Guide to San Francisco: how to get there and where to stay, what to see and where to go in the evening. The best things to do in San Francisco: latest reviews and photos, places to see, branded entertainment and shopping.
Leave the impressive monuments of architecture and tiresome trips to museums. Days in San Francisco (or simply Frisco) are best spent on the sun-bathed bay of the same name while digesting the bountiful seafood—whether you’re a human or one of the sea lion seals dangling gracefully and belly-bumping the water on the Pier. -39. See citypopulationreview for state facts, symbols and history of New Mexico.
With 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 the money spent, nerves and megabytes of digital.
San Francisco Hotels
The most expensive and prestigious five-star hotels in San Francisco are compactly located in the city center. The luxury of their interiors and the quality of service can be judged from the film “The Rock”, some scenes of which were filmed at the Fairmont San Francisco hotel. The cost of the cheapest double room in it is 370 USD in the low season, in summer it is 50% higher. The geography of 4 * hotels already goes beyond the center. Their infrastructure, as a rule, includes restaurants, bars, indoor and outdoor pools, spa and fitness centers and is not much inferior to more stellar counterparts. But the prices are much lower – 160-350 USD.
The farther from the center the hotel is located, the more attractive the price-quality ratio. Ceteris paribus, the cheapest hotels should be sought in the area of the international airport.
The most democratic hotels 2-3 * are in any part of the city. The presence of a restaurant or a pool in them is optional, and the cost of a room is 80-200 USD. About the same price is a motel room at a distance of 2-6 km from the center – a good choice for undemanding autotourists who do not want to spend extra money on paid parking.
All hotels and motels, regardless of the number of stars, have free Wi-Fi.
Money
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, much can be obtained completely free of charge: the natural beauty of the city, street festivals, walks in the parks, opening galleries or idle conversation. Other treats are cheap as hell, like Vietnamese noodles, a ticket for the N subway 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.
San-Francisco CityPASS
A good way to save money on museums and public transport is to purchase a San-Francisco CityPASS membership. Its owner is entitled to a free cruise on the San Francisco Bay, a visit to the Museum of the Academy of Sciences of California, an aquarium and, to choose from, the Exploratorium Museum or the De Young Museum.
The subscription can be paid in advance via the Internet and received at the box office of the first object to be visited. Valid for 9 days. For three consecutive days of this period, the pass allows you to make an unlimited number of trips on public transport, including the historic cable cars.
Shopping
In memory of the resilient San Francisco, you can buy miniature copies of cable cars and elite chocolate from the local Ghirardelli factory, sometimes sold in very original packaging like a pack of cigarettes or 100-dollar bills. Fans of vintage things will surely like posters with covers of old magazines and advertising posters. Almost obligatory, though terrible, are Alcatraz T-shirts and other souvenirs inspired by the fabled prison.
It’s rare to leave here without a pair of Levi’s jeans, because 150 years ago, entrepreneur Levi Strauss sewed the world’s first men’s studded denim trousers, which would later be called jeans, here 150 years ago.
The largest store of the famous brand should be looked for in Union Square. This square is the epicenter of the commercial life of the city. Around it are concentrated boutiques of famous world brands Louis Vuitton, Emporio Armani, Gucci, MaxMara. Neiman Marcus department stores and the giant Macy’s are also located here, occupying an entire block.
Westfield Center (865 Market St) is another place where you can buy everything without going outside. On its 9 floors, there was a place for Nordstrom, Bloomingdales department stores and another 150 different shops and boutiques. Outside the city are the largest and most popular outlets – Gilroy Premium Outlets ( off. site in English) and Napa Premium Outlets ( off. site in English).
Cuisine and Restaurants in San Francisco
San Francisco is called the gastronomic capital of America. The account of its restaurants, cafes, bars, eateries and other fast foods runs into the thousands, and in popular tourist places, expensive establishments peacefully coexist with ordinary pizzerias and cheap eateries. Seafood lovers should head to Fisherman’s Wharf. In every local menu, along with fish, oysters, mussels and shrimps in coconut milk sauce, there are Dungeness crab dishes with tender white meat with a sweetish taste. It can compete, perhaps, with “clam chadder” – a thick creamy soup with shellfish, which is served in a “pot” of bread.
French cuisine is represented in restaurants in Union Square, and the best establishments with Italian cuisine can be found in the North Beach area. In addition to pizza, lasagna and pasta, you should order marinated meat steak with garlic, anchovies and spicy spices here. The gastronomic closeness of Mexico is well felt in the Mission district, which serves the best burritos in the city – wheat tortillas stuffed with minced meat and fried beans, “fajito” – grilled meat wrapped in a tortilla with vegetables, and spicy “chili con carne” meat. Chinatown restaurants are a real find for budget travelers. The prices here do not bite, and the portions are generous in Californian style.
A complex lunch in a Chinese restaurant – about 20 USD per person, dinner with a glass of wine in a fish restaurant – from 55 USD, a sandwich in a street eatery – 4-6 USD.
A worthy accompaniment to seafood dishes is Chardonnay dry white wine, which is produced in the wineries of the nearby Napa Valley. Red Zinfandel, which is considered the hallmark of California wines, is better suited for meat.
Weather
Those who come to San Francisco expecting an endless summer should think again. This is not Los Angeles, located a little lower to the south. This is San Francisco, and its people will have a good laugh when you complain, chattering your teeth, that “Is this C-c-California …?”. There is often fog here, bringing coolness and goose bumps. One smart person even once wrote: “The coldest winter I have ever experienced is the summer of San Francisco.” The average summer temperature in the city is +21 °C. Slightly above +16 ° C lasts from the beginning of May to the end of October.
