Excellent climate all year round for travel. The weather in San Francisco is quite warm during the months. The city is located in the middle latitudes. Comfortable average annual temperature environment during the day +19.6°C, and at night +12.3°C. It is a popular travel city in the USA. Below is the climate and weather in San Francisco in winter, spring, summer and autumn.

The best months to travel

High season in San Francisco in July, August, September with excellent weather +21.5°C...+23.4°C. During this period, this popular city has the least rainfall, about 0 days per month, with 1.2 to 10.9 mm of precipitation. The number of clear days is from 13 to 22 days. Monthly climate and temperature in San Francisco are calculated based on recent years.



Monthly air temperature in San Francisco

The warmest weather in San Francisco by months and in general in the USA is in August, September, October up to 23.5°C. At the same time, the lowest ambient air temperatures are observed in February, December, January up to 13.5°C. For lovers of night walks, the figures range from 9°C to 15.8°C.

Number of rainy days and precipitation

The most rainy periods are February, March, December, when the weather is bad for 5 days, up to 71.2 mm of precipitation falls. For those who do not like humidity, we recommend August, September, July during this period it rains on average only 0 days per month and the monthly rainfall is 1.2mm.



Comfort Rating

The climate and weather rating in San Francisco is calculated by months, taking into account the average air temperature, the amount of rainfall and other indicators. For a year in San Francisco, the score ranges from 3.0 in February to 5.0 in October, out of a possible five.

Climate Summary

	Month	Temperature air during the day	Temperature air at night	solar days	Rainy days (precipitation)
	January	+16°C	+10.2°C	22	3 days (19.1mm)
	February	+13.5°C	+9°C	16	3 days (46.6mm)
	March	+17.5°C	+11.2°C	15	4 days (46.7mm)
	April	+19.5°C	+11°C	21	2 days (16.0mm)
	May	+22°C	+12.5°C	20	1 day (11.0mm)
	June	+20.8°C	+12.2°C	20	2 days (17.4mm)
	July	+21.5°C	+13.8°C	13	1 day (5.0mm)
	August	+23°C	+14.8°C	13	0 days (10.9mm)
	September	+23.4°C	+14°C	22	1 day (1.2mm)
	October	+23.5°C	+15.8°C	17	2 days (8.0mm)
	November	+19.2°C	+12.8°C	19	2 days (35.6mm)
	December	+14.8°C	+10.8°C	16	5 days (71.2mm)

Number of sunny days

The largest number sunny days are noted in April, January, September when there are 22 clear days. During these months, the weather in San Francisco is excellent for walks and excursions. The sun is least in August, July, March, when the minimum number of clear days is 13.

It is also rightfully called the "Pearl of the West Coast". Elegant and luxurious, modern and ancient, provincial and cosmopolitan, this amazing city will open with a special side. San Francisco literally fascinates with its gabled gables, numerous turrets and magnificent Victorian buildings, which are just the perfect match for the sunny coast, summer fogs and steep hills. Despite the fact that San Francisco is a true American metropolis, with its compactness and some special charm it resembles a seaside European city where you want to forget about all the problems and enjoy the easy and relaxed atmosphere.

Region	California, San Francisco County
Population
Population density	6688 people/km²
	U.S. $
Timezone	UTC-7 in summer
Postal code	94101-94112, 94114-94147, 94150-94170, 94172, 94175, 94177
International dialing code

Climate and weather

San Francisco has a Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. The city is surrounded by water on three sides, so the weather is significantly affected by cold ocean currents. In summer, the average air temperature is +15...+24 °C, and in winter +10...+15 °C. The rainy season lasts from November to March, and snow is extremely rare. At the end of summer and from September to October, the city, especially its western regions, is enveloped in fogs that may not subside throughout the day.

The best time to travel to San Francisco is during the dry season from mid-May to October.

Nature

The city is located on the west coast of California, on a small peninsula, which is located near the Golden Gate Strait, which connects the picturesque San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the island falls under the jurisdiction of the city Alcatraz And Treasure Island, as well as the uninhabited Farallon Islands and part of the island Red Rock. A feature of the urban landscape is a large number of hills, for example, Knob Hill, Russian Hill, Pacific Heights, Telegraph Hill, Potreto Hill and etc.

It is worth noting that San Francisco is located next to two tectonic faults, so small earthquakes occur here from time to time.

Attractions

San Francisco has a fairly large number of all kinds of attractions, and many of them are of world importance. The main symbol of the city is a huge suspension bridge. Golden Gate, which is equipped with a spectacular illumination system. Less famous, but no less remarkable, is the bridge Oakland Bay Bridge.

Lombard Street has become a curious tourist place in the city, which will appeal to lovers of hiking. It is located on Russian Hill, and its main feature is considered to be a very large slope (27 °). No less popular is the memorial tower Coit Tower, which is dedicated to a local resident who volunteered to help firefighters. The most colorful part of the city is Chinatown, where you can see original oriental-style houses, as well as visit Chinese restaurants and shops.

Also worth noting is the entrance to the territory of Chinatown, which is a magnificent colorful gate. In addition, it is recommended to visit the old restaurant cliff House, fishing pier with sea lion colony, Museum Walt Disney in and the Museum of Russian Culture.

There are also interesting natural attractions in San Francisco, for example, two twin hills Twin Peaks from the tops of which offers stunning views of the city. Well, there are more than 200 various parks here.

Finally, it is worth noting the famous island Alcatraz which is located near San Francisco. It is known that he once served as a prison, which was considered the most reliable in the United States. Now the island is a historical monument.

Nutrition

San Francisco is a real city of gourmets, which can compete even with New York in the number and variety of restaurants. This is not surprising, because the conditions for running a restaurant business here are simply ideal: skilled chefs from all over the world, first-class wineries and numerous farms that supply the city with the freshest products. It should be said right away that the continuous flow of emigrants has almost completely absorbed the local national cuisine, along with its wings and potatoes. Therefore, Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and other ethnic establishments are most often found here. Half of the city's restaurants are located in districts Chinatown And Castro. The latter, by the way, is remarkable not only for its popularity among sexual minorities, but also for its cozy cafes with outdoor areas serving delicious shrimp and crab dishes, as well as bohemian coffee shops and chocolate shops. In addition, many gourmet restaurants are located at the shipyard. Fisherman's Wharf. It is there that they serve excellent seafood dishes, as well as juicy Californian steaks and the famous sourdough bread.

Of course, San Francisco is full of fast food places offering hamburgers and hot dogs, but they are not as popular as in other US cities. There are also many small pastry shops open here, where you can enjoy some chocolate dessert and a cup of coffee at any time.

San Francisco is also the true capital of wine. Moreover, Californian wines are distinguished by their exquisite taste and are considered among the best in the world.

Accommodation

San Francisco offers its guests a huge number of hotels of various categories. For those who want to save on accommodation, hostels and hotels will be the best places for temporary accommodation. B&B, which are scattered literally throughout the city, for example, The Pontiac Hotel & Hostel(from $20) or Mission Inn(from $39.2).

Also in the city there are many hotels of the middle price category (from $60) and expensive upscale hotels (from $300).

Entertainment and recreation

San Francisco can offer its guests a lot of entertainment for every taste, so you definitely won’t be bored here. For example, for family vacation a visit to the zoo San Francisco Zoo or aquarium Aquarium of the Bay. Lovers of outdoor recreation will also like it in the city, as there is simply an incredible number of beautiful parks and gardens on its territory. Of these, the park is the most popular. "Golden Gate", which is a real oasis in the city center. Other the most beautiful place San Francisco is Baker's Beach. Well, golf lovers are advised to go to the park Lincoln, on the territory of which there is an excellent golf center.

Fans of cultural pastimes will also like San Francisco: opera, ballet and symphony concerts - all this San Francisco can offer you in a huge variety. Most performances are held at the Opera House. "Memory of War" and the American Conservatory Theater (A.K.T.).

No less saturated night life city, as there are more than a hundred bars, nightclubs, showrooms and blues cafes. In addition, San Francisco is a real city of holidays and festivals. Of these, the Folsom Street Fair, the Chinese New Year Parade, the Lovefest, the Christian Carnival and the Navy Week have gained the most popularity. Moreover, almost all city blocks have their own individual holidays.

Fascinating excursions to the brewery can also be an interesting pastime option. Anchor Brewing Company and large wineries, as well as to the islands Alcatraz And Angel.

Purchases

San Francisco's shops are considered some of the best in the world, so it's not surprising that tourists come here directly to shop. The most popular shopping places in the city are Union Square, Upper Fillmore, Sacramento Street, Hayes Valley And Mission. It is there that the best shops are located, from fashion boutiques and jewelry stores to ethnic shops and design galleries. Well, among shopping centers first of all, it is worth highlighting Westfield San Francisco Center.

On its territory there are representative offices of such famous brands as Abercrombie & Fitch, Nordstorm's and others, as well as boutiques of the most popular companies ( Macy's, Bulgari, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, MaxMara, Diesel, Prada, Celine, Gucci, Escada, Guess, Agnes B., Wilkes Bashford etc.). In addition, it is recommended to visit the huge market Ferry building and the colorful district of Chinatown. In general, it should be borne in mind that literally in every district of the city there is a large selection of shops, shopping centers and supermarkets, and many of them offer attractive discounts and promotions.

Transport

San Francisco City Public Transportation Presented extensive network bus and trolleybus routes, ground and underground high-speed trams Muni Metro as well as trams. The cost of one trip is $ 1.5, all tickets can be bought from drivers and at underground stations Muni. It is worth bearing in mind that they are valid for 1.5 hours on all modes of transport, with the exception of cable trams and suburban metro BART. Light rails Muni Metro run from 5:00 to 00:00, however, two lines (L and N) operate around the clock.

