| Located on the USA's Pacific Coast, the city | | | | a massive tourist draw and has also featured |
| of San Francisco is one great big melting pot | | | | in many popular TV series and films. |
| full of people from all walks of life. As a | | | | |
| result, the city has developed and nurtured | | | | As well as unique culture, the city also |
| its own unique and highly colourful cultural | | | | boasts equally unique landmarks. The iconic |
| identity. This hugely influential city has | | | | Golden Gate Bridge that joins the city to the |
| been largely responsible for changing | | | | rest of Northern California is a true |
| attitudes and cultures throughout the world; | | | | engineering marvel that overlooks the |
| and where San Francisco leads, the rest of | | | | infamous island of Alcatraz, once considered |
| the world follows - eventually! | | | | the USA's most secure prison. The Coit Tower |
| | | | sits proudly atop Telegraph Hill and is one |
| Being sited on the San Andreas Fault, one of | | | | of the city's more noticeable landmarks, |
| Earth's most active tectonic plates, means | | | | alongside the Tranamerica Pyramid - the |
| that the residents of San Francisco | | | | tallest skyscraper in the city. |
| continually live with the threat of | | | | |
| earthquakes and this has certainly affected | | | | Other San Francisco tourist hot-spots include |
| their attitude to risk. Almost entirely | | | | Fisherman's Wharf, looking out to the Island |
| destroyed by a massive earthquake in 1906, a | | | | of Alcatraz. Fisherman's Wharf features a |
| large tremor devastated the city most | | | | fantastic selection of restaurants and shops |
| recently in 1989, although with minimal | | | | and is the departure point for the tour of |
| fatalities. As a result the residents of San | | | | Alcatraz prison, which now serves as a |
| Francisco have developed a uniquely different | | | | tourist attraction devoid of any dangerous |
| approach to life, living under the daily | | | | criminals! And one hot-spot is totally |
| threat of obliteration by earthquake but | | | | unique: Lombard Street is a street like no |
| ensuring that, in the meantime, their days | | | | other in the world, bedecked in flowers and |
| are lived to the full. | | | | winding its way up the side of a hill in a |
| | | | series of hairpins that slows the traffic to |
| Each year the people of San Francisco enjoy | | | | a complete crawl. |
| hosting many street carnivals and festivals, | | | | |
| the most famous being the world's largest Gay | | | | To make sure you get the best out of a trip |
| Pride parade, which takes place each | | | | to San Francisco aim to book into a hotel in |
| September. Others include the Chinese New | | | | the Union Square district, as it is very |
| Year parade in February and the LoveFest held | | | | central for all the city attractions and a |
| in late summer. The former has developed as a | | | | hub for the legendary Street Cars. And |
| result of San Francisco's Chinese community, | | | | remember to book your hotel in San Francisco |
| and the city is home to one of North | | | | early if you're going during any of the major |
| America's largest and oldest Chinatowns. | | | | festivals or parades, as they soon fill up! |
| Established in the 1850s, it continues to be | | | | |