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Swinging in the best jazz clubs

Jazz is not a music style that many people associate with San Francisco, but this bustling city on the west coast of the United States has a very lively jazz scene – one with an unusual history. Although the heyday of jazz may have come to an end, the city still has dozens of excellent jazz clubs.

Arts & Culture

A performance at the SFJAZZ centre

Centre for jazz

Big names like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong often performed at the Fillmore jazz clubs, especially at Jimbo’s Bop City. The club became famous across the country for its jam sessions, which sometimes lasted until the morning hours. In the late 1950s, Fillmore experienced a steady decline and the lively jazz scene largely disappeared from the neighbourhood. The building that housed Bop City is now designated a heritage site. Yet fantastic clubs can still be found in San Francisco. In 2013, the SFJAZZ cultural centre – the first independent centre in the United States devoted entirely to jazz – opened its doors. The goal of the centre is to introduce visitors to jazz and the history of this music style. You can also take part in workshops and master classes here. Performances are held all week in the beautiful auditorium by famous and lesser-known jazz musicians. Tickets, names and dates can be found on the website.

Jazzing at Yoshi’s

Yoshi’s is one of the best jazz clubs in San Francisco. Yoshie Akiba from Japan opened a small sushi restaurant in Berkeley in 1972 but, due to its growing success, it had to relocate soon thereafter to a larger accommodation in Oakland. Dinner to the accompaniment of live music was introduced at the new address and Yoshi’s quickly became a world-class jazz club. In 2007, Yoshi’s opened a second restaurant in the heart of San Francisco on Fillmore Street. Both the food and jazz are of excellent quality – many say it’s the only place in the world where you can listen to world-class jazz while enjoying food deserving of a Michelin star.

All

Culinary

Nature

Arts & Culture

Culinary

San Francisco is famous for its burritos. Surprised? The Mexican burrito is a popular lunch or dinner item around the world, but this classic dish has been given a unique twist in San Francisco, called the Mission-style burrito. Make it your mission to try at least one during your visit to the City by the Bay.

Nature

With 2 museums, a variety of gardens and endless miles of greenery, Golden Gate Park is perhaps best described as the playground of San Francisco. Originally home to massive sand dunes, construction began in 1871 to create a park that would be bigger than Central Park in New York. The green oasis now attracts 13 million visitors each year.

Nature

A drive out of the city and across the Golden Gate Bridge takes you to a completely different landscape. Rugged cliffs, beautiful grassy meadows and a diversity of wildlife: welcome to Point Reyes National Seashore, a park filled with countless biking and hiking trails and a 130-kilometre-long coastline for enjoying fresh sea breezes. And all of this at only a stone’s throw from the city.