Our microguides series is inspired by the slow travel movement, encouraging travellers to relax their pace and take a deep dive into one particular neighbourhood in a well-loved city. Rather than a whirlwind itinerary which aims to hit up every must-see attraction, these compact, close-up guides encourage you to zone in, take your time and truly explore like a local.
Few intersections in the US hold as much cultural gravitas as San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury. Made famous during the 1967 Summer of Love, these two then-unassuming street corners blossomed under the hippie-led ‘flower power’ era as an estimated 100,000 youths spanning the US arrived in this suburb to spread social values and indulge their hedonism.
Haight-Ashbury would soon sprawl outwards as a psychedelics’ playground, with musicians including the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin citing the area’s freethinking nature and affordable rent, among other illicit reasons, as elements that made it so attractive.
Today, Haight-Ashbury remains a vibrant area and meeting point of the eclectic, and is home to colour-popping Victorian houses, quirky vintage shops and the world’s largest independent record store. If you find yourself in San Francisco and want a taste of counterculture history, and much more besides, here’s what not to miss in the neighbourhood.
Were it not for the Swinging Sixites, this intersection may never have been widely known
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Do
Go vintage clothes shopping
Is this the best place in San Francisco to bag a pre-loved garment? More than a dozen vintage stores and thrift shops are packed into a half-mile radius on Haight Street, between Central Avenue and Strayan Street, selling everything from Levi’s jeans to antique jewellery. Try Relic Vintage for rare finds or go thrifting at Held Over.
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Visit the homes of famous rockers
Haight-Ashbury wouldn’t exist in its current guise if it wasn’t for that inadvertent spotlight placed on the neighbourhood by its hippie rockers. Music fans flock from all over the world to spend time in the area where the famous 1967 Summer of Love all began. You can’t go in, but you can see the apartment where nomadic guitar genius Jimi Hendrix lived for a short time, plus the historic Grateful Dead House where the band lived and jammed together; both praised the low…
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