San Francisco hotels, attractions, restaurants, hotel, weather, health

SAN FRANCISCO proper occupies just 48 hilly square miles at the tip of a slender peninsula, almost perfectly centered along the California coast. Arguably the most beautiful, certainly the most liberal city in the US, it remains true to itself: a funky, individualistic, surprisingly small city whose people pride themselves on being the cultured counterparts to their cousins in LA the last bastion of civilization on the lunatic fringe of America. It's a compact and approachable place, where downtown streets rise on impossible gradients to reveal stunning views of the city, the bay and beyond, and blanket fogs roll in unexpectedly to envelop the city in mist. This is not the California of mono-tonous blue skies and slothful warmth the temperatures rarely exceed the seventies, and even during summer can drop much lower.

The original inhabitants of this area, the Ohlone Indians , were all but wiped out within a few years of the establishment in 1776 of the Mission Dolores , the sixth in the chain of Spanish Catholic missions that ran the length of California. Two years after the Americans replaced the Mexicans in 1846, the discovery of gold in the Sierra foothills precipitated the rip-roaring Gold Rush . Within a year fifty thousand pioneers had traveled west, and east from China, turning San Francisco from a muddy village and wasteland of sand dunes into a thriving supply center and transit town. By the time the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, San Francisco was a lawless, rowdy boomtown of bordellos and drinking dens, something the moneyed elite who hit it big on the much more dependable silver Comstock Load worked hard to mend, constructing wide boulevards, parks, a cable car system and elaborate Victorian redwood mansions.

In the midst of the city's golden age, however, a massive earthquake , followed by three days of fire, wiped out most of the town in 1906. Rebuilding began immediately, resulting in a city more magnificent than before; in the decades that followed, writers like Dashiell Hammett and Jack London lived and worked here. Many of the city's landmarks, including Coit Tower and both the Golden Gate and Bay bridges, were built in the 1920s and 1930s. By World War II San Francisco had been eclipsed by Los Angeles as the main west coast city, but it achieved a new cultural eminence with the emergence of the Beats in the Fifties and the hippies in the Sixties, when the fusion of music, protest, rebellion and, of course, drugs that characterized 1967's "Summer of Love" took over the Haight-Ashbury district.

In a conservative America, San Francisco's reputation as a liberal oasis continues to grow, attracting waves of resettlers from all over the US. It is estimated that over half the city's population originates from somewhere else. It is a city in a constant state of evolution, fast gentrifying itself into one of the most high-end towns on earth thanks, in part, to the disposable incomes pumped into its coffers from its sizeable singles and gay contingents. Gay capital of the world, San Francisco has also been the scene of the dot.com revolution's rise and fall. The resultant wealth at one time made housing prices skyrocket often at the expense of the city's middle and lower classes but the closure of hundreds of start-up IT companies has brought real-estate prices back down to (almost) reasonable levels. Despite the city's current economic ebbs and flows, your impression of the city likely won't be altered it remains one of the most proudly distinct places to be found anywhere.

San Francisco is a city of hills and distinct neighborhoods. As a general rule, geographical elevation means wealth - the higher up you are, the less fog you endure, resulting in better views. Commercial square-footage is surprisingly small and mostly confined to the downtown area, and the rest of the city is made up of primarily residential neighborhoods with street-level shopping districts, easily explored on foot. Armed with a good map and strong legs, you could plough through much of the city in a day, but the best way to get to know San Francisco is to dawdle.

San Francisco is a rare American city where you don't need a car to see everything. In fact, given the chronic shortage of parking downtown, horrible traffic and zealous meter maids who love to give expensive parking tickets, going carless makes sense. The public transportation system, MUNI , though much maligned by locals for its unpredictable schedule, covers every neighborhood inexpensively via its system of cable cars, buses and trolleys. Bikes are a good option, as marked bike routes - with lanes - direct riders to all major points of interest. Walking the compact metropolis is the best bet, with each turn revealing surprises. Often these are in the form of stunning homes and bustling marketplaces, but on killer hills, some angled at 30 degrees and all punishment on the legs. Wear comfortable shoes.

All international and most domestic flights arrive at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), inconveniently located about fifteen miles south of the city. San Mateo County Transit (SamTrans) buses leave every half-hour from the lower level of the airport; the #KX express ($3) takes around 30 minutes to reach the Transbay Terminal downtown, while the slower #292 ($1.10) stops everywhere and takes nearly an hour. On the #KX, you're allowed only one carry-on bag; on the #292, you can bring as much as you want provided you can carry it onto the bus yourself. The SFO Airporter bus ($12) picks up outside each baggage claim area every fifteen minutes and travels to Union Square and the Financial District. The blue SuperShuttle, American Airporter Shuttle and Bay Shuttle minibuses depart every five minutes from the lower level of the circular road and take passengers to any city-center destination for around $14 a head. Be ruthless - competition for these and the several other companies running shuttle service is fierce and queues nonexistent. Taxis from the airport cost $30-35 (plus tip) for any downtown location, more for East Bay and Marin County - definitely worth it if there is more than one of you. If you're planning to drive, the usual car rental agencies operate free shuttle buses to their depots, leaving every 15 minutes from the upper level, but you have to load and unload your bags yourself. The car rental depot is located north of SFO and is too far to walk to. A shuttle train, now under construction, will alleviate this inconvenient system.

Several domestic airlines (Jet Blue and Southwest are two) and United fly into Oakland International Airport (OAK), across the bay. This is actually closer to downtown San Francisco than SFO, and is efficiently connected with the city by the $2 AirBART shuttle bus, which drops you at the Coliseum BART station. Get on BART and San Francisco's downtown stops are fifteen minutes away ($2.75).

All San Francisco's Greyhound services use the Transbay Terminal at 425 Mission St, south of Market Street, near the Embarcadero BART station. Green Tortoise buses stop behind the Transbay Terminal on First and Natoma. Amtrak trains stop across the bay in Richmond (with easy BART transfers) and continue to Oakland , from where free shuttle buses run across the Bay Bridge to the Transbay Terminal, or you can take BART. Though technically closer to San Francisco, don't get off at the stop before Oakland, Emeryville , as consistent public transportation to the city doesn't exist.

Compared to many US cities, where you need money and attitude in equal measure, San Francisco's nightlife scene demands little of either. It is not unusual for restaurants to provide live music and you can often eat and be entertained for no extra cost. This is no 24-hour city, and the approach to socializing is often surprisingly low-key, with little of the pandering to fads and fashions that goes on in New York or LA. For $30 you can get a decent night out, including cover charge and a few drinks. Always have your ID with you, otherwise you cannot get past the bouncers at all clubs and music venues. Though smoking is technically illegal in all bars and clubs, the law is routinely flouted by locals willing to risk a ticket.

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