Wednesday, July 25, 2012

San Francisco Travel

The city of San Francisco is the fourth biggest in terms of population in the state of California.  It has around 815,358 residents.

A. Tourist Attractions

San Francisco offers a plethora of tourist spots to its guests. These include the following:

1. The Golden Gate – this bridge is known for its engineering feat.  This is the first suspension bridge ever made.  It links the Marin County and San Francisco city.

2. The San Francisco cable car system - is the only transportation listed on the National Register of Historic Places for being the world's last manually manually operated cable car system.  This is an iconic structure in the city of San Francisco.

3. Fisherman's Wharf: another icon in San Francisco.  It has several restaurants, shops and museums such as Treasure Island Museum, City of San Francisco Museum and 'Ripley's Believe It or Not' museum. The Underwater World is another attraction in the Fisherman’s wharf with 700, 000 gallons of water.

4. Chinatown: shops of all varieties are located in this town.  This is a known shopping destination of the city. Some of the sites you will see include Kong Chow Temple and the Fortune Cookie Factory.

5. Alcatraz Island: this is another historical landmark of the city of San Francisco.  It used to be a maximum security prison but is converted into part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Tours are provided to this place. You have to ride a ferry to get to the island.

6. The Gold Rush Trail – is an outdoor museum that is filled with historical artifacts.

7. The Society of California Pioneers – is another attraction.  It is a public library.  It provide exhibits of the history of San Francisco and entire state of California.

8. The Museum of the City of San Francisco - is a place that offers exhibits on the history of San Francisco such as the Gold Rush, the massive earthquake of 1906, and the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.

9. Lombard Street – referred to as 'The Crookedest Street in the World.'  It has a natural incline of 27 degrees which make it too steep for cars to drive on.  But in the 1920s eight curves were added to the incline to make more manageable for cars. Cars are allowed to drive here at 8km/h speed only.  Pedestrians are only allowed to walk on the steps.

10. California Academy of Sciences – this is a cultural venue that houses the Morrison Planetarium and Steinhart Aquarium. It has African Hall that contains realistic copies of animals in Africa.

11. Nob Hill – considered as the most elite place in the city of San Francisco.  It provides a superb view of the entire city. The Cable Car Museum which exhibits the 121 years of cable cars history is near the Nob Hill.

12. Lafayette Park – perhaps the most stunning garden in the entire city. It is filled with eucaplyptus trees.

The city of San Francisco is a famous international destination known for its Victorian and modern architecture and its popular landmarks.

City of Oakland Travel - California

City of Oakland is situated in the state of California. It is eight biggest city in California and the 41st biggest city in terms of population in the entire US. It has a total of 446,901 residents in the place.  It is the hub city of the East Bay area.

Tourist Attractions

These are the various tourist attractions you can find in Oakland:

1. Chabot Space and Science Center - is a science center with interactive exhibits, a full dome digital planetarium, a 70-foot large screen theatre with several shows being shown, hands-on simulated space mission activities and three powerful telescopes.

2. Children's Fairyland - this was the very first theme park in the United States.  It was built in 1950 by the Oakland Lake Merritt Breakfast Club. It has an area of 10 acres.  It houses the Open Storybook Puppet Theater, which holds the distinction of the oldest theater with continuous operations theater in the United States.

3. Chinatown - this is a multicultural neighborhood featuring the Asian culture.  The Chinese were the first Asians to migrate to Oakland back in the 1850s.

4. Dunsmuir House -  is a well-known recreational facility in the city of Oakland.  It sits on a 50-acre  land. It is on the list of US National Register of Historic Places.

5. Fox Oakland Theatre - this is a 2,800-seat movie theater.  It is included in the list of US National Register of Historic Places. It reopened to the public on February 5, 2009.

6. Jack London Square  -  this is a famous tourist site which is named after author Jack Landon.  The square contains restaurants, stores, hotels, ferry dock, historic places, train station and other recreational facilities.

7. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum - home of baseball’s Oakland Athletics, and the Oakland Raiders of the NFL.

8. Lake Merritt, Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Oldest wildlife/bird sanctuary in North America, Lake Merritt Garden Center, Bonsai Garden

9. Oakland Aviation Museum
10. Oakland Museum of California
11. Oracle Arena, directly adjacent to the Oakland Coliseum, home to the Golden State Warriors of the NBA
12. Paramount Theatre
13. Pardee Home
14. Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, Museum of History and Culture
15. Preservation Park
16. USS Potomac, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidential yacht
17. Oakland Zoo