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Beginning at the Visitor Information Center, where you can pick up an excellent map, first explore the Main Post. Here you can ride around the Parade Ground, see the Presidio’s earliest surviving buildings, dating from the 1860s, as well as 18th-century Spanish adobe wall fragments in the former Officers’ Club.

Exit the area on Sheridan, which takes you past the Spanish Colonial Revival-style Golden Gate Club, and turn left onto Lincoln, which winds around the National Military Cemetery. Turn right on McDowell; on the left you see the Colonial Revival Cavalry Barracks. The African-American “Buffalo Soldiers” were stationed here from 1902 to 1904.

Now go past the five brick Stables, off to both the left and the right, and stop at the quirky Pet Cemetery on the left, where post guard dogs are buried, and also family pets. Next, head under Highway 101 to encounter Stilwell Hall, built in 1921 as enlisted barracks and a mess hall for the airmen; turn left to take in the metal Aerodrome Hangars from the same era; then proceed on and pause at Crissy Field to admire the views.

Double back at this point, take the next left down toward the Bay and join the Golden Gate Promenade all the way out to Fort Point where you can experience the Golden Gate Bridge and the crashing waves of the Pacific up close and personal.

Begin at Alamo Square , with the Westerfield House at 1998 Fulton at Scott, former residence of Ken Kesey, the writer and visionary who arguably got the whole 1960s movement going. Walk up Scott, turn right on Page and go to No. 1090, where Big Brother and the Holding Company got their start. A block and a half farther on, go right on Lyon to No. 112, where Janis Joplin lived for most of 1967.

Continue on to the Panhandle, an extension of Golden Gate Park, where in June 1967 the Jimi Hendrix Experience gave a free concert. Now turn left on Central and head up to steep Buena Vista Park , site of public Love-Ins in the 1960s and 1970s. Turn right on Haight and check out Positively Haight Street, 1400 Haight Street at Masonic, one of the fanciest hippie shops.

Continue on to the famous Haight-Ashbury intersection and walk along Haight to Clayton; at No. 558 is the much-loved Haight Ashbury Free Clinic, still imbued with the spirit of the 1960s. Savor a well-earned cappuccino and snack at the People’s Café .

Refreshed, walk towards the park, turn right on Stanyan all the way to Fulton. At 2400 Fulton stands the former Jefferson Airplane Mansion, which used to be painted black. Finally, head back to Golden Gate Park and make your way to Hippie Hill to groove to the tribal drums.

Begin at the University Visitor Center on Oxford St at the end of University Avenue, where you can pick up information and maps. Follow around to University Drive and on to the university campus, passing Romanesque Wellman Hall, then take a left on Cross Campus Road. Straight ahead is the main campus landmark, the 307-ft (94-m) Sather Tower, also known simply as the Campanile, based on the famous belltower in Venice’s Piazza San Marco.

Now continue on to rejoin University Drive and go around to the Hearst Greek Theater, venue for excellent concerts of all sorts. Next, head for handsome Sather Gate, which leads into Sproul Plaza, epicenter of the student Free Speech Movement protests that erupted into almost non-stop socio-political unrest in the 1960s and 1970s.

Exit the campus onto Telegraph Avenue, a kind of Haight-Ashbury East-Bay with radical vibes all its own. Cody’s, at the corner of Haste Street, is Berkeley’s most famous bookstore, and one block over is idealistic People’s Park. Continue on back to Bancroft Way to pay a visit to the excellent University Art Museum and the Pacific Film Archive.

After your walk, for lunch try the unique Blue Nile, ( 2525 Telegraph Ave at Dwight Way (510) 540-6777 Dis. access $$). It offers Ethiopian family-style dining, with delicious stews and homemade honey wine.

This section of the coast is amazingly wild, especially considering that it is actually within the city limits. Note that portions of the hike are very rugged, so dress accordingly, with good footwear.

Begin at the far end of the Merrie Way parking lot and take the steps down. Follow the trail that passes by the Sutro Baths ruins, to your left as you descend. Continue on along to the Overlook, from which you can take in Seal Rocks and much of the Pacific panorama.

Now double back a bit to pick up the trail that continues along the coast. You will see the remains of concrete military bunkers, which have been broken and tilted by the unstable land, and now decorated with graffiti. Soon you come to a beach below rocky cliffs; note that the surging water is very unpredictable here, so be very attentive. Continue walking and you will arrive at Land’s End Cove, where a makeshift beach, using rock walls as windbreakers, is popular with nudists.

Next, climb up one of the sets of wooden steps to join the path up above and continue on around the bend, where you will be greeted with a stunning view of the Golden Gate Bridge . Keep going all the way to Eagle’s Point and return by way of the higher trail that winds through Lincoln Park (see Golf).

For a meal after your hike visit Cliff House .

Begin at the city’s gay mecca, the Church Street Muni Station on Upper Market. Decades ago, this corner developed a gay identity as the beginning point of the Castro neighborhood, but it is on the next block, between Sanchez and Noe, that the gay shops and venues really begin to proliferate. The Café Flore stands out as one of the premier gay hotspots for a drink, a meal, or just a gaze at the constant flow of fascinating clientele. On the next block, at 2348 Market, is the Detour , one of the most popular and long-lived all-male bars, complete with go-go guys.

Continuing on to Castro Street, take in Harvey Milk Plaza, with its huge rainbow flag, named after the slain gay leader (see Harvey Milk). On the opposite corner, check out Twin Peaks at 401 Castro, the oldest totally “out” gay bar, notable for its picture windows affording a full view of goings on, both inside and on the street.

Pushing on to No. 429, allow the Castro Theater to capture your attention, one of the city’s most ornate cinema palaces, home to innumerable premieres of gay-themed films. Farther along at No. 489, A Different Light Bookstore offers virtually every gay-themed book, magazine, and newspaper in the world.

Finally, just up 18th Street at No. 4121 is Badlands , a cruisy pickup scene that packs them in, especially after 10pm.