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San Francisco

The City By The Bay

   A mere seven by seven miles in radius, San Francisco is one of the most scenically beautiful and culturally rich cities in the country. A peninsula that is surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, San Francisco feels much like a European city with its dramatic hills, exciting culture and incredible views. This popular destination offers boundless activities and opportunities for visitors and residents alike.
   San Francisco is like the New York of the West, with its dense population, colorful cultural diversity and non-stop energy. In addition to its natural beauty, the city is endlessly stimulating. Between outdoor wonders like Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach to the countless world-class museums, excellent shopping, top-quality restaurants, and nonstop festivals and nightlife that the city offers, it's no wonder why san Francisco is a place so many love to call home.

San Francisco Fast Facts

   Location: San Francisco is located on the Northern California Coast, about 382 miles north of Los Angeles.
  *Population: 751,682
  *Housing units: 346,765
  *Land area: 47 square miles
  *Persons per square mile: 16,634
   Average annual rainfall: 20.4 inches per year
   Elevation: 63 feet above sea level
 * Information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau

Communities

   Amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, San Francisco offers many quiet and quaint neighborhoods in which to call home.  With abundant hills and the Pacific Ocean as its backdrop, residents in many neighborhoods live with stunning views from their very own living rooms.
   San Francisco consists of many distinct neighborhoods, giving the town a “city within a city” feel. North Beach, known as the “Little Italy” of San Francisco, is centrally located between Chinatown and the Financial District. Residents can choose to live in the hubbub of North Beach, alongside the restaurants, cafes and boutiques of Columbus Avenue or on one of the many quaint, hilly side streets of this popular neighborhood.
   The Marina district is ideally situated along the bay. Residents enjoy relaxing and taking in the fantastic scenery along the Marina Green and Fort Mason Center. Excellent shops and boutiques also line this hip neighborhood on Union and Chestnut Streets. The Castro district is home to the city’s gay and lesbian community. This hilly neighborhood is filled with gorgeous Victorian homes and excellent shopping on Castro and Market Streets.
    Located on the edge of Golden Gate Park, the Haight Ashbury district was the birthplace of the bohemian movement from the 1960s. Remnants of the neighborhood’s hippie roots still remain on bustling Haight Street, with its many shops and interesting characters. The Haight Ashbury district is home to charming Victorian homes; excellent public and private schools; as well as the urban oasis of The Panhandle, an eight-block-by-one-block extension of the park that offers a pedestrian/bike path and a relaxing center green.
    Sitting high atop their respective hills, the city’s wealthy live in the exclusive neighborhoods of Nob Hill, Russian Hill and Pacific Heights. These distinguished neighborhoods offer their lucky residents the most spectacular homes and breathtaking views that the city has to offer.

Attractions

   Tourists come from all over the world each year to experience the many great attractions of San Francisco. The lucky residents who live here can take part in the city’s many cultural gems year-round. Here is a list of several attractions in San Francisco:
   Fisherman’s Wharf: Known for its top-notch seafood, entertaining street performers and friendly sea lions that like to bake in the sun along the water, Fisherman’s Wharf is also the place where daily ferries to local hot spots such as Alcatraz and the posh fishing town of Sausalito make sail.
   Alcatraz: Known as “The Rock,” this rocky island was once a federal prison and is now a popular tourist destination.
   Chinatown: This colorful and exotic neighborhood that has the feel of Asia in America. People come to Chinatown for excellent Asian cuisine as well as the unique shops of Grant Street. A great way to get to Chinatown is through the Chinatown cable car line, another fun San Francisco attraction.
   Cable Cars: An old-fashioned pleasure exists in the cable car. There are currently three lines of cable cars, which cover 12 miles of urban space, taking passengers up and over the city’s tallest hills. The famous cable car turnaround lives in Union Square, the city’s shopping center.
   Golden Gate Bridge: This landmark has long been the symbol of the “Gateway to the West.” The magnificent Art Deco-designed single-span bridge offers a walkway for pedestrians and bikers to enjoy the phenomenal views.
   Twin Peaks: Easy car and parking access make this a popular lookout spot. These two hills are the tallest points in the city, offering 360-degree panoramic views. One side of the hills look out onto the majority of the city and into the hills of the East Bay and Berkeley. On the other side of this tallest point in the city is the Golden Gate Bridge, which makes way to the endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

Recreation and Leisure

   It's amazing to think that what was once an enormous pile of sand dunes is now one of the largest and most beautiful urban parks in the world. Golden Gate Park has much to offer its visitors. The park is home to the California Academy of Sciences, the Morrison Planetarium and the Steinhart Aquarium. It is also a popular destination for those seeking escape from the city, within the city, in the form of the impressive Conservatory of Flowers and the tranquil Strybring Arboretum. Golden Gate Park is also very popular for hiking, inline skating, running, biking, skateboarding, fly-fishing, lawn bowling and horseback riding.
   Although densely populated, San Francisco is home to dozens of public parks throughout the city, many with breathtaking views. Many of the parks also offer public tennis courts. The Presidio is another great urban retreat, offering hiking and biking along meandering coastal trails with stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the dramatic cliffs of Marin County. The Presidio also offers a world-class 18-hole golf course that overlooks the water.
    Long sandy beaches and wind-swept dunes line the outside of the city. Ocean Beach, where the city meets the Pacific Ocean, touches the edge of the popular residential neighborhoods of the Richmond and the Sunset. Although cold for swimming without a wetsuit, the beautiful beaches on the city’s edge offer a lovely place to relax from busy city life. The San Francisco Bay is another popular water destination in the city. Water sports are quite popular in The San Francisco Bay. With an almost constant breeze channeling into the Bay through the Pacific Ocean, the sailing and windsurfing in The Bay are unparalleled.
    SBC Park, which is centrally located in the up-and-coming China Basin section of the city, is another popular destination spot for locals. This sports complex is home to the San Francisco Giants baseball team. This state of the art ballpark offers visitors a walking promenade along the water as well as excellent public transportation to access the complex.

