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The much-loved symbol of the city and of California’s place on the Pacific Rim, the Golden Gate Bridge is the third-largest single span bridge in the world, connecting San Francisco to Marin County.

The city boasts one of the largest public parks in the world, with natural beauty and fine museums.

San Francisco’s little troopers have endured technological progress, and are now the only system of the kind in the world that still plays a daily role in urban life.

Despite rampant tourism and commercialization, the saltiness and authenticity are still to be found here if you take time to look. The views of the bay are unmatched, and you’ll have an opportunity to sample some great seafood.

Although it was a federal prison for just under 30 years, the myth of “The Rock” continues to capture the imagination of visitors. Even if exploring prison life holds no appeal, the ferry ride makes it well worth a visit.

The exotic feel of one of the world’s largest Chinese communities outside of Asia makes this a magnet for locals and visitors alike.

Dominating Nob Hill with its timeless beauty, San Francisco’s favorite cathedral offers a host of awe-inspiring and historic treasures, including Italian Renaissance masterpieces and stained-glass windows.

Second only to New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco’s newest architectural landmark houses 20th-century masterworks of painting, sculpture, and photography, and the edgiest digital installations.

The city’s oldest building is also the only intact chapel among the 21 California missions that Father Junipero Serra founded in the late 18th century. Its founding just days before the Declaration of Independence makes San Francisco older than the US.

So internationally recognized have the wines from this region become that French, Italian, and Spanish winemakers have all established vineyards here. A day trip or a longer stay shouldn’t be missed.

The earthquake and consequent fire devastated much of the city, and 250,000 people were left homeless.

This all-in-one driving tour is marked with blue-and-white seagull markers, and winds its way through the most picturesque parts of the city. It can be challenging to follow, keeping an eye out for the markers and the traffic at the same time, but you can get a map of the route from the Visitor Information Center (see Planning Your Trip).

Begin at Alamo Square , with the Westerfield House at 1998 Fulton at Scott, former residence of Ken Kesey, the writer and visionary who arguably got the whole 1960s movement going. Walk up Scott, turn right on Page and go to No. 1090, where Big Brother and the Holding Company got their start. A block and a half farther on, go right on Lyon to No. 112, where Janis Joplin lived for most of 1967.

Continue on to the Panhandle, an extension of Golden Gate Park, where in June 1967 the Jimi Hendrix Experience gave a free concert. Now turn left on Central and head up to steep Buena Vista Park , site of public Love-Ins in the 1960s and 1970s. Turn right on Haight and check out Positively Haight Street, 1400 Haight Street at Masonic, one of the fanciest hippie shops.

Continue on to the famous Haight-Ashbury intersection and walk along Haight to Clayton; at No. 558 is the much-loved Haight Ashbury Free Clinic, still imbued with the spirit of the 1960s. Savor a well-earned cappuccino and snack at the People’s Café .

Refreshed, walk towards the park, turn right on Stanyan all the way to Fulton. At 2400 Fulton stands the former Jefferson Airplane Mansion, which used to be painted black. Finally, head back to Golden Gate Park and make your way to Hippie Hill to groove to the tribal drums.

Begin at the University Visitor Center on Oxford St at the end of University Avenue, where you can pick up information and maps. Follow around to University Drive and on to the university campus, passing Romanesque Wellman Hall, then take a left on Cross Campus Road. Straight ahead is the main campus landmark, the 307-ft (94-m) Sather Tower, also known simply as the Campanile, based on the famous belltower in Venice’s Piazza San Marco.

Now continue on to rejoin University Drive and go around to the Hearst Greek Theater, venue for excellent concerts of all sorts. Next, head for handsome Sather Gate, which leads into Sproul Plaza, epicenter of the student Free Speech Movement protests that erupted into almost non-stop socio-political unrest in the 1960s and 1970s.

Exit the campus onto Telegraph Avenue, a kind of Haight-Ashbury East-Bay with radical vibes all its own. Cody’s, at the corner of Haste Street, is Berkeley’s most famous bookstore, and one block over is idealistic People’s Park. Continue on back to Bancroft Way to pay a visit to the excellent University Art Museum and the Pacific Film Archive.

After your walk, for lunch try the unique Blue Nile, ( 2525 Telegraph Ave at Dwight Way (510) 540-6777 Dis. access $$). It offers Ethiopian family-style dining, with delicious stews and homemade honey wine.

Postcard central, thanks to its row of perfect Victorians backed by the knock-out Downtown view. The park itself is a sloping patch of green, while the surrounding streets are lined with so many grand old houses that it has been declared a historic site. Two of them have been turned into hotels, although the areas immediately outside the square are not the most salubrious at night.

This one-mile (1.5-km) stretch of sandy beach, with its perfect views of the Golden Gate Bridge, is the most popular in the city. It’s great for sunbathing, dog-walking, picnicking or jogging, but signs warn off swimmers because of riptides. Sunsets here are unforgettable.

The most famous set of murals in town, by local Latino artists.

