Monthly average temperature in san francisco. San Francisco: Journey to the Freest City in the World

If you think San Francisco is all about the Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars, you're right, it is. However, in addition to these well-known symbols, the city has a rich history, beautiful architecture, but the main thing that its residents are proud of is the unofficial title of the freest city in the world, which San Francisco proudly wears. IN different times he somehow surprisingly became the center of attraction for adventurers and non-standard-minded people - it is no coincidence that the hippie movement was born here.

Bridge "Golden Gate" - "calling card" of San Francisco Understanding why this particular city is "the freest" is not so difficult if you remember the history of San Francisco. For tens of millennia, Indians lived on its territory, but in 1776 the Spaniards arrived here. Then the settlement was called Yerba Buena. In 1848, the city began to develop and grow rapidly - mainly due to the Gold Rush epidemic that covered these places; at the same time it received its modern name. In just a year, the population of San Francisco increased from 1,000 to 25,000 people, people from all over the world came here in search of work, but especially a lot of people from China. China Town still occupies a significant part of the city, a fifth of the population of San Francisco are Chinese.

In 1906, the city was almost destroyed by a strong earthquake, during which three thousand people died and another 300 thousand were left without a roof over their heads. However, over time it was restored. In the 80s of the last century, the city had another destructive earthquake which destroyed fast track along the waterfront. By the way, they did not restore it - but now the city has a wonderful area for walking.

Today, San Francisco is one of the most vibrant cities in America, where many cultures and nationalities coexist. The hippie revolution that took place here in the late 60s of the last century turned it into a center of attraction for creative, non-standard and free-thinking people. Some of them are still here today - those who in 1967 took part in the "Summer of Love" festival, speaking on the side of the sexual revolution and proclaiming personal freedom as the highest good that a person can have.

Participants of the festival "Summer of Love" in San Francisco

San Francisco, late 60s In the 80s, San Francisco once again became the epicenter of dissent, this time thanks to homosexuals who first felt free here. To date, almost 15 percent of the city's residents are representatives of sexual minorities - this is more than in any other city in the world. By the way, it was here, in the Castro gay quarter, that the symbol of the LGBT community, the rainbow flag, once appeared. Harvey Milk, the first American politician who declared his orientation openly, also lived here. However, adherents of traditional love feel no less free here.

A couple of days is not enough to get to know San Francisco - this place is worth spending at least a week here.

Marina Savelyeva (HELLO.RU) "grabbed" the symbol of the city - a cable car Most travelers first of all rush to see the main attraction depicted on every postcard - the Golden Gate Bridge, the "Golden Gate". However, the bridge is far from the most interesting thing in this city. What really surprises here is the people. Elderly hippies, street musicians, gays and couples with children do not interfere with each other at all, living side by side.

Dolores Park in San Francisco Apart from hiking, during which it is best to get to know the townspeople, renting housing from local residents will also help to get closer to the city. Instead of staying in hotels located in tourist center city, it's far better to opt for one of the over-the-top Airbnb options and spend a week in a regular residential area.

Haight-Ashbury quarter.

This is one of the most interesting areas cities. Firstly, one of the few quarters that were not destroyed by the 1906 earthquake. Accordingly, the Haight-Ashbury retains old buildings dating from the 19th century. Secondly, this area is considered the birthplace of hippies. In the 50s of the 20th century, you could buy the cheapest housing in the city here, which provoked an influx of representatives of countercultures. As a result, in 1967, the center of this "movement" was formed here - thousands of people from all over the world celebrated the "Summer of Love". By the 80s, it was already part of history, and now Haight-Ashbury is considered quite a prestigious area to live in. Artists and musicians settle here, next to hippies, who can still be found here. Walking along the Haight Ashbury, do not be afraid to turn into the alleys - there you can see a lot of bright graffiti with which the walls of the houses are painted. Most of them are original slogans, with the help of which the “children of flowers”, like 50 years ago, call for love and freedom. By the way, graffiti is not only in this area, there are a lot of them throughout the city.

Graffiti depicting Carlos Santana, who lived in San FranciscoGraffiti in San Francisco takes up entire streets

The area, for every square meter of which there is some symbol of the LGBT community. Rainbow flags can be seen in every window, all the souvenirs in the shops are with the same symbols. Even the pedestrian crossing in Castro is colorful! And it's not just that. Castro is a gay quarter.

LGBT symbols are everywhere in the Castro area

Entire generations of people free from prejudice have grown up in San Francisco

However, do not expect to be surrounded on the streets by scantily clad men fighting for their right to love each other. Residents of this area have not proved anything to anyone for a long time - they just live. If it weren't for the colorful flags (most of which appeared here in support of a recent US law allowing members of sexual minorities to enter into legal marriage), you would hardly immediately understand how this area differs from others. Unless a couple of hours later, sitting in a cafe or standing in line at the checkout in a store, you would involuntarily catch yourself thinking that there are mostly men around.

Chinatown

As already mentioned, a fifth of the population of San Francisco are Chinese. For the most part, these are the descendants of immigrants who arrived here in the 19th century in search of work. However, if you decide to travel around the city by taxi, every second driver will be Chinese and most likely will speak terrible English. During the earthquake, Chinatown was destroyed and then completely rebuilt. Today, the district occupies a fairly large area in the city.

Lombard Street

The steepest street in every sense of the city, one of the sections of which has an angle of inclination of 27 degrees. Speed Vehicle here it is limited to 8 km / h, but no one tries to go faster: Lombard Street is mostly visited by tourists who want to look at the street carefully and therefore are not in a hurry to pass quickly.

vintage stores

For lovers of vintage and San Francisco flea markets - real paradise. In numerous stores located throughout the city, you can find anything from designer jewelry for $ 2-3 to a spectacular leather chair of the 50s for $ 80.

