San Francisco accommodation in the Haight
 

My wife and I are planning to spend a week in San Francisco, considering accommodation near Haight/Ashbury. We know about its history, and that there are lots of stores, restaurants etc. today. Can someone provide info about safety in the neighbourhood, please? For example, Is it OK to walk around at night?

I'm not so sure that would be the greatest place for lodging.

It's getting "better", but that is not necessarily saying much.

When you look for accomodations, make sure you're getting a booking in the district, and not miles away. Booking sites aren't so hot with specific locations.

Off-hand, I can't think of any great restaurants / shops that would entice me to stay there at this time.

BTW: I first was in the area in 1965, and lived on Stanyan St. during the late 60s, on Fulton & Stanyan during the 70s.

There are "stores" and "restaurants" in every corner of every city. That doesn't mean they are good ones or worth traveling to.

There ARE two things the Haight/Ashbury area has in it's favor:

1) Central
2) Cheap

Many listings in link below have a map showing exactly where you'll be. If it doesn't, then a quick email to owner asking for the street address is in order.

All are bargains if you don't mind the area (about half what you would pay for similar apartments in nicer areas):

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...t%2fDescending

The Summer of Love was a long time ago. The area is worth a visit for the curious, but I'm not sure it is worth a week unless you have visited San Francisco many times before.

HTTY

I wouldn't stay in the Haight, period.

Visit, yes, but not stay.

There's a great restaurant there, the Cha Cha Cha. Sit at the bar, not at a table. Get a pitcher of their sangria. Order the calamari. It's a tapas bar, not an all-you-can-eat buffet, so please don't expect piles of food. If you're hungry or are the DD (Designated Driver, not "Dear Daughter"), then stoke up on the bread. But do try the sangria.

Fun area to visit, however I would not want to stay there. Public transport in SF is not great considering the size of the city. I prefer be a little more centrally located, access to the sites is better from a central location. We had a car for part of our last trip and drove across the bridge to Muir Woods, it is beautiful and worth at least part of a day.

In the late 60s there used to be Grey Line tours of the Haight to see the "hippies". Pretty funny.

Public transportation within the City is great. From the Haight, it's only a few blocks to Fulton Street, which has a major bus line running downtown.

Many buses run 24 hours a day, and the only problem is when the buses become herds. No bus for 20+ minutes, then 3 show up in the next 5 minutes. When I'm in the City and don't want to move my car, I'll take MUNI any time.

>>Public transport in SF is not great considering the size of the city.<<

Huh? That simple doesn't compute. There are more public transit options than almost any other US city.

As for the Haight - no way I'd stay there, and even visiting would be pretty far down my list unless I was in the city often and was just looking for something different to do . . .

Ditto what janisj and rastaguy said.

WHY did you choose the Haight?

The Haight is more than Haight Street folks. To people who do not live here it may mean just Haight Street but for those of us that live in neighborhoods (with multi million dollar homes) around the Haight it is much more than that. However, feel free to discourage people from visiting. The fewer people wandering around Haight street looking for remnants of the 60's will mean fewer kids on Haight panhandling.

From the Haight it is a short walk to Carl St. in the Cole Valley to catch the N-Judah going downtown. Cole Valley has some good restaurants.

This is a lovely Victorian inn, close to the Haight, Cole Valley and the GG Park.

http://stanyanpark.com/index.html

For noodles, I like the Citrus Club on Haight Street. http://www.citrusclubsf.com/

I agree that the Haight is more than just Haight Street. Are you renting an apartment? I think it would be an interesting area to base in, walking distance to lots of great neighborhoods (e.g., the Castro).

Another vote for San Francisco as having one of the best public transportation networks around.