San Francisco is a special place, very different from most American cities. It lies on a small finger of land with the Pacific Ocean on one side and a huge harbour on the other. San Francisco's population is only about 700 000 but it is the biggest business center in the west of the USA. It is also America's most international city with newspapers in thirty different languages. The city is known as "the Paris of the West".

Most people enjoy the climate in San Francisco. It's never too hot and never really cold. The sea winds are healthy and they make you hungry. And it's good to be hungry in San Francisco because the food is fabulous with more than 2600 restaurants serving food from all over the world. There are at least three small cities in San Francisco: "Little Italy", with its pizzerias and restaurants, "Chinatown" with wonderful shops and exciting food and "Japan town". And everywhere you go you will see boats out on the sea, smell fresh and salt and feel the sea wind on your face.

If you live in San Francisco you get plenty of exercise, because it's a city of hills. Perhaps that's why the famous cable cars are so popular. And of course the views from the hills are spectacular.