Life in San Francisco. San Francisco (California)

It is also rightly called the “pearl of the West Coast.” Elegant and luxurious, modern and ancient, provincial and cosmopolitan - this is the place for every traveler. amazing city will reveal a special side. San Francisco is stunning with its gabled gables, numerous turrets and magnificent Victorian buildings that blend perfectly with the sunny coastline, summer fogs and steep hills. Despite the fact that San Francisco is a true American metropolis, with its compactness and some special charm it resembles a seaside European city, where you want to forget about all the problems and enjoy the light and relaxed atmosphere.

Climate and weather

San Francisco has a Mediterranean climate, characterized by mild, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. The city is surrounded by water on three sides, so the weather is significantly influenced by cold ocean currents. In summer the average air temperature is +15...+24 °С, and in winter - +10...+15 °C. The rainy season lasts from November to March, snow falls extremely rarely. At the end of summer and from September to October, the city, especially its western regions, is enveloped in fogs that may not subside throughout the day.

The best time to travel to San Francisco is the dry period from mid-May to October.

Nature

The city is located on the west coast of California, on a small peninsula, which is located near the Golden Gate Strait, connecting the picturesque San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the city's jurisdiction includes the island Alcatraz And Treasure Island, as well as the uninhabited Farallon Islands and part of the island Red Rock. A feature of the urban landscape is a large number of hills, for example Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Pacific Heights, Telegraph Hill, Potreto Hill and etc.

It's worth noting that San Francisco is located next to two tectonic faults, so small earthquakes occur here from time to time.

Attractions

San Francisco has quite a large number of various attractions, many of which are of global importance. The main symbol of the city is a huge suspension bridge Golden Gate, which is equipped with a spectacular illumination system. Less known, but no less remarkable is the bridge Oakland Bay Bridge.

Lombard Street has become an interesting tourist spot in the city, which will appeal to lovers of walking. It is located on Russian Hill, and its main feature a very large slope (27°) is considered. The memorial tower is no less popular Coit Tower, which is dedicated to a local resident who volunteered to help firefighters. The most colorful area of ​​the city is Chinatown, where you can see original oriental-style houses, as well as visit Chinese restaurants and shops.

Also worth noting is the entrance to Chinatown, which features a stunning colorful gate. In addition, it is recommended to visit the old restaurant Clif House, fishing pier with sea lion colony, Museum Walt Disney in and Museum of Russian Culture.

There are also interesting natural attractions in San Francisco, for example, two twin hills Twin Peaks, from the tops of which a stunning view of the city opens. Well, there are more than 200 parks of all kinds.

Finally, it is worth special mentioning the famous island Alcatraz, which is located near San Francisco. It is known that it once served as a prison, which was considered the most secure in the United States. Now the island is a historical monument.

Nutrition

San Francisco is a true gourmet city, with the number and variety of restaurants rivaling even New York. This is not surprising, because the conditions for running a restaurant business here are simply ideal: skilled chefs from all over the world, first-class wineries and numerous farms that supply the city with the freshest products. It’s worth saying right away that the continuous flow of emigrants has almost completely absorbed the local national cuisine, along with her wings and potatoes. Therefore, Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and other ethnic establishments are most often found here. Half of the city's restaurants are concentrated in the districts Chinatown And Castro. The latter, by the way, is notable not only for its popularity among sexual minorities, but also for its cozy cafes with summer areas, where they serve delicious shrimp and crab dishes, as well as bohemian coffee shops and chocolate shops. In addition, many fine restaurants are located at the shipyard Fisherman's Wharf. This is where they serve excellent seafood dishes, as well as juicy California steaks and famous sourdough bread.

Of course, San Francisco is full of fast food establishments offering hamburgers and hot dogs, but they are not as popular as in other US cities. There are also many small pastry shops where you can enjoy some chocolate dessert and a cup of coffee at any time.

San Francisco is also the real capital of wine. Moreover, Californian wines have an exquisite taste and are considered one of the best in the world.

Accommodation

San Francisco offers its guests a huge number of hotels of various categories. For those who want to save on accommodation, the best places for temporary accommodation will be hostels and hotels B&B, which are scattered literally throughout the city, for example, The Pontiac Hotel & Hostel(from 20 $) or Mission Inn(from $39.2).

The city also has many mid-price hotels (from $60) and expensive upscale hotels (from $300).

Entertainment and relaxation

San Francisco can offer its guests a lot of entertainment for every taste, so you definitely won’t get bored here. For example, a visit to the zoo is suitable for a family holiday. San Francisco Zoo or an aquarium Aquarium of the Bay. Lovers of outdoor recreation will also enjoy the city, as there is an incredible number of beautiful parks and gardens on its territory. Of these, the park is the most popular "Golden Gate", which is a real oasis in the city center. To others the most beautiful place San Francisco is Baker Beach. Well, golf lovers are recommended to go to the park Lincoln, on the territory of which there is an excellent golf center.