Decades of fashion - one of the largest vintage stores

Showcase of the Decades of fashion store: here you can buy both real vintage items of clothing, and modern, sewn "antique"

A dress with a story can be bought for $30A real vintage bathing suit - for $ 15

Silicon Valley

In the southwest of San Francisco lies Silicon Valley (or Silicon, as we call it) - the largest technology center in the world. There are technical universities and head offices of Adobe, Apple, eBay, Google, Facebook, Oracle, Yahoo!, LinkedIn and many other companies. The staff includes the best scientists in the world, many of whom live in San Francisco. If you get a chance to visit any of these offices, go - you won't regret it. The internal structure of organizations is unusual and interesting. Airbnb was also founded in San Francisco in 2008 and is also headquartered here.

After walking along the streets and peeping at the life of local residents, you can go on "spot" excursions - visit the famous Pier 39, where dozens of sea lions rest, dine at Fisherman's Wharf. best view the city opens from Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. From a height of 210 meters, you can take excellent panoramic pictures of the city, the entrance to the tower is free, but you will have to pay to go to the observation deck.

The famous "Pier 39" - favorite place sea lions

Another place that is criminal not to visit when you arrive in San Francisco is the famous Alcatraz prison. It is located on the island of the same name, which is visible from the pier. Now the prison has been disbanded, and within the walls of the gloomy buildings there is a museum that reminds visitors that at the beginning of the 20th century there was one of the most severe prisons in the world, where especially dangerous criminals served time. The narrow windows of the cells were arranged in such a way that the prisoners could see the city and the free life in it, realizing even more clearly that it was now inaccessible to them. It is believed that not a single prisoner managed to escape from Alcatraz, although attempts were made. Even those who managed to leave its walls could not reach the shore alive because of the cold waters and strong currents in the bay.

View of the island and Alcatraz prison from Coit Tower

The Painted Ladies are also worth a look, six colorful houses in the Alamo Square area. These and several thousand more houses were built in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. The earthquake destroyed most of the buildings, but these six houses remained intact. The fashion for bright, colorful houses at the end of the 19th century was widespread, local newspapers even wrote that if someone's house does not have a lemon or, for example, bright blue hue, then its owner simply does not have taste. Following these houses, which are also called "Six Sisters", "Painted Ladies" throughout America began to be called colorful houses in the style of the Victorian era.

And finally, about the "Golden Gate". This red bridge, almost 2.5 kilometers long, is a symbol of San Francisco. Despite the beauty of the object, it has a rather macabre reputation. The Golden Gate was popularly nicknamed the "suicide bridge", because for almost 80 years of its existence, more than 1000 people said goodbye to their lives with its help. The dense fog that envelops the bridge most of the time looks impressive and mysterious on postcards, but in real life it can interfere with seeing the bridge. So when planning a trip to Golden Gate, be sure to check the weather forecast.

Marina Savelyeva (HELLO.RU)

A few more tips:

1. For the US, San Francisco has a well-developed system public transport, however locals prefer to travel by car. So when planning your trip, be prepared to spend $30 to $50 a day on 20-minute round trips. Or you can travel by bus, it will cost you 5-7 dollars a day, but taxis are certainly more convenient and faster.

2. Traveling around the city will be easier if you use the services of Uber taxi. In the American Uber, everything is exactly the same as in the Russian one, and you don’t even have to reinstall the application on your phone - it will simply adjust to the country on the spot. However, there is one caveat: in America, Uber contains a Pool function, by selecting which you can take a fellow traveler along the road and split the bill with him in half.

3. The writer Jack London was born in San Francisco, the actors Robin Williams and Savely Kramarov lived, and to this day the houses of Carlos Santana and Steven Spielberg are located here. Find out in advance where they lived to see the city through their eyes.

San Francisco has long been considered one of the the most beautiful places USA. Thanks to his geographic location, natural features and rich history, the city is famous for its contrast, many faces and very colorful. The legendary symbol of the American West, the brainchild of the "gold rush", San Francisco attracts tourists from all over the world. Americans themselves often call the city "the pearl of the West Coast."

San Francisco is located on a small peninsula between the bay of the same name and Pacific Ocean connected to each other by the Golden Gate Strait. Numerous hills on which the city is located, oceanic winds and frequent fogs have become in some way his " calling card"By the way, there are about 50 hills of various heights in the city, and the Twin Peaks hills are the most popular with tourists - they offer a magnificent view of the bay and the city.

Ever since the days of the California "gold rush" the city has secured the status of a financial and industrial center region. Today there are many research centers and industries related to high technology, genetic engineering and medical electronics, so the city continues to play an important role in the economic life of the country. In addition, due to its favorable location, San Francisco serves about 30% of the trade of the entire west coast of the country.

History of San Francisco

Initially, the territory of modern San Francisco was inhabited by Indians, European colonists came here in 1769. Seven years later, the Spaniards founded the mission of St. Francis of Assisi here, around which a small settlement was formed.

After the independence of Mexico from Spain, the territory of modern California became Mexican, and new town was named Herba Buena, which means "good grass" in Spanish. However, Mexico soon loses the war with America, and in 1848 the territory of California becomes a possession of the United States. The city is officially renamed San Francisco, and the active expansion of nearby territories for construction begins.

Perhaps the California gold rush that began in 1848 played a key role in the history of San Francisco. Literally in a year, the population of the city increased from 1,000 to 25,000 people. The city infrastructure was not ready for such an influx of people, problems with health, crime and housing began.

Another turning point in the history of San Francisco was the strongest earthquake in 1906, which, combined with the fires that had begun, almost completely destroyed the city. After that, an era of rapid reconstruction and development began, and gradually San Francisco acquired a modern look.

City population

The population of San Francisco is about 815 thousand people, while the city ranks second in the country in terms of population density after. More than 40% of residents have higher education, which makes competition in the labor market very significant. The average income level here is quite high, while due to high housing and food prices, the cost of living in San Francisco is quite high.

