New York has been immortalised in classic movies and TV shows such as King Kong, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Taxi Driver, Sex and the City and Spin City. That’s the power of the silver screen – and the small screen – as it can help create a magic and mysticism about a certain place. Someone may never have visited New York, but they’ll sure recognise the skyline, streets and many of the famous landmarks from the myriad of movies they’ve grown up watching.
Over on the west coast too, San Francisco has been used as the setting for many films and TV shows over the years.
If Robert De Niro has a penchant for making movies in New York, then Clint Eastwood certainly has a leaning towards San Francisco, with countless Clint classics being filmed in what is California’s most tourist-friendly city.
alcatraz tours – For anyone who is visiting San Francisco, a particular spot you just can’t pass up is the infamous Alcatraz prison. Spending some time to take one of the numerous Alcatraz tours might be the most memorable part of your vacation.
Dirty Harry is one of the all-time classic cop movies and in many ways set the standard for the whole urban city police genre. With many of the scenes filmed out and about on the streets of San Francisco, the most striking feature is the steep streets. As Harry’s car pounds across the avenues between crime scenes, any prospective tourist may be put-off by the near-vertical roads. But relax, San Francisco’s tram system is there to help those with an aversion to hills, and are a great way to traverse the city.
Another timeless classic is Escape from Alcatraz, based on the true story of Frank Morris, who is one of the few people to escape from the so-called ‘inescapable’ Alcatraz prison on an island in San Francisco Bay. Whether he actually made it to shore or not, nobody will ever know but the story lives on in what is one of Eastwood’s defining movies.
The prison was in operation between 1934 and 1963, and now it is one of the city’s main tourist attractions, drawing in more than a million tourists each year.
The city has been the setting for many other films and TVs shows over the years. The Streets of San Francisco was a classic TV police drama in the 1970s and Hitchcock’s classic Vertigo was also set in San Francisco, with a classic police chase across the rooftops the basis upon which the subsequent story is based.
The jewel in California’s crown has been immortalised in many movies and TV shows over the years and the city’s iconic status ensures San Francisco hotels are always in great demand. You won’t be disappointed!