San Francisco Travel Information
San Francisco (area pop. 2.7 million) is one of the few North American
cities to achieve a place in the pantheon of great urban centers
around the globe. Sophisticated, cosmopolitan, often foggy and
infamous for its high-priced real estate, "San Fran" ranks well up the
list of cultural "it" spots on the West Coast. While collisions - of
Mexican, Asian, and American cultures, of the cold
north Pacific Ocean with the sunny
California mainland, of 18th-century Spanish missions with modern
skyscrapers and of course, the rattling slide of the San Andreas
Fault's earthen sides - may have shaped this city, it's the
multi-cultured populous
and atmospheric setting that makes it such a desirable destination in
its current
form.
This water-framed city's most recognizable sights might range from
architectural
landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge to steep streets, cable cars,
and salty Fisherman's Wharf, but San Francisco is also home to world-class
museums, a zoo, an aquarium and an expansive urban park. When the fog
lifts, find here neighborhoods that range from high society Nob Hill
to historic Chinatown, the Mission District to the Castro or
up-and-coming Deco Ghetto. San Francisco and the surrounding area
have expanded
tremendously over the past century, creating an urban metropolis known
as the Bay Area. Centered around the 50-mile long San Francisco Bay,
the area is connected by an extensive public transportation network
and a series of impressive bridges. San Francisco itself is located on
a peninsula; San Jose is at the
south end of the bay and Oakland is
on the mainland side to the east. San Francisco is located on
the west coast of
central California, about 90 miles southwest of Sacramento.
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