Valencia St. SF

Valencia Street runs parallel to Mission Street, one block over, and they could be versions of each other in alternate universes. In the Valencia universe, the hipsters arrived to rule with a chimeric hand. Don't stop until you've at least seen Clarion Alley, just south of 17th Street.

Then: The Valencia corridor has undergone dramatic revival since the decline of the neighborhood in the 1960s.

How To Get There: Take BART to 16th/Mission and walk one block west on 16th to Valencia. Or start at 24th/Mission (also from BART) and go north on Valencia (one block west). Or connect via 18th Street, which hits the center of the Valencia commercial corridor. If you're driving and can't park anywhere else, there is a garage on 21st Street between Valencia and Mission.