Travel: San Francisco

A flying visit will leave you breathless, from the sights, the tastes and from slogging up and down those famous hills. Thank heavens for the equally famous trolley buses, which combine charm with practicality when getting around a city that is very well served for public transport.

There is just so much to see, from the Golden Gate Bridge and its park to Fisherman's Wharf, the shopping delights of Union Square, Haight Ashbury (home of the hippies) and Alcatraz, the famous island prison in San Francisco Bay.

And getting there from the West Midlands is a breeze, flying from Birmingham to New York's Newark Airport and then on to San Francisco itself with United Airlines. It takes about a day, and your body clock will be all over the place, but the flights are punctual and very comfortable indeed. The in-flight service is friendly, while the traditional 'what to do in an emergency' briefing has been replaced by a chuckle-inducing little movie.

Travelling business class, with good food and seats that turn into beds, takes any pain out of the process and leaves you in pretty good shape even after a long haul. Certainly well enough to book into a hotel and head off to check out the late night shopping in nearby Union Square – Bloomingdales, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue – and a few local beers around the corner at Sam's Cable Car Lounge.

It proved a great introduction into how friendly folk are in San Francisco. One of the chaps at the next table turned out to be the biggest almond farmer in the area – he even supplied the bar and insisted we try out some of his produce.

In fact quality food is a signature of San Francisco. This city has more restaurants per head of population than anywhere else in the US of A. It must be possible to find a bad meal in San Francisco, but I didn't. From the most stylish restaurants, such as the impressive One Market or Dirty Water, to the Vietnamese snack bars selling banh mi sandwiches. From Mexican places like La Taqueria to the Farmers' Market stalls at Ferry Plaza, it was all absolutely delicious. My taste buds thought they'd died and gone to heaven.

And then there is the beer. America has discovered the joys of really good craft ale in the last few years. They can overdo it a bit – triple hopping should really be left to the Belgian and Dutch – and decent bitter is a bit in short supply, but there are a host of really fine beers being made in and around the city. And that doesn't even touch those wines being made just across the bay in Napa Valley. No serious wino should miss out on a trip to Napa.

The food and drink is just part of what sets San Francisco apart from just about anywhere else in the United States. There's an individuality about the place.

Our hotel captured that individuality. The Sir Francis Drake is an opulent 1920s building just up Powell Street from Union Square. It has style and character as well as all mod cons, and its name is a reminder that the first Westerner to discover this place was the famous Elizabethan sailor. He claimed California for the Queen but he never returned so I suspect our claim has lapsed.

Presumably because of those British links, the hotel's doormen are all dressed in bright red beefeater outfits and there is a large red moulded beefeater over the lobby bar. It's all part of the charm of the place, along with some astonishing views from rooms on the higher floors. It proved a great base for our trip, with its central location.

There is so much to see and do in this city that a visit to the websites run by Visit California and San Francisco Travel are a must. One of the most useful things you can do is sort out a CityPASS ticket booklet, which gives a week's unlimited use of cable cars and the local Muni transport system, access to attractions such as the Aquarium of the Bay and even a one-hour cruise of the Bay. At US $86 (approx £60) for an adult, it will save you up to $73.90 (approx £52) and gets you where you need to be.

And then the city is your oyster (there are great places to eat oysters). For any movie goer, of course, San Francisco is the city where Steve McQueen raced around the streets in Bullitt, and you may recognise the scenery around Russian Hill in particular. And there's the windy Lombard Street with its eight hairpin bends that has featured in virtually every film ever made in the city. Or you could even find Mrs Doubtfire's house (2640 Steiner St).

For anyone who has ever seen Humphrey Bogart playing private detective Sam Spade in the old black and white movie The Maltese Falcon, then dinner at John's Grill is a must. Part of the movie was filmed there; you can order Sam Spade's lamb chops and the place is full of memorabilia.

Aside from the movies, there are hotels, galleries and places to go and stand and stare. Haight Ashbury was where flower power and the hippiedom started out in the 1960s, and it still has a distinctive style of its own; very hipster-y. Dogpatch is still up and coming, but already has its own small breweries, wineries and the cracking Smokestack bar, with BBQ food, home brewed beer and a selection of drinks so big they need ladders behind the bar.

One place that cannot be missed, of course, is Alcatraz. Boat tours run out to the island several times a day, and are always busy, so book in advance and turn up well in time. One of the world's most legendary prisons, it is a gloomy and oppressive place but in remarkably good condition considering the last prisoner left in 1963. The audio tour, with contributions from men who spent time on the island on both sides of the bars, is deeply affecting as you walk around the cells, the library and even the prison hospital.

On a brighter note, for those not averse to some exercise, there are a number of bike rental places. So you can hire your steed, with safety hat, from a place like Blazing Saddles and cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge and on to Sausalito, returning by ferry boat. The views are stunning and, in any visit to San Francisco, a visit to the bridge is an absolute must.

And then you can just wander among the piers along the harbourside, from the Oakland Bay Bridge – spectacularly lit at night – and the from the foodie heaven of Ferry Plaza, along the Embarcadero to Pier 39 and its sealions, and on around to Fisherman's Wharf, the maritime park and Aquatic Cove. San Francisco. It's just an endless delight, full of places to explore, people to meet and the best excuses for a night out of any place you can imagine.

By Simon Penfold