Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
52
As I r ecall fr om my o wn visits to S an
Francisco in b ygone y ears, teens feel a
magnetic pull to this place. I f you have
some with y ou, definitely hav e lunch
here on y our way to or fr om G olden
Gate Park, but, because the ar ea can be
noisy, and a bit seedy, at night, I wouldn't
recommend overnighting here.
Laurel H eights and P residio
Heights
In this small, upscale r esi-
dential neighborhood center ed ar ound
California Street betw een Presidio and
Arguello str eets, one could get the
brimming with hip little dining and
drinking venues. The Mission has been
redefining itself over the past 2 decades.
It's the heart of the Latino community ,
a little bit funky, a little bit hipper than
thou—and it's frankly unsafe on certain
blocks. Don't linger ar ound the BAR T
stations on 16th or 24th str eets and
don't hang ar ound late at night unless
you're with people who kno w the ar ea.
Do come for dinner , but make sur e to
take a cab back to y our hotel. (Parking
is nearly impossible here, so driving isn't
recommended anyway .) The
Precita
Eyes M ural Ar t Center
offers guided
tours of M ission D istrict murals and
high points—a gr eat way to gain some
insight into the community.
The Castro
A huge rainbow flag, the
symbol of gay activism, r eigns over the
center of this historic community where
Market Street meets Castro Street. The
flag is planted in H arvey M ilk P laza,
named for the country's first openly gay
man elected to public office, r ecently
portrayed by the actor Sean Penn in the
acclaimed film
Milk.
There aren't many
family-friendly hotels her e, but y ou'll
find many fun, w ell-priced r estaurants
in the area. The Castro Theater is hand-
some to look at and fun to attend, par-
ticularly if y ou can catch one of the
legendary sing-along scr eenings of the
Sound of M usic.
Otherwise, there's not
much for children around here.
Noe Valley
In the late ' 80s, families
began moving in dr oves into this hilly
neighborhood south of the Castr o,
transforming petite Victorians into styl-
ishly r emodeled homes. You'll find a
number of shops and cafes on 24th
Street betw een D iamond and Chur ch
streets. The playgr ound at D ouglass
and 27th str eets, and the Walter H aas
playground at D iamond Heights Bou-
levard and A ddison S treet, ar e both
delightful. The neighborhood is other-
wise pretty quiet.
impression that a bab y str oller is the
price of admission. There ar e lots of
them here, all filled with actual babies,
and ther e ar e lots of stor es catering to
young families in the Laur el Village
Shopping Center and on S acramento
Street just 1 block to the nor th. Come
here to check out the delightful chil-
dren's clothing stor
es, to do some
grown-up shopping for home furnish-
ings and fancy shoes, or to gawk at the
large homes in P residio Heights. Tech-
nically in the P residio, but bor dering
Presidio H eights, is the J ulius Kahn
Park, with a fabulous playgr ound and
grassy fields. The one wor thwhile fam-
ily hotel her e, the
Laurel Inn,
is gr eat
for families who want to stay in a “real”
neighborhood.
The M ission D istrict
S tretching
from 16th Street to Cesar Chavez Street,
between D olores S treet and P otrero
Avenue, the pr edominately H ispanic
Mission D istrict is liv ely, congested,
and earthy. For tourists, Mission Dolo-
res at 16th Street and lovely palm tree-
lined Dolores Street are worth a visit if
you're inter ested in historic S an F ran-
cisco.
Dolores Park,
2 blocks south, is
a fine spot for vie ws and a little F ris-
bee—but be ware the unleashed dogs.
The 24th S treet corridor is a terrific
market str eet for Latino food lo
3
vers,
and Valencia and G
uerrero str eets
between 16th and 23r
d str eets ar e
