San Francisco, CA

Shrouded in misty fog with the majestic Golden Gate Bridge as its backdrop, San Francisco is the fourth-largest city in California. It is surrounded by the San Francisco Bay and located at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula.

• In the 1700s, Spanish settlers migrated to the San Francisco Peninsula and founded a city named after St. Francis of Assisi.
• In 1906, a devastating earthquake and fire wreaked destruction on the city. San Francisco subsequently embarked on an impressive recovery campaign, and the city was quickly rebuilt.
• San Francisco is now one of the second-most-populated cities in the United States. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, there were an estimated 744,000 residents living within the city limits in the year 2006. The city is known as one of the most densely-populated urban centers in the United States.

GOING OUT

San Francisco is known for world-class museums, fine restaurants, lively bars and nightclubs, and cozy sidewalk cafes. National and international tourists are drawn to San Francisco's famous tourist attractions year-round:

• Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39Ferry Market Building: Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 are San Francisco's most popular destinations. These tourist spots feature live street entertainment, outdoor crab and chowder vendors, restaurants, and souvenir shops. The Ferry Market Building has become very popular with gourmet food providers and popular eateries
• Alcatraz Island: Visitors can step back in time and tour the infamous penitentiary, which housed such notorious criminals as Al Capone.
• Golden Gate Bridge: The famous red suspension bridge connects San Francisco to Marin County. When construction was completed in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was considered to be the largest suspension bridge in the world.
• Lombard Street: With its sharp hairpin turns across a steep winding hill, Lombard Street is called the world's most crooked street.
• Coit Tower: Located at the top of Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower is an Art Deco design and resembles a fire hose. Coit Tower was funded by Lillie Hitchcock Coit's generous donation.
• Chinatown: Chinatown draws thousands of visitors each year to its bustling, crowded streets. Chinese markets, produce and flower stands, and hole-in-the-wall restaurants make Chinatown an exciting, energetic neighborhood to visit.
• Cable Cars: Cable-car stops are located throughout the city, and visitors can take historical cable-car tours of the city.
• Museums: San Francisco is home to many world class museums including the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), The De Young, The California Academy of Sciences, The Exploratorium, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum.

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

Famous for its hilly streets, San Francisco is divided into distinct neighborhoods and districts, giving the city a diverse, yet also integrated, atmosphere.

Famous neighborhoods include:

• Financial (Downtown): Large national and international corporations and businesses are based in San Francisco's Financial District. Some notable spots include the Ferry Building and Justin Hermann Plaza.
• Marina/Cow Hollow: The Marina/Cow Hollow District showcases some of the most elaborate, luxurious homes in San Francisco. Some famous landmarks in this district include the Palace of Fine Arts and Exploratorium, Fort Mason, and Crissy Field.
• Mission: The Mission District is steeped in rich Latin culture. Colorful murals, shops, and restaurants are showcased on 24th Street. Sites to check out include the Brava Theater Center and the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.
• Nob Hill: Located between California and Powell Streets, Nob Hill is the traditional home of San Francisco's wealthy elite. Large mansions were constructed in the nineteenth century by business magnate Leland Stanford, founder of Stanford University. The stunning Fairmont Hotel and Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel sit perched on Nob Hill. Union Square's retail district is located west of Nob Hill and features major department stores.
• North Beach: A busy neighborhood with Italian roots, North Beach teems with Old World charm. Visitors will stumble upon pizzerias, delis, and Italian restaurants including the world-famous Stinking Rose (which features garlic in every dish).
• Pacific Heights: Beautiful Victorian homes are the signature landmark of Pacific Heights. Fillmore Street is the main shopping hub, filled with sidewalk cafes and high-end boutiques.

Off-the-beaten-path San Francisco neighborhoods include:

• Haight (Haight-Ashbury): Flower children flocked to this famous district during the Summer of Love, and a visit to the Haight district can still feel like a flashback to the 1960s. Incense wafts from numerous shops, and organic-food restaurants line the streets. The Haight is divided into Upper Haight and Lower Haight.
• Castro: Most visitors don't realize that this colorful community once consisted of farms and dirt roads. The area is currently renowned as an active, tight-knit, gay community. The best time to experience the Castro is during Halloween when they have the Castro Street Fair.
• Noe Valley: Noe Valley is home to a unique mix of working-class families, dot-com executives, and political activists. Nannies push strollers down streets lined with posh clothing boutiques and upscale bistros. Movies and TV shows have been filmed on location here.
• Potrero Hill: This funky neighborhood is great for people and dog watching. Visitors can check out San Francisco's local brewery, Anchor Brewing Company, or the many shops and coffeehouses found within the neighborhood.
• Richmond: Primarily a residential neighborhood, Richmond features diverse cultural venues, including Mexican produce markets, a Russian Orthodox cathedral and Chinese dim sum restaurants.
• SOMA (South of Market): The neighborhood is an eclectic blend of warehouses, technology companies, bars, restaurants and loft apartments.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

Tourism is the prime driver of the economy of San Francisco. The city attracts the fourth largest number of foreign visitors of any city in the U.S. In addition to the tourism, banking and finance is a major industrial sector in San Francisco. The city became the banking and finance center of the West Coast in the early 20th century. The sector grew so much that the Montgomery Street in the financial district was known as the "Wall Street of the West."

Bank of America was founded in San Francisco and many other large financial institutions, multinational banks and venture capital firms are headquartered in the city. In addition, several large firms dealing in law, public relations, architecture and design have a significant presence in the city. The world's list of cities by GDP ranks San Francisco 15th.

San Francisco is now becoming a biotechnology and biomedical hub and research center. The headquarters of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is located in the Mission Bay area of the city. Eighty-five percent of the city's business establishments are small businesses and self-employed firms.

The companies that are headquartered in San Francisco include Del Monte Foods, McKesson Corporation, Bechtel Corporation, Dolby Laboratories, Chemoil Corporation, Industrial Light and Magic, VISA, and Wells Fargo & Co.

SPORTS TEAMS

• San Francisco is best known for its professional sports teams: the San Francisco 49ers (football) and the San Francisco Giants (baseball).
• Basketball fans cheer for the Golden State Warriors, who play across the bay in Oakland.