Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CENTRAL NEIGHBORHOODS
As with every quadrant of San Francisco, diversity is the keynote here. This
area encompasses the oldest money and the highest society of the city's
founding families, as well as some of the poorest of citizens. It takes in the
staunchest pillars of the politically savvy - though true conservatives are a
rarity in this progressive city - as well as the wildest let-it-all-hang-out free-
thinkers. Then, too, there's a considerable swathe of the comfortably
middle-class who, like all San Franciscans, are simply intent on enjoying the
beauties and pleasures of their great city.
1. GOLDEN GATE PARK
One of the largest, finest parks-cum-cultural centers in world. No visit to the city is
complete without taking in some of its wonders (for further details see
Golden Gate
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2. UNION STREET
A neighborhood shopping street loaded with tradition,
Union Street
is noted for its
sidewalk cafés, bookstores, and designer boutiques, housed in converted Victorian
charmers. The street is at the heart of the Cow Hollow neighborhood, whose name
invokes its antecedent as a dairy pasture.
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3. PACIFIC HEIGHTS
A grander, more exclusive residential area is hard to imagine. Commanding as it
does heights up to 300 ft (100 m) overlooking the magnificent Bay, everything about
it proclaims power and wealth. The blocks between Alta Plaza and Lafayette Park
are the very heart of the area, but the grandeur extends from Gough to Divisadero
and beyond. On a sunny day, there's nothing more exhilarating than scaling its hills
and taking in the perfectly manicured streets, the to-die-for views, and the palatial
dwellings. The Spreckels Mansion, a limestone palace in the Beaux-Arts tradition, on
Washington and Octavia streets, is the brightest gem of the lot, now owned by novel-
ist Danielle Steele.
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