The city is known around the world for its tolerance of people with non-traditional sexual orientation. According to statistics, about 15% of the population of San Francisco belong to the gay community - this is the highest figure in the world.

Transport

Public transport in San Francisco is very popular with residents - up to 35% of the population use its services daily. The city's public transportation network is said to be the best on the West Coast, including surface and underground light rail, buses, trolleybuses, suburban trains, as well as the ferry crossing and the famous historic cable car.

The "light rail" cars (light rails) or San Francisco buses are often crowded, but this is perhaps the best way to get around the city for tourists. In any case, it is not recommended to rent a car - endless traffic jams, narrow streets and expensive parking lots are unlikely to bring much pleasure.

Main Attractions

The main attraction of San Francisco, its hallmark is the Golden Gate Bridge - one of the largest suspension bridges in the world. The length of the bridge is a little less than 2 kilometers, the height above the water level is 67 meters.

Also very popular is the Golden Gate Park - the most beautiful oasis of greenery among big city, stretching for five kilometers in length and resting on Ocean Beach. This beach, by the way, runs along another park, symbolically nicknamed "Lands End". This place is the most extreme point continental land in the direction of rotation of our planet, here the New Year comes last.

On one of the islands near San Francisco is the famous Alcatraz prison (Alcatraz), familiar to many from the movie "The Rock". In the past, this is one of the most severe prisons for especially dangerous criminals, only a few managed to escape from here. Today, the prison is not used for its intended purpose and has been turned into a museum; you can get here from San Francisco using the ferry from Pier 33.

The city of San Francisco, best known as the pearl of the West Coast, is surrounded and lapped by the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean. The city is rightly called one of the most beautiful travel destinations in the United States, as well as quality rest. This interest is primarily due to geographical location, as well as natural features and rich history this edge. This city frightens and shocks someone, fascinates and drives others crazy. Nevertheless, there is no person on Earth whom this magnificent city left indifferent.

Climate in San Francisco

Going on a long journey to San Francisco, tourists often confuse it with another California resort - Los Angeles, located a little closer to the south.

Remember weather in this city are far from the resort, as in. The Mediterranean climate dominates here, which is characterized by predominantly rainy winters and rather dry summers.

San Francisco is surrounded by water on all sides, which is why the weather is largely influenced by cold currents. In summer, the average temperature is 24 C, closer to winter, the temperature is likely to drop to 10 C. The most abundant precipitation falls from November to March, snow is extremely rare here. The most favorable time for exploring the city is summer, late spring (May) or early autumn (until October).

Getting to San Francisco

Due to the cancellation of direct flights from Moscow, flights with transfers in other cities became the only way to get to San Francisco. In terms of saving money, transit routes through New York and Los Angeles will be the surest solution for you. The cost of a flight to San Francisco from the Russian capital varies from $600 to $700 one way. The duration of such a trip is at least 17 hours.

If you have already arrived in the USA or, then you can use the services intercity buses. The country is well developed bus service between settlements. home bus station The Greyhound is located at 425 Mission Street in San Francisco.

Another way to get to San Francisco from anywhere you need locality is a train. Trains of the state company Amtrak provide transportation throughout the country. However, keep in mind that there are no direct flights to San Francisco. You can get to the neighboring cities of Auckland and Emeryville.

Basic prices for travelers to San Francisco

The cost of 1 day of living in San Francisco, at first glance, may seem high (from $ 100), however, you must admit, life in this beautiful city worth it. In addition to expensive pleasures, there is a huge selection of splendors that you get completely free of charge, such as the beauty of the city, frequent street festivals, green parks, open galleries and much more. For experienced tourist and it will not be difficult to spend a wonderful time with minimal cash costs.

Prices in hotels depend on the category. For example, if you want to stay in a luxury 5-star hotel, then be prepared to pay $ 200-1000 per night. A more economical option is hostels, the cost of one night is from $15 to $80.

The fare in public transport is $1.5, in a taxi - $2.25 per mile (plus $3.5 for landing). Do you want to move freely around the city? Use the car rental service, it will cost you $40 plus gasoline (1l. $1). Be sure to have $4 with you just in case you have to park somewhere in the city, otherwise you will pay 7 times more for the wrong parking. Remember - saving often costs us more.

When shopping in San Francisco, be careful, because the amount on the price tag is excluding VAT (from 7 to 11%). This is a clever move to deceive a gullible buyer, especially a tourist. Be prepared for the fact that when buying clothes, household goods, and even in a cafe, you will have to add about 10% to the amount indicated on the check.

Do you think American prices "bite"? Not at all, especially if you fall on sale days. During this period, prices for most goods are reduced by an average of 60%, the maximum price reduction is about 2 weeks before the end of sales.

What are the sights to see in San Francisco?

Acquaintance with the city must begin with a walk around downtown. There is a lot of traffic here and high skyscrapers, and crowds of people - everything is like in American films. In addition, the oldest and, perhaps, the largest Chinatown in America is seething in the city center! There is a special atmosphere here: the famous Chinese pagodas, exotic products in shop windows, narrow lanes.

Decided to take a break? Head to the museums of San Francisco. The most popular of them: the de Young Memorial Museum with a huge collection American painting, Museum of Modern Art, Asian Art Museum, which exhibits artifacts from most Asian countries, the Wells Fargo Historical Museum. And finally, the Golden Gate Museum-Park. You must visit it! Over 1700 plant species are represented here!

After visiting parks and museums, head to the main symbol of San Francisco - the Golden Gate. By the way, you can buy a cruise around it, as well as go to the island with the Alcatraz prison. These cruises depart from Pier 39, which itself is a landmark in the city. There is an incredibly large number of souvenir shops, restaurants, attractions and so on. entertainment. Nearby is the Aquarium of the Bay, an aquarium with over 20,000 different marine life.

