Hills, fog and the red bridge: San Francisco is the most European city in the USA – and the one I most enjoy exploring on foot.
Photo: Umer Sayyam (Unsplash)
San Francisco is compact and surprisingly cool – even in summer there's often fog over the Golden Gate. The best time is autumn, once the fog has gone. In return, the city can be explored on foot and by cable car: Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, it all joins up.
I stayed at the LUMA Hotel in Mission Bay, near the ballpark and the Bay – modern, quiet and ten minutes from downtown by tram. The hotel page tells you more. My favourite moment: cycling across the Golden Gate to Sausalito and taking the ferry back.
Alcatraz has to be booked weeks in advance; the tickets are almost always sold out. And if you have a car, drive an hour north to the Napa Valley – there's a separate page for that.
Union Square is central, but not pleasant everywhere in the evening. I like Mission Bay and the Marina – quiet, safe, well connected. Nob Hill for the classic view.
Hotels I know myself and describe on their own pages: LUMA Hotel San Francisco.
I almost always compare hotels, apartments and guesthouses on Booking.com – with genuine reviews and usually free cancellation.
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