The city of San Francisco, in California, USA, was incorporated on 15 April 1850 and celebrates its 175th anniversary this year. As we know this is one of the cities our expat, European and UK travellers love to visit with their worldwide annual travel insurance – or single trip policy – we’re taking a look at why San Francisco is such a draw.
San Francisco’s history is inextricably tied up with the Gold Rush of 1849, but it is another golden feature that has allowed it to become so distinctive. That, of course, is the Golden Gate Bridge, dating from 1933 and spanning 4200 feet, at one point. The famous bridge attracts 10 million visitors a year and is truly distinctive, with its Art Deco styling, orange colouring and 746-foot-tall towers. Free walking tours, twice-weekly on Thursdays and Sundays, make this a great place to start, when visiting San Francisco.
Golden Gate Park, in the area around the bridge, has its own attractions, including new Golden Gate and Pacific Overlooks. The de Young Museum in the park has a collection of artworks from across five centuries but also offers an 8th floor observation level, which provides 360-degree views of the city and Pacific Ocean. There is also a Japanese Tea Garden and the San Francisco Botanical Garden to be found in this area, along with many other features and even a herd of bison!
Nearby, in The Presidio, you will find the Walt Disney Family Museum. This features a range of exhibits celebrating Walt Disney’s life and work and an exact replica of Disneyland, on the day it first opened.
Travelling in iconic style with your worldwide annual travel insurance
If you arrive in San Francisco, one of your key goals will no doubt be to ride one of the city’s iconic cable cars. Check the situation, however, as there is some restoration work of the cable car network underway and you would not want to miss out on the chance to hop on, take a seat or grab onto the rail and listen to the bell ring. If operational, head to one of the car turnarounds, at Powell or California and Market streets, or just grab your ride elsewhere in the city. Don’t forget that the Streetcars in the city are also fun to ride.
The hills of San Francisco are what made travelling around in this way such an adventure and you may well also be drawn to explore Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world. The beautiful homes along this street are one thing to admire but, reach the top, and you can also drink in an amazing view across the Bay.
The Bay and Alcatraz
Life around the Bay is intrinsic to the culture of San Francisco, whether the Bay is glistening in sunshine or cloaked in one of its famous fogs. In fact, there’s a saying, often wrongly attributed to Twain, that goes “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco”. This means it can be chilly, so do take warm clothing!
The infamous penitentiary (prison) of Alcatraz sits out in the Bay, guarding the secrets of how it once housed Al Capone and others. Whilst there are no incarcerated residents nowadays, it can be captivating to tour the cell house and learn about the prison’s history.
You can get fantastic Bay views from the 150-foot-high SkyStar Wheel, with its 36 climate-controlled gondolas, or get closer to the water at Pier 39. There, you can be entertained not only by street artists and musicians but also by the resident sea lions. Shops, cafes and entertainment aplenty awaits and you can also visit the Aquarium of the Bay.
Pier 39 is situated on the Embarcadero – a name that suggests that this was once a key point for those embarking on journeys by sea. You can also catch a ferry to Alcatraz from Pier 33, in Fisherman’s Wharf, a district of which Pier 39 is part, although Fisherman’s Wharf is two blocks away. Again, it is part of the Embarcadero and the official Alcatraz ferry provider is Alcatraz City Cruises.
The Fisherman’s Wharf area is also home to not just the SkyStar Wheel that we just mentioned but also Ghirardelli Square, famed for its historic chocolate factory. There is still a chocolate shop there to this day, not to mention equally calorie-filled experiences surrounding ice cream. For a quick beer, head to the San Francisco Brewing Co!
Pier 47 is Fish Alley, where you can still see a daily catch landed. Fishy gourmet delights are part and parcel of this area of San Francisco and nothing is more iconic here than the Cioppino – a catch of the day fisherman’s stew steeped in local maritime history.
Other colourful things to do in San Francisco
Whether you use your annual travel insurance policy to cover your trip to San Francisco, or buy a single trip policy especially for that purpose, you will find unique things to do in the city. One is a visit to Umbrella Alley, again found in the Fisherman’s Wharf area. This is street art writ large and in full technicolour. Murals and installations by local artists cover the walls, whilst umbrellas and balloons are suspended in the air.
If you want to tread in the footsteps of the Beatniks (Beat Generation), head to hangouts of writers like Kerouac and Ginsberg, such as the Vesuvio Café, City Lights Bookstore and the Beat Museum, in North Beach.
Pride, in June, is always a colourful time in a city with such strong LGBTQ+ connections and The Castro is the area most likely to be the most vibrant at this time.
Mexican influences can be found in the Mission District, African history can be appreciated in the Museum of the African Diaspora. Meanwhile, Summer of Love (1967) vibes can be found in the Haight-Ashbury district, with its colourful houses, vintage shops, local people and timeless hippy ambience. A pic of the famous Haight-Ashbury street sign, that embodies flower power’s allure, is always a must-have for the photo album.
Other must-do activities
Why not check out the world-famous San Francisco Zoo, with its 1000 endangered and rescued animals from 250 species? Or take in the views from the Colt Tower, or internal perspectives at the Beaux-Arts City Hall. Nature can be celebrated in the Yerba Buena Gardens and the call of the wild responded to through a whale-watching cruise. The Painted Ladies houses are another photogenic thing to observe.
With your annual travel insurance policy from Europesure, you can explore all of this on one of your trips during a calendar year, but then use your policy to cover other holidays that you take too. It all adds up to great value travel insurance, whether you live in the UK, EU, EEA, Monaco or Gibraltar and regardless of whether you are a European resident or class yourself as a British expat. Just don’t travel without some travel insurance protection if visiting the USA. You could soon fall out of love with San Francisco, if huge medical costs hit home!