Fans of cultural pastimes will also like San Francisco: opera, ballet and symphony concerts - San Francisco can offer you all this in a huge variety. Most performances take place in the opera house "In Memory of War" and the American Conservatory Theater (A.K.T.).

The nightlife of the city is no less intense, as there are more than a hundred bars, nightclubs, showrooms and blues cafes open here. In addition, San Francisco is a real city of holidays and festivals. Of these, the most popular are the Folsom Street Fair, the Chinese New Year Parade, Lovefest, Christian Carnival and Fleet Week. Moreover, almost all city neighborhoods have their own individual holidays.

Exciting excursions to the brewery can also be an interesting way to spend your time. Anchor Brewing Company and large wineries, as well as to the islands Alcatraz And Angel.

Purchases

San Francisco's shopping is considered to be some of the best in the world, so it's no surprise that tourists come here to shop. The most popular shopping places in the city are Union Square, Upper Fillmore, Sacramento Street, Hayes Valley And Mission. This is where the best shopping is located, from fashion boutiques and jewelry stores to ethnic shops and designer galleries. Well, among shopping centers, first of all it is worth highlighting Westfield San Francisco Center.

On its territory there are representative offices of such famous brands as Abercrombie & Fitch, Nordstorm's etc., as well as boutiques of the most popular companies ( Macy's, Bulgari, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, MaxMara, Diesel, Prada, Celine, Gucci, Escada, Guess, Agnes B., Wilkes Bashford etc.). In addition, it is recommended to visit the huge market Ferry Building and the colorful Chinatown district. In general, it is worth keeping in mind that literally every district of the city has a large selection of shops, shopping centers and supermarkets, many of them offering attractive discounts and promotions.

Transport

City public transport in San Francisco is represented by an extensive network of bus and trolleybus routes, surface and underground light rail Muni Metro, as well as trams. The cost of one trip is $1.5, all travel tickets can be purchased from drivers and at underground stations Muni. It is worth keeping in mind that they are valid for 1.5 hours on all types of transport, with the exception of cable trams and suburban metro BART. High-speed trams Muni Metro run from 5:00 to 00:00, but two lines (L and N) operate 24 hours a day.

In addition, there are a great variety of taxis in the city that operate at a single rate: $3.5 per ride and $2.25 per mile.

Connection

To call anywhere in the world, you can use one of the telephone booths that are installed on almost all streets of the city, as well as in many in public places. Calls are paid in small coins (cents) or telephone cards. In addition, you can make any call from a hotel or large restaurant.

Mobile communications have excellent quality and uniform coverage, but the frequencies at which they operate are not similar to European ones.

Internet access is provided in almost all hotels. There are also many access points in the city WiFi.

Safety

In San Francisco, as in almost any other big city, are operated by pickpockets and all sorts of scammers. However, if you follow general safety measures and remain vigilant in public places, then the likelihood of any troubles is eliminated. The greatest caution should be exercised in the areas of Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitation Valley, Sunnydale, Fillmore District and Mission ( Mission).

It is also worth noting that there are many beggars and beggars in San Francisco, which it is recommended to simply ignore.

Business climate

San Francisco is the main financial center of the US West Coast, home to important institutions such as the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Bank of America, as well as many offices of multinational banks, international financial institutions and large insurance companies. San Francisco encourages the preservation of small business, ensuring that 85% of the city's businesses are small companies with 10 or fewer employees. In addition, the city is home to the world-famous Silicon Valley, where the highest-class specialists are attracted for large-scale production of integrated circuits.

Real estate

According to many world experts, the San Francisco real estate market is one of the most stable and promising in the country. Moreover, both commercial and residential real estate are widely represented here. It is worth noting that the standard of living in San Francisco is very high, so the prices for local real estate are quite impressive.

However, today investments in the local real estate market are one of the most promising commercial enterprises in USA .

Budget travelers should keep in mind that San Francisco museums offer free admission several times a month. You can check the schedules of such events at any city tourism office. Also, those who expect to spend time on excursions and seeing all the sights are recommended to purchase a city welcome card ( Go Card or CityPASS), which entitles you to discounted tickets to local museums and galleries.

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History of the city of San Francisco

In March 1776, in the northern part of the peninsula, where the city of San Francisco is now located, the presidio was founded - the first Spanish military fort and the first Catholic mission - Mission Dolores. On forty unnamed hills grew the fragrant grass "Uerba buena", so the first settlement that arose here in 1835 was called - "Yerba buena" ("Good grass").

