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History & Evolution
The earliest archaeological evidence of inhabitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. The Yelamu group of the Ohlone people resided in several small villages when a Spanish exploration party, led by Don Gaspar de Portolà arrived on November 2, 1769, the first documented European visit to San Francisco Bay. Seven years later, on March 28, 1776, the Spanish established the Presidio of San Francisco, followed by a mission, Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores). Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography.

But The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers. With their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor.

In ensuing years, the city solidified its standing as a financial capital; in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed. Indeed, it was at the height of the Great Depression that San Francisco undertook two great civil engineering projects, simultaneously constructing the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, completing them in 1936 and 1937 respectively. During the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, startup companies invigorated the economy. Large numbers of entrepreneurs and computer application developers moved into the city, followed by marketing and sales professionals that changed the social landscape as once poorer neighborhoods became gentrified. When the bubble burst in 2001, many of these companies folded and their employees left, although high technology and entrepreneurship continued to be mainstays of the San Francisco economy.

Site-Seeing
Golden Gate Park:
Larger than Central Park, the 1,000-acre Golden Gate Park;s treasure trove of attractions includes Stybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, a biodiversity hub where 6,000 plant species, including a towering display of California redwoods, thrive; the ethereal Japanese Tea Garden; a children's playground; the Asian Art Museum; MH de Young Memorial Museum; and the California Academy of Sciences, with its aquarium, Morrison Planetarium and laserium. Even more, the open tennis courts, horse stables, baseball diamonds, polo grounds, croquet and lawn-bowling greens, an archery field, a golf course and a fly-fishing pool draw an outdoorsy crowd year-round.

Alcatraz Island:
The Alcatraz tour begins and ends with the typical tourist attraction rigmarole which explains why most locals I've talked to have never been to Alcatraz. Most days, but especially during peak season in the summer and fall, you'll need to get tickets well in advance. If you're able to get to the ticket office at Pier 33 or book an Alcatraz tour ahead of time, you can take advantage of the best rates. Otherwise, there are many travel companies that resell tickets at a substantial mark-up. Tickets are good on any of the day's boats that depart every 30 minutes (9am to dusk), but you have to queue up early to claim a seat onboard

Aquarium of the Bay:
Opened in 1996 and enhanced in 2001, Aquarium of the Bay is a unique educational and entertainment facility dedicated to the rich and diverse aquatic life of the San Francisco Bay and its surrounding waters. The Aquarium provides a window to the Bay that focuses on its distinctive ecosystems and seeks to entertain, educate and inspire preservation of this wonderful natural resource.

Baker Beach:
San Francisco's most popular and locally beloved nude beach is nestled in the western shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. Aside from being the birth place of Burning Man, the great qualities of Baker Beach are its size, close shore breaks, tide pools, steep bluffs, and climbable rocks, and a totally nude north end that rubs friendly elbows with a decidedly family-style south side, complete with barbeque grills and picnic tables. While this stretch of the Pacific makes for rough swimming, it bodes well for panoramic sun bathing and excellent shore fishing.

Golden Gate Bridge:
Arguably the world's most beautiful bridge, the mammoth rust-red deco San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco with Marin County and can be experienced from near countless angles. Drive, bike, or walk across the two-mile long suspension bridge or get down to the base and look up from the tide pools at Baker's Beach or from a Frisbee toss at Crissy fields, both in the adjoining Presidio.

Coit Tower:
The wild local heiress Lillie Hitchcock donated the money for her posthumous tribute the San Francisco fire department, the 180-foot tall Coit Tower which overlooks an impressive 360 degree panorama view of the Embarcadero, Pier 39, the Golden Gate Bridge, Mt. Sutro, and the Financial District all in one dizzying sweep. Work up an appetite for North Beach's Italian flair by trekking your way up Telegraph Hill to peruse the view and the Diego Rivera style frescoes housed inside the Tower.