North Beach is San Francisco's Italian quarter and one of its most vibrant neighborhoods. Columbus Avenue, the main artery, is lined with cafes, trattorias, and bars that come alive at different hours -- morning espresso, afternoon pasta, late-night drinks. At 261 Columbus, City Lights Books remains one of the best bookstores in the country, the legendary home of Beat Generation writers Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac.
Washington Square Park anchors the neighborhood, with views up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower. Saints Peter and Paul Church, where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio posed for their wedding photos in 1954, faces the park's north side. The neighborhood transitions into Chinatown just a few blocks south along Grant Avenue.