In 1846, this settlement was taken over by the Americans, who, in the hope of heaven's favor, renamed it San Francisco - in honor of Francis of Assisi. At first, only a few dozen people lived in the village, and its economic activity was less than in the Ross Fortress, founded 120 kilometers north by the Russian-American Company for the fishing of sea animals and the fur trade.

But Saint Francis did not disappoint: two years later gold was discovered here, and thousands of fortune-seekers rushed to the previously unknown Californian village with a population of only 500 people. If in 1848 only 15 ships visited the unknown port, then the next year - already 755. There was no railway here yet, but the adobe village with lightning speed turned into a city and soon became a port of world importance. Five years later, San Francisco already had 50,000 residents.

In order not to sleep in tents or under awnings, the settlers brought prefabricated houses with them: although there was plenty of forest around, people were in a hurry to search for gold. Several hundred ships on which the settlers arrived also served as housing, restaurants and even a prison.

"History of the City of San Francisco"

People of many different nationalities contributed to the development of San Francisco, and as a result of decades of the Gold Rush, it became a city of many religions, languages ​​and cultures.

The first urban plan for San Francisco was developed by the Irish engineer D.O. Farrell. He planned to create a large boulevard in the city similar to the Champs Elysees in Paris and therefore, despite numerous protests, he drew a wide Market Street diagonally to the already laid streets. It became the central thoroughfare of the city.

In 1856, the French architect Verseman transported the house from his homeland and built several more in San Francisco based on its model. Houses from Holland, England, Scotland appeared in a similar way; In the 1850s, spacious buildings for restaurants were imported from Belgium, and granite houses were built exclusively by the Chinese, since only they could read the instructions included with the stone blocks arriving from China.

Rich citizens usually invited world-famous architects to build their mansions. The city grew, developed and became more beautiful; magnificent buildings of public institutions and hotels, industrial corporations and banks were erected in it. Moreover, not only gold, but also silver, discovered in 1859 in the neighboring state of Nevada, ended up in the banks.

Architecturally, San Francisco was a bizarre mixture of old and new buildings. Many of them were built without any consideration of possible natural Disasters, but next to the city there is the San Andreas Fault - a kind of giant “scar” stretching through heterogeneous natural areas.

Since its founding, San Francisco has experienced many earthquakes, some of which even caused minor destruction. But none of the city residents thought about a serious danger.

In the early morning of April 18, 1906, there was also no sign of trouble: the weather the day before was fine, the warm evening attracted masses of people to the parks and theaters, restaurants and cafes were full of visitors even after midnight. Meteorologists predicted clear, calm weather, and the day promised to be cool. But at 5:11 am local time the first blow was heard, from which many residents woke up; it was followed by the second - the strongest and most destructive, after which there was a whole series of tremors, but weaker.

A terrible roar and crack of bursting buildings, like a crushing tornado, swept through the streets. The underground shock, which lasted only 40 seconds, shook multi-storey buildings, heaved alleys, broke power lines, burst gas and electrical pipes... The asphalt warped, cobblestones flew out of the pavement, tram rails were torn, carriages and cars overturned. A giant cloud of dust shot up into the sky and obscured the sun. The sudden darkness enveloped all of San Francisco, and only the bright glow of the fires flashed brightly and alarmingly. A beautiful city, located in a cozy green bay, the resort city turned into flaming ruins in a matter of seconds...

In memory of this earthquake, every year on April 18 at 5:11 a.m., residents of San Francisco gather at the “Lotta Fountain” located on Market Street.

"History of the City of San Francisco"

According to a long-standing tradition, they go to paint the “golden hydrant”, through which water was continuously supplied for three days to extinguish the fire.

The city was revived very quickly, and already in 1915 it hosted the Panama-Pacific Exhibition, held in honor of the opening of the canal. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first high-rise buildings began to be erected in San Francisco, many of which still adorn the city center today. The heart of the financial district is a forest of skyscrapers built from glass, steel and concrete. One of the symbols of the city was the building of the Transamerica Corporation - a pyramidal structure built in 1972.

The symbol of the city is the elegant orange-red Golden Gate Bridge, spanning the Golden Gate Strait - the longest suspension bridge in the world. It opened to traffic on May 27, 1937, creating a direct route between San Francisco and Marin County. That’s when those who insisted that such a bridge was impossible to build fell silent.

And the construction of the bridge was truly difficult: there were even accidents with workers who, in the most difficult conditions, struggled for 4 years with floods, fast currents and thick fog to build this 1,730-meter-long bridge. The most difficult task was laying the foundation for the southern piles of the bridge, but the builders coped with this task...

