San Francisco, California

San Francisco, CA
General Information

• Languages
• Holidays
• Emergencies

Population:
 740,000 in the city and 6.5 million if the surrounding Bay area is included.

Location:
 at the northern end of a hilly peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay in northern California.


Elevation:
 Built on 43 hills; so elevation varies from close to sea level to 929 feet

Area:
 46 square miles

Earthquakes:
 Earthquakes are part of life in California. Most of which cause little tremors too small to notice.
 

Languages:
 Less than half the population was born in the US, and over 100 languages are spoken. Newspapers and magazines are published in 31 different languages.

Time Zone:
 San Francisco is in the Pacific standard time zone, which is 8 hours behind Greenwich mean time and 3 hours behind eastern time. For accurate time. 415-767-8900.

Electricity:
The U.S. electrical standard is 110 volts-60 cycles AC. Foreign visitors traveling with dual-voltage appliances will not need a converter, but they will need a plug adapter. The standard U.S. electrical outlet takes a plug of two flat pins set parallel to one another.


Tipping :
At restaurants, a 15% tip is standard for waiters; up to 20% may be expected at more expensive establishments. The same goes for taxi drivers, bartenders, and hairdressers.


 

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Holidays:
New Year's Day Jan. 1

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day 3rd Mon. in Jan.

President's Day 3rd Mon. in Feb.

Memorial Day last Mon. in May;

Independence Day July 4

Labor Day 1st Mon. in Sept.

Thanksgiving Day 4th Thurs. in Nov.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Dec. 24 and 25

New Year's Eve Dec. 31.

Business Hours:
Most banks are open Monday to Friday 9am to 3pm. Several stay open until about 5pm at least 1 day a week. Many banks also have ATMs for 24-hour banking Most stores are open Monday to Saturday from 10 or 11am to at least 6pm, with shorter hours on Sunday. But there are exceptions: Stores in Chinatown, Ghirardelli Square, and Pier 39 stay open much later during the tourist season, and large department stores, including Macy's and Nordstrom, keep late hours.
Most restaurants serve lunch from about 11:30am to 2:30pm and dinner from 5:30 to 10pm. They sometimes serve later on weekends. Nightclubs and bars are usually open daily until 2am.
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Emergencies:
Dial tel. 911 for police, an ambulance, or the fire department; no coins are needed from a public phone

Area Code:
 The area code for San Francisco is 415; for Oakland, Berkeley, and much of the East Bay, 510; for the peninsula, 650.

Post Office:
There are many post offices around the city. The closest to Union Square is inside Macy's department store, 170 O'Farrell St. tel. 800-275-8777.
 

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