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The 18th-century Spanish mission, site of the area’s earliest settlement, is worth a visit for its tranquility, as well as for the education it provides about the city’s early history (see Mission Dolores).

The area that witnessed the worst misbehavior of the Barbary Coast days contains some of the city’s oldest, loveliest buildings. One of the very few areas that were spared in the 1906 conflagration.

Erstwhile site of the mansions of Golden Age moguls and potentates, from these lofty heights now rise the city’s most lavish hotels and the Gothic spires of one of its best-loved cathedrals.

Remnants of the early fishing industry that contributed to San Francisco’s growth are still found here, just layered over with a slick veneer of tourism. Fishing boats still come in and deliver their catch of the day, and nature makes its presence known with a colony of sea lions that lounge on the pier.

This building was inaugurated in 1932 with a performance of Puccini’s Tosca , giving the art form a permanent home here. Modeled on its European forbears, with a marble lobby, huge chandelier, balconies, and vaulted ceilings, it is dedicated to the memory of World War I soldiers. In 1945 the Opera House hosted the plenary sessions that preceded the founding of the United Nations and, in 1951, it was the site of the signing of the peace treaty between the US and Japan (see War Memorial Opera House and San Francisco Ballet).

The entire area resonates with the history of the early Italian residents, but even more with the iconoclastic legacy of the revolutionary Beats, who brought the neighborhood worldwide fame. Historic churches stand as clear landmarks, while equally historic saloons and cafés take a little snooping around to find.

The matrix of yet another Bohemian movement that San Francisco has given birth to, this area nurtured idealistic hippies in the late 1960s. They brought international awareness to alternative ways of life, living in harmony with nature and espousing humane values (see Noe Valley).

Intersection, Haight-Ashbury

One of the legendary homes of psychedelic rock during the 1960s. Along with the Avalon Ballroom and the Winterland (both now gone), this is where the San Francisco Sound found its first audience.

On November 28, 1978, ex-Supervisor Dan White went to City Hall and assassinated Mayor George Moscone and gay Supervisor Harvey Milk (see White’s Revenge). In a botched trial, he was convicted of manslaughter, sparking riots from the gay community (see Civic Center).

Built in 1896 by silver magnate Adolph Sutro, these were at one time the world’s largest heated swimming pools, overarched by a stunning glass roof. The complex was destroyed by fire in 1966, but you can access the ruins by steps at the Merrie Way parking lot (see Oceanfront).