San Francisco, CA
The top U.S. travel destination for 2025 is in the Bay Area: report
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – Tourists ride a cable car through Chinatown in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO – A new analysis ranked San Francisco as the number one, most popular U.S. vacation destination for 2025.
The global car rental and travel site SIXT conducted its research by analyzing Google travel search trends.
What we know:
San Francisco had the most searches, with more than 2.7 million hits.
“San Francisco topping the list of 2025 travel destinations comes as no surprise—it’s a city that perfectly blends culture, innovation, and iconic landmarks, making it a must-visit for travelers worldwide,” said SIXT Director of Communications Joseph Gerbino.
Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (and extending into Montana and Idaho) and the Grand Canyon in Arizona came in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.
Yosemite National Park also made the list.
“Yosemite National Park, ranked as the seventh most popular travel spot, highlights the natural beauty that’s just a few hours drive away from the city,” Gerbino said.
California was the most represented state on the list, with two other cities named among this year’s top U.S. destinations.
San Diego came in 9th, and Anaheim, home to Disneyland, was ranked 12th.
San Francisco also ranked by Tripadvisor
San Francisco was also ranked in another, more comprehensive analysis– one by Tripadvisor, which analyzed thousands of reviews shared by its global community of travelers.
The site’s annual “Travelers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best Destinations” listed the City by the Bay as the 7th must-visit city in the U.S. this year.
New York City (1), Hawaii’s O’ahu (2), and Las Vegas (3) topped that list.
San Francisco also made Tripadvisor’s best food destinations rankings, coming in 10th place after San Diego.
The site noted that travelers across the globe were “most excited” about the culinary offerings as part of their vacationing experience.
New Orleans, Charleston, S.C., and New York City were named the top three best for food destinations.
Dig deeper:
The Travelers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best Destinations also identified the top “trending” vacation spots in the world, which was Osaka, Japan.
In the U.S., it was West Palm Beach, Florida.
And to mark its 25th anniversary this year, Tripadvisor named the top travel destination of the last quarter-century.
London took the crown, with the capital U.K. city also being named as 2025’s top must-visit destination in the world.
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San Francisco, CA
Women’s volleyball professional team headed to San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO – Pro volleyball will soon be coming to San Francisco and this latest team is part of a surge of women’s sports.
League One Volleyball officially launched this year with six teams. Now the league has announced it’s expanding to nine teams, and that one of those expansion teams will be based in the city by the bay.
Three-time Olympic volleyball medalist Kelsy Robinson Cook is on the ownership team for LOVB San Francisco, bringing professional volleyball to the city. “Can tell you it’s going to be amazing,” said Robinson Cook. “Then, when you bring in the fandom of the Bay Area and SF I think personally it’s going to make for an incredible atmosphere.”
Team ownership said starting a team in the Bay Area is a natural with colleges and universities in the region turning out top talent. “It’s the number one sport for women and girls and I think that just speaks volumes as to where we’re headed, not only in club and college, but professionally,” said Robinson Cook.
Pro women’s volleyball is part of a growing list of professional women’s sports teams calling San Francisco and the Bay Area home.
The women’s professional baseball league announced plans for a team in San Francisco. Bay FC and the Golden State Valkyries are already proving there is a market for professional women’s sports.
When pro-volleyball was looking to expand, San Francisco was a natural choice. “You’re seeing Bay FC, the Valkyries, the success that they have, and this market loves sports, and they’ve also proven they love women’s sports,” said Robinson Cook.
San Francisco leaders said the city has already proven that it supports pro-women’s teams, and will welcome professional volleyball. Mayor Daniel Lurie pointed to the city’s rich sports history and enthusiasm to support the home teams. “Now, as we saw with the Valkyries selling out every single home game last year, there is an appetite, there is a fan base, and this new league understands that,” said Mayor Lurie.
At this time, there are still a lot of questions up in the air, including exactly where LOVB San Francisco will play. Organizers say they have a lot of plans in the works to get the team ready to bump, set and spike starting in January 2027.
San Francisco, CA
Body cam footage released in South San Francisco police shooting
(KRON) — The South San Francisco Police Department released video Thursday showing what led up to two officers shooting a man who authorities said was armed with a knife.
On December 8 at around 5:10 a.m., police arrived at the 900 block of Sandra Court on the report of a man under the influence of drugs and making threats to kill himself. When officers made contact with the man, identified as 28-year-old Luis Francisco-Manzo, he initially complied with orders, authorities said.
Officer-worn body camera video shows Francisco-Manzo walking toward officers in the entrance hallway of an apartment complex with his arms raised. A small dog barks as officers give repeated commands. Suddenly, Francisco-Manzo appears in the entranceway next to officers as one calls out, “He’s got a knife.”
Officer Brendan Hart, who has been with SSFPD for eight years, fired a Taser at Francisco-Manzo, but it did not have the intended effect, police said.
Four gunshots are heard in the body camera video. Police said Officer Hart and Officer Martin Corona were the officers who discharged their weapons. Officer Corona has seven years of law enforcement experience with over four years at SSFPD.
Francisco-Manzo was transported to the hospital in critical condition. On Thursday, authorities said he continues to recover in the hospital. No officers were injured in the incident.
The police shooting remains under investigation by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
San Francisco, CA
Pedestrian killed in San Francisco hit-and-run crash
SAN FRANCISCO – A hit-and-run crash in San Francisco on Wednesday evening left a pedestrian dead.
Driver fled scene
What we know:
According to the San Francisco Police Department, the crash happened around 6:05 p.m. in the 5500 block of Mission Street. The driver fled the scene after striking the pedestrian.
The victim died at the scene.
Officers have not yet provided a description of the suspect vehicle involved in the incident.
No further details were immediately released.
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