Insight Guides - Insight Guides: Explore San Francisco

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destinations many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also excursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Food and Drink box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised AZ of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafs and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

2014 Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Recommended Routes For...

Architecture buffs

Admire grand hotels on Nob Hill ().

Dreamstime

Art Enthusiasts

Head to South of Market for modern and cartoon art ().

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Children

Enjoy barking sea lions, an aquarium, and antique arcade games at Fishermans Wharf ().

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Churches and Temples

See the old Mission Dolores that gave the Mission District its name ().

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Foodies

Visit North Beach for Italian food ().

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Literary Types

Pay homage to Beat writers in North Beach ().

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Parks and Gardens

Enjoy Golden Gate Parks lakes and botanical gardens ().

iStockphoto

Shoppers

Peruse Union Squares emporia ().

iStockphoto

Dreamstime

Explore San Francisco

Built on sloping hills next to sparkling waters, San Francisco is often called the most beautiful American city. Many visitors are attracted by the citys open-minded character, fertile ground for idealists and entrepreneurial gold-prospectors alike.

With dramatic views from impossibly steep hills, inventive cuisine that caters to foodies, diverse cultural attractions, and vibrant neighborhoods, San Francisco is an easy city to love. Often considered the most European of large American cities, the lively, compact metropolis spans some 49 square miles (127 sq km), broken up by 43 windswept and fog-capped hills. These scattered slopes define the citys skyline and urban landscape, offering arresting views of elegant bridges and the glistening blue-green Pacific and San Francisco Bay.

Golden Gate Bridge

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Hidden gems

Tucked on and around the hills of San Francisco are dozens of small, distinct neighborhoods with their own microclimates, stereotypes, and special attractions. Landmarks like Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, and the citys cable-cars, as well as the endless array of lesser known attractions mural-lined alleys, a literary festival, and a 1910 hardware store that sells just about everything! all contribute to the special charm of the City by the Bay.

city development

San Francisco is no stranger to the spotlight on the worlds stage. Throughout the citys history, more than one boom and bust has drawn international attention. In the 19th century, the discovery of gold in the Sierra foothills ignited the largest mass migration in history, with treasure-seekers flooding the then small town of 2,000 and turning it into a proper city of 10 times that size. In 1906, the worlds attention was drawn to San Francisco when it was struck by a massive earthquake measuring an estimated 8.3 on the Richter scale. Coupled with the ensuing fire that raged for three days, the earthquake left the city in ruins. Then, later in the 20th century, the San Francisco Bay Area witnessed first-hand the prosperous dot-com era and its subsequent rapid unraveling.