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ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO
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Always wondered why San Francisco is “Everybody’s Favorite City”? See for yourself why this combination of scenic beauty, cultural attractions and diverse communities is irresistible.
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Nowhere else can you experience so much in just a few miles. Get locked up Alcatraz, defy gravity with a ride on the cable cars, savor fresh crab at Fisherman's Wharf, bark with the sea lions at Pier 39, shop yourself silly at Union Square, ride, walk, run or skip across the Golden Gate Bridge, travel back to the 60s in the Haight-Ashbury or get swept away with the smells and sounds in North America's largest Chinatown. And when you’re ready for a break, the peaceful oasis of Land's End and Golden Gate Park await.
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You also can’t help but salivate over the renowned dining scene with more restaurants per capita than any U.S. city. San Francisco is a Mecca for foodies, from edgy cuisine to down-home favorites, with established eateries, new hotspot, bustling markets and cheap eats on wheels rolling into every corner of the city.
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San Francisco boasts more than 29 miles of shoreline and 7 miles of waterfront to explore. With the sea and bay acting as a thermostat perpetually set at springtime, it’s the perfect place to visit any time of year.
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Beyond the Bay lies even more. Just a couple hours from San Francisco, you can visit Lake Tahoe, Mendocino, Monterrey, Muir Woods, Napa Valley and Yosemite. Bring a big suitcase so you have enough space for all those stickers and souvenirs. You’re going to need it.
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Experience San Francisco and see
what "The City by the Bay" has to offer...
The Cool Factor
No matter what the season, San Francisco, often called the "cool, grey city of love," has the cool factor down. Here are some top picks for the season and there are more to be found at www.sanfrancisco.travel.
China's terra cotta warriors, Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Dutch Golden Age paintings including Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring," more than 80 costumes worn by Rudolf Nureyev, and "Royal Treasures from the Louvre" - they'll all be leaving their calling cards at the city's major museums this winter.
San Francisco also offers these not-to-be missed events in 2013: the openings of the SFJAZZ Center and Exploratorium: the World Baseball Classic at AT&T Park and the 34th America's Cup on the San Francisco Bay starting July 4,2013.
San Francisco Surprises:
- When visiting Chinatown remember to look up. Temples are historically built on the upper levels of buildings – to be closer to the gods. The Tin How Temple, 125 Waverly Place, is the oldest Chinese temple in the U.S.
- The United Nations was founded in San Francisco on June 26, 1945; the historic treaty was signed on the stage of Herbst Theatre near what’s now UN Plaza.
- San Francisco Bay is the largest natural harbor and estuary on the West Coast.
- Golden Gate Park was once filled with elk, bears and goats. Now it's home to where the buffalo roam.
- If the U.S. Navy had prevailed the Golden Gate Bridge would have been painted black with yellow stripes to ensure greater visibility for passing ships. Fortunately, the color scheme as well as one that called for carbon black and steel grey was rejected, with orange vermilion, better known as International Orange, winning out to cover the towers and approximately 600,000 rivets across the Bridge.
- There’s a famous piece of apparel that got its start in San Francisco. The “birth of the blues” refers to Levi’s jeans. In 1873 Levi Strauss & Co. created and patented the world’s first blue jeans. Some vintage treasures are on view at company headquarters, 1155 Battery St.
- San Francisco has 40-plus hills; the most famous are Twin Peaks, Nob Hill, Russian Hill and Telegraph Hill.
- Thanks to its famous curves, Lombard Street has been named the “the crookedest street in the world.”
- San Francisco is home to 3,500 restaurants, Three chefs who competed in the The Next Iron Chef, The oldest Slow Food chapter in the US and The Michelin guide's first West Coast city.
- San Francisco claims a number of food firsts including the martini (although some contend it started in Martinez a few miles to the east of San Francisco); the fortune cookie; America’s oldest Italian restaurant, Fior d’Italia; Oysters Kirkpatrick; cioppino; Chicken Tetrazzini; Crab Louis and no visit is complete without sampling an It’s It ice cream sandwich.
- Hum along now … the city by the bay has an official song – the rousing “San Francisco” and an official ballad, Tony Bennett’s romantic “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
Weather
San Francisco enjoys a moderate climate throughout the year with average temperatures ranging between 50 and 68 degrees. Summer months bring sunshine, light breezes, and the famous San Francisco fog. Yearly rainfall in San Francisco rarely exceeds 18 inches with approximately 3 inches falling in December.
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