Most notable for the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island, San Francisco has more history than you might have thought. Here are five things you may not have known about the city, that you can brag to your friends and family about during your next tour to San Fran.

Happy Hour on the Vine

VinoVenu, the very first wine bar in the United States, opened its doors in 1974. With over 100 bottles from all over the world, it’s truly the ultimate wine tasting experience. The bar is completely self-serve, so each individual guest can pick and choose exactly which wines they want to taste. No more having to taste wines that’ve been chosen for you…gross!

Frisco Fortune

Next time you crack open one of those fortune cookies in your favorite Chinese restaurant, remember that tasty after meal snack wasn’t even invented in China. It was actually created by a Japanese tea lover in 1909 by the name of Makoto Hagiwara. Oh, and by the way, he lived in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Treat

Do you remember those Rice-a-Roni commercials with the cable car? Didn’t you wish you could jump on one someday? Well, when you’re on your San Francisco Tour, chances are that you’ll finally get the opportunity. Just keep in mind while you’re riding in that cable car, that it was invented to move gold out of mines way back in the 1800’s. Andrew Hallidie developed the cable car when he realized the need to make pulling gold from the mines a bit easier. Once he saw that it worked for the gold, he decided to try and use it as a "people mover." It worked for that too.

See It All

San Francisco has some absolutely stunning views all throughout the city, but there is one vantage point that takes the cake. Located at the top of Belgrave Avenue. See it on the map.

Twighlight Mimosa

Jeanty at Jack’s, the oldest restaurant in all of San Francisco, has been frequented by plenty of "high-rollers" including Alfred Hitchcock. Whom, with the help of a friend, is reported to have invented the mimosa one drunken night. There is no documented evidence to back the theory up, but we’re sure the maker of the Twighlight Zone had enough creativity to pull something like that off.

Hope this little bit adds to your experience of The Bay. It truly is a wonderful city with so much to see. If you can, try and spend some extra time over there to check out the places described above. If you want a tailor made tour, then browse through our San Francisco section. We have about 60+ tours for you to chose from, so chances are that you’ll find exactly what you want.

Happy Travels