Like a never-ending fair, America's favorite city sits at the edge of the western world - a location that adds the flair of romance to its legend. At once provincial and cosmopolitan, this surprisingly small city is a ravishing tourist magnet that is famous for its liberal attitudes, alternative politics, and eccentricity. San Franciscan pride is rooted in the sheer beauty of the city, a picturesque array of hills, wooden Victorian houses, open greens, and the shimmering bay that encompasses it all.

The ease of exploring this place on your own two feet or by hopping on and off a historic trolley, rather than in a car, is one of its great pleasures as one of the few American cities still catering to the pedestrian. Walking along the maze of streets, you learn to love the alternating moody fog and bright sunshine that set a romantic film-noir tone as you turn a corner high on a hill and unexpectedly stumble upon one of the many gorgeous vistas. So lovely is the place that the Reverend Billy Graham was inspired to say, "the Bay Area is so beautiful, I hesitate to preach about heaven while I'm here."