Golden Gate was painted from the very beginning with orange-red paint, which is always used when constructing steel structures.

"History of the City of San Francisco"

Such paints contain a lead component, which protects the steel from rust; in addition, the color of the bridge is clearly visible in the often thickening fogs.

North of Golden Gate is the famous San Francisco Park, whose first architect was W.H. Hall. After him, the park was looked after by the Scot D. McLaren, who planted about 2 million trees here and created many attractions in the park. He even developed special rules of conduct, for example, he forbade workers to wear gloves and smoke while working. D. McLaren was completely indifferent to park sculptures, and if they were installed, he tried to quickly hide them behind overgrown bushes.

The city park was built on sand dunes, and everything in it - hills, waterfalls, valleys, lakes, islands - was created by human hands. In the Golden Gate oasis there are, for example, several gardens at once - the Biblical Garden, the Garden of Aromas and others. There is also a Shakespeare Garden in the park, where trees that are mentioned in the works of the great English playwright are specially grown.

San Francisco, by the standards of Europe and Asia, is a very young city; its oldest stones are no more than 200 years old. Today's San Francisco is changing and becoming prettier, and at the same time the city carefully preserves the memory of times past. Here they try to preserve not only ancient houses, but even their individual details, for example, the facades of buildings damaged by earthquakes and fires.

In 1978, the San Francisco Civic Center, built in a neoclassical style, was declared a national landmark.

Several buildings made of gray granite are picturesquely located around the square of J. Marshall, the carpenter who first discovered the gold mine.

If you enter San Francisco from the south, the urban changes here are immediately noticeable. The plum and apricot orchards have disappeared, and entire villages of caravans line the road. Relatively few skyscrapers were built in the city, and when constructing modern buildings, architects tried to combine their architecture with the traditional style of the Spanish period.

San Francisco has changed less than other American cities in recent decades. This is a city of white two-story mansions built in the style of Victorian architecture. It seems that they all look alike, but in fact there are no similarities. When you look at San Francisco from Twin Peaks, almost the entire city appears in the clear air: white, sparkling, with bays and bridges in its eastern part and with the foggy outlines of the ocean in the western part. It’s not for nothing that America’s advertising brochures say: “You will leave your heart in San Francisco!”

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The American city of San Francisco is one of the most popular cities not only in the United States, but throughout the world. This city is called the “city of eternal spring” not only because of its special climate - not cold, not hot, but changeable and capricious, “like a woman.” Rather, this name was given to the city because of the specific atmosphere of romance and freedom - it’s not for nothing that San Francisco fell in love with the generation of beatniks and hippies, rebellious youth and representatives of sexual minorities.

However, San Francisco is also eagerly visited by many tourists from all over the world. And there really are some very interesting and unique attractions here.

First of all, you should definitely see the famous Golden Gate suspension bridge spanning the Gulf of California. This is one of the largest and most impressive bridges in the world - its length is almost 3 kilometers (more precisely 2737 meters), it rises 230 meters above the water, and can carry 100,000 cars per day.

Another interesting attraction of San Francisco is the extraordinary cable trams. Due to the city's landscape (located on forty hills), these funicular trams were one of the most convenient means of transportation in the past. But they were very expensive for the city authorities. And now only three routes remain, and only because tourists really liked this unusual method of transportation.

Alcatraz Island is also popular, from where it opens beautiful view to San Francisco. Especially at night - which is why special evening excursions are sent to the island. However, Alcatraz Island is best known for its prison, where many hardened criminals were kept, including Al Capone.

It is, of course, worth visiting Monterey Island with its picturesque rocky shores, pine and cypress forests, and curved beaches. A must-see here is the Oceanarium, one of the largest in the world (one of whose viewing glasses is the largest in the world), aquariums where you can see more than 300,000 species of marine and ocean life.

The Chinatown area is popular among tourists - the largest Chinatown outside of China. This is truly a real Chinese town, in sharp contrast to the rest of the city, and there are also many different restaurants, jewelry stores and souvenir shops.

You should also walk along Lombard Street - the most crooked street in the world, which was even included in the Guinness Book of Records.

The Haight-Ashbury area is famous for being home to hippies in the sixties. And although the days of the hippies are long gone, the atmosphere of those times is still preserved here and today’s youth often gather here.

And representatives of sexual minorities have chosen the Castro district for themselves, but there are still small art galleries and many different cafes here.

There are also many interesting museums in San Francisco: two museums fine arts– De Young Museum with a rich collection of paintings, among which the works of European painters and works of early Indian art are especially interesting, and the Legion of Honor Museum with a collection of antiques and exhibits related to American television and Hollywood, Science Museum, Museum of the African Diaspora , San Francisco History Museum, Crafts and Folk Art Museum and others.