You can complete your trip around San Francisco by visiting the most chic area of the city of Nob Hill, as well as the Russian Hill district, the peculiarity of which is that it is located on the very high point in the city.

Shopping in San Francisco

San Francisco is definitely one of the the best places to do shopping. Among trade and entertainment centers, first of all, it is worth noting one, Westfield is perhaps the largest complex, uniting over 170 fashionable and expensive stores such as Prada, Diesel, Gucci, Escada, etc. under its roof. There are other options shopping centers: Crocker Gallery, Japan Center. In addition, it is recommended to visit the large Ferry Building indoor market and walk through the picturesque Chinatown area. The points with the highest concentration of stores are: Sacramento street, Hayes Valley, Fillmore, Union Square, Mission. However, here everyone will find something for themselves.

The hotel I booked for a few nights was located near one of San Francisco's most striking landmarks - Chinatown, and, of course, I spent the evening of my first day in “the most European city in the USA” among the continuously trading, chewing and hurrying somewhere Chinese. I highly recommend tasting the roast duck at one of the many eateries there - before going to San Francisco, I heard that the Chinese there are especially good at this dish, and its taste is not inferior to the duck bought somewhere in Shanghai or Guangzhou. I confirm that the dish is excellent, subsequently I dined exclusively in Chinatown and precisely with duck. The block and the place itself are extremely curious, and it begins with the "Dragon Gate" (Dragon Gate), a gift to the city of San Francisco from the government of Taiwan, made in classic Chinese style and installed at the southern end of the block, near Bush Street.

The image of the dragon will haunt you everywhere in Chinatown - and indeed without it, any place on the globe where the Chinese live compactly is unthinkable, be it the Chinatown of San Francisco, Paris or Bangkok. All Chinese, regardless of where they live, consider themselves descendants of the Dragon - “long tik chuan ren”, and in general, according to legend, the Chinese nation and its culture were formed around the Dragon (“Long”), which is considered the embodiment of power, perfection, greatness and divine favor. Unlike European dragons and their Russian deviations such as the Serpent-Gorynych, which were distinguished by extremely bad habits, the Chinese Dragon is wise and noble, the Chinese revere him very much and build beautiful temples in his honor.

The central artery of Chinatown San Francisco is Grant Avenue, along which most of the local attractions are located, such as St. Mary's Square (St. Mary square - north of the Dragon Gate), St. Mary's Cathedral and Portsmouth Square (Portsmouth square).

It is Portsmouth Square that is the symbol of "Chinese life" in San Francisco: old people play Chinese chess there, people of all ages do Tai Chi gymnastics. In the center of the park there is a copy of the Goddess of Democracy in memory of the students' protests suppressed by the authorities of communist China on Beijing's Tiananmen Square. A little away from Grant Avenue is the Tin How Temple, it was not so easy to find it, and in the process of searching for it, I encountered an unusual moment for America: people in the USA in general and in San Francisco in particular are very friendly and always ready to help tourists. Which, unfortunately, I cannot say about the Chinese inhabitants of San Francisco's Chinatown. For a long time I could not find the Tin Hao temple among other picturesque Chinese houses and decided to ask the local people where to look for it. Three times I turned to Chinese passers-by with a request to show me the way, and all three times I was not only not shown, but not even particularly honored with an answer. The natives only screwed up their already narrow eyes contemptuously and ran further on their Chinese affairs, without even turning their heads in my direction and without listening to the end of the question. Everyone looked as if he was at least Confucius, and I was a bucket of garbage - and not local. Perhaps I didn’t formulate the request correctly and it shouldn’t have started with the phrase “excuse me sir, would you help me ...” - they probably decided that I would start begging for money from them. As a result, I did find the temple itself, but the refusal of the local residents not only to show the way, but even just to answer, was very dissonant with the attitude of other residents of the city of San Francisco - both Euro-Americans and African Americans, and especially Latinos (the latter are simply ready to take you by the hand to take you where you need to). By the way, regarding the wording of the question: indeed, you shouldn’t say “Would you help me” - in the States, people are really scared of this, I checked in different cities, it’s better right away “Please tell me where ...”

Returning to the Tin Hao Temple - this is the oldest Chinese temple in the United States, it was erected in honor of the safe arrival of the first Chinese immigrants in San Francisco. The temple is really tiny and not easy to find, the western wall is decorated with gilded wood carvings in honor of Ting Hao, God of Heaven. Numerous paper lanterns hang from the ceiling of the temple - it is believed that while the lantern is burning, it brings health and happiness to the person in whose honor it was lit. The exact address Tin Hao Temple: Waverly place, 125.

In the north, Chinatown is bounded by Broadway Street - unlike its New York namesake, filled not with music halls and neon lights, but mostly establishments and characters, to one degree or another related to the semi-legal sex services: porn cinemas, strip clubs and street prostitutes (often police officers and delivering their bad luck live clients not to the "numbers", but directly to the police station). Other San Francisco Broadway establishments include the Hustler Club, founded by the famous Larry Flynt, and the Stinking Rose Restaurant (Stinking Rose, 325 Columbus avenue), which is soaked through with the smell of garlic.

Graffiti in Chinese:

Sights of San Francisco, day two

Russian Hills, Lombard Street, Golden Gate Bridge, West Paris, Fishermans Wharf, Telegraph Hill, Filbert Street.

My second day in San Francisco started with a walk around the area Russian Hills— it was the closest attraction of the city to my hotel. One of the most striking features of the city of San Francisco is its relief, namely the famous steep hills on which the city is built:

In the Russian Hills area, you can see this feature of San Francisco in all its splendor, and not even bothering your legs too much: one of the branches of the legendary San Francisco cable tram, the Powell-Hyde line, passes along Hyde street:

on which you can get to the picturesque Lombard street, known as crookedest street - "the most winding street in the United States":

The street really meanders like a snake crawling along the ground, and along its entire length it is literally immersed in greenery. Absolutely all visitors to San Francisco consider it their duty to walk or drive along this famous street - and I did not violate this rule.

