San Francisco: Vintage yet Vibrant

A vibrant and unique city on the West Coast of United States, San Francisco is a delight, not just for the first-time tourists, but also for the repeat visitors.

- Rameshinder Singh Sandhu

Over the last few years, I have been to San Francisco thrice, with March 2023 being my latest visit. And, I will always be ready and eager for many more meetings with this city by the bay' for the rare charm it holds, which makes it one of the unique cities of the world. Interestingly, each of my arrivals into San Francisco has been on a bus from Sacramento, the capital of California and hence everytime my first glimpse of the city came to me through the windows of the Greyhound entering the city through the magnificent bay bridge, presenting San Francisco's skyline instantly, including its historic Fisherman's Wharf building and its large water front.

As most of the city is settled on different hills, the streets in most parts of the city rise sharply or tumble suddenly, with the bay appearing and disappearing frequently. Even though geologically, it may be similar to a few other American cities like Seattle which is also rather hilly, what sets San Francisco distinct and unique is its vintage architecture, brightly coloured homes, built predominantly in Victorian style. Strolling down its streets or even passing through them on its famed trams or cable cars, as the locals call them, I have often wondered if I were not really in an amusement park?

The cable cars are almost as famous as any other attraction in the city and they have regularly featured in many hit Hollywood movies for decades and no visit to San Francisco can be complete without a ride in these. It is said to be the last manually operated cable car system in the world, which surprisingly, still operates exactly as it did on August 2, 1873, when its chief engineer, Andrew Hallidie, a British immigrant, showed the way to the first car down the Clay Street.