Less than an hour's drive from San Francisco is Napa's Sonoma County, where Megan Singleton sips, cooks and walks.

Dutch researchers have claimed it's possible three inmates who escaped from Alcatraz in 1962 could have survived - but only if their timing was perfect.

Voters in San Francisco will decide next month whether to tax sodas and other sugary drinks to reduce ailments including obesity and diabetes.

Air NZ says it's business as usual, despite an inquiry into a crash in San Francisco finding the complexity of the Boeing 777 was to blame.

US-style pizza caught on here. Now Kiwis' on-the-go meal is doing the same over there, writes Megan Singleton.

Commuters on a packed San Francisco train were too busy on their phones and tablets notice a man flashing a gun - until he shot dead a student.

Sharon Stephenson explores part of San Francisco that couldn't be further from the glamour of the America's Cup village.

A tour of San Francisco becomes a day of history lessons and surf stories when Duncan Gillies discovers his guide, musician Chuck Prophet, is a fellow surfer.

With Dean Barker taking his feud with Russell Coutts to San Francisco Bay later this year, plenty of kiwis will be heading over to support him. But outside of the wealthy boys and their toys, here are five very cool things to do in San Francisco.

No Alcatraz. Or Fisherman's Wharf. Ewan McDonald goes back to a favourite town and avoids the tourist traps. And the cable cars.

Rebecca Gibb takes a foodie tour of San Francisco.

Victorian homes give San Francisco a fairy-tale charm, writes Sarah Stewart.