In addition, there are a great many taxis in the city that operate at a single rate: $ 3.5 per landing and $ 2.25 per mile.

Connection

To call anywhere in the world, you can use one of the telephone booths that are installed in almost all streets of the city, as well as in many public places. Calls are paid for in small coins (cents) or phone cards. In addition, you can make any call from a hotel or a large restaurant.

Mobile communication has excellent quality and uniform coverage, but the frequencies on which it is carried out are not similar to European ones.

Internet access is provided in almost all hotels. There are also many access points in the city. WiFi.

Safety

In San Francisco, as in almost any major city, pickpockets and all sorts of scammers are operating. However, if you follow general security measures and do not lose vigilance in public places, then the likelihood of any trouble is excluded. The greatest caution should be exercised in the areas of Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitation Valley, Sunnydale, Fillmore District and Mishin ( Mission).

It is also worth noting that there are many beggars and beggars in San Francisco, who are recommended to simply be ignored.

Business climate

San Francisco is the main financial center of the US West Coast, home to important institutions such as the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Bank of America, as well as many offices of multinational banks, international financial institutions and major insurance companies. San Francisco maintains a small business share, with 85% of the city's businesses being small companies with fewer than 10 employees. In addition, the world-famous Silicon Valley is located in the city, where specialists of the highest class are involved for the large-scale production of integrated circuits.

Real estate

According to many world experts, the San Francisco real estate market is one of the most stable and promising in the country. Moreover, both commercial and residential real estate is widely represented here. It is worth noting that the standard of living in San Francisco is very high, so the prices for local real estate are quite impressive.

However, investing in the local real estate market is one of the most promising commercial ventures in the US today.

Thrifty travelers should keep in mind that San Francisco museums provide free admission several times a month. You can check the schedules of such events at any city tourist office. Also, for those who expect to devote time to excursions and seeing all the sights, it is recommended to purchase a welcome map of the city ( Go Card or CityPASS), which entitles you to discounted tickets to local museums and galleries.

The history of the formation of the city of San Francisco, the geographical characteristics of San Francisco, the culture of San Francisco

San Francisco earthquake and fire in 1906, geography and climate of San Francisco, quarters and parks of San Francisco, museums of San Francisco, sights of the city of San Francisco

Section 1. History of the city of San Francisco.

As in many mountain towns the social climate in early San Francisco was unstable. This situation caused a great resonance in, and the Compromise of 1850 series kindled feuds on the basis of the problem of "cruel labor". In 1851, and again in 1856, a "Committee of Vigilance" was set up to fight crime, government corruption, and violence against immigrants, but this committee may have created more lawlessness than it prevented. This popular movement lynched 12 people, kidnapped hundreds of Irish people, government officials, and forcibly forced the city's elected officials to resign. Twice the "Vigilance Committee" was stopped by the use of force, after which it was decided that the city was "cleaned out." This committee later focused on immigrants from Chinatown, creating a lot of unrest in the Chinatown area, which led to the creation of a law to weaken Chinese immigration to the United States by reducing the number of immigrants allowed in the city. The Chinese Immigration Act was passed in 1882 and repealed in 1943.

The city of San Francisco was the seat of San Francisco County from 1849 until 1856. But because the city's population was so out of proportion to the population of the entire county, the California state government decided to divide the county. passed through the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, just north of Mount San Bruno. Everything south of the line became the new San Mateo County, centered on the city of Redwood City, and everything north of the line became the new incorporated city-county of San Francisco.

In the fall of 1855, a ship arrived in San Francisco carrying refugees from the Far East, from territories prone to cholera epidemics. Just as during the gold rush, population growth far outstripped the development of infrastructure, including sanitation, so a serious cholera epidemic became the number one problem. The Sisters of Mercy helped solve the problem, they worked in the first hospital in San Francisco County, but already in 1857 they opened a new free hospital, which still functions today. It is located on Stanian Street.

In the 1890s, San Francisco was also suffering from the party mafia, the city was ripe for reform and change. Adolf Sutro, a member of the Farmers' Populist Party, became mayor in 1894. In fact, apart from building the Sutro Bass pool complex, he failed in all his attempts to improve the city.

The next mayor, James D. Phelan, elected in 1896, achieved great results. He introduced a new system that made it possible to increase the funds of the city by investing them in. This helped him build a new sewer system, 17 new schools, 2 parks, a hospital and a main library. After Phelan left the mayor's office in 1901, he became interested in rebuilding the city into a large and modern "Paris of the West". When the Arts of San Francisco asked him to develop a plan for beautifying the city, he hired famed architect Daniel Burnham. Burnham and Phelan's plan was incredible; it proposed a fifty-year attempt at rebuilding the city, widening the diagonal of the boulevards, creating open spaces and parks. Some parts of the plan were eventually implemented, including the opera houses north of City Hall, the subway lines under Market Street, and the Embarcadero Boulevard surrounding the city.

In 1900, a ship carrying rats infected with bubonic plague arrived in San Francisco. Mistakenly assuming that the corpses buried in the ground are sources of infection, the city authorities forbade the burial of bodies inside the city limits. Cemeteries moved to an undeveloped area by that time, south of the city where the city of Kolma is now located. 50 blocks of Chinatown were under quarantine while the authorities argued how to get out of the current situation. The plague outbreak ended in 1905. However, the problem with the location of cemeteries and the lack of land remained. In 1912, all cemeteries were moved to Kolma, where the dead now outnumber the living: more than a thousand dead to one living. At the same time, they decided to leave the San Francisco mausoleum as a historical monument of the Dolores Mission era.

April 18, 1906 there was a devastating earthquake, whose epicenter was located 3 km west of San Francisco. The magnitude of surface waves was 7.7; seismic moment - 7.9. The whole city was flooded, then fires broke out, which destroyed supposedly 80% of the city, including almost the entire center. Many residents were trapped between the flood and the fire approaching their areas, it was decided to conduct an evacuation through the bay, which saved many people's lives. Refugee camps were located in Golden Gate Park, Washen Beach, and other undeveloped parts of the city. Even 2 years after the earthquake, many refugee camps were functioning. At that time, the “death” bell sounded 478 times, however, according to 2005 data, more than 3,000 people officially died. With a population of 410,000 people. up to 300,000 inhabitants were left homeless.

Almost immediately after the aftershocks and the devastating fire, plans began to be developed for the rapid reconstruction of the city. One of the outstanding and incredible plans, designed by the famous urban planner Daniel Burnham, was submitted for consideration. His bold plan included the construction of Ottoman-style avenues and boulevards, as well as the main transport artery running through the entire city. The project contained plans for the construction of a massive civil complex with a classical structure, which was to become the largest urban park in the world. It would stretch from the hills of Twin Peaks to Lake Merced. But this plan was not accepted, and it was postponed until better times, many still criticize it for its impracticality in spending city supplies and unrealistic requirements for buildings. The idea was opposed by private owners and the industrial campaign, as the city needed to buy out a large amount of their land in order to implement this plan. When the original street layout was restored, many elements from Burnhman's plan saw the green light, such as the neo-classical civic complex, wide streets, the main thoroughfare, the subway under Market Street, the fisherman's pier, and the monument on the Hill, Coit Tower.

In 1915, San Francisco hosted the Panama Pacific Exposition, it was official holiday about the opening of the Panama Canal, by this time the city was completely rebuilt after the earthquake. After the exposition ended, all its grandiose buildings were destroyed, except for the Palace of Arts, which lives to this day, but in a slightly modified form.

The Bay Bridge (San Francisco - Oakland) was opened in 1936, and in 1937 the Golden Gate Bridge was officially opened. During World War II, San Francisco was the main supply point for troops.

After World War II, many of the American military, who were in love with the city, settled in it, which contributed to the creation of the Sunset quarter and the Visatishin Valley. During this period, California Transportation (Caltrans) began aggressively implementing the Bay Area's expressway program. However, Caltrans suddenly ran into a serious problem in San Francisco, where very high population density meant that any highway construction would leave many residents homeless. Kaltrans attempted to minimize the road construction area by introducing two-level roads, but the development of technology at that time did not allow the construction of such complex structures, and therefore the project was canceled because it was unsafe. In 1959, the city council voted to ban the construction of any roads in the city, an event that became known as the "Road Revolution". Despite this, minor road modifications were allowed. Since that time, the anti-traffic police have been monitoring compliance with the ban. In 1989, the Loma Prietta earthquake destroyed the Embarcadero Highway and part of the Central Highway. After several referendums, the city's residents decided not to rebuild any of the structures. The areas that covered these roads have been reconstructed, with greater success being the rebuilding of the Embarcadero, which has been rebuilt into a historic coastal area.

In 1950, Harvard graduate Justin Herman took charge of the San Francisco City Redevelopment Agency. He immediately began an aggressive upgrade nature reserves cities. He also proposed a plan to divide San Francisco into large lots and build them up with modern buildings. Critics accused Herman of racism, perceiving his changes in the architecture of the city as an attempt to isolate and then evict African Americans. According to his plans, the Embarcadero Center, Japantown, Geary Street and the Yerba Buena Gardens were built.

In the late 60s, San Francisco became the epicenter of the hippie scene, a seething cauldron of music, drugs, sexual freedom, creative expression, and politics. The apogee of the era was the Summer of Love in 1967, when thousands of hippies from all over the world came to the Hythe-Ashbury area to celebrate love and freedom, thus creating a unique phenomenon of cultural, social and political rebellion.

