San Francisco's North Beach - Maps
North Beach Boundaries
North: Fisherman's Wharf
South: Columbus/Washington (Financial District)
East: Telegraph Hill/Montgomery
West: Chinatown/Broadway
North Beach San Francisco Overview
North Beach was part of the raunchy old Barbary Coast, and later became famous as the historical and cultural hub of the 1950s Beat movement. Visitors still come to North Beach to seek out its Beat generation past, some of which is housed at the Beat Museum on Broadway and retold on a Beat-themed guided walk through North Beach.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti opened City Lights Books in 1953 -- a "literary meeting place" that became an icon of the Beat era. Ferlinghetti's publishing of Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" earned him an arrest for obscenity which was later dismissed. City Lights retains its community ethic today and is a stronghold of independent book selling in San Francisco.
North Beach is also an Italian enclave, San Francisco's Little Italy, with cafes and restaurants including Giovanni Giotta's Caffe Trieste -- a hangout for the Beat literati. The North Beach neighborhood is vibrant day or night with pasta places, live music, classic bars and sidewalk seating at cafes.
If you need some help navigating the public transport system in San Francisco, check out the Guide to Muni and BART.