San Francisco: A Small, but Diverse City with Something for Everyone

It's awful easy to lose your heart in San Francisco. The city by the bay is as much a state of mind as a physical location.

Physically small, San Francisco's hilly terrain and diverse demographic divides it up into ethnic enclaves similar to cities many times its size. The city also has a social and cultural diversity unmatched anywhere else in the world, from working class communities near the airport, to the largest concentration of Chinese outside Asia in Chinatown, to the gay culture around 18^th and Castro Street, it has a bit of everything.

Things to See and Do

When I first started visiting San Francisco in the mid 1960s, the hippie culture was at its height, and the favorite place to go was Haight-Ashbury which was chock-a-block with bars, clubs, and paraphernalia shops. As the hippies aged and the lifestyle faded, the area has become somewhat seedy and rundown, and all the action has east to the area around Haight and Fillmore, with an eclectic collection of ethnic restaurants and shops, and fewer panhandlers.

Fisherman's Wharf, once a commercial fishing port, is now one big tourist draw, but the Aquatic Park is worth the visit, and some of the art galleries are nice, albeit a bit pricey. For a great stroll and view of the ocean, a visit to Golden Gate Park is a must. The arboretum in the park is worth the visit all by itself. The park has a thousand acres of golf courses, archery ranges, paved walks, and shaded arbors. The Japanese Tea Garden is also worth a look. While the ocean view is beautiful, pollution and the frigid temperature of the water makes going for a swim inadvisable, although hard core surfers ignore the toxicity of the water and ride the unpredictable waves into the beach regularly.

If you have a literary bent you'll enjoy a stroll through North Beach and Telegraph Hill. Originally settled by Italian immigrants, in the 50s it became a hangout for beat generation writers and poets. The combination of beatnik coffee houses and faux-Roman Italian restaurants is a real treat to the eyes and the taste buds.

South Market Street was once a wasteland of warehouses and unkempt lots. Writers, artists, and other creative types have taken over many of the old warehouses, though, and gentrified the heck out of the area, turning it into a convention, art, performance Mecca. Some great restaurants and coffee shops, too.

Getting There

San Francisco International Airport is served by hundreds of flights from within the United States as well as foreign countries, with a large number of flights from Canada, Pacific Rim countries, and Latin America. Car rentals at the airport are easy to arrange, and the drive into downtown is no problem except during rush hour. BART, the rapid transit system for the Bay area, is another alternative for getting around.

Where to Stay

It's a bit of a cliché to say that a city has a lot of hotels and inns to choose from, but in the case of San Francisco, it's no exaggeration. The deciding factor in your choice of hotel is most likely going to be your budget, and with room rates ranging from around $100 to over $600, there's something to fit every pocket book.

My favorite is the Parc 55 Wyndham in the downtown area. Moderately priced, it's located pretty much centrally from every place of interest.

Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco Union Square

55 Cyril Magnin Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

1-800-595-0507