An obligatory shot for all those who came to the city of San Francisco for the first time is “cable tram with Alcatraz Island in the background”:

Going down Lombard Street, I came to the intersection of Columbus avenue and Beach street, where I was tempted to rent a bike and ride it to one of the most recognizable symbols of San Francisco and the USA in general: Bridge Golden Gate (Golden Gate):

San Francisco Landmarks: Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the world from its construction in 1937 until 1964, its length is 1970 meters, the height of the supports is 230 meters above the water. The first twelve hours after its opening, the Golden Gate Bridge was provided exclusively to pedestrians, and then, at the signal of President Roosevelt, motor vehicles were allowed to enter the bridge.

The six-banded red giant is notable for many things - and, among other things, is known as one of the most popular places on Earth to settle accounts with life. On average, every two weeks, someone decides on such a radical way to get rid of life's problems, and, according to unofficial data (official statistics were stopped in 1995, when the number of suicides reached 1000), over more than 70 years of its existence, the Golden Gate Bridge has become a "springboard" in better world for more than 1300 people.

The fall from the bridge lasts 4 seconds, the body enters the water at a speed of 120 km / h, which causes it to receive multiple injuries, often incompatible with life. According to information for 2006, of all those who jumped from the bridge, only 26 people survived, all of them entered the water feet first. Another curious fact from the “life” of the Golden Gate Bridge: on May 18, 2004, a deer crossed the bridge for the first time, paralyzing traffic on the bridge for twenty minutes with its act.

My bike ride to the Golden Gate Bridge, then along the bridge itself to the opposite bank and back to the rental point took exactly two hours with frequent photographing of the bridge, myself against its background, picturesque surroundings and cost me $ 16 (hourly bike rental - 8 bucks per hour).

But it is definitely worth it: firstly, it takes a very long time to walk there, and secondly, it requires a fair amount of physical fitness - the landscape there is green hilly. On the way back from the bridge to the bike rental point, I came across another San Francisco attraction called "Western Paris":

All this pseudo-antique beauty was built in 1915 specifically for the Panama Pacific exhibition, timed to coincide with the opening of the Panama Canal.

After handing over the bike, I walked around the area Fisherman's Wharf, where he completed another mandatory item of the San Francisco visit program: he dined on the pier with the famous Clam chouder soup: this is the famous American thick rich seafood soup. Fisherman's Wharf- This is another attraction of San Francisco; in its western part, it is represented by the so-called Fish Alley, where in numerous fish restaurants you can taste everything that can be prepared from seafood harvested in this part of the world.

On the waterfront east of Fish Alley, you can visit a US Navy transport and a World War II submarine that have been turned into public museums:

and in the building of one of the port facilities there is an exhibition of antique slot machines - many of them are quite playable, although the inscriptions warn to be careful with them, because "most of them are older than you will ever be":

After the slot machines, I reached the "rookery of sea lions" - these animals were given several wooden platforms near one of the piers, and on these platforms they bask in the sun, entertaining the walkers.

There is also a pier nearby, from which ferries depart, including to the famous Alcatraz island (Alcatraz), "most famous prison America", a place more than once sung in Hollywood films:

To the east of this pier is Fisherman's Wharf Market, famous for its seafood, fruits and vegetables (Pier 39).

Another attraction in the San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf area is the Aquarium, located just west of Pier 41, and consisting of three parts: "Explore the Bay" (Discovery the Bay), "Under the Water" (Under the Bay) and "Touch the Bay" (Touch the Bay). Its highlight is a huge transparent pipe through which visitors pass, while sea reptiles swim in schools from all sides. The people and the inhabitants of the abyss seem to have changed places there: people in the “aquarium” pipe, while the fish looks at them with pleasure from above, being in relative freedom.

My walk through Fisherman's Wharf went on to storm the steep Telegraph Hill, where we rise another attraction of this part of San Francisco - Coit tower:

The tower was built with money from Lily Coit in 1934. The lady was known for her panic fear that one day a grandiose fire “like in Chicago” could start in San Francisco, and an observation tower was vital for the timely detection of a fire. According to its original purpose, the Coit Tower is no longer used, but the views from it are amazing, which tourists from all over the world willingly use. True, I didn’t climb the tower itself - firstly, it was a pity to spend 12 bucks on it, and secondly, there was a long queue at the entrance. After Telegraph Hill, I decided to look at one attraction in the city of San Francisco - a picturesque Filbert street located nearby:

In fact, this is not quite a street, but rather a string of narrow wooden bridges winding between beautiful old mansions immersed in greenery.

Filbert Street is considered by many to be the most beautiful street in San Francisco. From my point of view, Lombard Street, which I have already mentioned, could well compete with Filbert for the title of “most beautiful” - but, be that as it may, both of them are among the main attractions of San Francisco.

Filbert street leads to Levi Plaza area, which owes its name to the "inventor" of jeans Levi Strauss. The history of jeans and Levi Strauss himself is quite worthy of a brief retelling. It began in 1829 in Bavaria, when a seventh child named Leiba was born in a poor Orthodox Jewish family of immigrants from Western Ukraine. Even as a Strauss, Leiba was not eager to become a musician, but, like any decent Jew, he wanted to become a millionaire. In 1853, the young Leiba moved to San Francisco and shortened his name to Levi - it was this version of him that was destined to become a world famous brand. At the same time, California is in a gold rush, and Levy begins to sew from tent fabric (there was no other handy) durable overalls for prospectors; for his first jumpsuit, Levy was paid $6 in gold dust. According to one version of the origin of the name of his products, Levy ordered material for his pants in Italy, and the bales arrived in the States from Genoa marked "Genes" - for the Americans it sounded like "jeans". Currently, the Jewish Museum in Berlin houses Levi's 501 jeans, revered as one of the most valuable gifts of the Jewish people to the rest of humanity.

