San Francisco Travel

Climate
San Francisco has a mild climate, with cool, wet winters and dry summers.Summer days usually start out under fog, slowly burning off towards the ocean into a sunny albeit windy afternoon.At late afternoon, when the fog and wind returns people generally find themselves needing a jacket. In the winter, the rainy season is in full swing. Spring and Fall are not so much seasons in themselves. but rather quick transition periods with some days resembling summer patterns and others the winter. Fall in particular is a good time to visit because the summer wind & fog has mostly gone but the rainy season has not yet started.

What to buy in San Francisco
There are a wide range of small and locally owned businesses throughout the city's neighborhoods; Fisherman's Wharf has the typical souvenir, T-shirt, and camera shops, along with plenty of specialty stores. However, San Francisco's most popular shopping area is Union Square, which has all the big national department stores (Macy's, Saks, Nordstrom, etc.) and plenty of fancy boutique stores, as well as a few shopping centers thrown in.

For small, upscale boutiques, Union Street, Fillmore Street, and Chestnut Street in the Golden Gate area are lined with unique and trendy places, and all three streets are among the best spots in the city to window shop. Nob Hill is also full of specialty places. But if you don't have a luxury dollar to spend and still want to walk away with something unique, there are plenty of shops in Chinatown for you, selling Oriental handicrafts of all descriptions, and no chain stores in sight. Japantown also offers plenty of great shops selling authentic souvenirs, including the excellent Kinokuniya Stationery/Bookstore. The Haight is full of excellent independent record and book stores, with Amoeba Music dominating the scene.

Dining
San Francisco is one of the best places in the nation for Asian cuisine: Korean, Thai, Indian, Japanese and, of course, Chinese. Many exceptional restaurants serving dim sum and other Chinese delicacies can be found throughout the city.

Fisherman's Wharf serves fresh seafood, especially clam chowder and crabs cooked to order. North Beach is the place to go for Italian food, and the Mission (birth place of the mission style burrito) for Mexican and Latin American cuisine of all sorts. San Francisco restaurants are also very corkage friendly. Average corkage fee appears to be in the $15 range, with some of the more pricey places charging $25-35.

Accommodation
San Francisco offers a wide range of accommodations, from a healthy supply of hostels and budget hotels to the lavish, luxurious hotels in the city center, as well as just about everything in-between. The majority of accommodations are in the northeastern portion of the city, in and around the popular areas of Downtown, Chinatown, and Fisherman's Wharf.

If you'd rather stay closer to the San Francisco International Airport, there are plenty of standard airport accommodations in the cities surrounding the airport — Burlingame, Millbrae, San Bruno and South San Francisco. From there, you can drive or take BART or Caltrain into San Francisco.

Respect
San Francisco prides itself on its openness to diversity in race, gender, sexual orientations and personal style.

Smokers beware: as in the rest of California, smoking is illegal in bars, restaurants, and other public places. Bay Area people can be particularly vocal about your personal habits. Be aware of nonsmoking areas, and try to be courteous about smoking in other places. They will probably not bother you about standing and smoking outside a restaurant or bar.

It's worth mentioning that natives tend to dislike many of the nicknames given to their city. Instead of saying "San Fran" or "Frisco," most refer to San Francisco by its full name, "SF", or "The City."