San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge

The coolest city in the known universe, San Francisco is stunning collection of hilly neighborhoods crammed onto the tip of a peninsula overlooking San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

California's most multicultural, gay-friendly, politically progressive and achingly funky city, San Francisco's in-your-face residents, rattling cable cars and brightly-painted Victorian homes rarely fail to charm.

Although driving across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge is mandatory for many visitors, once you've got that out of your system you'll probably want to dump the car. San Francisco is one of the few cities in the United States with a truly efficient public transport network. And within individual neighborhoods it's possible to do all your explorations on foot.

Geographically, Union Square makes an ideal place to start your San Francisco sightseeing. Packing in theaters, boutiques, galleries and hotels, it is just a short stroll from here to the Financial District or to the bustling, 24-block Chinatown.

Just up the hill from Chinatown lies the North Beach neighborhood with its Italian eateries, quaint galleries, historic City Lights Bookstore and excellent city views from Telegraph Hill.

Slightly further afield, the gentrified Haight-Ashbury district was the epiceter of the '60s counterculture movement. Nowadays it capitalizes on its flower power past with left-wing bookstores, second-hand clothes shops, trendy cafes and gigantic music stores.

Not far from Haight-Ashbury lies the 1,017-acre Golden Gate Park with numerous sporting facilities and green space that sprawls down to the pounding Pacific surf.

These days, you'll find San Francisco's hipsters congregating between 16th and 24th streets in the Latin-flavored Mission district, which displays its political and cultural roots in a series of giant murals adorning the side of buildings.

Meanwhile, the Castro district is the gay capital of the world, with excellent bars and unique shops.

At some point many tourists find themselves in tacky Fisherman's Wharf, reeled in by overpriced seafood restaurants or the boats that leave here for Alcatraz, the island that was home to America's infamous maximum-security prison. Conditions for inmates were appalling and tours of the eerie site - of which some 750,000 people a year sign up for - are absolutely chilling. There are multiple ferries and tours a day, but be sure to book ahead.

Just across the bay, eight miles north of San Francisco, lies the laid-back Mediterranean-flavored community of Sausalito. Here, colourful Victorian houses hug the hillsides while shops and restaurants line the marina below.

Ideal day trips from San Francisco are to Yosemite National Park, the wineries of the Napa Valley, the bohemian surfing town of Santa Cruz or to Point Reyes National Seashore to watch migrating gray whales.

San Francisco International Airport is the prime gateway to the city and lies about 15 miles away.