Destination: California: San Francisco
Lay of the Land Text Size A A A
There may be no prettier city than San Francisco. Situated at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, it is surrounded on three sides by bodies of water: the Pacific Ocean, the Golden Gate strait and San Francisco Bay. It’s well known for its hills (forty-two in the urban area alone), which have been the setting for many Hollywood car chases. Because it’s near the San Andreas and Howard faults, the city experiences periodic earthquakes, yet its strict building controls make its structures among the safest anywhere.
San Francisco is also a city of neighborhoods, each distinct. Union Square is the city’s nucleus—home of the luxury hotels, upscale restaurants and high-end shops. North Beach, known as Little Italy, is full of cafés and other remnants of the beatnik era. Crammed with herb shops, temples and live-fish markets, Chinatown also contains one of the largest populations of Chinese outside Asia. Haight-Ashbury, ground zero of the 1960s hippie culture, remains bohemian even now, with head shops and psychedelic-colored Victorian homes. Neighborhoods often overlap, and by just wandering around, you can sample many in a day.
Facebook
Delicious
Twitter
Search By Keyword
Submit A Postcard
Popular Destinations
Europe: Turkey: Turkey: Turkish Riviera
Like the French Riviera, Turkey’s southwester coast was “discovered” by...
Asia/Pacific: French Polynesia: Bora Bora
This island has unspoiled coral reefs and protected lagoons so...
New on Indagare
Give the Gift of Indagare The perfect present for travelers: a membership to Indagare. Buy now
Indagare Insider Trips: Cuba, Myanmar and India: We’re planning trips throughout the year. Contact Indagare (212-988-2611) to be added to the wait list.
Indagare’s Mapped Out City Guides on Paris, London, Rome & more
Le Dolce Città: Rome & Florence Updates
Chile’s Landscapes: Patagonia and Atacama
Fashion Spotlight: Migrants du Monde
SPECIAL OFFERS
Member Reviews
- Community: Share advice with fellow members asking about your favorite travel discoveries.
- Indagare Insiders: Three-day itineraries for families in London and art lovers in Vienna. Plus, fashion insider Chiara Ferragamo’s picks on what not to miss in Florence, Bonnie Gokson, owner of Hong Kong’s lofty Sevva on Hong Kong, Culinary Insider: Budapest.
- Rant & Rave: Indagare members can share their advice with the community by logging in first, then clicking here: Rants & Raves.
- Give the Gift: Indagare: Give the gift of travel intelligence with a membership to Indagare. For details or to order, call us at 212-988-2611 or click here: Gift Membership.
- Indagare Plus: Remember that hotels marked by an Indagare Plus symbol offer preferential rates and benefits to members.
- Indagare Share Feature: Share articles, postcards and reviews with family and friends on such networking sites as Twitter, Facebook and Delicious. Simply click on the three small dots that symbolize our connect icon, at the end of every article, and follow the link to the networking site of your preference.
- Sample Indagare: With free bi-weekly email blasts on new hot spots and insider tips when you sign up for our mailing list.
- Profile feature: Members share your profiles, comments, favorite articles and IQs. Just click on the Profile tab on the upper right of your screen and look for the Edit My Profile blue tab.
- Indagare means to discover, explore, seek, scout in Latin.