During the reign of Mayor Dianne Feinstein (1978-1988), San Francisco experienced a real "reconstruction boom" called Manhattanization. Skyscrapers sprouted in the financial district, and the "boom" also included the introduction of condominiums over several areas of the city. There was an opposition movement in the city, it was made up of people who believed that skyscrapers would destroy unique characteristics cities. Similar to the "road revolution" 10 years earlier, the "high-rise revolution" began in the city, which forced San Francisco to introduce high-rise. The second wave of skyscraper construction, like the first, was met with discontent among the population.

During the 80s, homeless people began to appear in many cities in the United States, and soon this problem became relevant in San Francisco. Mayor Art Egnos, the first and by no means the last, tried to solve this problem. Egnos issued a law allowing the homeless to camp at Civic Center Park, the camp was named "Camp Egnos". The next mayor, Jordan, launched the Matrix program a year later, its goals were to evict all the homeless from the city by force. The program fully paid for itself, he was able to evict almost all the homeless. His successor, Willy Brown, completely ignored the problem, which completely annulled the merits of his predecessor. The homeless again filled the streets of the city. Today, Mayor Gavin Newsom is fighting the homeless through the promising Care Not Money program, which provides a variety of rehab and employment programs for the homeless.

On October 17, 1989, an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 on the Richter scale struck. The epicenter was in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 70 miles from San Francisco, the aftershocks in the city took place a few minutes before the start of Game 3 of the World Series. The earthquake severely damaged numerous roads, including the Embarcadero and Central Highways. The damage to these roads was so strong that they decided to completely destroy them. In addition to roads, the aftershocks caused severe damage in Marin County. In the United States, this quake became known as the "World Series quake".

During the development of the Internet and dot-com companies, highly paid Internet businessmen, programmers and other workers reached out to the city, creating high housing prices, which caused a significant rise in its price. High rents forced many families to leave the city for good. The collapse of the computer industry in 2001 greatly affected the economic condition of the city. To this day, proximity to Silicon Valley and a large number of "computer" companies make high technology the main industry of the city. San Francisco has the lowest number of children in the total number of residents, it is 14.5% lower compared to other major US cities.

Geography and climate of San Francisco

San Francisco is located on the West Coast of the United States, at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula. The boundaries of the city are strongly stretched along the coasts Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. The city includes several islands: Alcatraz, Treasure Island and Yerba Buena. The city also has the uninhabited islands of Faralon, located at a distance of 43 kilometers in the Pacific Ocean. It is often said that San Francisco is a square with a side of 7 miles (~11 kilometers).

San Francisco is famous for its hills. A hill in the city is called an elevation of more than 30 meters. There are 42 hills within the city limits, some areas of the city are named after the hills on which they are located (Knob Hill, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, Potreto Hill and Telegraph Hill).

Not far from the geographical center of the city, a little to the south, there are a number of hills with the lowest population density, here the entertainment and information infrastructure of the city mainly prevails. There are television and transmitter towers on Sutro Hill. Next door are the Twin Peaks, one of the highest hills in the city and one of the most popular tourist destinations. The highest hill in San Francisco is Mount Davidson, 282 meters high, in 1934 a high cross was built here (its height is 31.4 m).

San Francisco is located near two tectonic faults, which are the cause of frequent earthquakes. Small earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay area occur intermittently. The threat of major earthquakes places high standards on the strength of new buildings and forces the city to rebuild early buildings and bridges.

Coastline San Francisco limits the growth of the city, so some areas, such as Marin, Hunter Point, and most of the Embarcadero area, were developed using artificial coastal fill. The artificial island Treasure Island was built from material extracted from the construction of a bridge across the bay. Such areas are very unstable in the event of earthquakes, as the 1989 earthquake clearly demonstrated, causing severe destruction in Marin County.

A saying erroneously attributed to Mark Twain reads, "The coldest winter I have ever experienced is a San Francisco summer." The climate in San Francisco is generally similar to the Mediterranean climate, characterized by mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers. San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides, so its climate is influenced by the rather cool Pacific Ocean in the area due to the cold currents, which leads to a mild climate with little seasonal temperature fluctuations.

The city's average summer temperature is 18°C, 10°C cooler than Livermore, the nearest city inland. The highest temperature in San Francisco was 39°C on July 14, 2000. The average monthly temperature of the warmest month - September - is 18.2 °C, which is colder than July in Moscow, although the latitude of San Francisco is south of Baku, at the level of Ashgabat. However, average daily temperatures above 16 ° C are kept from the beginning of May until the end of October. The daily temperature in winter is about 15 °C. Thermometers in the city almost never fall below zero Celsius, the lowest temperature was recorded on December 11, 1932, when it fell to -3 °C. The season from May to September is completely dry, the rainy season starts from November and continues until March. Snow is very a rare event in San Francisco, since 1852, only 10 cases of snowfall have been recorded. The city's heaviest snowfall was on February 5, 1887, when snow levels reached 3.7 inches in downtown.

The combination of cold ocean water and the high air temperature of the California mainland leads to the formation of the San Franciscan Fog, which in summer can envelop the city (especially its western part, in the eastern regions the fog is less dense) for days on end. Fogs are active in the city at the end of summer and from September to October. High hills are responsible for a 20% discrepancy in the amount of annual precipitation in different areas. They also protect eastern counties from the fogs and cool temperatures that prevail in the Sunset area. The microclimate on the eastern side of the city is more sunny and dry.

Cityscape of San Francisco

The San Francisco Historic Center is the northeast "square" bordered on the south by Market Street. Now it is the center of the Financial District, close to Union Square and the district of hotels and shops. In these areas, there are cable tram tracks, which, from the top of Knob Hill, descend to Fisherman Wharf. Also in the historical "square" are Russian Hill with the famous winding street - Lombard Street, with the urban version of Little - North Beach and Telegraph Hill.

Mission County is predominantly working-class, populated mostly by immigrants from Mexico and.

During World War II, Japantown was on the brink of destruction as the government decided to evict all Japanese Americans. However, almost immediately after the eviction of the Japanese, the area was filled with thousands of African Americans.

The Alamo Square quarter is famous for its row of houses called the Painted Ladies, where mansions are located. In the north is an expensive residential area - Marina.

Richmond is a vast region in the north of Golden Gate Park, stretching to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Today it is often called the "New Chinatown", but in addition to the Chinese, immigrants from other parts of Richmond live in Richmond as well. In the south of the Golden Gate Park is the Sunset area, where the Asian diaspora predominates. Richmond and Sunset are the largest middle-class neighborhoods; together they are known as the Avenue. Due to the high crime rate, Bay View Hunters, located in the southeastern part of the city, is the poorest and most dangerous neighborhood in the city. The other southern quarter of the city is different from the Bay View Hunters, it is populated by students and the working class.

The South of Market, San Francisco's industrial district, has undergone a complete refurbishment during the dot-com era and has witnessed the construction of many high-rise buildings. Following the success of the South of Market, another area, Mishin Bay, has begun a complete overhaul of its infrastructure.

Ocean Beach stretches along the entire Pacific coast, but it is unsuitable for swimming, although it is popular with surfers, due to cold water and strong currents. The entire territory east of the Golden Gate Bridge to Presidio Park, a former military base, is occupied by Baker Beach, the beach is known for its colonies of the endangered plant Hesperolinon congestum.

In total, there are over 200 parks in San Francisco. The largest and most famous park in the city is the Golden Gate Park, which covers an area stretching from the city center to the Pacific Ocean.

Once the entire territory of the park was covered only with grass and dunes, but now the park consists of thousands of artificially planted plants and trees. The park is rich in large views of various gardens, the most famous of them: the conservatory of flowers, the Japanese tea garden and the botanical garden Streebing-Arboterium.

Lake Merced is fresh lake, surrounded by parkland, which is located near the San Francisco Zoo, which has become home to more than 250 species of animals, many of which are endangered. Buena Vista Park is located in the Haight Ashbury area, famous for its role in the Hippie movement of the 60s. Officially the oldest park in San Francisco, it was founded back in 1867 and at first bore the name Hill Park, and in 1984 received its current name. The park is located on a hill with a really nice view of the city.

Culture of San Francisco

San Francisco is characterized as a city with a high standard of living. During the Internet revolution, the city became one of the richest in the United States, thanks to the attraction of highly skilled workers. Many poor areas have experienced a rebirth. The city center has experienced a "renaissance" spurred on by the redevelopment of the Embarcadero and the South Beach and Mission Bay areas. Thanks to numerous reconstructions and rebuildings, the city has grown a lot in housing, they still remain one of the highest in the country.

Numerous diaspora from Asia and South America makes San Francisco an international city. 39% of its inhabitants are foreigners, there are several neighborhoods where only immigrants live and work. Starting in 1970, it was decided to hold an annual Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown, as a large number of Chinese live in the city, and every year it only increases.

34. In the foyer of Operations Memorial Opera House, one of the last buildings built in the Beaux Arts style in the USA

Many foreign actors, writers, and other entertainment workers who arrived in the 50s established the modern coffee shop culture, and they also pushed the city into the social upsurge of the 60s. San Francisco became one of the centers of liberalism as the city's politics were dominated by Democrats, Greens and Progressive parties. Residents of the city, since 1988, have never cast more than 20% of the vote for a candidate from the Republican Party in the United States.

Writer Jack London was born in San Francisco.

