Destinations

Wine Country, Big Sur and Yosemite are not far away

Other California tourist attractions are located near San Francisco. Across the Golden Gate Bridge, the first pullout on the right provides a nice view of the city from across the bay. If you follow the small road under the highway and climb the mountain behind the bridge, you will be rewarded to some spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay area. From the top of the mountain the road continues high above the Pacific Ocean with pullouts at many scenic vistas and hiking trails. This road eventually leads to Stinson Beach, a popular Pacific Ocean swimming and surfing area, and to Muir Woods, an impressive reserve of Giant California Redwood trees.
Beautiful Monterey Bay is an hour-and-half drive south along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway and Big Sur extends about 100 miles further. Napa and Sonoma valleys, in the heart of California Wine Country, are just an hour drive north of San Francisco. The Sierra Nevada Mountains and exquisite Yosemite National Park are within a half-day drive to the east.

San Francisco Shopping Tips The downtown area of San Francisco is the center of business, commerce and shopping. There are a wide variety of large department stores and smaller shops near Union Square and a big shopping mall on Market Street. The Embarcadero especially in the Fisherman's Wharf area offers many small shops, specialty stores and tourist attractions. Chinatown and Japantown have many small shops specializing in oriental artifacts and Asian foods. Sausalito and Tiburon across the bay have many boutiques, art galleries and specialty shops. For serious shoppers, the immense "Great Mall of the Bay Area" in Milpitas, near San Jose is a wonderland of factory outlet stores. There are also a few outlet malls in Sonoma Valley near wine country and several in the Monterey Bay area. Written by: Mike Leco Top Photo Credit: © J. Paul Meurant Photo Description: Golden Gate Bridge

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