San Francisco - cool places to go

Haight Ashbury

Made famous by the 60’s hippie-psychedelic scene, it has kept a lot of its charm, especially in terms of cheap clothes shops, record stores, restaurants, coffee shops and general atmosphere. It can be a bit of a seedy neighbourhood sometimes, and there are a good number of drug dealers operating in the area. Rents are still quite cheap, so this is the place where artists and musicians tend to live and operate. It is full with unusual people, and one good pastime, especially if you come from a “straight” background, is to sit in a bar and look at all the people going round. You will be in for a few surprises!

The Mission

It used to be a mostly Spanish district (hence the fairly Catholic-sounding name), but it has recently turned into one of the hip areas of the city, ideal for clubs and thrift shops. There are also a number of restaurants and nice bars, where you can find cheap drinks and smoking is still something acceptable. Lots of punk rock stuff going on, as well. This is a fairly dangerous area, especially at night, so be careful.

Pacific Heights

Colonized at the end of the 1800s when cable cars made access to the area much easier, it is one of the trendiest places to live, since the view on the city is wonderful and there are plenty of old, beautiful decorated houses. It is particularly recommended for restaurants and shopping strolls (especially in Fillmore Street), during the day. Evenings tend to be a bit too quiet: there are not too many clubs here.

The Castro

As you will probably know, San Francisco is the gay capital of the United States. And this is the “queerest” area of SF. It is full of bars, clubs, and is particularly interesting at night. It is also a safe district at night, so it can be a good place to have fun with friends even if you’re not looking for a date!

Chinatown

If you’re looking for exotic atmosphere, this is it. There are areas packed with tourists and others which are more “natural”; this is one of the places with the biggest Asian population outside of Asia, so it’s probably as close as you can get to China without actually going there. The area is full of restaurants, open air markets, herbalists, tea shops, and the like.