Burlingame is a small, comfortable city on the San Francisco Peninsula, sandwiched between the bay and the hills about 15 miles south of San Francisco. Its most distinctive feature is its proximity to SFO airport, which sits just to the north — making it a practical stopover or base if you have an early flight or a long layover.
The heart of town is Burlingame Avenue, a walkable strip of cafes, restaurants, and independent shops running west from the Caltrain station. Rasa, a modern Indian restaurant on the avenue, is one of the better meals you can have in suburban San Francisco. Broadway, a quieter parallel street a bit further south, has a more neighborhood feel. The Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia — a lovingly maintained collection of thousands of Pez dispensers — is a genuine local curiosity worth a look if you have time to kill before a flight. Coyote Point Recreation Area, two miles north on the bay, has waterfront trails and views across to San Francisco.
For exploring the Bay Area, Burlingame is reasonably well connected. Caltrain runs north to San Francisco and south to Palo Alto and San Jose. It's not a destination in itself, but it works well as a quieter, cheaper alternative to staying in the city.