Introduction to San Francisco

Considered to be one of America’s most attractive cities, San Francisco's hilly streets provide fantastic glimpses of the Bay and its famous bridges. The basic pleasures of life here – glitzy nightlife, wonderful food and those glorious views – are there for everyone and not just the lucky few who live there all year round.
San Francisco occupies the tip of a 30 mile peninsula in Northern California, with San Francisco Bay to the north and east and the Pacific Ocean on its western side. San Francisco is just one of many cities in the Bay Area; others include Berkeley (just north of Oakland), San Jose (an hour's drive Southeast of San Francisco and Oakland (east across the Bay Bridge). Marin County and the Wine Country lie to the north, across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Travel by foot is still the best way to explore San Francisco's neighbourhoods. A leisurely stroll through North Beach, with its relaxed European charm, leads straight into bustling Chinatown. South of Market, a busy warehouse district during the day, transforms into nightclub central at night. The Mission District is varied: many of its streets are Latino enclaves, but a continuous flow of trendy young invaders has redefined many of the district’s crossroad's.
The most tourist orientated part of the city resembles a long triangle, with Van Ness Ave. and Market St making the two longer sides and the Embarcadero the short. Spread out among these areas are the high-rise Financial District, the hip shops around Union Square, the classy Civic Centre, the down-and-out but up-and-coming Tenderloin,Chinatown, swanky Nob Hill and Russian Hill, North Beach and the epicentre of tourist kitsch, Fisherman's Wharf. To the south of Market St lies SoMa, an upwardly mobile warehouse zone of clubs and pubs that fades in the Southwest into the Mission - the city's Latino quarter - and then the Castro, the centre of gay life.

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