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The basic pleasures of life in San Francisco are not just for locals: wonderful food, sparkling nightlife and those glorious views are there for everyone. Watch the white fog fill the Golden Gate as the sunset lights up the windows across the bay, and prepare to leave your heart right there.
Its hilly streets provide some gorgeous glimpses of the sparkling bay and its famous bridges. San Francisco has an atmosphere of genteel chic mixed with offbeat innovation and a self-effacing quality so blatantly missing from brassy New York and plastic LA.
Best way to explore San Francisco's neighbourhoods is on foot. A leisurely stroll through North Beach, with its relaxed European charm, leads smack into bustling Chinatown. A hike up hoity-toity Nob Hill segues down to the troubled Tenderloin. South of Market, a busy warehouse district during the day, transforms into nightclub central at night.The nearby Castro was claimed by gay men in the 1970s, and it remains predominantly gay today, projecting an assured, almost mainstream air. The Mission District is varied: many of its streets are Latino enclaves, but a continuous flow of hip young invaders has redefined many of the district’s crossroads.
Facts at a glance
Area: 127 sq km
Population: 775,000
Country: USA
Time Zone: GMT/UTC -8 (Pacific Time)
Telephone Area Code: San Francisco and Marin County 415; Oakland and Berkeley
510; the Peninsula 650; Wine Country 707; San Jose 408 and Santa Cruz
831
See Also