San Francisco has been characterized by a high standard of living. The downtown has seen a renaissance driven by redevelopment of the Embarcadero, with the strong neighborhoods South Beach and Mission Bay. Boutiques along Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights are centralized by commerce and shopping districts downtown, with the Financial District and the area around Union Square, are very well-known.

Performing arts

San Francisco's “War Memorial” and the “Performing Arts Center” features some of the longest running and performing arts companies throughout the United States. The “War Memorial Opera House” houses the “San Francisco Opera” and “San Francisco Ballet”, where as the “San Francisco Symphony” is played in Davies Symphony Hall. The “Herbst Theatre stages” an eclectic mix of real music performances, plus public radio's “City Arts & Lectures”.

The “Fillmore” is a music venue located in the Western Addition. It is the second incarnation of a venue that gained fame in the 1960s. Beach “Blanket Babylon” is a zany musical revue and also a civic institution. San Francisco often hosts national touring productions of Broadway theatre shows in a number of year 1920s-era venues in the “Theater District” including the “Curran”, “Orpheum”, and in “Golden Gate Theatres”.

Museums

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has 20th Century contemporary pieces. It moved to iconic building in South of Market during 1995 and attracted 600,000 people annually. The “Palace of the Legion of Honor” has primary works done by Europeans. The “De Young Museum” and the “Asian Art Museum” have a significant anthropological and non-European holding.

The “Palace of Fine Arts”, was originally built for the 1915 “Panama-Pacific Exposition”, now houses the “Exploratorium”, a popular science museum devoted to teaching through hands-on-hands interaction. The “California Academy of Sciences” is a natural history museum, which hosts the “Morrison Planetarium” and “Steinhart Aquarium”. The “San Francisco Zoo” cares for about 250 animal pet’s species out of which 39 have been deemed endangered or threatened.

San Francisco is all about having contemporary life. The culture is maintained from long time. One can enjoy and explore themselves at San Francisco with great experience.