This story brings together three unforgettable strands - the city of San Fransisco, the magical teenage summers I spent there in the 1980s, and the impact the city and its wider peninsula still has on first-time visitors.
I'm going to say this with my whole chest: San Francisco is the most beautiful city on earth. It was in the 1980s - and it still is now. There's something magical about the place that stays with you forever.
If I could bottle how it felt to be a teenager watching its epic skyline coming into view in the summer of 1984, driving with the top down on Highway 101, listening to Prince's new single "When Doves Cry" on the KQAK 99 FM radio station, I'd probably be rich. Even at the time, I knew it was what the French call a Belle Epoque. That's why I can still hear its echoes when I visit now.
The commanding view from the Four Seasons, Embarcadero is the greatest in the city.
In more recent years, some news channels have tried to turn the city a political piñata, but I want to celebrate the Bay Area I knew - and still know - the one that's set on an otherworldly peninsula (foggy on one side, sunny on the other) in a setting that's so naturally beautiful it can hold its own with Athens, Florence, or Rome.
Visitors speak of their enduring fascination with the place after just one visit (a remarkable achievement), and they fondly speak of the unforgettable sights and sounds of the Bay Area, including encounters with the enjoyably quirky people who live there.
But personally, I put a lot of its enduring fame down to the matchless air and light, as well as its unique architecture: every day, world-famous landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge – a seven-wonders work of engineering and beauty – rise majestically out of the morning fog like a dream built to take your breath away.
In the 1980s, traveling from my home county of Donegal to San Francisco was like the journey that Dorothy took from black and white Kansas to the technicolor Oz. The contrast was so stark and so mind blowing there were almost no words to describe it. Nothing in my life had prepared me for such a place or such a people.
The welcoming to all Castro district is the most famous LGBT neighborhood in the world.
In Donegal back then – and probably still now - the word gay was so taboo that it was only spoken as an insult, but in San Francisco, I heard it spoken with civic pride in City Hall and in colorful parades that took place there every summer. Even the specter of AIDS, which would have challenged any community, did not diminish the city's compassion or its unmistakable determination to change the world for the better.
Rightly famed as a place of sanctuary for immigrants who didn't quite fit the mold elsewhere, the original promise of San Francisco still allows communities that are utterly unlike each other to congregate and thrive, bringing out the best of each other with a generosity unmatched in the nation.
Let's talk about that for a moment. San Francisco is unmistakably sincere in its welcome and peerless in its tolerance. That was true 100 years ago, and it's still true now. In these divided time,s that's a thing worth cheering.
Pride at Mission Dolores Park welcomes all and is the definition of a music festival.
Perhaps that's why it's been such a target for media jealousy in some quarters - because it's a place to live up to, rather than a place to run down. Today, people of all backgrounds still flock there because they know they'll find a welcome they encounter nowhere else, so it's been an unwitting victim of its own core principles - and its own success.
Like the song says, you will probably leave your heart there. I know I did. Back in the summers of the 1980s, I – like every other teenager of the era – was busy looking for that little door that leads toward life, and there's no better place to find it than in San Francisco.
Every time you return, you'll see the ghost of your previous younger selves on the city streets, in the venues you once visited, or the scenic overlooks that took your breath away. But it won't be bittersweet at all, it'll be as good as the first time every time, because San Francisco keeps faith with its own story. How many other cities can promise you as much?
Suites at the Four Seasons, Embarcadero are worth taking a trip in themselves.
One of the best places to see the city for the first time is from a towering suite at The Four Seasons, Embarcadero, a grand hotel with stylish modern suites (the bathrooms are sumptuous as the main rooms) that feature wraparound views of the bay stretching all the way from the Oakland Bridge to the Golden Gate.
Located on the top 11 floors of a 48-story building, staying in one of The Four Seasons well appointed rooms can feel a bit like arriving into the city by airship. The view is so majestic up there in the clouds – with every major city landmark on full view - that you'll probably stare slack-jawed in wonder from the moment you arrive.
If you arrive off a long-haul flight feeling famished, step into Orafo, the superb restaurant on the ground floor that offers fresh made pastas, locally sourced seafood, and Italian classics that emphasize Californian farm-to-table bounty.
Suites at the Four Seasons, Embarcadero are worth taking a trip in themselves.
The nearby Jay, Autograph Collection hotel is another ideally situated four-star hotel in the financial center, close to all the major landmarks. King-size beds and unusually spacious rooms with multiple tech charging outlets make this a perfect step-out point for a first visit to the city.
Staying in the suburbs back then, I got to know nearby cities on the peninsula like Burlingame in San Mateo County, which shares a shoreline along the San Francisco Bay.
To my delight, this tony neighborhood hasn't changed much since the 1980s, other than to receive obvious cosmetic upgrades in terms of its storefronts, streetscapes, dining, and shopping offerings. Nowadays its become that rare thing in America, a truly walkable town center that features first-rate dining options.
Burlingame is an ideal base from which to visit the wider San Fransisco peninsula
On this trip we visited Mykonos, a vibrant and authentic Greek bar and restaurant in the heart of downtown Burlingame that wowed us. Guests line up at the entrance for a table that the management do their best to accommodate quickly. It's like an unofficial town hall with unusually authentic Greek offerings, and it was a highlight of our trip.
