The most attractive of American cities and regularly voted the best city in the USA, San Francisco is adored because of its colourful history, dramatic setting and its laissez-faire atmosphere, a quality missing from synthetic Los Angeles. It is a regular trendsetter in everything alternative, from flower-power to 'free love' and gay liberation; it prides itself on being individualistic, down-to-earth and cultured.

Streets rollercoaster up and down the hills, and when not swathed in the city's trademark fog, there are superb vistas of San Francisco Bay, spanned by one of the world's most famous sights, the Golden Gate Bridge. Surrounded by hills and urban development, traversed by bridges, dotted with sails and 14 small islands, including the notorious Alcatraz, the bay is the largest inlet on the Californian Coast. Fisherman's Wharf at the edge of the bay is a popular place to eat, stroll and shop, with its resident seals a favourite photographic subject.

Within the surprisingly compact city are distinct neighbourhoods that reflect the cultural background of diverse communities that were attracted to San Francisco by the discovery of gold in 1848, and the promise of a new life for those desperate to escape their harsh circumstances. Most of San Francisco's residents were born outside the city and this mix of cultures is reflected in the dragon-studded temples of colourful Chinatown and Japantown, the characteristic bohemian flavour of the Italian pasta restaurants and cappuccino cafes in North Beach, the old Spanish-speaking Mission District that blends with the nightlife of SoMa, the modern Financial District, the gay centre of Castro and The Haight, characterised by the memory of the hippie movement of the 1960s.

Golden Gate Bridge

Address: Highway 101 North San Francisco

Admission: A $6 toll is collected from cars when driving south towards the city. Access for pedestrians is on the east sidewalk during daylight hours only from sunrise to sunset (April to October 5am-9pm, November to March 6am-6pm). The bridge is open 24 hours for motorists.

Telephone: (415) 921 5858

Alcatraz

Address: San Francisco

Admission: Admission includes the ferry trip and is $26 (adults) or $16 (children). Night tours: $33. Other concessions are available. Advance reservations are strongly recommended, especially in peak season The last boat leaves the island at 6:30pm in summer (April to October) and 4:30pm in winter

Telephone: (415) 773 1188 (ferry schedules and information), or (415) 705 1042 (park information)

Fisherman's Wharf

Address: The Embarcadero San Francisco

North Beach

Address: San Francisco

Golden Gate Park

Address: John F Kennedy Drive San Francisco

Admission: Park entrance is free. $10 (Academy of Sciences) plus $2.50 for the planetarium; $3.50 (Japanese Tea Garden) The Academy of Sciences is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Japanese Tea Garden is open daily from 9am to 6.30pm

Telephone: Park information (415) 831 2700 or (415) 321 8000 (Academy of Sciences). Japanese Tea Garden (415) 752 4227

Cable Cars

Address: 1201 Mason Street (Cable Car Barn and Powerhouse) San Francisco

Admission: $3 per ride, each way. Day passports for the cable cars, buses and streetcars are also available. Entrance to the museum is free The museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm (until 6pm from April to October)

Wine Country

Address: San Francisco

Sausalito

Address: San Francisco

Exploratorium

Address: 3601 Lyon Street, San Francisco, CA 94123 San Francisco

Admission: Adult $15. Children $10. Concessions available Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am-5pm. Closed Mondays, except Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Telephone: (415) 561 0360

Aquarium of the Bay

Address: The Embarcadero and Beach Street San Francisco

Admission: Adults $16.95, Children $8. Concessions available. Open daily except 25 December. Open daily 9am-8pm in summer, reduced hours in other seasons.

Telephone: (415) 623 5300

Alamo Square

Address: San Francisco

Chinatown

Address: Intersection of Bush and Grant Streets San Francisco

Lombard Street

Address: Between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets San Francisco

Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum

Address: 175 Jefferson Street San Francisco

Admission: $16.99 (adults); $9.99 (children). Admission prices exclude tax Mid-June to Labor Day: Sunday to Thursday from 9am – 11pm, Friday and Saturday from 9am – 12am. Rest of the year: Sunday to Thursday from 10am – 10pm.; Friday and Saturday from 10am – 12am

Telephone: (415) 202 9850

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Address: 400 Beach St, Santa Cruz San Francisco

Admission: Admission is free, each activity has a separate charge. Unlimited ride wristbands start at $29.95. Open Monday to Friday 11am–10pm, Saturday to Sunday 7am–7pm.

