The Castro District is the heart of San Francisco's gay community. The Castro has an array of funky bars, bookstores, and novelty shops that freely celebrate the gay and lesbian lifestyle. The Castro is a lively place, especially on weekends and during the Halloween festivities.
Chinatown
San Francisco's Chinatown is the second-largest Chinese community outside of Asia. The entrance to Chinatown is called the ""Dragon's Gate"" and is located at Bush Street and Grant Avenue. The 24-square block area has narrow crowded streets and is best explored on foot. Visitors will find an array of exotic shops, herbalists, jewelry dealers, souvenir shops and renowned restaurants in Chinatown.
Fisherman's Wharf, The Embarcadero
Fisherman's Wharf is one of the most visited sites in San Francisco. Pier 39 draws millions of visitors each year to browse through its many shops and watch the free ongoing entertainment. Other favorite waterfront marketplaces at the Wharf are The Cannery, The Ancorage, and Ghiradelli Square.
Haight-Ashbury
""The Haight"" was the center of counterculture during the 1960's and was once home the legendary musical icons, the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin. There are still a few funky shops, record stores, and vintage clothing stores among the newer pricey boutiques and cafes.
Japantown
San Francisco's large Japanese community, Japantown, also called Nihonmachi, offers everything from teahouses, restaurants, shops and theaters to Japanese bathhouses and a collection of cultural sites.
Mission District
The Mission District is a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, which takes its name from the Mission Delores, the oldest building to survive the 1906 earthquake. The heart of this area is 24th Street, a collection of ethnic specialty shops, fresh produce markets, Mexican bakeries and restaurants. Colorful murals - over two hundred in all - adorn buildings, fences and wall throughout the neighborhood.
North Beach
There is still a Bohemian flavor to North Beach, left over from the beatnik days of the 1950's. An eclectic mix of bookstores, jazz clubs, strip joints, and coffee houses transforms this neighborhood into a trendy playground at night. North Beach is considered to be San Francisco's ""Little Italy"". Rich in Italian heritage, the narrow streets of the neighborhood are lined with family-style restaurants, gelato shops, jazz clubs, bakeries, and Italian delicatessens. From the base of Telegraph hill, and Levi's Plaza Park, the Filbert Steps lead up the hill through The Grace Marchand Gardens to the 210 -foot Coit Tower and a stunning view of the city.
Pacific Heights
Pacific Heights is San Francisco's wealthiest neighborhood with stately Victorian mansions crowning the tree-lined hills. San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge are among the breath-taking views that can be seen from the hills of Pacific Heights.
San Francisco
San Francisco, California is one of the world's favorite cities. It is a magical, golden city with a heart of culture, yet a desire to be different. As the soft morning fog disappears and the sun begins to shine, San Franciscans and visitors alike come out to work and play. San Francisco has a comfortably moderate climate any time of year with cool nights and often warm but breezy days. It is best to dress in layers. There is plenty to see and do in San Francisco. Get a postcard view of The ""Painted Ladies"", the beautiful pastel Victorian houses that the city is known for, against the backdrop of downtown skyscrapers. Ride a California Street cable car to the top of Nob Hill for the best view of San Francisco Bay. While on Nob Hill, check out Grace Cathedral, a replica of Notre Dame in Paris. Enjoy dim sum at one of the many restaurants that line the streets of Chinatown. And of course, a visit to San Francisco isn't complete without crossing the picturesque Golden Gate Bridge.
The Embarcadero
is a seven-mile stretch of water front promenade in the heart of San Francisco with plazas, walks, parks and public pier access. The Embarcadero Center spans six blocks in the heart of the city and features more than 125 restaurants, retail shops and a five-screen theater.
The Marina, Pacific Heights, Japantown
The Marina District has magnificent views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay especially from Marina Green, a popular park for joggers and sunbathers.
Union Square
Union Square is an upscale neighborhood bordered by Powell and Stockton Streets. The recently renovated square is located in the heart of San Francisco amid upscale department stores, boutiques, theaters, and pricey hotels.
San Francisco has many ethnically and culturally diverse neighborhoods to explore, each with its own unique qualities. The best way to see and experience San Francisco is to get out your walking shoes and have fun!
Fifteen people were displaced by a three-alarm fire that damaged three residential buildings in San Francisco's Richmond District late this afternoon, a fire lieutenant said.
San Francisco isn't waiting for Washington, and that's got some lawmakers on Capitol Hill looking to the city as a model for national health care reform.
The Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport hotel successfully completed the American Hotel & Lodging Association Green Guidelines Challenge, in which more than 200 hotels across the country tracked and, in many cases, improved their green business operations via AH&LA's 11 Minimum Green Guidelines, released in November 2008 by the association's Green ...
For the first time in nearly two years, the median price of Santa Clara County houses is higher than a year ago, a surprisingly strong signal that the battered housing market may be stabilizing.
This city did not wait for Washington's health care overhaul. Most uninsured adults here are already reaping the benefits of a government-run health care program - seeing doctors, filling prescriptions, and getting surgeries they could not otherwise afford.
Women are making "no progress" cracking the executive glass ceiling in California, according to a just-released study by the University of California, Davis.
The mayor's budget chief is expected to announce today that the projected deficit for the next fiscal year teeters near $500 million - a more ominous outlook than had been revealed Monday.
So far, Capt. Jackie Smith of the Salvation Army in Antioch has only three turkeys to give out to the nearly 90 families who have requested Thanksgiving food baskets this year, invoking biblical images of feeding multitudes with a mere handful of loaves and fishes.
State inspectors say an oil spill that sent hundreds of gallons of bunker oil into San Francisco Bay was caused by a fuel tank that overflowed during a morning refueling stop.
If you were to compile a list of threats to San Francisco's public safety, Oscar Martinez probably wouldn't make the cut. The quiet 15-year-old soccer player with a peach-fuzz mustache and adolescent slouch has a demeanor so laid-back it borders on spacey. He admits he gets mediocre grades, he forgets to do his homework, and is often late to class because he has trouble rolling out of bed. So when Martinez says there's an explanation for how another kid's long foldup knife ended up in his backpack at middle school last year, you might believe he wasn't intending any harm. Not that that matters much now.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley says she has agreed to state Attorney General Jerry Brown's request that her office investigate the secret taping of conversations with reporters by Brown's former communications director.
Travelers prepare their luggage before checking into a flight at San Francisco International Airport December 23, 2008 in San Francisco, California DALLAS a ' It could cost you even more to travel next spring and summer.
