San Francisco is located on the California coast at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, a spectacular peninsula that is surrounded by water on three sides. The area was discovered, in 1769, by a Spanish exploration party, led by Don Gaspar de Portolà. Seven years later, in 1776 the Spanish established a fort at the Golden Gate, and then a mission, called Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores). San Francisco is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in the USA, the bay is visually spectacular. The historic center of San Francisco is bordered by Market Street to the south, in the center are the Financial District, Union Square with the principal shopping and hotel district, Fisherman's Wharf, Russian Hill, Lombard Street, North Beach; nearby is San Francisco's Chinatown. The top attractions of San Francisco are the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz island (it was once a prison), Pier 39 on Fisherman's Wharf (a touristic area with numerous shops, arcades, seafood restaurants, cafés, and a colony of sea lions), Lombard Street, the San Francisco cable cars. Another beautiful attractions are the Hakone Japanese Tea Garden, situated in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park; and Chinatown, home to one of the largest Chinese communities outside of Asia. There are also interesting museums in San Francisco, they exhibiting many interesting collections, such as the Museum of the City of San Francisco (San Francisco's history); the Museum of Modern Art (20th Century and contemporary art); the Palace of the Legion of Honor (European works); the De Young Museum and the Asian Art Museum (anthropological and non-European holdings); the Palace of Fine Arts (a popular science museum: the Exploratorium); the California Academy of Sciences (natural history museum with the Morrison Planetarium and Steinhart Aquarium).
Climate: San Francisco lies in the area of Mediterranean climate, it has a climate similar to southwestern tip of Africa, the west coast of Chile, the west coast of Australia, and the Mediterranean Sea area. San Francisco climate is characterized by mild wet winters and warm dry summers, but it's strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean which tends to moderate temperature and produce a mild climate with little seasonal temperature variation. Summers are dry, average summertime high temperatures in San Francisco peak at 70 °F (21 °C). Winters are mild, with daytime highs near 60 °F (15 °C), and rain is a common occurrence from November through March, over 80 percent of San Francisco's rain falls between November and March. The combination of cold ocean water and the high heat of the California mainland creates the city's characteristic fog that can cover the western half of the city all day during the summer and early fall.
HOTELS A SAN FRANCISCO
FLIGHT INFORMATION: San Francisco is served by the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), that's located 13 miles (21 km) south of Downtown San Francisco. The airport has flights to destinations throughout the Americas and is a major gateway to Europe, Asia, and Oceania. San Francisco International Airport is the 14th largest in the United States and the 23rd largest airport in the world, in terms of passengers (32,802,363 passengers, 2005 data). The airport has four terminals, the domestic (USA and Canada) terminals are Terminals 1, 2, and 3, while Terminal 4 is international.
The following are the airlines that serve San Francisco International Airport:
Domestic Terminal: Air Canada (Calgary, Montréal, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver),
AirTran Airways (Atlanta, Indianapolis),
Alaska Airlines (Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Portland (OR), San Diego, Seattle/Tacoma, Vancouver),
Horizon Air (Portland (OR)),
Continental Airlines (Cleveland, Houston-Intercontinental, Newark),
Midwest Airlines (Kansas City, Milwaukee [seasonal]),
Sun Country Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul),
US Airways (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh),
US Airways operated by America West Airlines (Las Vegas, Phoenix), Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Honolulu, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City),
Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Los Angeles),
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest (Salt Lake City),
Frontier Airlines (Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Los Cabos),
Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu),
Northwest Airlines (Detroit, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul), American Airlines (Boston, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Honolulu, Kahului, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-JFK, St. Louis),
American Eagle (Los Angeles, Orange County), United Airlines (Anchorage [seasonal], Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Boston, Burbank, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Honolulu, Houston-Intercontinental, Kahului, Kona, Lihue, Los Angeles, New York-JFK, Newark, Orange County, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland (OR), Reno/Tahoe, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle/Tacoma, Toronto-Pearson, Vail/Eagle [seasonal], Vancouver, Washington-Dulles),
Ted operated by United Airlines (Las Vegas, Phoenix),
United Express operated by SkyWest (Albuquerque, Aspen [seasonal], Bakersfield, Boise, Burbank, Calgary, Chico, Colorado Springs, Crescent City, Edmonton, Eugene, Eureka, Fresno, Medford, Modesto, Monterey, Ontario, Orange County, Palm Springs, Portland (OR), Redding, Redmond/Bend, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tucson).