Its days as “Berzerkly,” when student protesters and tear-gas clouds filled the streets in the 1960s, are only a fading memory now, although Telegraph Avenue still keeps some of the countercultural traditions alive. A great university, “Cal’s” faculty boasts some dozen Nobel Laureates, while beautiful parks, tree-lined streets, and unique shops typify this East Bay enclave. Berkeley continues to give more “power to the people” than any other US city, with a host of public services and aid to the disadvantaged that puts other communities to shame.

Sather Tower, Berkeley campus

Highway 9 is one of the most picturesque drives in the Bay Area, winding its way among the green Santa Cruz Mountains and through little towns where nothing much changes. Life has a backwoods feel here, although it’s only minutes from the hubbub of Silicon Valley.

This 340-ft (104-m) mural chronicles a bike-ride from Downtown to Ocean Beach.

This brick, warehouse-like structure houses the nuts and bolts machinery that keeps the entire cable car system operating. Don’t miss a look downstairs at the giant, spool-like sheaves winding the fat cables round and round.

San Francisco’s little troopers have endured technological progress, and are now the only system of the kind in the world that still plays a daily role in urban life.

Carmel-By-The-Sea was founded as an artists’ colony in the early 1900s, and is now one of the most exclusive communities in the world – having recently boasted actor Clint Eastwood as its mayor. Its old Spanish mission, one of the 21 built along the coast (see Mission Dolores) is considered California’s most beautiful.

With an endowment from Peanuts creator, the late Charles M. Schulz, the museum is the only one in the US dedicated to cartoon art in all its forms, with approximately 6,000 pieces in its permanent collection.

Since its beginnings in the 1850s, this densely populated neighborhood has held its own powerful cultural identity despite every threat and cajolery. To walk along its cluttered, clattering streets and alleys is to be transported to another continent and into another way of life – a “city” within the city.

On November 28, 1978, ex-Supervisor Dan White went to City Hall and assassinated Mayor George Moscone and gay Supervisor Harvey Milk (see White’s Revenge). In a botched trial, he was convicted of manslaughter, sparking riots from the gay community (see Civic Center).

Centered on the City Hall that would do any state proud, the core buildings are in a grand Beaux-Arts style; and befitting the city that started the Gold Rush, gilt is everywhere.

The city’s administrative center is an excellent example of grand Beaux Arts taste and illustrates San Franciscans’ pride in their city. It is perhaps the most ambitious and elaborate city center complex in the US and it continues to undergo enhancements. Besides the imposing City Hall, with its vast rotunda, gold-leaf detailing, and formal gardens, the area also includes the War Memorial Opera House, the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, the Herbst Theater, the State Building, the New Main Library, and the monumental Old Main Library, re-inaugurated in its new incarnation as the Asian Art Museum.

In a great setting near the beach, the Chapline sculpture garden is full of delights, especially the brilliant kinetic pieces driven by the wind, which are the work of Lyman Whitaker. Inside, the variety and quality of painted and mixed-media work is very compelling.

Built in 1909, the present structure is the third on this site and was renovated in 2004. Its predecessor, a massively elaborate eight-story Victorian-Gothic castle that burned down in 1907, was built by the flamboyant entrepreneur Adolph Sutro (his estate overlooking Cliff House is now Sutro Heights Park). Cliff House has restaurants on the upper levels, observation decks overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a new wing containing two bars, a visitors’ center, and the Camera Obscura. The Musée Méchanique has moved to Pier 45 at Fisherman’s Wharf (see Musée Mechanique and Holographic Museum).

At least 20 different beaches line Highway 1 south of San Francisco. Some of the best include Gray Whale Cove, Montara State Beach, Miramar Beach and El Granada Beach, Roosevelt Beach, Dunes Beach, Francis Beach, Poplar Beach, Pelican Point Beach, Cowell Ranch State Beach, Martin’s Beach, San Gregorio Beach, Pescadero State Beach, Bean Hollow State Beach, and Pebble Beach.

Perched on Telegraph Hill, this Art Deco sentinel takes the form of a giant fluted column. Reminiscent of Renaissance towers, the column is 63-meters tall and is perforated around the top with arched openings and windows, which visitors can reach by elevator for stunning views of the city.

This road hugs the bluffs, high above the waves, on the southern edge of the Marin Headlands. It affords some of the most famously beautiful views of the north tower of Golden Gate Bridge, looking back at the city in the distance. The way is punctuated with old military bunkers, since this entire area was once given over to the army to guard the western shores.

Hiking trails and some spectacular views.

In the 1980s, when an old office building was truncated, architects put together some of the vintage elements to create this sparkling indoor mall. Its three floors are under a dramatic glass dome built around a central plaza, creating an open-ended arcade. US and European designer stores vie for attention with local shops, cafés, and restaurants.

The last few years have witnessed a welcome transformation along the entire stretch of the Embarcadero. The 1989 earthquake put an end to the idea of running a freeway into the city center, so the old shipping piers are now set off by new plantings and sidewalks and the area is being promoted as a breezy park. In-line skaters and cyclists disport themselves where once concrete embankments held sway (see The Embarcadero).

Considering it’s mostly a café for people-watching, the food is wonderful – try the stuffed fried olives.