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Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, CA

Photo: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingIconicQuirky FunFree

Haight-Ashbury

Haight St at Ashbury St · San Francisco, CA

Why you should go…

Haight-Ashbury is the San Francisco district named for the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets, one of the main centers of the 1960s counterculture. You walk Haight Street past boutiques, bookstores, cafes and Amoeba Music, set in a former bowling alley, and look at the Victorian and Edwardian houses on the side streets. The house at 710 Ashbury St, once home to the Grateful Dead, is a private residence. Golden Gate Park borders the district on the west.

  • #historic neighborhood
  • #summer of love
  • #boutiques
  • #victorian houses

Good to know

General sightseeing guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • The forecast is part of the ticket

    Haze, low cloud, and rain flatten a view. Clear-day visits are worth rearranging your plans for.

  • Golden hour sells out first

    Sunset slots at observation decks and cruises are the first to go, so book those further ahead.

  • Dress a layer warmer

    It is always breezier up high and out on the water than it feels at street level.

  • Timed entry is common

    Plenty of landmarks release tickets in windows rather than at the door, so check before you walk over.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Haight-Ashbury, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Tours
    Outdoor Adventure

    Ride California

    $50+

    Guided electric bike tours through scenic California coastal towns on premium pedal-assist e-bikes.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Painted Ladies

    Free

    See the row of pastel Victorian houses on Steiner Street from the lawn of Alamo Square, with the downtown skyline behind them.

    0.9 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Rainy-Day Pick

    de Young Museum

    Under $25

    Browse American art, textiles and works from Africa and Oceania in a copper-clad museum in Golden Gate Park.

    1.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Theatre & Events
    Iconic

    The Fillmore

    $25–$50

    Catch a concert in the 1912 ballroom where Bill Graham booked the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix.

    1.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Theatre & Events

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Palace of Fine Arts

    Free

    Walk under a 162-foot rotunda and curving colonnades beside a swan lagoon, built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.

    2.3 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Lombard Street

    Free

    Walk the side stairs or drive down eight brick hairpin turns on a single steep block of Russian Hill.

    2.7 mi awayMore like this