Though the city of San Francisco is a compact 49 sq mi, its neighborhoods guard their individuality like medieval fiefdoms. Each district is a distinct entity culturally, socially, and often politically, and they are all fascinating grounds for urban exploration. The best way to experience the city’s neighborhoods is on foot: Plan your walk with a map or just start off in an interesting spot and surrender to the whims of the streets.
DOWNTOWN
Downtown is grand old San Francisco – that of tea dances and cocktail hours. Looking up at the beautiful architectural details, you might forget what century it is. Noteworthy architectural stops include the 1930 Art Deco Shell Building (100 Bush St., between Battery and Sansome Sts.) and the 1926 Romanesque chateau-style Hunter-Dulin Building (111 Sutter St., between Montgomery and Kearny Sts.). Today the downtown area has the major concentration of monkey-making businesses. It’s typical cosmopolitan walking territory, with all the elements – both fascinating and horrifying – of urban American life.
UNION SQUARE – Union Square is the physical heart – though not the soul – of the city, especially for tourists who come to shop, browse the galleries, attend the theater, and then sleep in the finer hotels. The square, bordered by Powell, Post, Stockton, and Geary streets, was named in honor of pro-Union rallies held prior to the Civil War. Some San Franciscans will tell you the name more appropriately refers to the huge demonstrations held here in the 1930s by labor organizations, which at one point effectively shut down the city for a week.
Today Union Square consists of a park (where a few palm trees remind you that you’re still in California) encircled by a ring – make that solid-gold band – of the city’s ritziest stores and boutiques, including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Chanel, Tiffany, Cartier, Hermes, Giorgio Armani, Gumps, Ralph Lauren, Macy’s, Bulgari, Brooks Brothers, Coach, Williams-Sonoma, Versace, and NikeTown. Combined, Union Square merchants ring up an estimated $1 billion in sales annually. Even so, the park tends toward seediness at night; linger elsewhere.
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