Whether on foot, bike or cable car, these trams that give so much to San Francisco, the strolls are the best way to discover the city. In a few days, you can have a good overview of the main sites. Exploring California's architectural treasures can be a good starting point. For example, you will need to go to Alamo Square to view the Painted Ladies' Victorian architecture, these famous tricolores, while enjoying breathtaking views of the city.
From Chinatown to Alcatraz
Further south, the Mission area also offers very beautiful views. Historically, it is the center of Mexican culture in San Francisco. Today many artists live there, and the tradition of mural frescoes at Diego Rivera has made them illuminated. It is therefore very pleasant to walk there, looking for colorful and modern facades. Chinatown, located in the city center, brings together the largest Chinese community in the world outside the Asian continent. In January and February, Chinatown will illuminate a thousand fires to celebrate China's new year. The parade of February 20, apotheosis of the celebration, will gather tanks built for the occasion and may exceed more than 60 meters long!
Pier 39, northwest of the city in Fisherman's Whorf district, is also worth the detour and condense a large number of attractions that can please the smaller ones. After the earthquake of 1989, this jetty became a refuge for sea lions, which it is pleasing to observe in the autumn and winter. The Aquarium of the city, just a stone's throw from the sea, gives you the opportunity to learn more about these marine animals.
Another tempting activity in October of fireworks will make the bay glitter every Saturday evening. From jetties 39 and 33, many boat trips are organized. For example, you can visit the Alcatraz Island, and visit the bandits in history, such as Al Capone or Georges "Machine gun" Kelly. Night tours are the most impressive, but we have to book well in advance, places are rarer. Another mandatory and unforgettable passage is the crossing of the Golden Gate Bridge, which has long been the city's emblem. We can do it on foot, by bike, or better still convertible, the wind to the wind. Even in winter, it's trying!
A Culture of Creativity
In addition to the almost timeless tourist activities offered by San Francisco, traveling this year makes it possible to seize the explosion of creativity in full flight that makes the bay tremble. In his latest ranking of the most creative cities in the United States, the very serious Forbes magazine awarded San Francisco its first place. The city is also the seat of two of the world's most prestigious universities, Stanford and Berkeley, and is located just a few dozen miles from the very attractive Silicon Valley, attracting an international, young and dynamic intelligentsia. There are no longer the openings of the hyper-connected shops, restaurants and hotels showing the cultural boiling in which the inhabitants of the bay evolve.
The gastronomic scene is at the heart of this vitality. SF is the city of the United States where you have the most restaurants per inhabitant, so you will have the choice of choice, and quality is at the meeting. Last year, the Michelin guide rewarded 40 restaurants in the city, 4 of which received the famous 3 stars (including the Benu and the French Laundry), and 6 managed to get two. At the same time, San Francisco also allows to discover popular Asian and South American gastronomies linked to the high percentage of immigrant populations in the city. The tex-mex (from the blend of American and Mexican culinary traditions) is here more delicious than elsewhere, and remains very affordable. In the same vein, the phenomenon of the food trucks has been very successful and some trucks can have tails on several blocks.
Museums at night clubs, there's only one step.
Arpenter Union Square, where luxury signs align, can quickly blow up your budget. For more accessible vintage shops, we will go to Haight Street, where hippie culture always radiates.
You can also stroll through the shops on Chestnut, which represent a good between two. Once you're dressed in California fashion, you'll only have to show up your new atoms in the city clubs. From rap to electro, San Francisco's musical scene is watched with a respectful eye by his NYC and LA colleagues. The majority of clubs are located in Soma and Mission. There are also many nightclubs in Castro, an emblematic neighborhood of the gay community. As for cocktail bars, why not go to a speakeasy? Clandestine, they were created during Prohibition. Secrets, they were only known to a small number of insiders. Today the phenomenon has returned to fashion, and some institutions remain secret, until success makes them public. You'll be advised of Bourbon & Branch on Jones Street.
If you want to give a more cultural touch to your trip, you can also visit museums in the city that regularly organize evenings with bars and DJ, to visit exhibitions in a festive fashion. For example, every Thursday you can visit the Museum of the Academy of Sciences. For more traditional day visits, San Francisco overlooks museums with more prestigious collections than others. The Asian Arts Museum and the newly renovated African Diaspora Museum have been selected.
Nature in large broad terms is never far away
If the envy of large spaces takes you to San Francisco, you won't even have to get out of town to satisfy it. The Golden Gate Park is the most visited in the country and includes some of the city's sights such as the Golden Bridge, and Alcatraz Island. It extends over two and a half times the city's surface (35,000 ha) and allows you to discover stunning landscapes of incredible diversity. There are several accommodation options, from the campsite to the luxury hotel in nature like Presidio, or youth hostels. Consider booking early in the autumn and winter being the high season of the park. About 4 hours drive is the Yosemite and Sequoia National Park. Less known, and therefore less crowded, they are worth the detour. Yosemite covers part of the Sierra Nevada and is particularly appreciated for its impressive waterfalls. The Sequoia National Park has a very different nature, composed of sequoias gigantic. The largest tree in the world (83 meters high and 8 meters in diameter) was even identified. The ideal is to consider 3 days of walking from SF to visit these two parks.
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When is it? Year round, but spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons.
Go there. Travel around 11.30 a. m. and between 600 and 1,200 € per round-trip ticket.
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