Located at California and Mason Street, the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco stands at the crest of Nob Hill, several hundred feet above San Francisco's downtown business and shopping district. This 19-story hotel is filled with plenty of historic tales to tell.

A review of San Francisco's downright cool Hotel Kabuki in Japantown.

“Nob Hill, the hill of palaces,” wrote Robert Louis Stevenson in 1888, “must certainly be counted the best part of San Francisco. It is there that the millionaires are gathered together vying with each other in display.”

It's one of San Francisco's most picturesque neighborhoods: a hilltop perch filled with stately architecture and offering stunning views both of San Francisco Bay and the city. There's also plenty to see and do in Russian Hill, from dining out to winding your way down Lombard Street — though it's best to save those iconic car chase scenes that the neighborhood's so synonymous with for the movies (a little Bullitt, anyone?).

Take a little Bay Area cruise in this photo gallery of publicly accessible courses around San Francisco.