Rent a car in San Francisco

Traveling in San Francisco with a Rental Car

San Francisco is located on the west coast of the United States in the state of California. It covers 74 square miles, and the metropolitan area is 3480 square miles.

Every year 17 million people visit the city of San Francisco which is considered on of the prettiest cities for it’s climate, it’s natural beauty, architecture, and great food scene.

San Francisco, celebrated for it’s hilly streets and panoramic views of the bay, is made of different neighborhoods that you can visit in your rental car. In the northeast is the historic center with the Financial District and Union Square, an important commercial zone with many hotels. Also nearby are Russian Hill, the residencial neighborhood of the famed Lombard Street, North Beach (Little Italy), Telegraph Hill, and Chinatown. Other neighborhoods in San Francisco are The Mission (with its strong latino presence), Eureka Valley (the gay neighborhood now called the Castro), the Marina (a young and urban neighborhood), the Richmond (made up of Russian and Irish immigrants), and the Sunset (whose population is largely asian).

Some of the most visited beaches of San Francisco are Ocean Beach, Baker Beach, Crissy Field, Stinson Beach and East Beach (China Beach). The majority of the city’s beaches are part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Golden Gate Park dates back to 1871 and is another important attraction of San Francisco. With 1,017 acres this park is rectangular like Central Park in New York, but even bigger. Some of the cultural and natural attractions are the Japanese Tea Garden (the oldest Japanese Garden in the United States), the Conservatory of Flowers www.conservatoryofflowers.org/ (one of the biggest greenhouses in the world made of traditional materials), Chain of Lakes (5 natural lakes), The Polo Fields (used today as soccer fields, field games, and concerts), y el Bison Paddock (a bison reserve).

Other great points of interest offered to tourists, worth visiting by rental car are without doubt the Golden Gate, the largest hanging bridge in the world which is the symbol of San Francisco. It’s 1.9 miles long with 6 lanes and 100,000 cars crossing it per day.

Alcatraz, the most famous prison in the world, is another tourist attraction. Visitors are fascinated by this island in the San Francisco Bay where inside the prison walls the most famous gangster in the world, AL Capone, lived his last days.

Lombard Street also attracts lots of tourism. It’s one of the most famous streets of San Francisco. From the Presidio where it begins there are fantastic views of the city. The street ends in the Embarcadero after 8 very closed curves giving it the title of the crookedest street in the United States.

Twin Peaks is the best place for a spectacular view at 280 meters altitude. Renting a car is the best way to get to this summit.

And for those still wanting more, Fisherman’s Wharf is a pier of fisherman and is the oldest part of the historic port of San Francisco where it’s ideal to eat seafood, visit the Bay Aquarium, or visit Pier 39 to admire dozens of sea lions..