The centerpiece of the Bay Area, San Francisco is one of the most visited cities in the world, and with good reason. The cultural center of northern California, San Francisco is renowned for its mixture of scenic beauty and unique culture that makes it one of the most vibrant and desirable cities in the nation, if not the world. Sandwiched between the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean on a small square of land seven miles (11 km) on each side, San Francisco offers a wealth of treasures for the visitor, from the windswept and often foggy b…
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Each district of San Francisco carries its own unique and distinct culture. This map is predominantly based on the 11 official governmental districts of San Francisco, but it has been adapted to suit the purposes of this travel guide. Some districts of particular interest to travelers have been broken up into popular neighborhood groupings, while others, mainly residential districts, have been merged.
Prior to European settlement in the area, the peninsula that now contains San Francisco was home to the Yelamu tribe, who were part of the larger Ohlone language group which stretched south from the Bay Area to the Big Sur of California. Due to San Francisco's characteristic foggy weather, the earliest European explorers in the 1600s completely bypassed what would later be called the Golden Gate and the San Francisco Bay. In 1769, the bay was discovered by overland explorers who realized there was a strait blocking their path up the coast.
Cross streets. San Francisco streets are numbered (100 per block) from the beginning of the street, and even and odd numbers are always on opposite sides. In the absence of GPS navigation, it is best when getting an address to also ask for a cross street or neighborhood name. Most of the time, if a street touches Market Street (San Francisco's main street), that's the zero block. Addresses change by 100 each block, so a building at 1275 Foo street is often 12 to 13 blocks away from where Foo St. hits Market St. Numbered streets and avenues.
San Francisco has much to see — these are just the most significant sights. For more detail see the individual district sections, often linked from this entry. Passes are available which offer discounts to some attractions: San Francisco CityPASS. Gets admission to some museums, the Zoo and a Blue and Gold Fleet bay cruise. (updated Aug 2026) There are many highlight walks you can take to really capture the feel of the city and see a whole lot of attractions at the same time. Some of the best ones are: The Marina and the Presidio.
One of the best ways to see San Francisco is from the waters of San Francisco Bay. There are many companies offering harbor tours of varying durations and prices but they all provide marvelous views of the bay, the bridges, the island of Alcatraz and the city. Only specific island tours are allowed to land at Alcatraz, but the typical harbor tour will circle the island at a slow crawl, giving you plenty of opportunity to photograph the now-inactive prison from the water. Also consider taking a ferry from San Francisco across the bay to Tiburon, Sausalito, or Alameda. Same views for a fraction of the price. Most tours leave from docks at Fisherman's Wharf near Pier 39.
Individual listings can be found in San Francisco's district articles San Francisco is a "foodie" city with a vast array of restaurants. In fact, San Francisco has more restaurants per capita than any major city in North America, with 1 restaurant for every 250 residents (in comparison, New York City has 1 restaurant for every 940 residents). The price range is huge, of course, and you can spend anywhere from a small fortune to a couple bucks for every type of cuisine.
Individual listings can be found in San Francisco's district articles The best way to find a good bar or club is to ask the advice of a local; but barring that a quick search on yelp/google will help you find something suited to your personal taste. The great diversity of nightlife in San Francisco, sometimes within one neighborhood, reflects the diversity of cultures there.
A look at Stanley Robert's People Behaving Badly series will give you an inside look of usually petty crime in the city. However, it is very unlikely you'll encounter any violent or petty crime as long as you use your common sense and are vigilant. The areas that one should be most cautious are in the neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, Sunnydale and Ingleside in Southeast San Francisco, as well as the Tenderloin, parts of Western Addition (including the Fillmore District), and parts of the Mission. San Francisco has relatively little violent crime, with most of these murders occur in the southeast neighborhoods of the city.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Oct, San Francisco typically sees ~20°C daytime highs and 4 rainy days.
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