Time Out's resident team helps you get the best out of the City on the Bay, giving you the inside track on local culture plus hundreds of independent venue reviews. As well as covering visitor essentials. Time Out San Francisco explores the city's diverse neighborhoods and highlights its independent and creative spirit with a tour of its thriving gay, art, food, shopping and cultural venues.

Some 2,000 km of crystal clear coastline fringed by 1,200 mainly uninhabited islands is enticing a record number of visitors. The independent traveller can count on cheaply available accommodation, superb seafood, a lively bar scene and — unless it's a busy island in high season — lots of space. Inland, surrounded by national parks, traditional villages and rare wildlife, stands the culturally vibrant, classically Habsburg capital of Zagreb. Together with informed recommendations of restaurants, hotels and nightspots, Time Out Croatia covers all aspects of this newly rediscovered tourist region, from its peculiar history to its secluded beaches and hilltop villages. No other guide offers such a unique insider perspective.

These are exciting times for the world's most romantic city. Traditionally a global centre for the arts, fashion, film, gastronomy, architecture, shopping and sport, the French capital has been transformed by incumbent mayor Bertrand Delanoe. Recent public initiatives have included Paris-Plage, creating inner-city beaches and outdoor leisure activities along the Seine for a month in summer, and Nuit Blanche, all-night museum openings in October. Paris is also in pole position to host the Olympic Games of 2012, and a positive decision in July 2005 would be a further boost to the city's global status. Without breaking with tradition — all major sights, museums and monuments are covered in-depth — the guide takes detours into the city's revolutionary history, modern architectural development and present-day cultural mix.