Photo by Steve Rish

– Doug McConnell

Many visitors come to San Francisco to see its famous landmarks and tourist attractions, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the cable cars and Fisherman’s Wharf, and that makes good sense. Add to them the City’s revitalized waterfront, the Presidio, Land’s End, Ocean Beach, Golden Gate Park, the Market Street Railway and the be-domed beauty of City Hall for starters, and there’s a lot to see in San Francisco.

But what often gets overlooked by those who visit or even live here is what I think most distinguishes San Francisco, its diverse neighborhoods. Check out the Haight, the Castro, and Chinatown, for example, and then go to one of our newest stories and spend some time in the cultural crossroads of the Mission District. San Francisco is a fascinating mosaic of neighborhoods perched on hills and nestled in valleys, each with its own history and character. San Francisco is really many cities in one, and deserves and warrants all the visits you can make.

Doug McConnell

I wrote a blog recently about hiking with my dogs where we often go in the hills of Marin County. I never get over the experience of walking in a semi-wild place and then cresting a hill to see the magnificent city of San Francisco shining in the near distance. Here in the Bay Area urban and natural environments co-exist side-by-side.

Instead of taking the hike in the hills, I could just as easily and almost as quickly have gone into the city to stroll around one of its fascinating neighborhoods. We’ve got a few of them here on OpenRoad.TV, for example: Haight Ashbury’s Color & Past, & Chinatown Food Tour with Martin Yan with more to come. Most visitors rush to Fishermen’s Wharf which isn’t bad, especially if you keep your eyes open there for San Francisco’s authentic heritage. We recently spent some time along the Wharf with our Boing-Boing friend, David Pescovitz, visiting the Musee Mechanique. But I recommend getting away from the principal tourist area whenever possible to see San Francisco the way locals do by exploring its distinctive neighborhoods. Before you wander, you might want to watch our two OpenRoad.TV stories on the 49 Mile Drive. They’ll show you a cross-section of some of San Francisco’s special delights. Then, off you go. Be sure to tell us what you find.