Telephone: (831) 423-5592

Oakland Zoo

Address: 777 Golf Links Road, Oakland San Francisco

Admission: $12.50 (adults); $8.50 (children). Children under 2 are free Open daily from 10am–4pm

Telephone: (510) 632 9525

Randall Museum

Address: 199 Museum Way San Francisco

Admission: Free Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am – 5pm

Telephone: (415) 554 9609

Children's Fairyland

Address: 699 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland San Francisco

Admission: $8 Winter: Friday to Sunday 10am–4pm; Spring and fall: Wednesday to Sunday 10am–4pm; Summer: Monday to Friday 10am–4pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-5pm

Telephone: (510) 238 6876

Ghirardelli Square

Address: 900 North Point Street San Francisco

Coit Tower

Address: 1 Telegraph Hill Blvd (at Greenwich St) San Francisco

Telephone: (415) 362-0808

Haight Ashbury

Address: San Francisco

Union Square

Address: San Francisco

San Francisco MOMA

Address: 151 Third Street (between Mission and Howard) San Francisco

Admission: Adults $18, students $9. Children under 12 are free. Monday to Tuesday 11am-5:45pm, Thursday 11am-8:45pm, Friday-Sunday 11am-5:45pm. Closed Wednesday.

Telephone: (415) 357-4000

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Address: 200 Larkin Street San Francisco

Admission: Adults: $12, children free. Concessions available. Tuesday–Sunday 10am-5pm, closes 9pm Thursdays. Closed Mondays.

Telephone: (415) 581-3500

Muir Woods

Address: San Francisco

Admission: $5 adults, children under 15 free. Open every day 8am to sunset.

Telephone: (415) 388-2595

Uncorked!

Where: Ghirardelli Square,San Francisco

When: 21 May 2011

San Francisco Pride Parade and Celebration

Where: Market Street, from Embarcadero to the Civic Center,San Francisco

When: 25 - 26 June 2010

San Francisco Carnaval

Where: Mission District,San Francisco

When: 28 - 29 May 2011

Chinese New Year Parade

Where: Chinatown,San Francisco

When: 29 January 2012

Haight Ashbury Street Fair

Where: Haight Street, Haight-Ashbury District,San Francisco

When: 12 June 2011

North Beach Festival

Where: North Beach District; main stage in Washington Park,San Francisco

When: 18 - 19 June 2011

International Beer Festival

Where: Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason,San Francisco

When: 16 April 2011

San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival

Where: Palace of Fine Arts,San Francisco

When: 3 June to 3 July 2011

Monterey Jazz Festival

Where: Monterey Fairgrounds, Monterey,San Francisco

When: 16 - 18 September 2011

Hunan Home's Restaurant

Address: 622 Jackson Street, Chinatown San Francisco

Food Type: Chinese

Gary Danko

Address: 800 North Point at Hyde Street (Fisherman's Wharf) San Francisco

Food Type: French

One Market

Address: 1 Market Street, Embarcadero San Francisco

Food Type: American

Boulevard

Address: 1 Mission Street, Embarcadero, SoMa San Francisco

Food Type: American

Fifth Floor

Address: 12 Fourth Street, Hotel Palomar, SoMo San Francisco

Food Type: French

The Slanted Door

Address: 1 Ferry Building #3 San Francisco

Zuni Café

Address: 1658 Market Street, Civic Center, Hayes Valley San Francisco

Greens

Address: Building A, Fort Mason Center, Marina Boulevard, Marina San Francisco

Delfina

Address: 3621 18th Street (Mission District) San Francisco

Food Type: Italian

Opaque

Address: San Francisco

Food Type: International

Historic John's Grill

Address: 3 Ellis Street San Francisco

Food Type: Steakhouse