One of the most common types of residents of the city of San Francisco:

Sights of San Francisco, day three

Business District (Market Street and Embarcadero), Castro District, Twin Peaks Hills and Trans-American Pyramid.

The morning of my third day in San Francisco was marked exciting trip on another attraction of the city, which would be unforgivable to miss - old cable tram:

Before Streets Market I rode hanging on its running board, and not because there was no room inside, but because that is how it is customary to ride streetcars in San Francisco: tourists, and yuppies in office ties, and hippies in picturesque tatters hang in clusters on the running boards. The Negro conductor all the way good-naturedly quarreled with passers-by and, judging by their reaction, they were all his good friends.

Here on this platform the trams are deployed:

Along Market Street - this is essentially the central street that runs through the whole city from the embankment to Castro district- I walked to Embarcadero streets, there went to take a look at Hyatt Regency Hotel, famous for its revolving rooftop restaurant, was impressed by the bourgeois chic and moved on.

In the lobby of the hotel there is a model “Alcatraz prison with a section” - apparently so that the rich hotel guests do not forget that anything can happen in life and, as they say, “from the bag to the prison” ...

I didn’t get into the restaurant on the roof itself - my very worn jeans and worn-out sneakers did not correspond to the general atmosphere there. At the exit from the Hayatt, I was overwhelmed by the desire to go to Alcatraz Island (Alcatraz) - initially, my plans to visit this San Francisco attraction did not appear, I am not a fan of prison romance and have not watched a single Hollywood movie about this legendary American prison. At Pier 33 (where the boats leave for Alcatraz), I was predictably expected to announce that the island was closed due to a government shut-down .. This time I managed to come to the USA just when they had an extremely rare cataclysm: the politicians did not agree among themselves and could not adopt a budget for the new fiscal year, which began on October 1, and for this reason, almost all institutions funded from the federal budget (except those related to national security) were closed, and their employees were sent to paid vacation. In short, the trip to Alcatraz did not come true for me and I decided to look at another famous San Francisco attraction - Twin Peaks hills, and before that, take a walk around the global "mecca" of LGBT characters - the Castro district. But first my legs carried me to Embarcadero Center- a huge multifunctional retail, office, hotel and entertainment complex, consisting of eight buildings with a total area of 400 thousand square meters. meters.

Located nearby fountain by Armand Vellancourt Unfortunately, it has been turned off. When turned on, it resembles volumetric graffiti or stylized open square veins from which transparent blood flows:

Further, the path lay to the hills of Twin Peaks, and on the way there was another attraction of San Francisco: the Castro district, known as the place of compact residence of "rainbow" characters and almost the world center of the subculture of sexual minorities. Getting there is quite simple - this is the end station of the MUNI metro lines K, L, M and T.

Personally, Castro didn’t impress me much, the district as a district - in the sense of “LGBT lawlessness”, some places in Amsterdam look more outrageous - only rainbow flags fly over almost every entrance, and one of them proudly flies on a tall flagpole, like a state banner:

The Castro district is also known for its eponymous cinema, where films are shown on hot topics for gays and lesbians, as well as the Asia SF restaurant, where you will be served by transvestite waitresses.

Quite curious, but if you have already visited Pattaya or some specific areas of Bangkok, you are unlikely to be surprised by anything there.

In general, the Castro district makes, oddly enough, a rather solid impression - even sex shops with all sorts of dildos and lubricants look respectable and bourgeois there. However, if you are extremely uncomfortable with the sight of men walking around the floor and flirting men, it is better not to go there.

After a walk around the Castro district, I took bus 37 (the stop is located at the corner of Market and 16th streets) and drove it almost to the saddle between the two famous Twin Peaks hills - I don’t recommend going to this San Francisco attraction on foot, you have to climb long and high, after such a walk you won’t want anything at all.

Road to Twin Peaks:

By the way, the bus and tram fare in San Francisco costs $2 and the driver does not give change from higher denomination banknotes, which is even written on the bus entrance. But the public transport drivers in San Francisco are quite good-natured people and when I tried to pay with a 10-dollar bill for lack of others, they just drove me for free. And one African-American tram driver was easily satisfied with a handful of change from my pocket in the amount of 1.80 bucks - there was no more, only the same ten ..

View of the city of San Francisco from the hills of Twin Peaks:

The view from the hills is beautiful, but, in addition to the city itself, it is also very clearly visible and smog above it:

On the way back, the story of ticketless travel was repeated: there was simply nowhere to change money on the hills. In principle, the bus driver was not particularly against my ticketless travel, but my conscience had already “tormented” me (it tends to wake up if the drivers and conductors are normal people and don’t rest against the horn - they say, “either pay or go on foot”) and I tried to exchange money with one of the passengers - and in the process of this exchange I met a very sincere Mexican Jose, who helped me with the exchange and also gave me a lot of del advice.

Having learned about my misadventures with their American government shut-down (in four days I planned to go to several national parks from Las Vegas and really hoped that this political problem of theirs would be successfully resolved by that time and National parks open again), he took out his iPad and all the way through Google tried to find something encouraging on this topic, but at that time there was no good news. But the desire to help to a stranger it was pleasant and very different from the attitude of the inhabitants of Chinatown the day before. In conclusion, Jose took me to some bar to his friends, where the cashier exchanged another ten dollars for me. Then I took the MUNI metro to the Embarcadero station and walked for a couple of hours Financial District of San Francisco- Montgomery Street, Union Square.

In those parts is located Trans American pyramid (Transamerica Pyramid, www.transamerica.com), San Francisco's most unusual skyscraper and one of the city's most recognizable landmarks:

According to legend, John R. Beckett, president of Transamerica, once noticed that the pyramidal treetops in the city park allowed sunlight to penetrate to the ground and did not cast a massive shadow. Wanting to achieve a similar effect, he chose an unconventional pyramidal shape for the building of his company; as a result, the shadow from the resulting skyscraper is really very thin and, like a sundial, it goes around the surrounding neighborhoods like a clock hand.

