Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Shabby Chic, home of the post-Laura Ashley bedding and pillow designer.
Its patrons are certainly wealthy, but the smattering of pubs and coffee
bars relaxes the vibe.
Hayes Street
Bus no. 21 from Union Square.
Centered on its intersection with Gough
Street, the 3-block-long stretch of Hayes is light on corporate stores and
heavy on cute boutiques selling bath products, decorative knickknacks,
sake, and upscale clothes for kids. There aren't many bargains, but there
are lots of original items.
Haight Street
Bus no. 7 or 71 from Union Square.
Most tourists make at least one pil-
grimage to this avenue and then, having arrived, wonder what to do here.
The answer is to be on the lookout for secondhand duds, because a num-
ber of shops along this famous street (between Stanyan St. and Masonic
Ave.) deal in hipster clothes. You'll also find the colossal Amoeba Records
at its shabbier western end. Famously, a Gap was recently unable to sur-
vive here, yet there's still a Ben & Jerry's at the corner of Haight and
Ashbury, so the district clearly isn't as anti-corporate as its old rep might
indicate. Golden Gate Park anchors its western end.
Grant Avenue
The spine of tourists' Chinatown, a short walk up Stockton Street from
Union Square, Grant Avenue is packed with stores selling bric-a-brac,
sculpture, cheap silk apparel items ($1.88 T-shirts!), teas, and other
Asian-made goodies. The tiny chirping “birds” in cages fascinate kids and
torment their parents.
Valencia Street
BART to 16th Street or 24th Street.
Two blocks west of Mission Street,
Valencia has gone from a questionable ghetto to a city capital for bohemi-
anism. It's slightly thinner on shops than other streets, but what it has is
usually quite interesting, from the death-and-garden boutique Paxton Gate
(p. 191) to an assortment of clothing and bookstores. There are lots of
cafes here at which to spell a spree.
and more eager to help. The multi-floor layout is confusing; you'll need to rely on
the hipster elevator operators to shuttle you around, sort of like a grungy version
of the old department stores. It, too, has a location in
Berkeley (2401 Telegraph
Ave., at Channing Way;
%
800/350-8700)
to feed off Cal students, and at that
location, there are semi-frequent in-store appearances and performances. Prices are
similar to Amoeba's.