San Francisco has a large number of museums, the most famous of which is the Museum of Modern Art, which contains exhibits of the present and the 20th century. The museum moved to a new building on the South of the Market in 1995, the collection attracts about 600,000 visitors a year. The Ligin-of-Honor Palace mainly exhibits European works. Golden Gate Park is famous for its Museum of Fine Arts - M. H. de Young. It was founded in 1894, but badly damaged after the Loma Prieta earthquake, in 2004 it was closed for reconstruction by the Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, and opened on October 15, 2005. Just like the Asian Art Museum, M. H. de Young exhibits non-European works. The Asian Art Museum has one of the largest collections of Asian artefacts and works in the world. From 1958 until 2004, all exhibits were located in the wing of the M. H. de Young Museum, but when it was closed for renovation, the Asian Art Museum moved to the San Francisco Library building.

The Palace of Fine Arts, originally built for the Panama Pacific Exposition, today welcomes tourists like the popular science museum, the Exploratorium.

Near Lake Merced is the San Francisco Zoo, which cares for about 250 animals, 39 of which are considered critically endangered. The city has many museums with non-traditional themes: the International Women's Museum, the Museum of the African Diaspora, the Modern Jewish Museum, the Museum of Folk Trades, the Museum of Caricatures and the Mexican Museum. San Francisco is famous for its eccentric museums: Antique Vibrator Museum, Mechanics Museum, Ophthalmology Museum, Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, Stamp Gallery, Tattoo Museum (old tattoo machines and tools), UFO Museum, Bigfoot and Loch Ness Museum monsters and the Wax Museum at the Fisherman shipyard.

The Walt Disney Museum in San Francisco opened in October 2009 by the daughter of animation classic Diana Disney. The museum is located in the Royal Fort of San Francisco. The exposition includes Disney's personal belongings, materials for films, films themselves, including those that the public has never seen. The building housed 215 monitors for showing tapes and a cinema hall for 120 people.

Symphony concerts, operas and ballets are quite frequent in San Francisco, all of which take place in the building of the War Memory Opera House, one of the largest theaters in the country. Urban ballet and opera are the oldest performing arts in the United States. The city is also home to the American Conservatory Theater (known as A.C.T.), which immediately after arriving in San Francisco in 1967 became the Bay Area's premier theater show. In addition, a new conservatory and theater center appeared in the city, known for staging performances not only for a wide range of spectators, but also for people with an unusual sexual culture. Bay Area Theater is the premier theater promotion company. This, its members include 365 theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bay Area Theater is the editor-in-chief of Calbort magazine.

In addition, the world's first 200-member gay choir is based and performs in San Francisco and is called the San Francisco Gay Men's Choir. In addition to the choir, the city has the San Francisco Free Gay and Lesbian Ensemble, the first openly gay musical organization.

San Francisco has excelled in the theater of improvisation, the city has a distinctive style. Compared to Chicago, where an improvisational production lasts 30-45 minutes per evening, in San Francisco it lasts 2 hours. In San Francisco, they assume that a person who can perform something according to a script can also play well on the improv stage. The greatest successes in the art of improvisation have been made by groups such as BETs Improvisation, The Unwritten Theater Campaign, Three for All, Truly Fictional Magazine, Leela Theatre, Chris Hopkins and the San Francisco Improv Alliance.

During the 1960s, San Francisco saw the formation of new rock trends, starting with the Sound of San Francisco. Two of the most influential San Francisco bands of the 60s, the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, began their careers in 1965. San Francisco was home to the famous punk rock band the Dead Kennedys. During the 80s and early 90s, the city witnessed numerous punk rock, electronic, industrial and rave movements that influenced San Francisco's musical culture. In the late 1990s, when "gentrification" took place in the city, many musicians had to leave, impoverishing the city's creativity a little. In San Francisco, mainly in Fillmore and Hunter Point, there is a large number of rap artists, the most famous of them: Messy Marv, RBL Posse, Rappin "4-Tay, San Quinn, JT the Bigga Figga and Paris. There is a lot of trust in the city received an electronic music direction influenced by west coast house music and trance music from San Francisco.Some of the most popular DJs and producers of electronic music in San Francisco: Miguel Migs, Mark Farina and DJ Garth.Om Records, one of the most respected labels in The USA is also located in San Francisco, and almost every weekend there is some fairly well-known European DJ playing in one of the clubs, and sometimes several.

San Francisco hosts many different and unique street festivals, parties and parades. The Folsom Street Fair takes place in September, the Chinese New Year Parade in February, Carnival (Christian holiday season) takes place during the spring, Fleet Week in October, and the Lovefest Rave Festival takes place in early October. San Francisco also hosts various grassroots sports such as the Bay to the Breakers or the San Francisco Marathon.

Many neighborhoods in the city have their own annual festivals, especially live music performances. The biggest ones are Castro Street Fair, Union Street Art Festival, North Beach Festival and Hayst Ashbury Fair. The San Francisco Opera puts on a free festival every year in Golden Gate Park. The San Francisco Symphony, similar to the Opera, puts on several performances in July, and is also an integral part of the Sturm Groove festival. On July 4, American Independence Day, the annual fireworks display takes place over Fisherman's Wharf; another fireworks show takes place in May at KFOG: Kaboom!.

The San Francisco 49ers are the largest professional football team in the city in the NFL. Its playing history began in 1946, and in 1971 the club moved to Monster Park (the club's modern arena), located at Candlistik Point. The club's success peaked in the 80s and 90s, when the team, led by stars Joe Montana, Steve Young, Ronnie Lott and Jerry Rice, won the Super Bowl 5 times.

The San Francisco Giants, members of major league baseball, were originally based in New York, but were forced to move to San Francisco before the 1958 season. Unfortunately, stars such as Willie Mays, Willie McCoway and Barry Bonds failed to win the World Series after the club moved to San Francisco. In 1989, the Giants' 3rd World Series game was brought to a halt by the Loma Prieta earthquake. The Giants play at AT&T Park, which was opened in 2000 as part of the South Beach and Mishin Bay redevelopment program.

San Francisco universities are actively involved in the city's sports life. The Dons, an athletic team at the University of San Francisco, compete in Division 1 of the National College Athletic Association (NAAC). Bill Russell was the leader of the Dons men's basketball team when they won the NAAC championship in 1955 and 1956. The Gators, representing San Francisco State University, are in Division 2.

The city has a fairly strong lacrosse team, the Dragons, who play in the major lacrosse league. The club performs at the Kezar Stadium, located in the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park. In addition to the Dragons, Kezar Stadium hosts the California Victoria team, which plays in the league's first division in soccer. The city has another semi-professional soccer team playing in the amateur division.

San Francisco is rich in resources and opportunities for sporting events. Therefore, since 1912, the city has hosted an annual walking competition - the Bay Breakers, although it is more famous for the colorful costumes of the participants and the festive spirit of the public. A more serious event, the annual San Francisco Marathon, draws over 7,000 participants. The city has about 320 km of bike paths, and the Embarcadero and Marine Green neighborhoods attract skateboarders and rollerbladers. There are all conditions for tennis lovers in the Golden Gate and Dolores park. Since sailing is popular in San Francisco, a yacht club was built in the Marina area.

The San Francisco Chronicle, where the famous Pulitzer holder Herb Cain worked, is considered one of the most widely read newspapers in northern California. The once-famous San Francisco Examiner, the brainchild of William Randolph Hearst's empire and the home of Ambrose Bierce, has morphed into a small tabloid over the years. The Sing Tao Daily has become the largest Chinese-language newspaper printed in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city has a weekly alternative press such as the Bay Guardian and SF Weekly. The most famous glossy magazine in the city is the San Francisco Store. San Francisco Daily Journal, one of the oldest and largest dailies. Newspapers and magazines:

By the way, the Russian-American weekly newspaper has been published in San Francisco since 1994. It is distributed free of charge throughout Northern California.

24 hours The weekly newspaper is distributed in Russian shops, offices, kiosks and other gathering points of the Russian community in San Francisco and California's Bay Area.

West East Weekly International Russian Newspaper weekly newspaper. Today, the West-East newspaper is published in San Francisco, California. The newspaper began to be published on September 1, 2000. Then it was called "Denver Courier" and initially came out only in the state of Colorado.

Fact Magazine A Russian-American Infotainment magazine published in Los Angeles and distributed throughout California.

Russian Yellow Pages Russian telephone directory of the San Francisco Bay Area. Russian Yellow Pages is one of the most popular magazines in the Bay Area, founded in 2002. The magazine is published twice a year in a huge circulation and is distributed to Russian-speaking businesses, and also provides services to the Russian-speaking population of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

The TV broadcast area in San Francisco is ranked 6th in the US, and radio broadcasting is 4th. All the major television companies in the country have built branches serving the Bay Area, most of them in San Francisco. The city has several local television and radio stations, CNN, and has regional offices in San Francisco.

Public law television and radio stations with the call sign KQED broadcast from the Potreto Hill area. Radio station KQED-FM is the country's most popular affiliate of National Public Radio. San Francisco-based companies CNET and Salon.com were pioneers in Internet media.

Downtown San Francisco

The backbone of the San Francisco economy is tourism. With its depiction of the city in films, music, and popular culture, San Francisco is recognizable around the world. This is the city where Tony Bennett left his heart, where Franklin Stroud, known as the "bird catcher", spent many years in prison, and where Rice-a-Roni became the favorite food of the population. San Francisco is the 5th most visited city in the US by foreign tourists, and Pier 39, located in Fisherman's Wharf, is the third most visited destination in the country. More than 15 million tourists visited the city in 2005, leaving about 7.5 in the city's coffers. A large infrastructure of restaurants and hotels is concentrated in the Moscone Center area. San Francisco is one of the top ten convention and conference destinations in North America. San Francisco is one of the top 10 cities in the world.

