzag. This attracts many visitors looking to immortalize the cars going down. The best place to do this is the lower part of the road. The road is one-way and can only be traveled downhill at a maximum speed of 8 km/h at the most tortuous and critical point.
Alcatraz: the inexpugnable prison
Alcatraz was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco. It was used to incarcerate those inmates who were considered problematic in other prisons. It closed in 1963 as a prison and it has been reopened as a public museum. It is one of San Francisco’s major tourist attractions and film set. Alcatraz’s history as an impregnable penitentiary ended in 1963 following a trivial cost-benefit calculation. The luckiest fugitives avoided drowning and were caught before reaching the beach, unfortunately others did not have the same fate and were overwhelmed by the currents.
The port area
The port area is an essential destination for a respectable tour. Always dedicated to fishing activities, the area is very characteristic for the many kiosks where you can taste the big Californian crabs. Nearby Pier 39 is also home to a funfair-style entertainment center, with street performers and restaurants. Incredible the amount of sea lions that live on the left side of the pier and which attract many tourists.