Population: Almost 740,000 people live in San Francisco. If we count the people living in the Bay area, the population reaches 6.5 millions.
Location: On a hilly peninsula, San Francisco reaches an elevation of 929 feet and covers an area of 46 square miles.
Languages: In San Francisco, residents speak more than one hundred languages.
Located in the Pacific Time zone, San Francisco offers you a moderate climate, great for any time of the year.
Weather: Whenever you visit San Francisco, we’re convinced you’ll like the weather. The lowest temperatures are reached in January (45F) while the highest are reached in August and September (69F).
Yet, for your San Francisco vacation we advise you to pack shorts and a bathing suit but also sweaters and jackets, because of the occasional chilly and foggy days.
For weather information, please call 831-656-1725.
For winter road condition information please call 415-557-3755.
Earthquakes: Even if there are sometimes earthquakes in San Francisco, don’t worry. Most of them aren’t even noticeable.
Electricity: As the United States electrical standard is of 110 volts-60 cycles AC, we advise foreign tourists to pack a plug adapter.
Tips: Taxi drivers, hairdressers, bartenders and waiters receive a 15% standard tip, while in luxurious establishments tips reach 20%.
Holidays: We advise you to visit San Francisco on New Year's Day, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, on President's Day, on Memorial Day, on Independence Day, on Labor Day, on Thanksgiving Day, on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day and on New Year's Eve.
Area Code: The San Francisco area code is 415.
Business Hours: In San Francisco, banks are usually open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 3 or even 5 pm. You can go shopping Monday through Saturday from 10 or 11 am to 6 pm. Several stores in Ghirardelli Square, Chinatown and Pier 39 are open until much later.
Excellent restaurants invite you to lunch from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm and to dinner from 5:30 pm to 10 pm. San Francisco bars and nightclubs are ready to welcome you until 2 am.
Emergencies: In case you ever need the police, ambulance or the fire department, please call 911. From a public phone, you don’t need coins.
Transit Information: Muni, the San Francisco Municipal Railway offers residents and visitors buses, cable cars and Metro streetcars.
For more information, please call 415-673-6864.
San Francisco International Airport: One of the busiest airports in the United States, the San Francisco International Airport is situated 14 miles south of the city. The airport offers you safe and comfortable national and international flights.
The airport serves not only the city of San Francisco, but also the wider Bay Area and the Silicon Valley. Out of its four terminals, the airport has dedicated one to international flights and three to national and Canada flights. The international terminal offers you 18 excellent restaurants, 37 stores, a permanent art collection, the Aviation Library and Museum and 3,200 parking spaces.
To get to downtown we recommend you to use the airport shuttles. The SFO Airporter takes passengers to world-class downtown hotels, while the SuperShuttle takes you anywhere in San Francisco.
For more information about the airport, please call 415-761-0800.
Several lines of the San Francisco International Airport serve the Oakland Airport, located across the bay (415-577-4000).
You can also get to San Francisco by train.
Driving is a real challenge in San Francisco because of the one-way streets, the traffic, the restricted parking zones and the hills. Are you ready to take this challenge?
If you aren’t, you can always take a trolley, a cable car or a bus.
Buses and Trolley Buses: Every 5 to 20 minutes, a Muni bus or a trolley bus is ready to take you wherever you wish to get. You may choose between 38L-Geary Limited, 42-Downtown Loop, 24-Divisadero, 14L-Mission Limited, 5-Fulton, 9X-San Bruno Express, 31AX-Balboa "A" Express and many others.
Visit our collection of Historic Streetcars Trams and take a trip back through time. Painted in original colours, our streetcars, known as line F-Market, came form all over the world: Chicago, Boston or Milan.
We invite you to take a ride from the Transbay Terminal to the Castro District.
Metro: Starting from the Embarcadero Station, the Muni Metro offers you five underground lines: L-Taraval, N-Judah, J-Church, M-Ocean View and K-Ingleside.
You can use the Metro until 10 pm.
The Muni offers residents and visitors 3 discount transit passes: one, three and seven day passports. You may purchase them at the Visitor Information Center. With a Muni passport, you may use the Muni buses, the Muni Metro, cable cars and the F-Market streetcars.
Hours of Operation: The Muni operates Monday through Friday from 5:30 am to 12:30 am, on Saturday from 6 am to 12:30 am and on Sunday from 7:30 am to 12:30 am. Some lines also offer limited night service.
With the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART- 650-992-2278) you may easily get to Oakland, Berkeley, Colma, Fremont, Concord, Martinez, Richmond and other cities. Trains can also take you to Daly City and Colma.
Taxi: because of the high rates, we don’t advise you to use taxis.
Cable Cars: San Francisco offers you three cable car lines. The Powell-Hyde and the Powell-Mason will take you to Nob Hill and Fisherman's Wharf. The California line is the least crowded and takes you to the Financial District, the Nob Hill and Chinatown.