The gold rush pushed San Francisco to develop, now the city is the main financial center on the west coast. Montgomery Street and the Financial District are known as the "Wall Street of the West" and are home to the Federal and Pacific Exchange. America, a pioneer in providing services to the middle class, was founded in San Francisco in 1928. Many large financial institutions, multinational banks and insurance companies are located or have regional offices in the city. The center is home to about 30 international financial organizations, 6 Fortune 500 companies, and a large number of infrastructures aimed at providing professional services to the population (lawyers, PR companies, architectural companies, and so on).

The city's economy has skyrocketed since the rise of Silicon Valley to the south requiring high-end attraction. The valley also hosts a biotech and biomedical research center. Mission Bay is home to UCSF's second campus, which trains a highly professional workforce and serves as the headquarters of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which funds the statewide stem cell research program.

Small companies, with fewer than 10 employees, make up 85% of all in the city. The number of employees in the campaigns, with a staff of over 1,000, was halved starting in 1977. It is very rare to find huge supermarkets called "Big Boxes" in the city, this is due to the fact that the construction of Big Boxes negatively affects San Francisco, from which the city treasury receives most of it. The Small Business Commission backed a campaign to keep the share of small businesses, which forced the city council to impose restrictions on areas in which supermarkets can be built, this strategy was supported by city residents who voted for the entry into force of restrictions.

San Francisco has been a city-county since 1856; there is only one in California. In addition to being the mayor, he is also the head of the district. The mayor's jurisdiction extends beyond the county, an example being the San Francisco Airport, which is in San Mateo County but is owned by the San Francisco government. According to the Wracker Act, signed in 1913, San Francisco was granted eternal life: the Hatch-Hetchy valley and the watershed in national park Yosemite.

The government of San Francisco consists of 2 equal branches. The first branch is the executive, headed by the mayor and other elected officials. The second branch is legislative, it consists of 11 members that make up the city council, it is at the head of the council (in 2006, Aaron Peskin). The president is responsible for passing laws and enacting laws, although city residents have the ability to directly influence the legislature by voting. Members of the city council are chosen as representatives of different districts of the city. If the mayor dies or resigns, his powers will pass to the president of the council, such a case occurred in 1978 when George Moscone was assassinated and his powers passed to Dianne Feinstein. The city's budget for 2007-2008 was more than 6 billion.

The federal government uses San Francisco to host various departments such as the US Court of Appeals, and. Before disarmament in 1990, there were 3 military bases in the city: Presidio, Treasure Island and Hunters Point. They inherited only the Fleet Festival. San Francisco is home to the Supreme Court of the State of California, as well as a number of other state institutions. There are 30 diplomatic missions from around the world in San Francisco, including the Consulate General of the Russian Federation.

As of 2005, the population of the city center was 739,426. With about 16,000 people living in one square mile, San Francisco is the 2nd most densely populated city in the US. About 0.7 million people live in San Francisco, this is the largest number among the entire Bay Area, the city ranks 5th in the United States in this indicator, according to the 2000 census.

Whites make up about 44% of the total population of San Francisco, Asians about 31%, Hispanics of any race - 14%, less than 8% of the total number of people are African Americans.

Few San Francisco residents have lived in the city all their lives. Only 35% of residents were born in California, 26% in the United States, and 39% outside the state.

In San Francisco in 2005, the average household earned $57,496, the fifth highest among major US cities. Following the national trend to move out of more expensive cities in pursuit of higher incomes, many middle-class residents have left San Francisco, which has affected the percentage of children. There are 14.5% fewer children in the city compared to other large cities in the country. In San Francisco, 7.8% are low-income families, less than the US average.

The homeless have been a "chronic disease" in San Francisco since the 1980s. The city has more homeless people per capita than any other city in the United States. A large number of homeless people influenced the increase in criminal activity. For example, in 2003, San Francisco had 5,725 felonies and 38,163 property crimes, more than the national average. Among the 50 largest cities by population, San Francisco ranks 32nd in violent crime and 38th in property crime.

A significant (about 20 thousand people) Russian-speaking community lives in San Francisco and its suburbs: many live in the Richmond area. This area is famous for its abundance of Russian shops and restaurants. The Russian cultural center, founded in 1939, is located in the city. consulate-General Russian Federation traces its history back to pre-revolutionary Russia and since 1973 has been working in the prestigious Pacific Heights area.

Press in Russian: "Russian Club of San Francisco" - electronic newspaper in Russian; daily news, events and a directory of Russian-speaking businesses in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

For the last two years of his life, the Soviet actor Savely Kramarov lived in the suburbs of San Francisco.

Writer Margarita Meklina lives in San Francisco. She is the winner of the "Russian Prize" for 2008 in the nomination "Small prose" for a series of essays and stories "My criminal connection with art." The prize is awarded in Moscow to foreign authors who write in Russian.

The newspaper Russkaya Zhizn is published in San Francisco, editor-in-chief Vladimir Belyaev. The newspaper tells its readers truthfully about the events in the Russian Federation.

San Francisco has the highest percentage of gay people of any US city. According to the census, 2.7% of the total population are homosexuals. San Francisco is the first city in the world in terms of the number of homosexuals living in it, according to various sources, from 10% to 15.4% of the total population. This situation is connected with the migration of gays and lesbians from a conservative province to an extremely liberal metropolis.

San Francisco is one of the historical gay centers: the story of the political rise of homosexual Harvey Milk is connected with the Castro gay quarter, the most famous symbol of the LGBT community - the rainbow flag - appeared here, the first LGBT film festival in the world, Frameline, was erected, Memorial Park was erected Pink triangle, and so on.

San Francisco State University is part of the California State University System. It is located near Lake Merced. The university annually graduates 30,000 students and accepts newcomers, teachers, many with advanced degrees, teach more than a hundred disciplines. City College of San Francisco, located in Ingliside County, is considered one of the largest colleges in the country. It teaches about 100,000 students and offers a long-term program of study. In 1855, the Jesuit University of San Francisco was founded, today it is located in the Lohne Mountain area. The university focuses on the free-thinking arts and is one of the oldest universities founded west of the Mississippi River.

UC San Francisco is one of 10 campuses in the California University System, and the 2nd employer in the city. Specializes in biomedical research and graduates students only with a medical education, one of the top five medical schools in the United States. The university has a CUSF medical center, which is one of the top 10 hospitals in the country. In 2003, CUSF's new 43-acre campus opened for research in biotechnology and the mind and behavioral sciences. The Civic Center neighborhood is home to Hastings College of Law, founded in 1878, the oldest law college in California and producing more judges than any other institution.

Many fine art professionals have studied at the San Francisco Institute of Art or at the largest private art academy in the United States.

The California Culinary Academy, as part of the Le Cordon Bleu program, offers applicants to learn the art of cooking and baking, as well as restaurant management.

San Francisco residents have a wide choice of public schools, but in most cases they prefer to send their children to Lowell High School, the oldest school west of the Mississippi River, and to a small school for the Arts. Compared to 10% nationwide, just under 30% of San Francisco students attend one of the 100 private or parochial schools. Of these 100 schools, 40 fall under the control of the San Francisco Roman Catholic Church.

Among the many private schools, 2 schools can be distinguished: St. Ignatius Preparatory College and the Sacred Heart School. Both schools are the oldest and bitter rivals. Every year, schools organize the Bruce Mahoney competition, in honor of the memory of 2 schoolchildren killed during the 2nd World War.

San Francisco infrastructure

Because of its unique geography, which often hindered road construction, and because of the results of the "road revolution" in the late 1950s, San Francisco is one of the few cities in the United States that has opted for a European arterial style of road layout instead of a large freeway network. Residents of the city continue to follow this, choosing, after the Loma Prieta earthquake, the complete destruction of the Embarcadero freeway and part of the central freeway, turning them into boulevards.

Several major freeways pass through the city, connecting the north of the west coast with the south or the west coast with the center of the mainland. I-80 to New York begins as it approaches the Bay Bridge, which connects San Francisco and Oakland, the only direct road to the east coast of the bay. US 101 connects San Francisco to San Jose (southbound) and Marin County (northbound via the Golden Gate Bridge). The SR 1 also passes through the Golden Gate Bridge. Highway I-280, starting in the city, also connects it to San Jose. SR 35, which runs along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, enters the city along Skyline Boulevard in southern San Francisco. The busiest streets in the city are Geary Boulevard, Lincoln Way, Fell Street, Market Street and Portola Drive.

The San Francisco public transit system is the most developed system on the West Coast of the United States. About 35% of the city's population use daily public transport. Transport system city ​​includes buses, trolleybuses, surface and underground high-speed trams Muni Metro. All this is the so-called MUNI system, which also includes the famous historic cable cars (see San Francisco cable car).

In addition to intracity transportation, San Francisco has a developed suburban communications system. The city has a kind of agglomeration subway, the operation of which is provided by the BART agency. BART is a regional fast travel system that connects San Francisco to east coast through the Transbay Tunnel, it also has jurisdiction over connections to San Mateo, San Francisco National Airport, and Millbray. The Caltrain rail system links San Francisco to San Jose.

international Airport San Francisco - San Francisco International Airport (: SFO, ICAO: KSFO, FAA LID: SFO), located 21 km south of the city on the San Francisco Bay, in San Mateo County, it is located under the jurisdiction of the City-County of San Francisco. It is the hub for United Airlines, the largest tenant, and Virgin America.

