Strolling through the unique neighborhoods of San Francisco and San Mateo County is one of the best ways to soak up the local flavor of the destination.
San Francisco’s regular street grid essentially makes the entire city walkable, but several neighborhoods stand out for strolls.
In the Mission District, the Valencia Street corridor—where one wag joked 15 years ago that the sole activity was dodging gunfire while scampering from thrift store to thrift store—has become one vast gourmet haven and hip nightlife district from 16th Street to about 23rd Street. It’s now possible to float from afternoon book-browsing at Adobe to cocktails at Dalva to tapas at Picaro to a full dinner at Andalu, then stop at Cafe Istanbul for Turkish coffee, hit Blondie’s for a nightcap and cab it back to your hotel.
And that’s all within a block of 16th and Valencia streets, never mind top-notch Italian restaurants like Delfina, literary spots like Dog Eared Books, the Christmas-light Mexican kitsch of La Rondalla restaurant, and live comedy and theater at the Marsh—you won’t run out of things to see and do here.
Light years away, culturally speaking, is the upscale Marina District, which combines shopping along Chestnut Street and Union Street with easy driving or walking access to the Marina Green, Crissy Field and in the distance, the Golden Gate Bridge. These vast public spaces are national treasures and are the best spots to watch how people interact with the San Francisco Bay’s dramatic geography. You can simply walk west from the Marina along San Francisco Bay, watching massive cargo ships and speedy windsurfers traverse the green waters, take in the Golden Gate, then stroll back to the Marina assured that dozens of excellent restaurants are waiting to serve up everything from burgers and beer (Barney’s on Steiner) to sushi (Ace Wasabi on Lombard) and archetypal California cuisine (PlumpJack on Fillmore).
Seemingly every city in eastern San Mateo County has a walkable, densely built downtown dating to the days when not every Californian had a car, making access to rail lines important. Burlingame Avenue in Burlingame and the Main Street corridor in San Mateo are both centers of classic downtowns that pack a large number of restaurants into a small area, making them great places to plan a dinner or just stroll around and menu-shop.
Burlingame’s Left at Albuquerque has excellent Mexican food, while Il Fornaio provides a more white-tablecloth environment with Californian takes on Italian and a private dining room.
San Mateo also has several good restaurants in its walkable downtown, where visitors may want to stop for a wine tasting at 750 ml or catch a movie at the Century 12.
Both Burlingame and San Mateo also offer bountiful shopping, ranging from computer stores to old-school stationers and bakeries to fashion venues like Banana Republic.
