5 Cool Things to Do Within Walking Distance of HI SF Downtown

Travelers love to stay at HI San Francisco Downtown hostel because it’s situated in the very heart of the City by the Bay, making it an excellent base for getting to know the ins and outs like a local while also seeing the big sights. All you have to do is gather a group of fellow wanderers (breakfast is prime plan-making time at any hostel) and take to the streets. Need a little guidance? We’ve come up with five stops within walking distance of HI SF Downtown that encompass some of the best that this corner of San Francisco has to offer.

The Iconic

The Gateway to Chinatown (10 minutes)
San Francisco’s Chinatown is home to the largest population of Chinese people outside of Asia, and even though it’s just a short walk from the hostel, it really does feel like travelling to a whole new country. The little village contained within a few blocks of the city has a grand entrance at its southern end, on Grant Avenue at Bush Street, greeting all who enter with an ornate dragon-topped green roof and leading to the kaleidoscopic world beyond. There are multiple shops with bright trinkets and toys, markets of fresh green fruit and vegetables, alleyways that lead to quiet temples, stores filled with more teas than you even imagined to exist and budget traveler-friendly spots for authentic dim sum. Once you cross the threshold, veer off the crowded main stretch of Grant Ave and onto the side streets to see the less tourist-friendly sections of Chinatown.
Tip: Join the hostel Chinatown walking tour for an insider’s experience of this part of town.

The Delicious

Tropisueno (9 minutes)
You’re a bit spoilt for choice when it comes to finding authentic Mexican food in San Francisco, and though the Mission is a hot spot for taquerias, there’s no need to venture that far when you need your taco fix immediately. The folks at HI SF Downtown recommend Tropisueno, which serves as a laid-back taqueria by day, and a nice sit-down restaurant at night, and, most importantly for hostellers, they have a happy hour from Monday to Friday. Grab some hostel friends and take the stroll down for some hand-crafted tacos, sweet margaritas and chips with spicy homemade salsa.

The Legendary

City Lights Bookstore (20 minutes)
Book lovers should make a beeline for City Lights, one of the most well-known independent bookstores in San Francisco. Be prepared to spend a good hour or more browsing through the modern and classic selection of fiction, poetry, translations and volumes on possibly every subject you can think of, many of which are hand-picked by the dedicated staff. This institution, which also serves as a publishing house, is probably best known for the release of Allen Ginsberg’s collection Howl and Other Poems, which was deemed as too obscene for audiences back in the mid-1950s. There’s still a bit of that anarchist spirit lingering through the stacks today, defying the smartphone culture and proving that there is always plenty of magic to be found in books.

Vesuvio
While you’re in the neighborhood and still feeling the literature fever, pop into Vesuvio. The saloon is just across from City Lights and is known as ground zero for the Beat culture made famous by Jack Kerouac and others. In fact, this was the regular haunt of the jazz musicians, poets, artists and authors of the era, and today, you’re likely to rub shoulders with the city’s alternative crowd alongside the pilgrims from far and wide who come to this spot.

The Simply San Francisco

Transamerica Redwood Park (20 minutes)
The last thing you’d expect to find in San Francisco’s Financial District is a redwood tree, let alone a mini forest in a serene little park. But that’s exactly what you’ll find next to the Transamerica Pyramid: a half-acre grove of California’s famous trees in a Privately Owned Public Open Space (POPOS) where office-folk and city dwellers in the know go for a little slice of tranquility. There are benches and patches of grass to sit on while listening to the bubbling fountain, and a winding walkway lined with ferns and boulders if you want to take a meditative stroll. This is just one of the many spaces hidden in San Francisco’s metropolis that are open to the public even though they are privately owned, and finding them is another adventure all on its own.

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HI USA tip: You can explore the city streets with fellow hostellers on the Hills of San Francisco walking tour, or from the seat of a bicycle on the Bike the Bay tour.

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Ready to explore? Be sure to book direct at hiusa.org and support our mission to build a more tolerant world.