Let other cities build grand monuments. San Francisco days are better spent sunning by the bay and digesting lavish seafood dinners – no matter whether you’re a human or a sea lion that’s bellyflopped on Pier 39. Outlandish behavior comes with the territory here. What with all the earthquakes and eccentrics, this peninsula keeps only a tentative hold on the planet, not to mention the continental US. But as any San Franciscan will tell you, gravity is overrated, anyway. With 43 hills and a population of free thinkers, crafty inventors, and weirdoes passing as normal, this city stubbornly refuses to be brought down to earth. Instead reality is forced to rise to the occasion, with flocks of wild parrots taking to the treetops, ingenious meals by rising star chefs and poets who just keep on riffing until their words take flight. San Francisco’s stratospheric booms and crashing busts aren’t for the weak of heart, but as anyone who’s clung onto the side of a cable car will tell you, this town gives one hell of a ride.

San Francisco offers some of the best shopping in the world, so it is no wonder that tourists and serious shopaholics alike want to spend some time and money in San Francisco's varied shopping centers, districts and malls. Union Square, Hayes Valley, Haight-Ashbury, upper Fillmore, the Mission, Sacramento Street, Chinatown and downtown's San Francisco Shopping Center offer a unique style with one-of-a-kind shops, each mall and neighborhood with a distinctive feel suited to any shopper's mood, from urban sophisticate to funk fantastic. And while many people may think shopping in San Francisco is an expensive venture, savvy shoppers will realize that there are possibilities for every budget.

Shopping Center:

• Westfield San Francisco Centre
• Union Square
• Chestnut Street
• Chinatown Shopping
• Embarcadero Center 1-4
• Fillmore Street
• Haight Street
• Hayes Valley
• North Beach
• Sacramento Street

Alamo Square

The finest restaurants in town can’t provide views as spectacular as the picnic tables atop Alamo Square Park facing Steiner St’s Postcard Row, a row of pastel Victorian ‘Painted Lady’ houses with gingerbread detailing and frosting flourishes that may leave you craving dessert. The city skyline looms in the background, and from the corner of Steiner and Fulton Sts you can glimpse City Hall. On the crest of the hill, check out the old shoes creatively reused as planters. On foggy days, you may want to wear a parka – as you can guess from the wind-sculpted pines, it can get a tad blustery up here.

Buena Vista Park

True to its name, this park founded in 1867 offers sweeping views of the city beyond century-old cypresses to the bay and even Marin County, depending how far you’re prepared to hike up the steep hill. When SF went up in flames in 1906, this was the safe spot where San Franciscans found refuge, and watched the town smolder; on your way downhill, take Buena Vista Ave West to spot Victorian mansions that date from that era.

Cartoon Art Museum

The Cartoon Art Museum aims to make its facilities, exhibitions, and programs available to all visitors. The entrance is on street level and all galleries are fully wheelchair-accessible. An elevator allows guests to access the offices and library on the second floor. Visually impaired individuals may arrange for a docent tour.

Coit Tower

Up the Filbert Street steps at Coit Tower, you'll find 360-degree views of downtown and wrap-around 1930s murals glorifying SF workers - once denounced as Communist, but now a landmark.

San Francisco International Airport's new international terminal is North America's largest, while San Francisco itself features some of the most charming and sophisticated public transportation systems in the world, including the Muni, BART, historic cable cars and ferry systems linking the entire Bay Area.