San Francisco Area Information
Population
The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the fourteenth-most populous in the United States, with a 2006 estimated population of 744,041. San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the United States.
Climate
San Francisco is renowned for its chilly summer fog, steep rolling hills, an eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture, and its peninsular location surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.
Average summertime high temperatures in San Francisco peak at 70 °F (21 °C).
Winters are mild, with daytime highs near 60 °F (15 °C). Lows almost never reach freezing temperatures, though the lowest temperature ever recorded in San Francisco was 27 °F (-3 °C) on December 11, 1932.
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. The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods, in late spring, and during September and October, which are the warmest months of the year. Due to its sharp topography and maritime influences, San Francisco exhibits a multitude of distinct microclimates.
Public Transportation
Public transit solely within the city of San Francisco is provided predominantly by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). The city-owned system operates both a combined light rail/subway system (the Muni Metro) and a bus network that includes both trolleybuses and standard diesel buses. Additionally, Muni runs the F Market historic streetcar line and the iconic San Francisco cable car system.
Commuter rail is provided by two complementary agencies. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is the regional rapid transit system which connects San Francisco with the East Bay through the Transbay Tube. It also extends south of the city through northern San Mateo County, to the San Francisco International Airport, and Millbrae. The Caltrain rail system runs from San Francisco along the Peninsula down to San Jose.
The Transbay Terminal serves as the terminus for long range bus service (such as Greyhound) and as a hub for regional bus systems AC Transit (to Alameda County), SamTrans (San Mateo County), and Golden Gate Transit (Marin and Sonoma Counties). Amtrak also runs a shuttle bus from San Francisco to its rail station in Emeryville.
A small fleet of commuter and tourist ferries operate from the Ferry Building and Pier 39 to points in Marin County, Oakland, and north to Vallejo in Solano County.
SF GAY PRIDE 2007
The 37th Annual San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration & Parade will be held from Saturday, June 23 - Sunday June 24. The mega celebration is on Saturday from noon - 6:00pm in the Civic Center. The Parade route is on Market Street and begins at 10:30 am Sunday.
SF ATTRACTIONS
Besides the awesome gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender scene, San
Francisco tourist attractions are another great reason to visit the
city. From the Golden Gate Bridge to
it's infamous Cable Cars, San Francisco has
much to offer the visitor from out of town!
- Learn More
Looking for general information about this fabulous city? We have all the
basic tourist information as well.
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Airports
San Francisco International Airport (SFO), though located 13 miles (21 km) south of the city in San Mateo County, is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco. It is a hub for United Airlines, its largest tenant, and the decision by Virgin America to base its future operations out of SFO reverses the trend of low-cost carriers opting to bypass SFO for Oakland and San Jose. SFO is an international gateway, with the largest international terminal in North America. The airport is built on a landfill extension into the San Francisco Bay. During the economic boom of the late 1990s, when traffic saturation led to frequent delays, it became difficult to respond to calls to relieve the pressure by constructing an additional runway as that would have required additional landfill. Such calls subsided in the early 2000s as traffic declined, and, in 2005, SFO was the 14th busiest airport in the United States and 23rd largest in the world, handling 32.8 million passengers.