Among the theaters in San Francisco, the most famous are the War Memorial Opera House, the Herbst Theater, and The Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall.

Among other attractions in San Francisco, it is worth visiting the picturesque Yosemite National Park with lakes, waterfalls, caves, mountain peaks and forest areas, Embarcadero Boulevard, where food fairs are held, Golden Gate Park, where one of the best Botanical Gardens in the world is located, the unusual Pyramid skyscraper, the Richmond district, known as the “Russian Quarter”, Cathedral St. Mary's, Wine Country Valley, where you can taste different types of wine.

- a city that grew out of “Good Grass”.
Located in western California, the administrative center of the district of the same name. The largest commercial, financial and industrial city in the American West. The epicenter of the 19th century gold rush. The capital of all informal youth movements of the 20th century.

San Francisco. What enthusiastic epithets were bestowed upon him! Beautiful, dazzling, mysterious... Experts say: San Francisco is the most picturesque city in America. Solid and reliable, with many banks and corporations, and at the same time free and rebellious. It was sung by the convinced romantic Jack London as “the worldwide port of residence for romantic adventures.” And Robert Stevenson noted: “This is the city of Gold, into which adventurers are carried by all the winds of heaven. I am amazed that the charm of a thousand and one nights became a reality within the lifetime of one generation.”

By American standards, San Francisco is not very big. Bounded by the ocean and natural terrain, it covers an area of ​​122 square meters. kilometer And in terms of population (730 thousand) it is not among the ten largest cities in the United States. But, nevertheless, with the suburbs of the Santa Clara Valley and the city of San Jose San Francisco forms a huge metropolis (6.3 million people). Silicon Valley, where engineers and programmers work and new “high” technologies are created, is located right within its boundaries. The center of the US electronics industry produces a fifth of the world's electronics.

The city is located at the very tip of the peninsula and is surrounded on three sides by the ocean. But San Francisco can be called a resort conditionally. It is washed by the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean. Thick fog envelops the city every night, and cool sea breezes disperse it only in the morning. There is no cold winter here, but there is no really hot summer either. The temperature throughout the year stays within +20° C. Mark Twain said about the local weather: “The most Cold winter in my life there was a summer in San Francisco.” Romantics call San Francisco the city of eternal spring, and skeptics call it eternal autumn.
“Frisco”, “City”, “City by the Bay” - these are the nicknames the Americans awarded their favorite. And if California in America is called the “Golden State,” then San Francisco can be called the “Golden City.” Much in it, one way or another, reminds us of a noble metal. Golden Gate Bay, the bridge that connects the peninsula to the mainland is the Golden Gate. The beautiful city park is also called “Golden Gate”.

But don’t forget that the city’s history began much earlier than the Gold Rush. The first to visit here, in 1542, were the ships of the Portuguese Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who served the Spanish crown. In 1579, the famous English pirate F. Drake sailed off these shores. But the first settlement was founded only in 1775, when Spanish sailors discovered a bay with a convenient bay. They founded Fort Presido and the village of Yerba Buepa in this place, which translated meant “Good Grass.” It was from this “Good Grass” that the future city actually grew. Later, the tireless Spaniards missionaries built a church, which received the name of St. Francis of Azis. In 1848, Mexico lost the war with the United States and gave them the upper part of California, which included a small coastal village. The Americans began to call the town the same as the church - San Francisco.
The city began counting down its prosperity on August 19, 1848. It was on that day that the New York Herald newspaper published a sensational message: a gold deposit had been discovered in California, on the Sacramento River. This information was later confirmed by US President James Knox Polk. From that time on, settlers began to arrive in the small town with a population of five hundred people in search of fortune. In 1849, the city was inhabited by more than 10,000 adventurers, and in 1850 there were already one hundred thousand. Not only Americans came here for good luck. Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Greeks, Filipinos, Scandinavians, Mexicans, this is not a complete list of nationalities. All of them settled in their communities around the city, forming a kind of conglomerate. Now, traveling around San Francisco, you can find yourself in amazing places where residents religiously preserve the traditions of their native places.

Chinatown - Chinatown of San Francisco. This is one of the largest Chinese populations outside of Asia with more than 60 thousand people, and the largest in America. Walking through the streets of the quarter, you plunge into the unique atmosphere of a Chinese city - numerous pagoda-shaped buildings, ethnic restaurants, and souvenir shops. All signs on cafes and shops are duplicated on Chinese and are made in oriental style, and the houses of the residents are painted in colors that, according to legend, should bring good luck to their owners. Red gives happiness, green - longevity, yellow promises the owner a good fate, and black - money.