Dining

   San Francisco is internationally known for its world-class and cutting-edge cuisine. From the Italian restaurants of North Beach to the Asian restaurants of Chinatown to traditional American fare of burgers and fries, you won't be disappointed with your San Francisco eating experience. The city offers an unparalleled selection of ethnic cuisine. Be it vegetarian, American, Japanese, Indian, Thai, Caribbean, French, Mexican or Mediterranean, each neighborhood offers fresh and exciting options for the culinarily curious.

City Getaways

   San Francisco residents are fortunate to have a plethora of eclectic day and weekend trips to choose from. The internationally recognized wine growing regions of the Napa-Sonoma Valley are merely a day trip away. With its mild weather, the beautiful rolling green hills of this region and the luscious wine can be enjoyed year round. The Napa-Sonoma Valley is also a source of natural hot springs and pools, offering visitors many spas and whole body retreats.
    Nearby Lake Tahoe can also be enjoyed year-round for it world-class skiing and snowboarding in the winter as well as in the summer for its recreational activities on the lake. Swimming, waterskiing, hiking and sunbathing are popular summer Tahoe activities.
   The beautiful Muir Woods is just over the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. Located at the base of Mount Tamalpais, Muir Woods is home to a stunning old-growth redwood forest. A few miles father north from Muir Woods is another natural wonder: Point Reyes. With 110 square miles of virtually untouched coastline, Point Reyes offers a tranquil escape from the city where visitors can enjoy whale watching, hiking and relaxing.
   Within a day’s drive from the city, San Franciscans are known to enjoy the quaint coastal town of Monterrey, with its world-class aquarium and small-town charm. The beach resort of Santa Cruz is another popular destination with its excellent swimming beaches and world-famous boardwalk.

The Arts

   For such a geographically compact city, San Francisco offers an amazing quantity of cultural choices to enrich both the intellect and the soul. Here is a list of some of the artistic venues in San Francisco:
   American Conservatory Theater (ACT): The city’s premier theater production house offers live theater performances ranging from theater classics like Shakespeare and Ibsen to contemporary cutting-edge works by emerging playwrights.
   Fraenkel Gallery: A few blocks from the MOMA just across Market Street is the esteemed Fraenkel Gallery, where visitors can view and purchase the world’s most famous photographs.
   Street festivals: Holiday and neighborhood celebrations run year-round in this festive city. Some of the street festivals include the Stern Grove Music Festival, Fillmore Street Jazz Festival, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Cherry Blossom Festival, Cinco De Mayo, Chinese New Year, Gay Pride Celebration as well as countless neighborhood street fairs throughout the year.
   San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA): This centrally located, recently renovated museum houses contemporary painting, digital, sculpture and photographic masterworks. Across the street from the MOMA is the world famous Moscone Convention Center and the chic Yerba Buena Gardens and Center for the Arts.
   San Francisco is one of the musical epicenters of the nation. The city offers popular live music halls such as Opera House, The Fillmore and the Great American Music Hall as well as countless smaller clubs and live music venues. Whatever music genre you desire to hear -- be it classical, jazz, blues, rock, punk, new age or dance music -- on any given night, you will have a wide selection of options to choose from in this vibrant city.

Housing

   San Francisco offers an excellent real estate investment, with home values appreciating well here. In such a geographically beautiful city, there are many neighborhoods from which to choose. Whether you prefer quaint and quiet “small-towns” within the city in such neighborhoods as The Castro or the Haight Ashbury district, or you want to be in the center of it all, there is a wide variety of culturally rich and picturesque neighborhoods.

Employment

   Tourism, technology, engineering and banking are the city’s top employing industries. The Financial District, as its name suggests, is the city’s financial center as well as home to some of the city’s largest employers such as Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo and Chevron. This financial center is also where the tallest building in the city, the Transamerica building, contributes to San Francisco’s distinctive skyline. Other large-scale employers in the city include Macys, Williams-Sonoma, University of California, Pacific Bell, and Pacific Gas and Electric.

Education

   San Francisco is home to many world-renowned educational centers. Four-year and graduate universities include:

• Academy of Art College, offering excellent advertising, animation, photography and computer arts programs
• California Institute of Integral Studies, known for its excellent psychology and alternative medicine programs
• Hastings College of Law, one of the West’s premier law schools
• New College of California, with excellent education, writing and social change programs
• San Francisco Art Institute, offering excellent programs in sculpture, photography and filmmaking
• San Francisco State, offering excellent science, creative writing and filmmaking programs
• University of California San Francisco, offering excellent science, medicine and nursing programs

San Francisco Photos
Photos by John Vanhara for CoastParadise.com

             
 Views of the City                    Landmarks                               Homes

                   
          Chinatown                         Waterfront                            Parks

Maps of San Francisco

Written by Jessica Martin exclusively for CoastParadise.com.

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