Mission Street is Excelsior's main commercial drag starting from around Silver Ave and continuing all the way to Daly City. This is one of the most unaffectedly diverse streets in the city, a very Californian mash up of Southeast Asian, East Asian and Latin American businesses, from cell-phone repair shops to pupuserias. Keep an eye out for murals and street art, and anything that smells good.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
3.93 MILES
When Frederick Law Olmsted, architect of New York's Central Park, gazed in 1865 upon the plot of land San Francisco Mayor Frank McCoppin wanted to turn…
5.29 MILES
Hedonism is alive and well at this transit hub turned gourmet emporium, where foodies happily miss their ferries over Sonoma oysters and bubbly, SF craft…
6.98 MILES
Alcatraz: for over 150 years, the name has given the innocent chills and the guilty cold sweats. Over the decades, it’s been a military prison, a…
5.54 MILES
Is there a science to skateboarding? Do toilets really flush counterclockwise in Australia? At San Francisco's hands-on science museum, you'll find out…
2.13 MILES
Since at least the 1980s, if you stroll through San Francisco's Mission District you've likely noticed the neighborhood's profusion of colorful murals and…
13.8 MILES
Muir Woods National Monument is located just a few miles north of San Francisco in Marin County, and is a prime peaceful destination for reflection within…
3.12 MILES
Was it the fall of 1966 or the winter of ’67? As the Haight saying goes, if you can remember the Summer of Love, you probably weren’t here. The fog was…
4.98 MILES
If you look close today at the clinker-brick buildings lining these narrow backstreets, past the temple balconies jutting out over bakeries, acupuncture…
Nearby attractions
0.97 MILES
At 312 acres, McLaren is the second largest park in San Francisco proper, and arguably the most underrated. There are some 7 miles of trails (including…
1.62 MILES
The breezy, grassland slopes of 475ft Bernal Hill are decidedly non-touristy, and hiking them on a clear day offers 360-degree city views, along with rare…
1.87 MILES
See that hill with the sci-fi forked radio tower at its summit? That's Twin Peaks, with a 925ft summit that's the highest point in SF. A giant pink…
1.98 MILES
Art-fair buzz begins at this trippy gallery that's all black outside and stark white inside for maximum impact. While some artists are recognizable from…
5. San Bruno Mountain State & County Park
2 MILES
Look at a driving map of the Bay Area and you may wonder at an odd island just south of San Francisco where roads are absent. This is San Bruno mountain,…
2 MILES
The prize for SF's steepest street is shared by this street and Filbert St (between Hyde and Leavenworth). Both have 31.5% grades (17-degree slopes), but…
2.13 MILES
Since at least the 1980s, if you stroll through San Francisco's Mission District you've likely noticed the neighborhood's profusion of colorful murals and…
2.29 MILES
No first-time loop through the Castro would be complete without a peek at this window display featuring trans Barbies and Billy Doll, a gay alternative to…