PoInTS oF InTEREST 15 STOP JAPANTOWN Geary, Fillmore, Sutter and Laguna streets. Travelers can visit Japan just 1.1 miles (1.8 km) west of downtown. nihonmachi, as Japantown is known to the city’s residents of Japanese descent, is one of only three in the United States. The Japan Center is a five-acre complex of shops, restaurants, sushi bars, movie theaters, galleries and Japanese baths. The Peace Plaza, crowned by a five-tier pagoda, is the main setting for such celebrations as the annual Cherry Blossom Festival (April), nihonmachi Street Fair (August) and several smaller festivals. Get excellent views of the Golden Gate Bridge as well. Runners consider this one of the best spots for daily workouts. Breathtaking Views ALAMO SQUARE • CHINA BEACH CLIFF HOUSE • FORT POINT LINCOLN PARK • MARINA GREEN OCEAN BEACH • THE PRESIDIO TELEGRAPH HILL/COIT TOWER TREASURE ISLAND • TWIN PEAKS MISSION BAY Third St., south of Mission Creek Channel. Easily reached on the T-Third Muni Metro, Mission Bay has grown into a busy waterfront neighborhood. Featuring the renowned University of California -San Francisco, Mission Bay medical campus and the Chase Center, home to the Golden State Warriors, this neighborhood is the latest must-see for visitors. MISSION DISTRICT South of Market St. between Potrero Ave. and Sanchez St. Mission St., the main thoroughfare in the district, once linked the Mission San Francisco de Asis (Mission Dolores) to the bay. Boasting one of the best climates in the city, the Mission has always been a bustling community. Some of the city’s most promising young chefs are making names for themselves here. Valencia St. has become a hotbed of new restaurants and shopping. Cinco de Mayo and Carnaval occur in May. Fairmont hotels offer magnificent panoramas of San Francisco. Grace Cathedral, Huntington Park, the exclusive Pacific Union Club and the Masonic enhance the lure of this locale. NOE VALLEY MISSION DOLORES Japantown Peace Pagoda LAKE MERCED Southwest corner of the city. Adjacent to the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens and TPC Harding Park Golf Course, Lake Merced is a favorite place for fun and relaxation. once an ocean lagoon before it was separated by sand dunes, the lake is now fed by freshwater springs. It offers the only trout fishing in San Francisco and is also popular for boating and sailing. San Francisco Travel Association; Julien Hautcoeur / Shutterstock.com 16th and Dolores streets, 415-621-8203. Founded in 1776, Mission San Francisco de Asis is the sixth of 21 missions established by the Franciscan Fathers in California. Moorish, Mission and Corinthian styles combine in the church, the oldest intact structure in San Francisco; the altar and decorations are from Spain and Mexico. Alongside is a garden and cemetery where many pioneers are buried. West of Dolores St. between 22nd and 30th streets. The heart of noe Valley, San Francisco’s “village within the city,” is 24th St. This colorful, pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare boasts trendy boutiques, comfortable pubs, outdoor cafés and restaurants. Visitors can explore retailers selling imported cheeses, gelato, herbs and oils, hard-to-find magazines, and coffee beans and teas from around the world. NORTH BEACH NOB HILL LINCOLN PARK West of the Presidio, bisected by El Camino del Mar. Main entrance at Clement St. and 34th Ave. These 270 acres (109 hectares) of green space provide an impressive view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Two-hundred-foot cliffs (61 meters) enhance the grandeur. The Legion of Honor’s art collection, the Holocaust memorial and the Lincoln Park Municipal Golf Course are the principal attractions. California and Mason streets and adjacent blocks. once a fashionable residential district for silver kings and railroad barons, known colloquially as “nabobs,” nob Hill is now home to elegant hotels, apartments and restaurants. Views from atop the InterContinental Mark Hopkins and North of Broadway and east of Columbus Ave. There’s no beach like north Beach — in fact, there’s no beach at all. The area’s name comes from the 1850s, when a finger of the bay extended inland and the neighborhood was a sunny shore. Today, it encompasses one of San Francisco’s busiest nightlife areas with cabarets, jazz, cappuccino houses, offbeat bistros and established restaurants. All around are the vibrant accents of the city’s inhabitants of Italian descent. Delicatessens are filled with enticing appetizers: provolone, prosciutto, focaccia and on and on. Washington Square is an ideal spot for a picnic lunch. LITTLE SAIGON Lower Larkin St. Just beyond the Asian Art Museum’s front door at Larkin St., the area from McAllister to o’Farrell streets has been designated Little Saigon. Some 250 Vietnamese-owned businesses are concentrated in this area and the nearby Tenderloin. For budget-friendly meals, this is a good fit, from banh mi (tasty sandwiches on baguettes) to pho (rice noodle soup). MARINA GREEN Shoreline of the Bay, from Webster to Scott streets. This broad waterfront lawn developed on the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition provides a restful place to view the boats sailing out from San Francisco’s Yacht Harbor or participating in weekend regattas. Mural in the Mission District sftravel.com
San Francisco Travel Planner's Guide 2020 TPG: Page 15