Oddly enough, but in such a remarkable building there is no Observation deck- an unthinkable commercial miscalculation for America, where it is customary to turn absolutely everything into "special coin". However, you can get a bird's eye view of the sights of San Francisco three blocks down Montgomery Street - on the 52nd floor of the Bank of America building there is a restaurant with a panoramic view.

The next day, I was due to take the bus to Los Angeles, and after dining on the now-traditional duck in Chinatown, I decided to find the Greyhound bus terminal so I wouldn't have to find it tomorrow with my backpack. The decision turned out to be very correct: judging by the information on the Internet, the bus terminal was supposed to be located at the corner of Mission and Fremont streets, but in fact there was a large fenced construction site. He was found a couple of blocks southeast - at the corner of Howard and Beale street.

Day Four, Moving from San Francisco to Los Angeles

I checked out of the hotel without incident in the morning and walked to the Greyhound bus terminal in half an hour, refreshing myself with a glass of Starbucks cappuccino along the way. Registration for the bus at the Greyhound is organized as at the airport (only without a personal search). Weigh luggage; if you hand over the suitcase to the luggage compartment, they demand to pay extra - from the aunt, who stood in line for registration in front of me, they demanded to pay 5 bucks extra for the suitcase. I turned my 'suitcase on wheels' into a 'backpack' again and said it was mine. hand luggage I won't put anything in my luggage. My luggage was incredulously examined, but in the end the feint rolled, and the backpack rode in the bus next to me for free. I bought a bus ticket six months in advance and it cost $36 then. I suppose that directly on the day of departure it would be more expensive.

By the way, already being in the USA, I heard a couple of times good feedback about the bus company Megabus - they say, if you buy tickets for a couple of months, you can leave New York for Washington for almost $ 1. I haven't tested it myself yet, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of this information. It takes about 7 hours to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles, with stops for 20 minutes in Oakland, then half an hour in Avenal, and a couple of minutes in San Fernando.

How to get to San Francisco from Moscow

Because direct flight Moscow - San Francisco does not exist in nature, then you can get to San Francisco from the Russian capital with only at least one transfer - most likely in New York, Washington, Atlanta or Los Angeles, with Aeroflot or Delta airlines. The cost of a flight to San Francisco from Moscow depends on the season and is approximately $700 one way. The duration of such a flight will be about 20 hours (depending on the duration of the connection at the intermediate airport).

To search for cheap flights to the USA, you can use this search form:

If you have already arrived on the West Coast of the United States, then the most reasonable way to get to San Francisco is by Grayhound bus. Another way to get to San Francisco from any major city in the US is the train of the state-owned rail operator Amtrak. More detailed information flight information and ticket prices can be obtained from the websites of the respective companies: www.amtrak.com and www.greyhound.com.

Life hack: how I save on hotels and insurance

In addition to traditional and well-known tools such as Booking or Hotellook, new online services have recently appeared that make life much easier for the traveler and pleasantly protect the thickness of his wallet. One of them - roomguru I use it all the time and recommend it to all my friends and family. This service compares prices for an object in 30 booking systems at once, and offers you the most interesting options. In addition, it tracks discounts and special offers.

As for a good working travel insurance, it was not easy to find it before, but now it has become even more difficult due to the constant fluctuations of the ruble against world currencies. For the past few years, I have been taking out insurance for my travels through an online service - here you can compare the products of different insurers and choose what is best for you:

San Francisco Tours by Locals

View "the most European city» America can be both independently and with an organized Russian-speaking excursion. Your guides will be local residents - photographers, journalists, historians - who are in love with their city and know almost everything about it. You can find a list of all available author's excursions in San Francisco in the table below. By default, the window displays the first 3 excursions, sorted by reviews and popularity. To see all available options, click "View All".

At the booking stage, you will need to pay 20% of the cost of the tour - the rest is given to the guide before it starts.

, Google+ www.google.com/site And In contact with vk.com/site , as well as subscribe to site updates by mail to follow the release of new articles about independent travel Worldwide.

Unforgettable impressions from the sights of the USA and the city of San Francisco!
Your Roman Mironenko

SAN FRANCISCO (city) SAN FRANCISCO (city)