San Francisco Airport is located on the artificially filled territory of the San Francisco Bay. International terminal the airport is the largest in North America. During the late 1990s, when traffic became very dense and caused more and more delays, it was decided to build an additional runway, which required additional drainage of the bay. In 2005, the airport ranked 14th in the United States and 23rd in the world in terms of the number of passengers served, receiving about 32.8 million people annually.

Not far from San Francisco there are two more large civil airport. This is San Jose Airport - Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport (IATA: SJC, ICAO: KSJC, FAA LID: SJC) - located 70 km southeast of San Francisco, as well as Oakland International Airport (IATA: OAK, ICAO: KOAK, FAA LID: OAK), located 32 km east of the city on the opposite shore of San Francisco Bay.

The Port of San Francisco was formerly the largest and busiest port on the US West Coast. Now this title belongs to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Its feature was the numerous piers located perpendicular to the shore. They had in their presence cranes for unloading moored ships and developed transport routes for transporting goods to warehouses. The port received cargo from ports around the world and was the main center of the west coast for the timber trade. The West Coast Dockworks, held in 1934, was an important event in the history of the labor movement and led to the suspension of the port and clashes with the forces of the National Guard.

The development of container shipping, which eliminated the need for pier-based ports, moved most of the commercial traffic to Auckland. Many piers remained abandoned for many years after the destruction of the Embarcadero Highway until the completion of the reconstruction of the port area. The Port Center is the Ferry Building, which still handles commuter transportation issues. The building has been restored and converted into market square. Piers not used for mainstream shipping are currently used mainly for office buildings, shops, museums, mooring of tourist boats, yachts and private ships.

Landmarks of San Francisco

Leave impressive monuments of architecture and tiresome trips to museums to other cities. Days in San Francisco (San Francisco or simply Frisco) are best spent on the bay of the same name bathed in the sun in the digestion of generous seafood - regardless of whether you are a person or one of the seals of the subspecies of sea lions, gracefully dangling and hitting the belly against the water on Pierce 39.

With its 43 hills and a population of eccentrics, freethinkers, crazy inventors and just weird people, this city stubbornly refuses to come down from the clouds to earth. Instead, reality rises to the heights of the eccentricity of San Francisco, with all those parrots plowing through the treetops, restaurants with inventive cuisine of maestro chefs and itinerant poets who do not utter a single unrhymed word. In a word, crazy San Francisco is not for the faint of heart, but it is worth all the nerves and megabytes of digital cameras spent.

The cost of living in San Francisco is high, but it is fully justified: here everyone gets what they are looking for - inventive new cuisine, quality cultural events, excellent art or strong alcohol. In addition, many things in San Francisco can be obtained completely for free: the natural beauty of the city, street festivals, walks in the parks, gallery openings, or idle conversation. Other treats are cheap as hell, like Vietnamese noodles, an N-subway ticket to the beach, or the so-called "happy aurs" at Mission dive bars. With a little ingenuity, San Francisco can be a fantastic and inexpensive vacation.

Hostels and B&Bs are the best accommodations for those looking to save money. Car rental will cost about $40 per day without insurance, plus bezin. Parking - $4 for a couple of hours (if you can find a free parking space, of course), for the wrong parking - $30, but they will haunt you for a long time, even if you left the car for a couple of minutes. Overnight parking will cost $35 if the tourist has not bothered to arrange in advance with the hotel. For comparison: the average fare for a taxi will be $12, and a Muni ticket will be $1.50. However, those who want to go on excursions along the coast or to the Wine Country cannot do without a car.

San Francisco is world famous for the Golden Gate, one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. It is worth visiting the SFMOMA Museum of Contemporary Art, Union Square, the local Chinatown with many fun souvenir shops and a million Asian eateries.

Fishermans Wharf is a collection of silly rides and a starting point for cruises around the bay. From there, kilometers of parks and beaches stretch west to the Golden Gate, and beyond the bridge, the Napa and Sonoma Valleys begin - the place where the best wines in the country originate.

Here are the wineries that you should definitely visit: Beringer, The Hess Collection and Rubicon. Also widely known are the prison island of Alcatraz, Mount Tamalpas with a magnificent panorama of the city and the bay, the building of the Var-Memory Opera House and the Museum cable cars.

Angel Island is a former World War II filtration camp and is now a popular hiking and picnic spot. As well as the famous High Ashbury (or Hythe) area, considered the birthplace of the hippie movement.

Alcatraz is an island in San Francisco Bay. He gained particular fame thanks to the prison for especially dangerous criminals, which functioned until 1963. Currently, a museum is open on Alcatraz. One of the most famous attractions in San Francisco.

Alcatraz Island is located in the middle of San Francisco Bay, 2.5 km directly from San Francisco itself. Alcatraz is a very popular San Francisco landmark and has been featured in many movies, cartoons, television shows, books and computer games. However, few imagine rich history boasts this rocky island.

Native American tribes lived around San Francisco Bay as early as 10,000 years ago. Historians suggest that they sailed to the island and used it for their own purposes. In August 1775, the Spanish naval officer Juan Manuel de Ayala entered San Francisco Bay and explored territories still unknown to Europeans. He named one of the islands of the bay "island of seabirds" (La Isla de Los Alcatraces). It is not entirely clear which island he named it, but over time, the name Alcatraz was given to a small barren rock island.

In February 1848, California became a possession of the United States, this event coincided with the discovery of gold in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Started right after that" Golden fever" led to an explosive growth in the population of San Francisco, when in three years the number of inhabitants increased from 500 to 35,000. To facilitate navigation in the bay, in 1854 a lighthouse was built on Alcatraz, which became the first on the US west coast. The US Army, realizing San Francisco was vulnerable to attack by the enemy, sought to protect the entrance to the harbor, including the military fort on Alcatraz Island.The fort was completed in December 1859. During the American (1861-1865) Alcatraz was the largest military fort west of the Mississippi River .

The period of military prison on the island began in 1861, when the army began sending convicted soldiers to Alcatraz. Over the next forty years, the island's military importance declined, and in 1907 all guns were removed from the fort. The prisoner soldiers built most of the buildings on the island, in fact it was the last role of the military on Alcatraz, who left the island in 1933.

A federal prison existed on the island for 28 years from 1934 to 1963. Alcatraz was a maximum security prison with minimum privileges for inmates. Among the prisoners arriving at Alcatraz were the most notorious criminals in the United States, gang leaders and especially dangerous repeat offenders. 336 ordinary cells and 42 solitary cells were never completely filled, on average, about 260 prisoners were kept on the prison island. Alcatraz was a special prison where prisoners from other prisons were sent for misconduct. Accordingly, good behavior in prison made it possible to earn a transfer to another institution. Almost never the convicts were released directly from Alcatraz. On average, prisoners spent about 8 years on the island.

According to the federal government, none of the prisoners who tried to escape the island were able to do so. There were 14 attempts in total, involving 36 prisoners. 23 were caught, six were shot dead, two more drowned. Five people went missing, their bodies were never found and no one saw them again. However, from 1861 to 1933, when a military prison functioned on Alcatraz, successful attempts escape directly from the island.

Attorney General Robert Kennedy ordered the closure of the Alcatraz prison in 1963. There were two main reasons. Firstly, the stay of one prisoner cost the treasury $ 10 daily, while in any other prison only $ 3. The second reason was the heavy pollution of the bay with sewage from the island. Hollywood has released many films about Alcatraz, but the cruelty and violence on the island has been clearly embellished. In reality, Alcatraz was a tough but relatively safe prison.

Tourists depart for Alcatraz from Pier 33, located on the Embarcadero. Please note that this is a very popular tourist attraction, so tickets to the island can be sold out 7-10 days in advance. It is highly advisable to take care of booking tickets in advance.

There are several types of tours to Alcatraz, costing from $26 to $58. On average, the duration of the tour is 2.5-4 hours. In addition to day tours, a unique night tour of the island is offered. Tourists can take advantage of audio tours, which were recorded using the real voices of guards and prisoners (in English). Best time to visit Alcatraz Island from April to May or from September to October. From January to March you can avoid the crowds.

Pier 39 is a shopping and entertainment center built on the pier in San Francisco. Being a popular holiday destination for local residents and tourists, the pier is notable for the variety of opportunities for entertainment and recreation. On the pier there are numerous souvenir shops, restaurants and cafes, cinemas, game centers and rides, organized street performances. Also, of course, Pier 39 is famous for the California sea lions who have chosen the pier as their home.

Of the many restaurants located on the pier, the most notable is the floating restaurant Ostrov (Forbes Island Magazine), but you can also enjoy sweets, ice cream and fruit from numerous street vendors. However, the most interesting feature a pier is a fur seal rookery located towards the end of the pier.

California sea lions have always lived in San Francisco Bay, but first appeared on Pier 39 in September 1989. Although the reasons for the migration remained unclear, the wharf has been refurbished and every effort has been made to ensure that the animals can move freely and feel safe. By the end of 1989, more than a dozen sea lions had settled on the pier. When the number of individuals exceeded 150 in 1990, yacht owners began to complain about the smell and noise, and there was also a real danger of ships colliding with half a ton animals.

62. Pier 39 is located in Fisherman's Wharf (Fishing Wharf) directly opposite Alcatraz Island

But the factor of tourists attracted by the lions outweighed, and the yacht parking was moved to another place. The number of marine animals living on the pier is constantly changing. In search of food, sea lions periodically leave the pier, but invariably return, usually in the spring. Scientists calculated that about 1,500 animals settled on the rookeries of Pier No. 39. Sea lions are the decoration of this wonderful pier and are madly in love with tourists.

Right at the entrance to the pier is the Aquarium of the Bay. Aquarium - an exhibition center where you can get acquainted with the underwater world of San Francisco.

