Location

• California is located on the San Francisco Bay.San Francisco cityview image by MAXFX from Fotolia.com
  
  San Francisco is located in the middle of California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The city straddles a peninsula between the San Francisco Bay and the ocean. San Francisco is easily reached with flights to the city's international airport. Ground transportation is by car, or by using the Bay Area Rapid Transport subway. San Francisco has a well-established public transport system of subways and trolleys, including the cable car system, which has been in operation since the middle of the 19th century.
  
  

History

• History is very visible in San FranciscoSan Francisco Homes image by KTep from Fotolia.com
  
  San Francisco was established in 1776, when the Spanish set up a mission named for San Francis of Assisi. The mission was part of the network of missions created along the coast from Los Angeles, following today's Camino Real. The city became part of the US after the Mexican-American war in 1846, and the Gold Rush in 1848 turned it into the largest city on the West Coast at the time, with 25,000 inhabitants. The city has seen considerable immigration since, in particular from Asia and Italy. Today, it has roughly 800,000 inhabitants, and is the anchor of the San Francisco Bay Area, with 4.5 million inhabitants.
  
  

Lodging and Dining

• Chinese food is one of the attractions of Chinatownyour duck is cooked image by Gary Truhlar from Fotolia.com
  
  San Francisco has several four-star hotels, but also many small boutique hotels, which preserve some of the flavor of the hippie culture. Several hotels in the city are housed in historic buildings. The closeness of the wine districts in Napa and Sonoma, combined with the availability of fresh produce year-round, means the city has become home to a number of gourmet restaurants, both in the ethnic traditions preserved in the ethnic quarters, and representing modern cuisine.
  
  

Famous Districts

• Russian Hill commands beautiful viewssan francisco city image by MAXFX from Fotolia.com
  
  The geography of the city has resulted in the creation of several different neighborhoods, all with their own specific character. The immigration in San Francisco has resulted in the creation of several ethnic quarters. The Chinatown district has a high concentration of Chinese restaurants, while neighboring Little Italy was originally the Italian quarter. The hippie culture is still very much in evidence in the Haight-Ashbury district. San Francisco is also famous for the Castro neighborhood, which has become the gay quarter. Among the famous districts are also Fishermans Wharf, long an actual fishing harbor but now turned into a tourist attraction. South of Market has become a district of small IT companies and cultural establishments, following the IT bubble of the end of the 20th century.
  
  

Buildings and Parks

• Coyt Tower is one of the most famous buildings in San Franciscocoit tower san francisco image by Gary Truhlar from Fotolia.com
  
  The city was almost completely destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and the following fires, but was quickly rebuilt. It hosted the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in Golden Gate Park in 1915. Some of the buildings still remain, one of the pavilions is now a science museum. Golden Gate Bridge is another monumental city feature. The park is only one of several in the city, where several former military bases and industrial areas have been turned to parks. San Francisco is famous for its architecture. Many of the buildings from the 19th century remain. Several monumental buildings have been created since, such as Coit Tower in Telegraph Hill, which features panoramic views of San Francisco Bay.
  
  

Nature and Climate

• A colony of sea lions is established in the middle of the citySan Francisco Sea Lions image by Candi from Fotolia.com
  
  The mild climate of the San Francisco Bay is separated by the mountainous peninsula from the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean, creating the cold winter fog which wraps San Francisco in winter. Temperatures in winter vary between 45 and 58 degrees Fahrenheit, and the summer temperatures between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Rainfall in winter is approximately 4.5 inches per month, going down to 0.3 inches in summer. The city is home to several parks, providing a space for nature. The decrease of industrial and shipping activity has also meant that nature has come back to the city, most noticeably in the shape of the sea lion colony, which has established itself on the pier outside Fishermans Wharf.