SAN FRANCISCO (San Francisco), city and main port on the Pacific coast of the United States, California (cm. CALIFORNIA (state)), the center of a large urban conurbation, the historic capital of California. Located in western California, on a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay (cm. SAN FRANCISCO (bay)) and the Golden Gate Strait. The population is 776.7 thousand people (2004), the population of Greater San Francisco is 7.2 million people (2004).
Trade and financial, industrial and scientific Cultural Center Western states. One of the country's largest ports on the Pacific Ocean. In the southern suburbs international Airport. Junction of railways and highways. The system of high-speed urban communication (Bay Area Rapid Transit, abbreviated as BART, consists of underground and surface parts, including a tunnel under the strait 5.8 km long; trains move at speeds up to 130 km / h). The attraction is the city funiculars, before the earthquake of 1906, the length of funicular lines (cable car) was 177 km, now there are only 3 lines, intended mainly for tourists).
Shipbuilding, mechanical engineering, instrument making, radio electronics, oil refining, printing, food and textile industries. Silicon Valley (cm. SILICON VALLEY)(San Jose, Santa Clara, Palo Alto, etc.), which is part of Greater San Francisco, is the center of the country's and the world's computer industry. Banks, insurance business, boards of most federal departments, regional departments. There are several large military bases in the bay area. major center tourism.
University of San Francisco, Division of the University of California, San Francisco State University, Golden Gate University (1853), San Francisco Art Institute. Conservatory, public library. Opera association, ballet troupe, symphony orchestra, more than 140 theaters. The California Academy of Sciences (founded in 1853), which manages the Morrison Planetarium, the Steinhart Oceanarium. In the suburbs of Berkeley (cm. BERKELEY (city)) is the University of California, in Stanford - the famous Stanford University (cm. STANFORD UNIVERSITY).
Despite the fact that back in the 16th century. various European expeditions visited here (F. Drake (cm. DRAKE Francis), J. R. Cabrillo, S. Biscaino), they did not notice the convenient San Francisco Bay because of the fog. The ships of the Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola were the first to visit here. In 1776, a military fort was founded here (Presidio de San Francisco, "garrison of St. Francis of Assisi", operated until 1994, then a museum) and the mission "San Francisco de Asis" (another name is "Dolores"). The first civilian settlement, Yerba Buena, was founded in 1835 by an Englishman, Captain W. E. Richardson. During the Mexican-American War (cm. US-MEXICAN WAR) it was captured by the Americans and renamed San Francisco (1847).
In 1848, the first gold was found in Northern California, soon the "gold rush" (1849) began, as well as the discovery of the Comstock silver vein in 1859, which contributed to the very rapid development of the city. In 1848-1870 the population of the city increased by 187 times (in 1848 the population was 800 people, and in 1870 - 150 thousand people). The population of San Francisco, like California as a whole, grew even more after the completion of the construction of the Pacific railway in 1869, which connected the West with the center of the country.
In April 1906, a devastating earthquake occurred in the San Francisco area, after which a severe fire began, which raged for several days. As a result, about 700 people died, the entire city center (about 500 blocks) was destroyed, and a residential area of Victorian private houses was badly damaged.
During the Great Depression (cm. THE GREAT DEPRESSION) the city was replenished by immigrants from other states. During the Second World War, the city became the center of military shipbuilding, powerful shipyards were built, which employed about 500 thousand visiting workers.
The San Francisco Conference took place in the summer of 1945. (cm. SAN FRANCIS CONFERENCE) on which the UN was founded.
In 1989, the city experienced another strong earthquake, but the authorities and the population quickly coped with its consequences.
In 1995, for the first time in the history of San Francisco, an African American, W. Brown, was elected mayor.
By the end of the 20th century environmental problems have worsened in the city, as well as overpopulation problems, real estate prices have risen sharply (one of the most expensive cities in the country).
In the 1960s the city was the center of rock and jazz, later the city became one of the centers of hippie, beatnik and pacifist movements; here originated "psychedelic (cm. PSYCHODELIC)' or 'California' rock, played by bands such as the Jefferson Airplane (cm. JEFFERSON AIRPLAIN), Greatfull Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and artists such as Janis Joplin (cm. JOPLIN Janice).
Among the attractions: the Golden Gate Bridge (over the strait connecting the San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean, the span is 1281 m, the height of 67 m above sea level makes it possible to swim by any sea vessels, a symbol of California, built in 1937), a business part of the city with skyscrapers (Downtown), including the Bank of America, Pyramid, Embarcadero Center skyscrapers, consisting of 4 skyscrapers, and sculptural compositions (including the avant-garde Vaillantour fountain).
Areas on the hills of Knob Hill (originally the quarter of the gold diggers), Telegraph Hill (the first telegraph office in the West opened here in 1853), Russian Hill (Russian Hills, the quarter of writers, here is the most winding street in the world, Lombard Street) and Twin Peaks (there is a beautiful view of Downtown and bridges).
Fisherman's Wharf; quarters of Victorian houses (known as "The Painted Ladies", "Dressy Ladies"), Dolores Mission (18th century church), Alcatraz Island (until 1963 a prison that held especially dangerous criminals, including the famous gangster Al Capone), Bay Bridge (Bridge over the bay, The Bay Bridge, up to 13 km long, 1936 , connects downtown with Auckland (cm. OAKLAND (a city in the USA))).
About half of the city's population is made up of African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and other ethnic groups. The city is famous for its Chinatown (Chinatown, the largest in the US) and Japantown (Japanesetown), the Italian neighborhood of "North Beach", a Russian colony along Clement Street, the Hispanic Mission District.
Museums visual arts(common name of California Legion of Honor Palace and Young Memorial Museum), Asian Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Wells Fargo Historical Museum.
Beaches at Point Reyes, national park Golden Gate Park (Golden Gate Park), more than 130 different parks in the city and its suburbs.
The life and work of Mark Twain is connected with the city (cm. TWAIN Mark), J. London (cm. LONDON Jack)(Native of Auckland), W. Saroyan (cm. SAROYAN William), D. Hammett (cm. HAMMET Dashiell).
In the northern suburbs of the city is located the Napa Valley viticulture region (the so-called "Wine Country"). Resort Calistoga (mud and hydropathic).

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

See what "SAN FRANCISCO (city)" is in other dictionaries:

I (San Francisco), abbreviated Frisco ch. city and commercial center Sev. Amer. PC. California, at 37°47 35 s. sh. and 122°24 15 W d., the most important Trading port on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, on a spit bounded by the Gulf of the same name, with the W Pacific Ocean. ... ...

- (San Francisco), abbreviated Frisco ch. city and commercial center Sev. Amer. PC. California, at 37°47 35 s. sh. and 122°24 15 W d., the most important trading port on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, on a spit bounded with the Gulf of the same name, with the W Pacific Ocean. Entrance … Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

San Francisco is a city on the Pacific coast of the United States, in the state of California. An important transport, commercial, industrial, financial and cultural center of the country. It is located on a narrow hilly peninsula, washed in the west by the waters of the Pacific ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

City of San Francisco San Francisco Flag Coat of arms ... Wikipedia

City in California, USA. It was founded in 1776 as a missionary center for the monks of the Order of St. Francis (Franciscans), which determined the choice of the name. place names World: Toponymic Dictionary. M: AST. Pospelov E.M. 2001 ... Geographic Encyclopedia