The aquarium consists of three parts. In the first one, visitors can get acquainted with representatives of the fauna of the bay. The second part of the center is the largest and is made in the form of a glass tunnel over 90 meters long. The tunnel is surrounded by 3 million liters of water, where 20,000 marine animals live. Through the glass, you can see passing schools of fish, unusual jellyfish, sharks and other representatives of the bay. In the second tunnel you can get acquainted with the deep-sea world and see incredible animals. In the last section of the Aquarium, you can even touch individual marine creatures, such as a stingray, starfish or a leopard shark.

70. Photo Suspension bridge "Golden Gate" 3

This grandiose building was erected from 1933 to 1937. At the time of opening it was the largest suspension bridge in the world. Traffic is organized along six car lanes. Depending on the time of day and day of the week, the number of lanes for traffic in different directions varies. In addition to car lanes, the bridge can be crossed on foot or by bicycle, and completely free of charge, moving in any direction. Motorists, on the other hand, cross the bridge for free, moving only in a northerly direction. For those who enter the city, that is, cross the bridge from north to south, there is a small fee of a few dollars. Curiously, if you enter San Francisco on weekdays, you will be exempt from paying 77. Photo of bridge construction 6

Fog is a frequent companion of San Francisco. In summer and early autumn, you can watch a bewitching spectacle of how fog envelops the bay and the Golden Gate. The lower the temperature, the thicker and more abundant the fog. You can experience amazing feelings if you watch this spectacle from the bridge itself, but be sure to dress warmly.

Earthquake danger

There is no escape from this danger. Being close to tectonic faults, the bridge and the city itself are under constant threat from the elements. The bridge withstood a real test in 1989 during an earthquake of 7.1 points, but unlike the Bay Bridge, in which a section was destroyed, the Golden Gate Bridge was not damaged at all.

Fort Point

On south coast Strait, near the base of the bridge, is located Fort Point (Fort Point). This is a small fort, whose casemates can be entered completely free of charge from Friday to Sunday. On other days it is closed. During civil war Fort Point was supposed to defend the harbor from Confederate troops.

San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge- a bridge stretching across the San Francisco Bay (San Francisco Bay) and connecting San Francisco and Oakland. The name of the bridge is often shortened to Bay Bridge.

The construction of the Bay Bridge was started in 1993, although the need for it was discussed during the gold rush. The opening of traffic occurred in November 1936, half a year before the Golden Gate Bridge was put into operation.

In fact, the bridge consists of two spans of approximately equal length. The first span connects downtown San Francisco with the island of Yerba Buena, and from it there is a second span to Oakland. Part of the traffic on the island of Yerba Buena takes place in a tunnel. The total length of the bridge exceeds 7 km. All spans of the bridge are two-tier, i.e. the movement is organized simultaneously at different heights. Directly from the island of Yerba Buena, you can move to another island - Treasure Island (Treasure Island).

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge is a toll bridge, but the toll is only charged on the Oakland side when driving towards San Francisco. The fare depends on the day of the week and time, at the beginning of 2012 it is $4-6.

At the moment, the eastern part of the bridge span is undergoing a large-scale reconstruction, which should be completed in 2013.

Lombard street

An attraction that tourists are sure to bring to San Francisco is Lombard Street. The street is generally ordinary, but its section on Russian Hill with eight sharp turns allows San Francisco residents to proudly talk about "the most crooked street in the world."

In the 20s of the XX century, people living on this street wanted to keep up with their neighbors and get cars. But the street was also too steep for vehicles with a 27% gradient. In addition, such inconveniences had a negative impact on the value of houses located along this steep section of the road. As a result, it was decided to reduce the slope to a tolerable 16%, and make the road curved. The 400m red brick road is currently one-way from top to bottom (west to east) with a 5 mph (8 km/h) speed limit.

Lombard Street is an amazingly beautiful street. Colorful houses on both sides of the street, along with colorful flower beds, neatly trimmed trees and bushes, go well with the red serpentine of the road. All this gives the street an unforgettable atmosphere of comfort. The street looks especially advantageous in spring and summer, when chrysanthemums bloom in the flowerbeds. It's funny, but in fact, Lombard Street is neither the most crooked nor the steepest street even in San Francisco itself. However, this does not matter, because you will not find another street like this.

Twin Peaks- two "twin" hills located in the very center of the San Francisco Peninsula. This is a very popular attraction. If there is no fog, then a wonderful view of the city opens from a height. The hills of Twin Peaks have nothing to do with the famous TV series of the same name.

Located at a distance of 200 meters from each other, the hills have their own names. The northern one is Eureka and the southern one is Noe. On the north hill is a popular viewpoint known as "Christmas Tree Point". From this fenced area, you have a great 360-degree view of San Francisco and the bay, there are also telescopes. Many people think that the night view from Twin Peaks is even more interesting. You can get to Christmas Tree Point by car, parking is free.

During festive events, such as fireworks on July 4th, Twin Peaks gets crowded. To get a place you need to go there early in the morning.

At any time of the year it is very windy at the top - everyone going there should take a windbreaker or other warm clothes.

Sources

Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia, WikiPedia

tonkosti.ru – Subtleties of tourism

countries.turistua.com – Best tour search

americancities.ru - American cities

"If you're going to San Francisco, don't forget to weave a few flowers in your hair" - the words from the famous song by Scott McKenzie, which has been San Francisco's unofficial anthem for almost 50 years. They personify this city as the capital of the hippie movement and progressive youth.

State: California

Foundation date: 1776, city since 1850

Population: 852,469 people

Nickname: Frisco, Foggy City, West Paris

San Francisco is a picturesque sunny city located on a peninsula between the bay of the same name and the Pacific Ocean. Numerous sights of San Francisco attract a huge number of tourists to the city, which is worth the most big park in the USA, the most beautiful Golden Gate Bridge in the country and the Alcatraz prison. The oldest cable car passes through the compact streets of the city, and Lombard Street is considered the most curved street in the world.

Lombard Street

Alcatraz prison

San Francisco is considered a trendsetter of cultural innovation and experimentation, the home of the Beat Generation of the 1950s, the center of the counterculture of the 1960s, a hotbed of political protest, and the hub of the American gay community. The population of San Francisco is represented by the most diverse ethnic groups in the United States.

Today, San Francisco is home to a huge number of cutting-edge high-tech companies that provide jobs to thousands of people in this densely populated region.

The coastline of San Francisco stretches for almost 50 kilometers, so the city's climate can be attributed to the Mediterranean. Most of the precipitation here falls from November to March. Since San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides, fog is a distinctive feature of this area, which often approaches the city from the Pacific Ocean.

History of San Francisco

The human footprint on this earth dates back to the 20th millennium BC.

The Spanish conquistadors, who discovered California, did not know about the existence of this peninsula for two centuries, because the fog coming from the Pacific Ocean hid the peninsula from prying eyes. The first Europeans to discover this land were explorers traveling in a small group in 1769 from Mexico to Canada, led by Sergeant José Ortega. After 7 years, it was founded here small town- Yerba Buena. Later, the city received its modern name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi.

For more than half a century, this place was not given much importance, but the situation changed dramatically after the discovery of a gold mine here in 1848. The California gold rush triggered the rapid expansion of San Francisco. Thousands of gold miners who came to California in search of their fortune subsequently took root in the region. However, the gold rush brought not only wealth to the city, but also a wave of lawlessness. Gang groups began to form on the territory of San Francisco, gambling establishments and brothels began to open. In 1850, San Francisco was given the status of a city, after which local residents began to form vigilante groups to cleanse the city of criminals and restore order.

After the completion of the construction of the transcontinental railway in 1869, San Francisco continued its development. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the city's population was over a third of a million people. Everything changed at the beginning of the 20th century, when the people of San Francisco experienced the greatest catastrophe in the history of the city. On April 18, 1906, a massive earthquake hit San Francisco, killing more than 500 people. Ten square kilometers of the city were wiped off the face of the earth. The fires caused by the earthquake could not be extinguished for three days. Nevertheless, the people of San Francisco persevered and, on their own, as well as with the help of donations from other states, restored the city. By 1915, the rebuilt city hosted the world's first exhibition dedicated to the completion of the Panama Canal.

The first half of the 20th century was a period of development of the city's infrastructure. In 1913, a dam was built on the Tuoloumne River in the Hetch Hetchy Canyon Valley, in 1936 the Bay Bridge connecting San Francisco and Oakland was completed, and a year later, the famous Golden Gate Bridge was presented to the world, which became calling card not just San Francisco, but the entire United States.

With the growth of industry, emigrants began to arrive in the city. In 1930, a large-scale movers' strike took place in San Francisco, which became the largest labor uprising in US history.

With the outbreak of World War II, the industry of the city became even more powerful. This period was also marked by the forced relocation of several thousand Japanese Americans from San Francisco to internment camps.

In the 1960s and 70s, San Francisco became the center of youth counterculture, the main site of student protest against the Vietnam War, and a center for the advocacy of the rights of sexual minorities.

1979 is remembered for the high-profile assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Mascone, the city's first openly gay leader. That same year, San Francisco elected its first female mayor, Dianne Feinstein.

In 1989, San Francisco residents experienced another powerful earthquake. However, despite this, in the next decade the city made huge strides in its development: state institutions were renovated, a museum of modern art, a main library and an art center were built.

Jobs in San Francisco

Due to its location, throughout its history, San Francisco has been the most important port center of California. The main branches of the country's leading banks, insurance companies, the Pacific Stock Exchange, a division of the Federal Reserve System and the US Mint are located on the territory of San Francisco.

