Italians, Eccentrics & Beat Poets: North Beach Walking Tour

Your tour begins near Washington Square Park with a lovely view of Coit Tower, a monument to one of SF’s most celebrated eccentrics, Lillie Hitchcock Coit. Then you'll explore the story of the neighborhood’s Italian immigrants who flooded the area at the turn of the century and still lend the area much of its character. It was the friendly cafes and bars opened by the Italians that hosted the Beat Generation and the artists they inspired so we’ll take you by their old haunts next, stopping by literary landmarks like Caffe Trieste and Vesuvio, where everyone from Allen Ginsberg to Bob Dylan have enjoyed a drink. You'll also stop off in Kerouac Alley and press our noses to the glass of the City Lights Bookstore. The tour finishes with a few of the favorite hang-out spots of Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, proving that the spirit of art and eccentricity are alive and well in the neighborhood.