Describing the history of San Francisco, one cannot help but touch upon the “Russian question” in North America. One of the 42 hills on which the city is located is called Russian Hill. Here in the middle of the 19th century. graves of Russian hunters were discovered fur seals who worked for the Russian-American Company. And not far from Yurod, if you go north along Freeway No. 1, there are the restored remains of the wooden fortress Fort Ross, founded by Russian settlers in 1812. It is sad to realize that it was from the Russians that the enterprising American Sutter bought the land on which, eight years after the sale, gold was first discovered. Now the “Russian quarters” are located in the Richmond area. Russians, like other ethnic groups of emigrants, try to preserve their identity. There are Russian restaurants, Russian cinemas showing exclusively Russian films, Russian newspapers, many of which are delivered from Moscow.

California also attracts Americans with its own lifestyle, which is so different from other states. Not only emigrants from abroad move here, internal immigration is strong here. The incredible mixture of races and peoples in the city created here an extraordinary freedom of morals and tolerance for other people's way of life. For its free inhabitants there are absolutely no strict Puritan traditions. The city's bars have become legendary. The weakness of local residents for strong drinks was emphasized by “Mr. San Francisco” - Herb Kane, a famous local historian who devoted his entire life to studying his city: “San Francisco learned to drink during the days of the gold rush and has been improving in this quality throughout its life.” And in the 50-60s of the XX century. San Francisco became the capital of the world counterculture, challenging the morals and tastes of the world of well-fed and limited ordinary people.

Young rebels Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg created the philosophy of the “beat generation” in the 1950s and its new values, among which motorcycles, alcohol, poetry and jazz came first. You can go to City Light, where Allen Ginsberg read Howl. Or visit City Lights in North Beach, the former headquarters of the Beats. It is now one of the richest and most interesting bookstores in the United States.
Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, from which a generation of hippies came to roam the world. Compared to the more aggressive beatniks, the “flower children” preferred passing cars, drugs, oriental teachings and rock. The hippies staged a half-million-strong Summer of Love here in 1967, the culmination of their movement. Now the area for tourists has been put into museum order. One of its attractions is a wildly colored psychedelic bus, which was driven across America by Ken Kesey, the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which was elevated to a cult by Hollywood Czech Miklas Forman.

One of the symbols of free America - the famous jeans - was born here. Gold mining work pants from Levi Strauss have become the iconic clothing of a rebellious generation. Mass fashion for them came with the beatniks, from the Hollywood images of James Dean and Marlon Brando. Against the backdrop of all the ups and downs, the history of this clothing is very indicative. She was working-class, then rebellious, and now the average American or European cannot imagine his life without comfortable casual trousers.
San Francisco is still one of the world leaders in the non-standard approach to life. The city is the most famous center of the civil rights movement for sexual minorities. On Christopher Street, seven-color flags are hung in the windows of many houses to ensure that no one doubts the sexual orientation of their residents.

San Francisco is located in a seismically dangerous area and does not have the San Andreas Cleft running underneath it. Now Oma “behaves” relatively calmly - 100 shocks per month with a force of less than 1 point. In modern houses such small tremors are almost unnoticeable. You notice them only when the paintings on the walls periodically change their position. But there were times when the elements showed themselves in all their power. Strong earthquakes were recorded here in 1812 and 1865. From 1849 to 1852, San Francisco experienced major fires caused by underground vibrations six times. In 1906, it was almost completely destroyed by a strong earthquake and the subsequent large fire. But the city was always rebuilt. It is no coincidence that its coat of arms is decorated with the legendary Phoenix bird, reborn not from the ashes, but from a ring of flame. After the last destruction, restoration proceeded at a truly “Stakhanovite” pace. Already in 1915, San Francisco was restored to such an extent that it was able to host the international exhibition “Panama International”.
The city's desire for constant development is characterized by the fact that during the Great Depression, when the United States was going through hard times, an ingenious project was implemented here, which has now become a symbol of San Francisco - the Golden Gate Bridge. This is one of the longest (total length - 2730 m, central span - 1280 m) and beautiful bridges in the world. It spans the bay and connects the city to the mainland. It has six lanes of car traffic, and for walkers there are two pedestrian paths. If you look down from the bridge at the fog swirling below, you get a fantastic feeling of flying. The romantic image of the bridge and the strait of the same name was sung by Jack London: “The Golden Gate actually turned golden in the rays of the setting sun, and behind them the immense expanses of the Pacific Ocean opened up. Behind them is the Pacific Ocean, China, Japan, India, and... Coral Islands. You can sail through the Golden Gate anywhere, to Australia, to Africa, to seal rookeries, to the North Pole, to Cape Horn.”