International Terminal: Aer Lingus (Dublin [Expected to begin in summer 2007]),
Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle),
Alaska Airlines (Cancún [seasonal], Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Los Cabos, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta),
Belair (Zürich [seasonal]),
British Airways (London-Heathrow),
Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong),
China Airlines (Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan),
Japan Airlines (Tokyo-Narita),
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam),
Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon),
Mexicana (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Morelia),
Northwest Airlines (Bangkok, Tokyo-Narita),
Philippine Airlines (Manila),
Qantas (Sydney, Vancouver [seasonal]),
Spirit Airlines (Detroit [seasonal]),
TACA (San José (CR), San Salvador),
Virgin Atlantic (London-Heathrow), Air China (Beijing),
Air New Zealand (Auckland),
All Nippon Airways (Tokyo-Narita)
Asiana Airlines (Seoul-Incheon),
EVA Air (Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan),
Lufthansa (Frankfurt, Munich),
Singapore Airlines (Hong Kong, Seoul-Incheon, Singapore),
United Airlines (Bangkok, Beijing, Cancún, Frankfurt, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, London-Heathrow, Mexico City, Nagoya-Centrair, Osaka-Kansai, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan, Tokyo-Narita),
Ted operated by United Airlines (Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta).
There are another two international airports in the San Francisco Bay Area: Oakland International Airport (OAK) [Served by: Aloha Airlines (Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, Las Vegas)
Alaska Airlines (Orange County, Portland (OR), Seattle/Tacoma)
Horizon Air (Portland (OR), Sun Valley [seasonal])
American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth)
ATA Airlines (Hilo, Honolulu, Kahului, Kona [begins June 14, 2007], Lihue [begins June 15, 2007])
Azores Express (Terceira [seasonal])
Continental Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental)
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Salt Lake City)
Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Los Angeles, Salt Lake City)
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest (Salt Lake City)
Harmony Airways (Vancouver [seasonal])
JetBlue Airways (Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Long Beach, New York-JFK, Washington-Dulles)
Mexicana (Guadalajara, León, Zacatecas), United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, Washington-Dulles)
United Express operated by SkyWest (Los Angeles)
US Airways
US Airways operated by America West Airlines (Las Vegas, Los Cabos, Phoenix)
US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Las Vegas, Phoenix), Southwest Airlines (Albuquerque, Boise, Baltimore/Washington, Burbank, Chicago-Midway, Houston-Hobby, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nashville, Ontario, Orange County, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Reno/Tahoe, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane)] and San Jose International Airport (SJC) [Served by: American Airlines (Austin, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Orange County),
American Eagle (Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego),
Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu),
Mexicana (Guadalajara, León, Mexico City, Morelia),
Southwest Airlines (Burbank, Chicago-Midway, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Ontario (CA), Orange County, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Reno/Tahoe, San Diego, Seattle/Tacoma), Alaska Airlines (Palm Springs [seasonal], Portland (OR), Seattle/Tacoma),
Horizon Air (Boise, Portland (OR))
Continental Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental, Newark),
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Salt Lake City),
Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Los Angeles, Salt Lake City),
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest (Salt Lake City),
Frontier Airlines (Denver, Los Cabos),
Frontier JetExpress operated by Horizon Air (Denver)
JetBlue Airways (Boston, New York-JFK),
Northwest Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul),
United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Washington-Dulles),
United Express operated by SkyWest (Los Angeles, Santa Barbara),
US Airways
US Airways operated by America West Airlines (Las Vegas, Phoenix),
US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Las Vegas)].
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