San Francisco Holidays

Views for days

San Francisco dominates a seven-mile-by-seven-mile peninsula in the USA’s northern California, with the Pacific Ocean on one shoreline and the San Francisco Bay on the other. Bundled in between them both is a smorgasbord of 43 peaks, many of which serve up eye-widening views of the coast. The tallest of the lot’s Mount Davidson, standing at 928 feet tall. From up here, you can peek at a bunch of the city’s major players, including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Financial District’s Manhattan-inspired skyline.

Flick through history

San Francisco got its big break in 1849, when miners from all over the US set up shop here during the Gold Rush. This heritage is a huge part of the city’s culture – its American football team’s even called the 49ers, after the hordes of 19th-century prospectors. Some of San Francisco’s saloons date back to this time, too, while Prohibition-era speakeasies are a dime a dozen. The city’s top dog, though, is Alcatraz Island – home to the infamous prison-turned-protected-landmark. Here, you can see how legendary criminals like Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly were locked up behind bars before it closed in 1963.

A world-class waterfront

San Francisco’s heart and soul is its waterfront, the crown jewel of which is Fisherman’s Wharf. This buzzing district’s loaded with goodies, from Pier 39’s shops, seafood restaurants and wild sea lion colony to the warships and ferryboats at the Maritime Museum. This place is a must-see if you’re a Bond fan, too – Roger Moore rocked up here in his last movie, A View to a Kill, as the iconic spy. This area’s linked to the rest of the city by two street-level cable car lines, so getting here’s a piece of cake.