Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DOWNTOWN
The downtown area is small but highly variegated, including some of the
city's oldest and newest landmarks, as well as some of its most exotic and
eccentric neighborhoods. Colorful Chinatown, exuberant North Beach, posh
Nob and Russian Hills, the bustling Financial District, the graceful Ferry
Building, and the noble architecture and cultural venues of the Civic Center
- all these and more are packed into San Francisco's heart. This is where
you can ride the legendary
cable cars
on their most scenic routes, and don't
forget to climb up Telegraph Hill, where Coit Tower stands as one of the
city's most loved landmarks, competing successfully with the Transamerica
Pyramid not far away.
1. CHINATOWN
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 (for further details see
Chinatown
).
View photo
2. GRACE CATHEDRAL
Inspired by French Gothic architecture yet constructed of reinforced concrete, these
contradictory qualities have given rise to one of the city's best-loved landmarks (for
further details see
Grace Cathedral
)
.
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