5 Neighborhoods To Wander

Why it made the list: The best eating in the city, the best murals, and the reliable sunshine, the Mission sits in San Francisco's warmest pocket, which makes it the right call on a foggy day. It's Latino heritage layered with a decade of newer restaurants and bars, and it rewards walking more than any other neighbourhood here.

Why it made the list: The old Italian quarter and the Beat one at the same time, espresso bars that haven't changed in fifty years, City Lights bookstore, and Washington Square with the church behind it. It's the most European-feeling part of San Francisco and the easiest place to lose two hours.

Why it made the list: Small, flat, and dense with independent shops, coffee and restaurants, the antidote to San Francisco's hills. It's a few compact blocks you can cover properly in an afternoon, and it's the best neighbourhood in the city for aimless browsing.

Why it made the list: One of the most historically significant LGBTQ+ neighbourhoods in the world, and still a genuine one rather than a monument, rainbow crosswalks, the Castro Theatre's neon sign, the GLBT Historical Society Museum, and a main street that's busy on a Tuesday.

Why it made the list: The oldest Chinatown in North America and still a working neighbourhood rather than a themed one, the trick is to get off Grant Avenue, which is the souvenir street, and onto Stockton, where the actual grocers, butchers and bakeries are.