San Francisco's Fog City: Hills, Bridges, and Bay Views

San Francisco occupies the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, a geography that gives it a dramatic setting and a climate unlike any other major American city. The fog that rolls in through the Golden Gate each afternoon in summer — a consequence of the cold California Current meeting the warm air of the Central Valley — is the city's most distinctive meteorological feature, and the way it moves through the hills and around the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge has been photographed and painted so many times that it has become inseparable from the city's identity.

The Golden Gate Bridge, completed in 1937, is one of the great engineering achievements of the 20th century — a suspension bridge with a main span of 1,280 metres, its towers rising 227 metres above the water, painted in the distinctive International Orange that makes it visible through the fog. The bridge took four years to build and cost the lives of 11 workers; it was the longest suspension bridge in the world for 27 years. Walking or cycling across the bridge, with the bay on one side and the Pacific on the other and the city skyline behind you, is one of the great urban experiences in America.

The cable cars of San Francisco, which have been running since 1873, are the last manually operated cable car system in the world and are a National Historic Landmark. The cars are pulled by a continuously moving underground cable and are operated by a gripman who controls the grip that clamps onto the cable. The Powell-Hyde line, which runs from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf via the steep hills of Russian Hill and Nob Hill, offers the most dramatic ride — the cars crest the hills and descend the other side with a view of the bay that appears suddenly and spectacularly.

The Mission District, the oldest neighbourhood in San Francisco, was founded by Spanish missionaries in 1776 and has been the centre of the city's Latino community since the early 20th century. The murals that cover the walls of the Mission — over 400 of them, painted by artists from the neighbourhood and from around the world — are one of the finest examples of public art in America, documenting the history, culture, and politics of the Latino community in vivid colour. The Mission Dolores, the original Spanish mission church, is the oldest intact building in San Francisco, its adobe walls having survived the 1906 earthquake that destroyed most of the city.

Alcatraz Island, in the middle of San Francisco Bay, housed a federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1963 that held some of the most notorious criminals in American history, including Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz. The island is now a national park, and the audio tour of the prison — narrated by former guards and inmates — is one of the most compelling museum experiences in the country. The ferry crossing to the island offers views of the San Francisco skyline and the bay that are among the finest in the city.

The food scene of San Francisco is one of the finest in America — a city that has been at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement since Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1971. The Ferry Building Marketplace, on the Embarcadero, brings together the best producers from the Bay Area in a farmers' market and food hall that is one of the best places to eat in the city. The Mission District's taquerias serve some of the finest Mexican food in the country; Chinatown, the oldest in North America, has dim sum restaurants that have been operating for generations; and the sourdough bread of the city — made with a starter that has been maintained continuously since the Gold Rush — is unlike any other bread in the world.

The best time to visit San Francisco is in September and October, when the fog has retreated and the city enjoys its warmest and sunniest weather — the so-called 'second summer' that locals call Indian summer. The summer months of June and July are often cold and foggy, particularly in the western neighbourhoods near the ocean. The city's major festivals — the Chinese New Year parade in February, the Bay to Breakers race in May, the Pride parade in June, and the Outside Lands music festival in August — each offer a different window into the city's diverse and exuberant culture.