San Francisco is a relatively small city, with just over 750,000 residents nested on a 46.6-square-mile tip of land between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

San Francisco is famed for its colorful cultural and architectural past. San Francisco's charms include Golden Gate Park, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art or a cable car ride on Nob Hill. A walk down the Filbert Steps or through Macondray Lane, or a peaceful hour gazing east from Ina Coolbrith Park can also be inspiring.

An awareness of geographical setting permeates life in San Francisco, where views of the surrounding mountains, ocean, and bay are ubiquitous. Much of the city's neighborhood vitality comes from the distinct borders provided by its hills and valleys.

San Francisco neighborhoods are self-aware, and they retain strong cultural, political, and ethnic identities. Experiencing San Francisco means visiting the neighborhoods: the colorful Mission District, gay Castro, countercultural Haight Street, swank Pacific Heights, exotic Chinatown, and still-bohemian North Beach.

The city itself is a great starting point for visits to surrounding areas in the region, including the East Bay's Oakland and Berkeley, the Sonoma and Napa Valleys, Lake Tahoe and the Pacific communities of Monterey and Carmel.