About San Francisco

With a spectacular bayside location, the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge and a climate to die for, San Francisco is an exciting destination.

Head for the designer boutiques of Union Square, the seafood restsurants of Fisherman’s Wharf or the famous Chinatown. Ride the cable car to Nob Hill or take a ferry from near Pier 39 to the abandoned prison island of Alcatraz.

The city was born out of the gold rush after gold was discovered in 1848 and people from all over the world flocked to the city. Millions visit the city each year to climb its steep streets and drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. In the daytime, visitors throng the sidewalks and piers of Fisherman’s Wharf - a centre for souvenirs, restaurants, shops, street entertainment, attractions and the spectacle of some 400 resident sea lions crowded onto pontoons to sunbathe.

Pier 39 is one of the most popular areas of the Wharf with many attractions, such as the impressive Aquarium of the Bay. The Golden Gate Bridge is the city’s most famous landmark and sightseeing boats can be taken out to the bridge from Fisherman’s Wharf, as can trips to Alcatraz, site of America’s toughest maximum-security jail. In-mates included Al Capone and the birdman Robert Stroud. No longer operating as a jail, it is now a museum. To avoid disappointment, excursions to Alcatraz should be booked in advance.

San Francisco is well known for its different districts and neighbourhoods. Best known of all is The Haight where traces of the sixties and the ‘flower power’ seventies prevail, with ‘smoke shops’ everywhere and long haired hippies wearing tie-dyed t-shirts still roaming the streets.

Another of the city’s better known neighbourhoods is The Castro, home to America’s, and maybe even the world’s largest gay community. Although it is mainly young gay males who live and socialise in the area, tourists flock to the area.

San Francisco’s Chinatown is home to the largest Chinese community outside China. Wedged between Union Square and North Beach, Chinatown is perhaps the busiest part of San Francisco and offers an authentic slice of Chinese life.

The heart of the city’s Italian neighborhood, North Beach is one of the ‘foodiest’ places in this very foodie city and some great Italian food can be had in the bistros and trattories that line Colombus Avenue. Coffee houses abound and you can get some terrific Italian pastries to go with it.

Listed below are all the links you need, to book your holiday directly:

- Click here for Sightseeing Tours in San Francisco

- Click here for San Francisco Airport

- Click here for Car Rental