The history of the bridge's creation is very interesting. People began to think about the need for its construction at the very beginning of the 20th century, when cars appeared in the lives of city residents. The initial estimate for the project was $100 million.
The amount was indeed very substantial, so such projects were not taken seriously. But Joseph Straus, an experienced engineer, said that he would meet the construction cost of 27 million. By the way, the actual estimate did not exceed the promised one by much - by 8 million. Construction began in 1933, and in 1937 the bridge was inaugurated. From now on, you can get into the city directly from the mainland by paying $3 per car. And at the entrance to the bridge stands a bronze figure of engineer Joseph Straus, protecting his brainchild from all sorts of harm.

In some ways the city is typically American, in others it has its own unique features. Repeatedly rebuilt after fires, each time it became a little different, reflecting the inclinations and tastes of its architects. The main street of San Francisco is Markst Street. It was drawn by the Irishman Jasper O'Farrell diagonally to the already laid streets, taking the Parisian Champs-Elysees as a model. As elsewhere, the city center is decorated with huge skyscrapers made of glass, steel and concrete. For example, the office of the Transamerica Corporation, built in 1972, is a pyramidal building 260 meters high. Or a complex of five skyscrapers - the Embarcodero Center, designed by D. Portman.

John Marshall Square, named after the carpenter who first discovered gold, is home to the San Francisco Civic Center. The majestic gray granite buildings, built in a classical style, were declared a national landmark in 1978. The City Hall building (Town Hall), built in 1915, is also located here, a source of special pride for the townspeople. The dome of the Town Hall is modeled after the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the main Catholic church. It has a height of 102 m and is 4 m higher than the Washington Capitol.

Despite its business pace, San Francisco is conducive to leisurely walks. It is very good to walk here on foot or on special excursion trams - cable cars. The city even has a museum dedicated to the townspeople's favorite species of granporga. The tram climbs along the “humpbacked” streets with the help of steel ropes. The elevation changes in the hilly terrain are practically not felt here. On the contrary, every new turn in the road opens up another facet beautiful city. Almost all of modern San Francisco was built before 1935. Since the 50s of the XX century. Gelstio construction in the city, limited by the natural topography of the area, was reduced. In the 90s, a moratorium on the demolition of any buildings was declared. Therefore, houses built in the Victorian style are being replaced by buildings in the neoclassical style. Further on you can see luxurious Italian mansions and Moorish turrets - the Palace of Fine Arts, a community center, a Morris store. From the height of the Coit Tower you can admire the opening panorama of the city with its attractions - Telegraph Hill, Fort San Francisco, Historic ships.

There are a lot of museums in the city, and they all differ in variety - from serious academic to interesting everyday ones: the Museum of Asian Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Memorial Museum painting by M. H. de Young, Historical Museum Wells Farto, Maritime Museum, Wine Museum. They exhibit collections of antiques and works of art, including ancient Indian ones.
There are more than 140 theaters in the city, the most famous of which are the Opera House, the Alcazar Theater, the Orpheum Theater, as well as concert halls - the Curran, Little Fox, and On Broadway.

San Francisco is a major center of science and education. The most famous educational institutions - University of San Francisco, Department University of California, San Francisco State University Conservatory. The California Academy of Sciences, founded in 1853, is also located here. It operates the Morrison Planetarium and the Steinhart Aquarium, which are open to tourists.
A distinctive feature of the city can be called its streets. Some of them have a slope of up to 35 degrees. Cars park at an acute angle to the sidewalk, otherwise they will roll away, despite the most reliable brakes. Lombard Street, located on Russian Hill, is considered the steepest and most winding street in the world. Built in the 20s of the 20th century, it became one of the symbols of the city and is included in the Guinness World Records. The circular hillside gives the street a broken outline. Without zigzags, the descent on the slope would be like moving along the chute of a ski jump. Except without snow.

Quite dense development still provides space for flowers and trees. There are more than 130 parks in the city.
Among them is the most (local Golden Gate) National Recreation Area. The powerful green area is the pride of not only the residents of San Francisco. It is the largest urban man-made park in the United States, it covers an area of ​​411 hectares. It is difficult to imagine that such beauty was created in a “bare” place. The park was laid out on a sandy area seashore. The sand was reinforced with grass, and the area was fenced off with a rampart from winds from the Pacific Ocean.
Here all the lakes, waterfalls, green valleys and hills were created by the caring hands of man. Walking along the paths of the park (their total length is 43 km), you can go to the Rhododendron Valley, where the most significant collection of these plants in the world is collected, or visit the elegant Japanese Garden with a traditional Japanese house for tea ceremonies, and your feet will lead to the exquisite Garden of Aromas , or the Biblical Garden.

