San Francisco also known as The City by the Bay was almost completely destroyed in the earthquake and fire which occurred in 1906. But it was quickly rebuilt and nowadays is looking better than ever.
The fact that Montgomery Street is called “Wall Street of the West” shows that the city was quickly developing. Even during the Great Depression none of the Frisco – San Francisco called by many – based bank failed. These historical events create a great base for a continuously developing and colorful city worth to visit for at least one time for everybody.
Its population is little over three fourths of a million and like other larger cities in the US it’s a minority-majority city. This means that around 44 percent is non-Hispanic white. About a third of the city’s population is Asian American, mainly Chinese. Also Hispanics and African Americans live here in great numbers. This gives the city a multicultural feeling.
Being surrounded by the Ocean from three sides San Francisco’s weather is strongly influenced by the currents from the Pacific. Like other cities in California the winters are mild and wet, the summers being dry. The average temperature changes by only 7 °C during a year. This gives the city a balanced climate.
Frisco is somehow unique in the US because of its European style road systems instead of large numbers of freeways. So if you are from the US it may be a new and interesting thing but if you’re from Europe you may feel a little like home.
There are three original trademarks of the city: the Golden Gate Bridge, the cable cars and Alcatraz Island. The cable cars - which carry travelers since 1873 – nowadays are real tourist attractions. Frisco was the home of the longest suspended bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, when it was completed in 1937. After 27 years being ranked as the second and today is ranked as the ninth, but still is one of the most known bridges in the world and became a true trademark of San Francisco. The Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz, was built as a lighthouse being located in the middle of the bay. Later served also as military fortification, but is known for being a prison from which no one escaped during its 29 years of operation. While it was serving as a prison earned its nickname, The Rock. Some of America’s most known gangsters were serving their sentence here, like Al Capone or George “Machine Gun” Kelly. In the summer of 1996 blockbuster “The Rock” featuring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage was partially shot in San Francisco and the Alcatraz Island itself. These days The Rock is open to public being a historic site, and it’s accessible by ferry. Beside the notorious-famous island there are plenty of tourist attractions in the city itself.
The cultural life of the city is very colorful. It offers chances of enjoyment for both modern and classic music lovers. Other performing acts can also be viewed at the War Memorial Opera House which houses the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet, or if you would like to listen to a symphony you may visit the Davies Symphony Hall home of the San Francisco Symphony. San Francisco is the home of Museum of Modern Art and the Palace of Fine Arts, which houses the Exploratorium. This is a science museum in which hands-on interaction is the main teaching method.
Sports fans surely know San Francisco for its NFL team the 49ers or the Giants which is an MLB team. The town also has its own lacrosse team and also pro and semi-pro soccer team. If you don’t only want to watch sports events and you would like to try some sports yourself than San Francisco is a perfect place for you. Numerous water sports are available for you, like kite and windsurfing, also sailing and boating. You can also stop by if you are traveling around the globe in your own yacht in the city’s Marina District, which operates a yacht harbor. You can also land at the San Francisco International Airport, which is situated just 20 kilometers from the city.
As other major Californian cities Frisco is supporting cycling. In numbers this means about 100 kilometers of bicycle lanes and paths throughout the city carrying 40,000 circlers daily. If you chose the car shouldn’t miss the 49-Mile Scenic Drive which is a specially signed route both around and through the city highlighting the most known attractions of the city.
After a long day visiting the places that are for your taste you may visit Chinatown or one of the many characteristic restaurants. Most of the commerce and shopping districts are centralized in downtown area and around the Union Square there are plenty of restaurants, boutiques, cafes and clubs in other parts of the city.
So if you would like to experience what can give you a true Californian city, having a mixed culture and some of most known tourist attractions in the World, you should certainly chose San Francisco.
