Where is the best area to stay in San Francisco?
Perched on a peninsula in San Francisco Bay, this iconic city is home to the elegant figure of the Golden Gate Bridge. The city is famous for its year-round fog, which envelopes the bridge on cloudy days. It’s also a melting pot between east and west, with bustling Chinatown and plenty of Eastern cuisine. Take a cable car up one of the city’s 43 hills, and you’ll find sweeping views over pretty Victorian rooftops to the bay beyond. Or, hop on a ferry from Fisherman’s Wharf to Alcatraz, an island with a fascinating history. Elsewhere in the city, enjoy farmer’s markets and vintage saloons.
If you want to be in the heart of things, the best area to stay in San Francisco is in the streets surrounding Union Square. This area offers some excellent shopping with the Westfield San Francisco Centre nearby. It’s also known as the theatre district and you’llfind the American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco’s largest theatre company, here. You’ll be within walking distance of attractions like the Cable Car Museum at Nob Hill, Chinatown, and the Embarcadero walkway with its boats and cafes. This area is also a major transport hub with the MUNI metro service as well as lots of buses, trains and heritage street cars to get you around town.
This is an excellent tourist area where there are an abundance of souvenirs and gift shops. For this reason there are many hotels available and other styles of accommodation to suit all needs. Hotels are generally reasonably prices because of the high competition. Most rooms will have spectacular views of the waterfront. There are many options for restaurants and places to eat that are generally tourist oriented. Entertainment includes a wax museum, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, as well as close proximity to the cable cars and within walking distance to the North Beach.
This area offers cheaper and simpler hotels but is still close to the city centre and Union Street via public transport. A good benefit of accommodation in this area is that there is free car parking at most motels. There is a fantastic café culture and outdoor eating scene along the main street. It is about a half an hour walk to the Wharf and the cable car can be easily accessed.
A bit further out of the main tourist sights of San Francisco, this is a historic neighbourhood with well-connected public transport. Accommodation and hotels tend to be a bit cheap in this area. There are many undiscovered delights along the streets of Japantown and can be a great place to stay for quite a unique experience.
That area offers hotels which are excellent value for money. It is also a thriving cultural scene with multiculturalism adding lots of character to it. The Museum, Asian Art Gallery, the opera and ballet, symphony performances and multiple jazz venues make it a very interesting and exciting place to stay.
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