San Francisco in pictures, part 4 – Haight Ashbury

May 15, 2013 by wheresalex 5 Comments

Oh, beautiful Haight Ashbury. First of all, it’s pronounced Hate. Fun fact!

This neighbourhood is well known for its eclectic mix of old hippies and young… well… hippies! Where in and around the Tenderloin district you’re bound to encounter hundreds of panhandlers, here you’ll find a bit of a different kind. There are tons of young folk sitting on sidewalks with dogs and musical instruments, asking for money but also wishing you a great day and trying to make you laugh. It’s a great place to walk around. As I mentioned before, walking down side streets in The Mission will lead you to some amazing graffiti. Sure, Haight Ashbury has it’s share of graffiti, but what you’ll mostly find are AMAZING houses. Look at those colours! I couldn’t even handle it.

You’ll also find a few opportunities for some good shopping – make sure to check out Buyer’s Best Friend, a tiny store that sells TONS of hand made products. The staff know everything about the products and their makers.

Walk to the end of Haight Street, and you’ll end up at Golden Gate Park (not to be confused with The Presidio, where the Golden Gate Bridge is actually located) In this park, you’ll find the California Academy of Sciences, where every Thursday night they run an event called Nightlife, where music, creatures and cocktails come together. Seriously, guys. This is one of the best things that I did in San Francisco. They have bars everywhere, DJs in front of crazy fish and jellyfish tanks, and really cool subject specific exhibits.