You can't miss the romantic Shakespearean Flower Garden. The author of such a “literary-botanical” masterpiece is Alice Eastwood. According to experts, she “created a collection full of poetic harmony.” There is a wall in the garden in which six bronze slabs with 88 quotes from Shakespeare are mounted. In the center of the wall is a safe containing a copy of a sculptural portrait of the great playwright, made from a death mask in 1620 by G. Johnson. This rarity (only two such portraits exist) was given to the garden by the residents of Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare died.
The Botanical Garden of the California Academy of Sciences is also located on the territory of the park complex. Here, the natural science collection contains more than 500 species of plants from all over the world.

Golden Gate Park is a favorite vacation spot for city residents. Here you can not only admire nature, but also have a festive picnic. Or listen to one of the many concerts organized right in the open air. And for lovers of roller skates, this is a traditional gathering place. But this park could not accommodate all the natural attractions of San Francisco. For example, in Sutro Park there is the End of Land, the westernmost point of the Earth's continental surface in the direction of its rotation around its axis.
If we talk about the nature of the city, we cannot fail to mention the majestic Pacific Ocean, its beaches and embankments. There is a constant surf here. Observing the endless distance, you detach yourself from everything earthly, from the worries and worries of the crazy rhythm of life. On the piers and jetties you can see rookeries of fur seals basking in the sun. City residents tell funny stories about how you can come face to face with these funny animals in the water. The beaches are located on Point Reyes, and although the water here is quite cool, there is no shortage of people wanting to swim and sunbathe.

The final touch of urban features is the local cuisine. Fast food restaurants are not particularly popular among city residents. Residents of San Francisco know a lot about the refined niche. Here they catch the most delicious crabs in the world, white sturgeon, and chikun salmon. The excellent restaurants on Rybachaya Embankment will not leave the most demanding gourmet indifferent.
Yes, San Francisco is one of the most beautiful and original cities in the United States. And Robert Stevenson very correctly said in his time: “San Francisco has only one drawback: it is difficult to leave.”

San Francisco - city and main port on the Pacific coast of the United States, California, the center of a large urban conurbation, the historical capital of California. Located in western California, on a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Strait. Population 843.3 thousand people (2013, population of Greater San Francisco - 7.2 million people).

Despite the fact that European expeditions visited here back in the 16th century (F. Drake, H.R. Cabrillo, S. Biscaino), they did not notice the convenient San Francisco Bay due to the fog. The ships of the Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola were the first to visit here. In 1776, the military fort 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 “Dolores”) were founded. The first civilian settlement, Yerba Buena, was founded in 1835 by Englishman Captain W.E. Richardson. During the Mexican-American War, it was captured by the Americans and renamed San Francisco (1847).

In 1848, the first gold was discovered in Northern California, followed by the Gold Rush (1849), as well as the discovery of the Comstock Silver Mine in 1859, which contributed to the very rapid development of the city. In 1848-1870, the city's population increased 187 times (in 1848 the population was 800 people, and in 1870 - 150 thousand people). The population of San Francisco, as well as California as a whole, grew even more after the completion of the Pacific Ocean. railway in 1869, connecting the West with the center of the country.

In April 1906, an earthquake occurred in the San Francisco area, after which a fire began that raged for several days. As a result, about 700 people died, the city center was destroyed, and a residential area of ​​Victorian private houses was damaged. During the Great Depression, the city was replenished with immigrants from other states. During World War II, the city became a center of military shipbuilding; shipyards were built, employing about 500 thousand workers. In the summer of 1945, the San Francisco Conference was held, at which the UN was created.

By the end of the 20th century, environmental problems in the city worsened, as well as problems of overpopulation, and real estate prices rose significantly (one of the most expensive cities in the country). In the 1960s, San Francisco was the center of rock and jazz, the city became one of the centers of the hippie, beatnik, and pacifist movements; “Psychedelic” or “Californian” rock was born here.

Golden Gate Bridge

Among the attractions: the Golden Gate Bridge over the strait connecting San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean (span length 1281 m), the height of 67 m above sea level allows any sea vessels to sail (symbol of California, built in 1937), business part cities with skyscrapers (Downtown), including the Bank of America, Pyramid, Embarcadero Center, consisting of four skyscrapers, and sculptural compositions (including the avant-garde Vaillancourt fountain).

The hill districts of Nob Hill (originally a gold mining district), Telegraph Hill (the first telegraph office in the West opened here in 1853), Russian Hill (Russian Coaster, Writers' Quarter, home to the world's most winding street, Lombard Street), and Twin Peaks (from here you have a wonderful view of Downtown and the bridges).

Lombard Street