Insight Guides: San Francisco City Guide

How To Use This E-Book

Getting around the e-book

This Insight CityGuide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to San Francisco, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editors Choice categories of activities and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in San Francisco. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, activities from culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.

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 in San Francisco 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 San Francisco. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

2017 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

San Franciscos Top 10 Attractions

At a glance, everything you cant afford to miss when you visit San Francisco, from world-class bridges, parks, and neighborhoods to iconic monuments and historic missions.

Top Attraction 1

Golden Gate Bridge . Opened in 1937, four years after construction began. Painted international orange (not gold), the bridge is San Franciscos most powerful image. For more information, .

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 2

Golden Gate Park . The park entertains the city with playgrounds, windmills, lakes, museums, a Japanese tea garden, and the 19th-century Conservatory of Flowers. For more information, .

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 3

Mission Dolores . The citys oldest building, established in 1776 just days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. For more information, .

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 4

Alcatraz . The island is a former prison that was home to some of Americas most notorious criminals. For more information, .

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 5

Coit Tower . On top of Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower was bequeathed to the city by an eccentric heiress who was also a passionate firebuff. For more information, .

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 6

Fishermans Wharf . A busy waterfront, boisterous sea lions, and terrific seafood restaurants. For more information, .

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 7

The Ferry Building . Opened in 1898 as a busy passenger terminal before becoming a market for Californias freshest produce. For more information, .

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 8

Chinatown . San Franciscos Chinatown is one of the largest outside Asia, and with its temples, statues, and squares, is really a city within a city. For more information, .

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 9

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art . The distinctive museum was designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta. For more information, .

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 10

North Beach . Low-key, low-rise and home of the Beat generation, North Beach has bars, bookstores, and some of the best nightlife in the city. For more information, .

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Editors Choice

Stunning places and unique attractions Here are our recommendations, plus some tips even San Franciscans wont always know.