Neighborhoods

Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America: two dozen blocks of dim sum, temple-lined alleys, and herb shops behind the Dragon Gate at Grant and Bush.

The Financial District is San Francisco’s downtown core of office towers, from the Transamerica Pyramid to the old banks of Montgomery Street, the city’s first Wall Street.

Fisherman’s Wharf runs the northern waterfront from Pier 39 to Ghirardelli Square, with a working crab fleet, barking sea lions, and Boudin’s original sourdough.

Haight-Ashbury, the center of the 1967 Summer of Love, is eight blocks of Victorians, record stores, and vintage shops at the eastern edge of Golden Gate Park.

Hayes Valley is a walkable stretch of boutiques, wine bars, and well-known restaurants around Patricia’s Green, where a freeway stood until the 1989 earthquake.

Japantown is one of three remaining in the United States, built around the Peace Pagoda, the Japan Center malls, and an April cherry blossom festival.

The Marina is a flat bayfront neighborhood of Chestnut Street cafes and yoga studios, home to the Palace of Fine Arts and front-row Golden Gate Bridge views.

Nob Hill is the summit of grand hotels and cable car lines where the railroad barons built their mansions, crowned by Grace Cathedral.

North Beach is San Francisco’s Little Italy and Beat Generation hub, with espresso bars, City Lights bookstore, and the restaurants along Columbus Avenue.

Pacific Heights is the hilltop of mansions and bay views above the Marina, with Fillmore Street shopping and the Victorian Haas-Lilienthal House.

Russian Hill is a steep residential neighborhood above North Beach, home to the crooked block of Lombard Street and the Hyde Street cable car.

SoMa, south of Market Street, holds SFMOMA, Yerba Buena Gardens, Oracle Park, and the Moscone Center across former industrial blocks.

The Castro is San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ neighborhood, home of Harvey Milk, the rainbow flag, the 1922 Castro Theatre, and the rainbow crosswalks at 18th Street.

The Embarcadero is San Francisco’s waterfront promenade from Fisherman’s Wharf to Oracle Park, anchored by the Ferry Building‘s farmers market and food hall.

The Mission is San Francisco’s Latino cultural heart and sunniest neighborhood, known for taquerias, mural-lined alleys, and Mission Dolores, founded in 1776.

The Richmond is a foggy residential grid between Golden Gate Park and the Presidio, with Clement Street’s restaurants and the trails out to Lands End.

The Sunset is San Francisco’s largest neighborhood, a grid of pastel row houses west of Golden Gate Park running to Ocean Beach and the fog.

The Tenderloin is one of San Francisco’s densest neighborhoods, home to Little Saigon, historic SRO hotels, and a cluster of ornate old theaters.