Nearby, there's fine Italian dining at Stella, an upscale and elegant venue that offers superb northern Italian dishes is another must-visit. Pairing a first plate of Italian sausage with porcini ragu with an equally hearty second plate of Osso Bucco, Stella combines great cooking with good value, and it was an authentic Italian experience.
It's interesting to see the peninsula now through the lens of my teenage years, when I spent time getting to know the peninsula along the famous El Camino Real (meaning the royal road) an historic route that stretches from Sonoma to San Diego – and further.
El Camino takes you through rapidly changing neighborhoods and landscapes of the peninsula that give a broader sense of the communities and cultures that make their homes here (there's more than 60 miles of coastline to explore along the peninsula itself).
Getaways here will place you right in the middle of world-class dining, events, attractions, and giant redwood forest escapes, featuring hiking, surfing, water adventure,s and beaches that literally define the elusive California soul just minutes away.
Getting here is easy. Burlingame (which should be your hotel base) is located within view of San Francisco International Airport, so you can actually see the planes land and take off across the bay from the comfortable and well-situated San Francisco Airport Marriott.
Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space is a natural wonder a short drive away from suburban life.
But don't imagine you'll be landlocked. Within minutes, you can drive up to the Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space, where the microclimate and the air quickly change to bring you into alignment with nature and its wildlife. The natural beauty and the wildflowers will astonish you, as will the idea that you could be so close to city life in this epic and unspoiled giant natural landscape (just watch out for the occasional mountain lion).
Half Moon Bay, the romantically named and ocean-facing townland on the other side of the peninsula, is where legendary surfers like Jack O'Neill (founder of the O'Neill surfwear brand) first found ideal conditions for surfing and beach-going.
Your first stop should be Pillar Point Harbor for its seafood (try the fish and chips, the world-class chowder, and the brewing options like Half Moon Bay Brewing Company.
Just a short walk away is the award-winning Jettywave Distillery, makers of fine single malt whiskey, vodka, gin, and even absinthe. With their commitment to sustainability and local trade partners, Jettywave Distillery source their honey from a local bee farm, their coffee beans from a local roaster, and many of their herbs from the nearby Filoli Historic House and Gardens, the historical museum, and one of the largest tourist attractions in the region.
Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden in San Mateo County is a must visit.
Further south is Pasta Moon, a hugely popular Italian eatery where the life-saving lasagna and the very authentic caprese with fresh burratta was the best I've had on the west coast.
One of the biggest shows of the 1980s was "Dynasty," and the stunning mansion exterior where the fictitious Carrington family was shot at the real-life Filoli Historic House and Gardens, set in one of the most elegant and sumptuously maintained estate properties on the West Coast.
Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden in San Mateo County is a must visit.
You'll remember the house from the TV show, and in particular, you'll remember the lily pond where Alexis Colby and Krystle Carrington once duked it out. The gardens are still immaculately maintained by the year-round museum staff, so it's a must-visit on the peninsula that I can't recommend highly enough.
Further north, Pacifica is the name of the coastal suburb that leads on toward the wider city, and it has a kind of Brooklyn-on-sea vibe with hip cafes and bakeries that really know their stuff.
Rosalind Bakery in Pacifica make sourdough breads and pastries that are carefully crafted, naturally-leavened and baked fresh daily.
The sourdough at Rosalind Bakery was delicious, and the Soul Grind Coffee Roasters beachfront cafe sold a life-changing cappuccino. You can't put a foot wrong at either venue.
I had a first date in a wetsuit on the nearby Pacifica State Beach in the 80s, and I can still remember the blue of the Pacific and its roar as it hit the shoreline. Inexplicably, there's now a Taco Bell (deemed the most beautiful in the world due to its location on the beachfront) that features a working fireplace and surfboard parking areas; there's even a special window for surfers to make their orders from. It's a fun way to extend your day out there, and the outside views on the deck are best.
The most beautiful Taco Bell in the world is found at Pacifica State Beach
Like most places in America, the Irish have left their mark along the San Francisco peninsula for centuries. Irish immigrants were instrumental in shaping its growth in the 19th century, including the construction of the Crystal Springs Dam in the late 1800s, known today as Crystal Springs Reservoir, providing drinking water to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ranches like Borel Ranch (near what is now modern Burlingame) were first established and cultivated by Irish settlers, laying the groundwork for local agriculture. It's interesting to think of them in the 19th century, living so far from all they had known.
The Southern Pacific Railroad, which connected the Bay Area to the rest of California and the San Francisco and San Mateo Railroad, linking San Francisco with San Mateo and the Peninsula, relied heavily on Irish immigrant labor to build and expand the region’s infrastructure.
Roads and other infrastructure across the county owe much to the Irish immigrants who helped lay the foundation for the area’s growth. The San Mateo County History Museum can tell you about centuries of stories of Irish Immigrants and it's another must-see.
When you visit San Francisco and the wider peninsula, it won't be the Irish of yesteryear that come first to your mind, though, you'll first see what every new visitor sees, the matchless beauty of the Bay Area and the delights of its microclimates, with pacific blues and glittering sunlight.
San Francisco and the peninsula are two places that kept their magic in every decade I have visited them, retaining all of their original charm and promise in every version of themselves. That's some trick.
Prince may not be providing the soundtrack this summer of 2026, but the genius of this epic city remembers he once did, and it stays true to all you fell in love with the first time you saw it. That's a continuity to treasure in itself.