San Francisco

San Francisco is one of America's most beautiful and culturally distinctive cities — a hilly, foggy peninsula at the edge of the Pacific, where Victorian "painted lady" houses cling to steep streets, cable cars climb between SOMA and Nob Hill, and the Golden Gate Bridge spans the entrance to San Francisco Bay in one of the world's most dramatic engineering and natural compositions. The city is compact and remarkably walkable despite its hills. Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and the Ferry Building Marketplace are the obvious tourist starting points; the Ferry Building's Saturday farmers market is one of America's finest. The Mission District is the city's most vibrant neighbourhood — extraordinary Mexican murals in Clarion Alley, excellent burritos at La Taqueria, bars and cafés on Valencia Street. Chinatown, the oldest in North America, is dense and excellent for dim sum. The Castro is the historic heart of LGBTQ+ culture. Haight-Ashbury retains its 1960s psychedelic bohemian identity. Alcatraz (book well ahead), the Golden Gate Bridge (cycling the bridge and returning by ferry is the best approach), Muir Woods National Monument and the wine country of Napa and Sonoma (1–1.5 hours north) are essential excursions. The tech industry has transformed San Francisco's demographics and economics in ways that are constantly debated. The food scene is extraordinary — from street food burritos to extraordinary tasting menus. The fog that rolls in from the Pacific creates a particular atmospheric quality.