San Francisco, Northern California, United States, is a hilltop town on the tip of a peninsula surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. It is known for year-round mist, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and its colorful Victorian houses.
The city was founded in 1776 when Spanish colonialists built the Prison - near the Golden Gate region - and the Mission of St. Francis of Assisi. In 1849, already US territory, began the period known as the gold rush. At the time, the city became the largest and most important city on the American west coast. Despite the 19th century boom, an earthquake - followed by a huge fire - destroyed much of the city in 1906. An estimated 80% of the city was ruined by the tragedy.
Today, San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination, known for its cold summer haze, steep hills, eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture and its famous landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, the Buses and Chinatown. The city is also a financial and banking center, home to over 30 international financial institutions, helping San Francisco become the eighteenth richest city in the world and ninth in the United States.

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See the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
The Alcatraz prison, once considered the safest in the United States, was home to great bandits like Al Capone. It is currently one of the main sights of the city. After its closure, the prison has become a museum that receives thousands of visitors each year. Many of Alcatraz's cells are preserved with period objects, including the hole made by the only two fugitives in the history of the maximum security prison.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) houses works of contemporary and twentieth-century art.
The Legion of Honor Museum has mainly antiques and European artwork in its Lincoln Park building, inspired by its Parisian namesake. Young Museum's Golden Gate Park features American decorative pieces and anthropological properties from Africa, Oceania and the Americas, while Asian art is housed in the Asian Art Museum. Opposite Young's is the California Academy of Sciences, a natural history museum that also houses the Morrison Planetarium and the Steinhart Aquarium. Located at Pier 15 on the Embarcadero, the Exploratorium is an interactive science museum. The Contemporary Jewish Museum is an institution that houses a wide variety of temporary exhibitions. On Nob Hill, the Cable Car Museum is a working museum showcasing the cable car powerhouse.
Visit Pier 39 in San Francisco.
Enjoy the Marketplace in San Francisco
Meet Chinatown and Japan Town
Meet the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco
Take a walk down Lombard Street
Visit Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco

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In San Francisco, the summer is long, pleasant, barren, and almost cloudless; winter is short, cool, with precipitation and partly overcast sky. Throughout the year, the temperature generally ranges from 7 ° C to 22 ° C and is rarely below 4 ° C or above 28 ° C.

The best time of year to visit and do warm weather activities is from late June to early October.

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Terrorism: The US Department of Homeland Security, created in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on US protection, has established a range of security alert levels that are constantly updated as the threat level is deemed credible. For information on the current level of this security scale, please visit www.dhs.gov.

Crime: The level of crime is stable, affecting mainly certain cities (or some specific neighborhoods). It is advisable, upon arrival in these cities, to find out which districts are of greatest concern, and especially the times when it is inadvisable to be on the street. Most crimes and petty offenses take place at night and on weekends. Most homicides take place on public roads and are mainly related to drug trafficking.

San Francisco: the neighborhoods of "Tenderloin", "Hunter's Point" and "South of Market".

In case of contact with the police, especially on the road, it is advisable to stop immediately if requested and to remain inside the vehicle with your hands on the wheel; do not make sudden or aggressive gestures and never make false statements.

Other important information

Emergency number: 911 in all states for contact with police, fire brigade or for medical assistance.

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