About San Francisco

Join us in beautiful San Francisco for UCEA’s 95th Annual Conference! The 2010 Conference themed “Leading Innovation in Higher Education” brings together some 800 continuing higher education professionals for sessions addressing broad topics of interest to the profession as well as special sessions and workshops focused on particular areas of interest, including distance learning, quality assurance, leadership, marketing, programming for older adults, and research, to name just a few.

San Francisco is a unique and breathtaking metropolis. From the famous icon of the Golden Gate Bridge to the exquisite art galleries at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the City takes pride in its unrivaled attractions, renowned museums, and its unique neighborhoods which are treasures of its own. Discover the variety of sites, shops, and restaurants that reflect the City's great ethnic and cultural diversity.

Things To Do in San Francisco

Explore the Neighborhoods

San Francisco is home to more than 40 neighborhoods, if not more. The claims to fame and the local lore in the “hoods,” are all a wonderful, exuberant part of the “Only in San Francisco” experience. No two neighborhoods are alike and each is worth a closer look. Come on, meet the neighbors!

The historic center of San Francisco is the northeast quadrant of the city bordered by Market Street to the south. It is here that the Financial District is centered, with Union Square, the principal shopping and hotel district, nearby. Cable cars carry riders up steep inclines to the summit of Nob Hill, and down to Fisherman's Wharf. Also in this quadrant are Russian Hill, a residential neighborhood with the famously crooked Lombard Street, North Beach, the city's Little Italy, and Telegraph Hill, which features Coit Tower. Nearby is San Francisco's Chinatown, established in the 1860s.

The Mission District in recent years has seen rapid gentrification primarily along the Valencia Street corridor which is strongly associated with modern hipster sub-culture. Haight-Ashbury, famously associated with 1960s hippie culture, later became home to expensive boutiques and a few controversial chain stores, although it still retains some bohemian character.

And there are many other fun-filled and exciting areas in and around San Francisco to visit and explore!

Rich Architecture and Tourist Attractions

Despite its limited geographical space, San Francisco contains a plethora of unique architecture that also serve as tourist attractions in their own right. They include its Civic Center, Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill, the Ferry Building on its waterfront, the world renowned Golden Gate Bridge, the twisty and windy Lombard Street in Russian Hill, "Painted Ladies", terraced Victorian houses that can be found city wide, the San Francisco cable car system, the abstract San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, the ruins of the once great Sutro Baths, and the Transamerica Pyramid.

Culture in San Francisco

San Francisco, California is a major and diverse international center of culture in terms of arts, music, festivals, museums, and much more. San Francisco's diversity of cultures along with its eccentricities are so great that they have influenced the country and the world at large over the years.

Museums

The Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) houses 20th century and contemporary works of art. The Palace of the Legion of Honor holds primarily European antiquities and works of art at its Lincoln Park building modeled after its Parisian namesake. It is administered by Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which also operates the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. The de Young's collection features American decorative pieces and anthropological holdings from Africa, Oceania and the Americas. Opposite the Music Concourse from the de Young stands the California Academy of Sciences, a natural history museum which also boasts the Morrison Planetarium and Steinhart Aquarium. Its current structure, featuring a living roof, is an example of sustainable architecture and opened in 2008. The Palace of Fine Arts, built originally for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, has since 1969 housed the Exploratorium, an interactive science museum.

Performing Arts

Classical and Opera venues in San Francisco include the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Ballet. They all perform at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. San Francisco's Ballet and Opera are some of the oldest continuing performing arts companies in the United States. Additionally, the New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) is known for being an intimate theater that routinely stages original productions by the local, national, and international LGBT community. Hundreds of smaller, alternative theatres also attract a significant portion of the audience given their historical role in the San Francisco performing arts culture.

Additionally, San Francisco is home to the 200-member San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, the world's first openly gay chorus, as well as the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, the world's first openly gay musical organization. Two additional gay choruses, the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco and Golden Gate Men's Chorus, also perform throughout the year.

To learn more about beautiful San Francisco: http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/

For more information: please email nkats@ucea.edu or call the UCEA National Office at 202.659.3130.