Since the San Francisco agglomeration is part of Silicon Valley, the city and its suburbs have a very developed IT and biotechnology industry. Hundreds of the world's leading high-tech companies with offices in this region attract tens of thousands of IT specialists from all over the world.

Sports in San Francisco

San Francisco is represented by major league teams in every popular US sport:

• Baseball (MLB) - San Francisco Giants
• Football (NFL) – San Francisco Niners (49ers)
• Basketball (NBA) – Golden State Warriors

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park, founded in the 1870s, is the largest urban park in the United States. The total area of ​​the park is 412 hectares. On the territory of the park there are many gardens, artificial lakes, waterfalls, nature reserves, beaches, campsites, 43 km of footpaths, 12 km of horse riding trails. This park welcomes more than 13 million visitors annually.

San Francisco Tourism

Despite the huge number of high-tech companies located in San Francisco, tourism is the main industry of the city's economy. The natural beauty of San Francisco, mild climate and a large number of attractions, annually attracts more than 17 million tourists to the city. San Francisco is one of the ten most convenient cities in North America for a variety of conferences, exhibitions and trainings, which also attracts a considerable number of visitors.

One of the most unique features of San Francisco is the clusters of different ethnic neighborhoods. The most famous of which is Chinatown - the largest Chinese area outside of Asia. In Chinatown, there are many oriental bazaars, temples, and restaurants.

The image of the sights of San Francisco can often be found on postcards or wallpaper desktop monitors. This sunny city will surely surprise you with the change of its geography - winding streets and green hills, will delight you with the bright colors of parks and squares, the variety of vegetation and the tenderness of the surf. Plunging into the atmosphere of San Francisco, it will seem to you that life is flowing here in the eternal stream of the carnival.

The city and county of San Francisco lie in the central part of the Pacific coast of California, on the northern tip of the peninsula of the same name, which borders the bay of the same name from the sea. This is perhaps the most beautiful and certainly the most liberal city in the United States, having its own face and style, not least determined by the picturesque local landscapes and frequent fogs that cover half the city.

Despite its far from small size (the total area of ​​the city is about 600 sq. km), San Francisco is quite compact, hilly and bears little resemblance to the huge chaotic Los Angeles. Considerable "merit" in this belongs to the devastating earthquake that hit San Francisco in 1906 (fires caused by tremors raged then for three days), after which the city was rebuilt according to a clear architectural plan almost anew. Many of the buildings of the city, which still define its face, were built within the framework of this development, from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s.

Landmarks of San Francisco

The historic center of Frisco, as the Americans often call it, lies in the hilly northeastern part of the peninsula and differs from the "big city" just by the almost complete lack of planning - many of its streets are so winding and illogically laid out, have such a large height difference that they themselves themselves are good attractions (a typical example of this is Lombard Street on Russian Hill). Currently Old city is located within the business center with its skyscrapers and offices and is framed along the entire perimeter by ethnic quarters like Chinatown, North Beach And telegraph hill(Italian quarters), Russian Hill, Mission District(African Americans and immigrants from Latin America live here), richmond(often called "New Chinatown", but many Russian emigrants live here), sunset(immigrants from Asian countries) and other colorful areas.

The tourist center of the city is union square- an ever-noisy center of shops and hotels, flower sellers and the homeless. The famous cable cars run down the west side of the square to Aquatic Park, Washington Street, Chinatown And Financial District, or up - to Mark or Hopkins Hotel. Picturesque area SoMa(South Market Street) seems to link the high office complexes of the business center and quaint neighborhoods along Embarcadero with an ever touristy area of ​​galleries and museums all around Yerba Buena Gardens or night clubs eleventh street. In the territory Fisherman-Warf(foot of Russian Hill) with its fairly kitschy shopping area is located The Wax Museum, and the pier itself is the gateway to such famous monuments cities like an island Alcatraz prison, Maritime Museum And historic pier.

The city's attractions include the famous Golden Gate Bridge("Golden Gate", 1937, one of the longest suspension bridges in the world - each of its spans has a length of 1280 m) and the nearby park of the same name (1017 acres) with botanical the gardens of the Streebing Arboterium, a charming Japanese garden, Young Museum of Fine Arts and the tallest man-made waterfall in the western states; as well as under construction New Bay Bridge, which will be the most advanced structure of its kind in the world, which is not surprising given that its 160-meter supports will be located in the most seismically dangerous place city, exactly in the middle between the San Andreas and Hayward tectonic faults, and the 560-meter span will be supported by just one support.

Museums in San Francisco

Also widely known Alcatraz prison island(used in this role from 1933 to 1963), area of ​​fashionable villas on Montgomery Street, downtown Market Street, Mount Tamalpas(770 m) with a magnificent panorama of the city and the bay opening from its peaks, building Var-Memory Opera House(1932), Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) to South Market, Cable Car Museum(covers the history of another local landmark - the famous San Francisco streetcars, or cable cars, whose history goes back 130 years), Russian cultural center(1939) in the Richmond area, Mexican Museum, Asian Art Museum in the San Francisco Library complex, Science Museum Exploratorium, zoo in Bueno Vista Park by Lake Merced, angel island(former filtration camp during the Second World War, and today - a popular place for hiking and picnics), complex American Conservatory and theater (ACT), International Women's Museum, african museum and many other unusual collections, as well as the lively Castro quarter and the famous High Ashbury, or Hythe, considered the birthplace of the hippie movement.

Beach holidays in San Francisco

Ocean shores around San Francisco can't be counted perfect place For sea ​​recreation- there is a fairly strong surf, the complex nature of the currents and rather cool water, the temperature of which in the summer months does not exceed 15 ° C. Swimming on many of the city's beaches is not recommended; on some, it is officially prohibited, as evidenced by prohibitory signs. The beaches of San Francisco are foggy even during the summer months.

Within the Golden Gate Park, you can find many good places for swimming and active pastime, and on the territory of Baker Beach (east of Golden Gate) you can swim and relax quite safely all summer.

Going to sunbathe and swim on the coast of San Francisco, it is better to take a windproof jacket or sweatshirt with you; the winds here are cool even in the summer months.

lovers aquatic species sports it is worth remembering the strong undercurrents. Surfing along the coast of San Francisco is an option for experienced surfers, but not for beginners.

Most of the city's beaches do not allow drinking alcoholic beverages; local police enforce the rule.

Beaches

luxury beach ocean beach, stretching for 3.5 miles along the west coast of San Francisco, is more used for running and recreational sports on the coast. Swimming on the beach is not recommended due to big waves ideal for experienced surfers. Ocean Beach has showers, cafes, volleyball courts, and play areas. Drinking alcoholic beverages on the coast is prohibited. It is allowed to kindle fires, but the company should have no more than 25 people. The most secluded part of the coast is in the south. There is no parking along the beach.

Rodeo – best beach for children in San Francisco, a little less than a mile long. Swimming is prohibited here due to the pollution of the lagoon. The pebbly beach is equipped with showers, picnic tables with fire pits; alcohol is prohibited on the coast. There are no cafes, restaurants or food shops nearby; Everything you need is worth taking with you. Due to its location and open space, Rodeo is popular with kite enthusiasts. In the northern part of the beach you can find small multi-colored pebbles; the most common are orange.

From the beach Baker, popular among fishing enthusiasts, offers beautiful views of the Golden Gate. The coast is equipped with showers, picnic tables and toilets. There is free parking, but on weekends you should arrive before ten in order to have time to take a free place. To the north is the nudist beach North Baker.

On a small beach China located in the prestigious Seacliff area, where it is easier to meet locals than tourists. On the coast, the waves are calmer than on Ocean Beach. Due to its location in a sheltered bay, China is one of the few safe places in San Francisco for swimming, but you need to be aware of the ebbs and flows; their schedule can be found on the beach. Lifeguards are on duty from April to October. There are picnic tables and barbecue areas; Food and drinks must be brought with you. Animals are not allowed on the beach.

Nudist beaches

The largest nude beach in the US North Baker located in northwest San Francisco. The coast is an art playground for freelance artists; it is always noisy here and ethnic music sounds. There are areas for beach volleyball. Picnic tables are located a short distance from the coast; alcohol and drinks in glass containers are prohibited. There are no restaurants or shops near the coast; everything you need to take with you. The entrance to North Baker is just behind the sign warning of dangerous surf.

Beach Land's End is located in the city park of the same name and is considered one of the most picturesque nudist beaches on the US West Coast. It is better to come early: the beach is crowded in the afternoon. The coast is rocky in places. Strong winds happen on Land's End, so even in summer you should take a warm jacket with you.

Beach Fort Funston unofficially considered nudist. However, on weekends there are quite a lot of tourists and locals who prefer to sunbathe and swim in their clothes. There are fewer people on weekdays, and these days Fort Funston lives up to its status. In May and October, the coast is very windy. The beach is also popular with hang gliding enthusiasts.

Hotels in San Francisco

In total, there are more than two hundred hotels in San Francisco, including guest houses, mini- and boutique hotels, as well as luxury hotel complexes of international hotel chains - Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental and The Ritz-Carlton.

Resort hotels are located mainly near the Pacific coast, either directly on the beach or across the street from it. Most hotels have a swimming pool, spa or beauty salon, restaurant and golf courses.

How to get there

You can get to San Francisco from Moscow by direct flights of Delta Air Lines. Travel time - from 17 hours. Also on Lufthansa, Aeroflot or Air France flights with a transfer in Frankfurt, New York, Los Angeles or Paris. Travel time - from 20 hours.