Arguably America's most beautiful city, San Francisco has it all - sights, natural beauty, food and wine, shopping and the arts. If you've never been, what are you waiting for?

The list of sights to see is endless - Alcatraz and the waterfront, Lombard Street, Union Square, the Ferry Market building, Coit Tower, Chinatown, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Transamerica Building, Golden Gate Park and world class museums all make San Francisco memorable. But equally entrancing are the neighborhoods, such as Pacific Heights, Telegraph Hill, Haight-Ashbury and the Mission, which have a charm and elegance all their own. Keep in mind that the city is fairly spread out and that means a visit is best accomplished with a car due to varied but far from comprehensive transportation options.

San Francisco occupies a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay, meaning the weather can be cool and unpredictable. The warmest time to visit may be in the late fall while the summers can be chilly and foggy. Expect changeable weather most of the year and pack warm clothes no matter the season, just in case. Of course, the city's location does make up for spotty weather with spectacular views in all directions, especially up in the hills.

The city has a bustling downtown centered along Market Street, which is the main east-west thoroughfare and the location of the both the subway and the streetcars. A center of tourist activity with several shopping malls and the Powell Street cablecars, Market Street is a good place to orient yourself. South is SOMA, aka South of Market, and to the north is Union Square. The further north you head from Market Street towards the hills, the more the city reveals itself.

Union Square is a beautiful open space surrounded by department stores and historic hotels that was renovated in the past few years.  On a sunny day, this is a great place to grab a coffee or spread out with a newspaper. Two of the historic hotels are worth popping into - the Westin St. Francis and the Sir Francis Drake, both on Powell Street. Then head up Powell and make a right on Bush.

Two blocks down, at Grant Street, is the Chinatown Gate and reputedly the largest Chinatown outside Asia. Wander around and duck into the large antique shops - some of which have beautiful pieces once you make your way past the postcards and cheap souvenirs. Of course, Chinatown is overflowing with restaurants, perfect for a quick lunch or dinner. One popular place to visit is the Golden Gate Fortune Factory at 56 Ross Alley. Here they make fortune cookies by hand and give out fresh cookies as samples. Bags of cookies are available for purchase.

Up in the hills, another city unfolds. Beautiful houses line the streets and the walking gets a bit more challenging. Nob Hill features another pair of historic hotels, the Fairmont and the Mark Hopkins. At California and Taylor, you will also find the striking 90 year old Grace Cathedral (website). Heading back down the hills, you will wind up in either Russian Hill or North Beach. Russian Hill is north of Nob Hill and slightly downhill, making it a less difficult walk. Here you will find tourist magnet Lombard Street, its sharp turns making it supposedly "the crookedest street in the world." The street is a favorite of drivers who descend it in slow motion, but there are also sidewalks that run down both sides of the street for pedestrians. Down yet another hill is North Beach, the city's Little Italy and also home to famous beat writers. Here the small, eclectic Beat Museum pays honor to these writers, including Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.

At the top of Telegraph Hill is Coit Tower, which can be reached by climbing up Filbert Street, by city bus or by car. The 210 foot high tower is set in a small park that provides excellent views of the city. For an added hidden treat, descend the back side of the hill following Filbert Street which transforms into a set of stairways leading past houses and through lush gardens. This secret world, known as the Filbert Steps, is miles away from the city around it and affords wonderful views of San Francisco Bay, Treasure Island and the Bay Bridge.

If you descend the Filbert Steps all the way, you will find yourself on the edge of a cliff at a stairway that leads down to Levi's Plaza and Sansome Street. Beyond is the Embarcadero, which leads north to the waterfront and its myriad tourist attractions, including the ferry to Alcatraz and Pier 39 with its prime sea lion viewing spots. In the distance is the Golden Gate Bridge which may very well be hidden behind the fog.

If you head south along the Embarcadero, you will pass through the main business district with its soaring skyscrapers, including the iconic TransAmerica Pyramid. At the end of Market Street, the instantly recognizable Ferry Building Marketplace hosts a fantastic food market and myriad dining options. Behind it, you can take the ferry to Treasure Island, Oakland and other places on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay.

Back down Market Street, to the south, is SOMA (South of Market). This area largely consists of new and rehabilitated buildings built during the boom of the 90s. The Moscone Convention Center is here, as is the Yerba Buena Gardens (website), a park that features several public art installations, a memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and several gardens. Opposite is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with its eclectic modern and contemporary art collection. West of SOMA is the Mission, a diverse neighborhood with good restaurants but no real tourist attractions.

Far to the west of downtown are more areas worth exploring. Haight-Ashbury is well known for its hippie past though the scene there now seems more nostalgic and new-agey than anything else. Adjacent to Haight-Ashbury and stretching almost all the way to the Pacific is Golden Gate Park, a gorgeous, sprawling 1,000 acre park. The park has large open fields and numerous attractions, including a large Arboretum (free admission), a Japanese Tea Garden, the re-opened California Academy of Sciences Natural History Museum, two authentic windmills and the DeYoung Museum. The DeYoung, rebuilt and reopened in 2005, houses fine arts collections from the Americas, Africa and Oceania. The spectacular California Academy of Sciences opened in September 2008 after an extensive construction project designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano. The parks has acres of picnic sites and ballfields, but is often shrouded in fog when other parts of the city are sunny and clear.

To the north and south of Golden Gate park, residential neighborhoods extend all the way to the western end of the city. Removed from the bustle of the downtown, these areas are quiet but full of restaurants and boutiques. The city ends at the Pacific Ocean, just a short walk across the highway. Here wide beaches extend in both directions for as far as the eye can see, including north to the famous Cliff House perched on rocks over the Pacific.

San Francisco sometimes feels like a big city and sometimes like a small town. That means it is up to the visitor to choose the type of trip he or she wants, unless of course they want a little of both. Whichever way, San Francisco is happy to accommodate.