San Francisco Sunrise (Photo: M. Biddulph via FLickr)

You can truly be yourself in Frisco. At least that is the reputation the city has developed. By American standards, it is compact enough to explore on foot. Climb one of the city’s celebrated hills for stunning views of the bay and perhaps a nebulous Golden Gate Bridge behind evening fog rolling in off the Pacific. The city has played a central role in major American cultural and social causes over the past century from the Beat movement to gay rights.