San Francisco

San Francisco’s hilly streets, sparkling bay and famous bridges provide an excellent glimpse of the city. The basic pleasures of life here are wonderful food, sparkling nightlife and those awesome views. The best way to discover San Francisco's neighborhoods is on foot. The South of Market, which is a busy warehouse district during the day, takes a salient turn during the night and transforms into nightclub central at night. The Castro, which was occupied by gay people in the 1970s, still remains predominantly gay area today, projecting an almost normal air. San Francisco is the fourth-largest city in the state of California in terms of population. It is considered both a city and a county under the laws of the State, situated at the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula that forms San Francisco Bay. Its domain also includes several islands in the bay and the Farallon Islands. The landmarks of the city are the San Francisco cable car system, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Transamerica Pyramid. Nicknamed "The City by the Bay", San Francisco has a glorious past and rich culture. The first Europeans to settle in San Francisco were the Spanish, in 1776.

When the first group of Europeans arrived, the area was inhabited by the Ohlone Indians. They lived in the coastal area between Point Sur and the San Francisco Bay due to the abundance of wildlife, native plants, and fish. Notably, the first European visitors to the San Francisco Bay Area missed the colossal bay altogether including Sir Francis Drake and Juan Cabrillo. In 1769, the Spanish people by Don Gaspar de Portolá found the entrance to the bay and named it Spain. In 1776, the first colonizing party led by Juan Bautista de Anza arrived to found the Presidio (fort) of San Francisco above the Golden Gate and Mission Dolores, which are now in the heart of today's Mission district and is popularly known as "Mission Dolores." Due to its far-away location, the Spanish Empire soon collapsed. In 1792 British explorer George Vancouver set up a small settlement near the village of Yerba Buena. Yerba Buena remained an undeveloped and agricultural town until the Mexican-American War broke out and a naval force led by Commodore John D. Sloat took its possession in 1846 in the name of the United States. On January 30, 1847, the area was finally renamed "San Francisco".

Before the California Gold Rush of 1849, San Francisco was considered a small town. But after the discovery, people rushed towards to settle in and around the area. The unavoidable wave of immigration from around the world called the "49ers" soon invaded to get to the gold fields. As a result, San Francisco flourished like fire in the jungle. San Francisco attracted a colorful group of characters. Famous writers such as Jack London, Ambrose Bierce, and Mark Twain assembled here. The Chinatown district of the city became and is still one of the largest in the country. By 1870s, San Francisco had become the tenth largest city in the United States and culturally very diverse due to the settlement of Chinese population, Irish immigrants, French, Italian, German, Russian, Australian, Jewish and many other nationalities. One of most colorful figures of late 19th century San Francisco was "Emperor" Joshua A. Norton lost his mind along with his fortune through a bad investment. He proclaimed himself the Emperor of the United States. In 1906, a devastating earthquake destroyed the vast majority of buildings in the city. The city soon came out of the deficit and rebuilt itself with even more grandeur. The construction of the Golden Gate Bridge over icy-cold, shark infested waters in 1937 was one such accomplishment. It is one of the world's longest suspension bridges. Currently, new waves of immigrants, particularly coming from Russia and Central America, are in the process to change the makeover of the city. San Francisco has several tourist attractions including the Embarcadero Center, Yerba Buena Gardens, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, Mount Sutro, Twin Peaks, Coit Tower and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Other popular attractions are North Beach, Golden Gate Park, The Predidio, Alcatraz, Buena Vista Park, Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, the Tattoo Art Museum, Perry’s, Club Bas and the Golden Gate Park Band. The tourists preference always remains. Old First Concerts, Hornblower Cruises, the Great American Music Hall, the San Francisco Electric Tour Company, the California Academy of the Sciences, the Cartoon Art Museum, the San Francisco Art Institute, the Mexican Museum, Octagon House and the Golden Gate Railroad Museum, the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, the Exporatorium, the Jewish Museum, the museum of Craft and Folk Art, the San Francisco Airport Museum, Audium, Hyde Street Pier Historic Ships, the Maritime Museum Library, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, Haas-Lilienthal House and Mission Dolores. San Francisco is the home of the San Francisco 49ers National Football League team and the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball team. San Francisco has great nightlife.