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Exploring San Francisco, California

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, it connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed during the year 1937, and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and California. Since its completion, the span length has been surpassed by eight other bridges. It still has the second longest suspension bridge main span in the United States, after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City. In 2007, it was ranked fifth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.

Japanese Tea Garden The Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco, California, is a popular feature of Golden Gate Park, originally built as part of a sprawling World's Fair, the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894. For more than 20 years San Francisco Parks Trusts' Park Guides have given free tours to San Francisco Parks trust members, providing context and history for this historic Japanese-style garden. The oldest public Japanese garden in the United States, this complex of many paths, ponds and a teahouse features native Japanese and Chinese plants. Also hidden throughout its five acres are sculptures and bridges.

Exploratorium The Exploratorium, based in San Francisco, created the "hands on" movement among museums - there are about a thousand museums in the world that trace themselves to the Exploratorium in terms of exhibits or programs. This innovative museum of science, art, human perception (and technology) provides for the general public, even those with the most limited scientific knowledge, the joy of discovery. It is an experience that inspires young and old, Nobel Laureate or artist, to understand science and nature. The Exploratorium in San Francisco is a public educational institution for peoples of all ages. More than a half-million visitors will come to the Exploratorium in order to interact with the original – a place where all the hands-on exhibits on view are made before the public in the museum’s various workshops. But its audience numbers over 20 million each year, as its exhibits are at science centers and other locations worldwide. At least 90 percent of the nation’s science museums, and 70 percent of the museums worldwide, have borrowed ideas from Exploratorium exhibits or programs.

Fisherman's Wharf It roughly encompasses the northern waterfront area of San Francisco from Ghirardelli Square or Van Ness Avenue east to Pier 35 or Kearny Street. It is best known for being the location of Pier 39, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, the Cannery Shopping Center, Ghirardelli Square, a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, the Musée Mécanique, the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, Forbes Island and restaurants and stands that serve fresh seafood, most notably dungeness crab and clam chowder served in a sourdough bread bowl. Some of the restaurants, like Pompeii's and Alioto's #8, go back for three generations of the same family ownership. Nearby Pier 45, there is a chapel in memory of the "Lost Fishermen" of San Francisco and Northern California though it might not always be open everyday. Once a year, the chapel has a service for the lost fishermen. Transportation to Fisherman's Wharf can be provided in a variety of ways. The F Market streetcar runs through the area, the Powell-Hyde cable car lines runs to Aquatic Park, at the edge of Fisherman's Wharf, and the Powell-Mason cable car line runs a few blocks away. Other popular areas in San Francisco, such as Chinatown, Lombard Street and North Beach are all located in proximity to Fisherman's Wharf. Fisherman's Wharf plays host to many San Francisco events, including a world-class fireworks display for Fourth of July, and some of the best views of the Fleet Week air shows. One of the city's most popular figures is a harmless but controversial resident of Fisherman's Wharf called the World Famous Bushman, a local street performer who sits behind some branches and startles people who walk by. He has gained notoriety during the 28 years he has been doing this.

Alcatraz Alcatraz Island, commonly referred to as simply Alcatraz or non-locally and theatrically, as The Rock, is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, United States. It served as a lighthouse, then a military fortification, then a military prison followed by a federal prison until 1963. It became a national recreation area in 1972 and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986. Today, the island is a historic site operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Alcatraz has been featured in many movies, TV shows, cartoons, books, comics, and games.

Cable Cars The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually-operated cable car system, and is an icon of San Francisco, California. The cable car system forms part of the intermodal urban transport network operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, or Muni as it is better known. Cable cars operate on two routes from downtown near Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf, and a third route along California Street. While the cable cars are used to a certain extent by commuters, their small service area and premium fares for single rides make them more of a tourist attraction.

Chinatown San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America, and "the largest Chinese community outside Asia."[1] Established in the 1850s, it has featured significantly in popular culture venues such as film, music, photography and literature, and is one of the largest and most prominent centers of Chinese activity outside of China. After nearly two decades of decline due to the emergence of other large Chinese communities in the Richmond and Sunset Districts of San Francisco, and possibly from the revitalization of Oakland's Chinatown only 10 mi (16 km) away — and from the development of Asian shopping centers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, it has been experiencing an economic upturn in recent years. [2] Despite these recent developments, San Francisco's Chinatown has always remained a major tourist attraction — drawing more visitors than the Golden Gate Bridge.

Alamo Square Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California. Both are located in the Western Addition, a part of the city's fifth Supervisorial district, and are served by several Muni bus lines including the 5, 21, 22, and 24. Alamo Square Park consists of four city blocks at the top of a hill overlooking much of San Francisco, with a number of large and architecturally distinctive mansions along the perimeter. It is bordered by Hayes Street to the south, Fulton Street to the north, Scott Street to the west, and Steiner Street to the east. The park includes a playground and a tennis court, and is frequented by neighbors, tourists, and dog owners. A row of Victorian houses facing the park on Steiner Street, known as the painted ladies, are often shown in the foreground of panoramic pictures of the city's downtown area. On a clear day, the Transamerica Pyramid building and the tops of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge can be seen from the park’s center. San Francisco’s City Hall can be seen directly down Fulton Street.