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Now backtrack toward Columbus Avenue and go left on Green Street to Club Fugazi, at 678 Green St.

18 Club Fugazi

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but Fugazi Hall was donated to the city (and more important, the North Beach area) by John Fugazi, the founder of the Italian bank that was taken over by A. P. Giannini and turned into the original Transamerica Corporation. For many years, Fugazi Hall has been staging the zany and whimsical musical revue Beach Blanket Babylon. The show evolved from Steve Silver’s Rent-a-Freak service, which consisted of a group of partygoers who would attend parties dressed as any number of characters in outrageous costumes. The fun caught on and soon became Beach Blanket Babylon, now the longest-running musical revue in the nation.

If you love comedy and enormous hats, you’ll love this show. We don’t want to spoil it for you by telling you what it’s about, but if you get tickets and they’re in an unreserved-seat section, you should arrive fairly early because you’ll be seated around small cocktail tables on a first-come, first-served basis. (Two sections have reserved seating, four don’t, and all of them frequently sell out weeks in advance; however, sometimes it is possible to get tickets at the last minute on weekdays.) You’ll want to be as close to the stage as possible. This supercharged show is definitely worth the price of admission.

19 Take a Break

Head back the way you came on Green Street. Before you get to Columbus Avenue, you’ll see O’Reilly’s Irish Pub (622 Green St.), a homey watering hole that dishes out good, hearty Irish food and a fine selection of beers (including Guinness, of course) that are best enjoyed at one of the sidewalk tables. Always a conversation piece is the mural of Irish authors peering from the back wall. How many can you name?

As you come out of O’Reilly’s, turn left, cross Columbus Avenue, and then take a left onto Columbus. Proceed 1 block northwest to:

20 Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store

Located at 566 Columbus Ave., across the street from Washington Square, this is one of North Beach’s most popular neighborhood hangouts. No, it does not sell cigars, but the cramped and casual space overlooking Washington Square does sell killer focaccia sandwiches, coffee drinks, beer, and wine.

Our next stop, directly across Union Street, is:

21 Washington Square

This is one of the oldest parks in the city. The land was designated a public park in 1847 and has undergone many changes since then. Its current landscaping dates from 1955. You’ll notice Saints Peter and Paul Church (the religious center for the neighborhood’s Italian community) on the northwest end. Take a few moments to go inside and check out the traditional Italian interior. Note that this is the church in which baseball great Joe DiMaggio married his first wife, Dorothy Arnold. He wasn’t allowed to marry Marilyn Monroe here because he had been divorced. He married Monroe at City Hall and came here for publicity photos.

Today the park is a pleasant place in which to soak up the sun, read a book, or chat with a retired Italian octogenarian who has seen the city grow and change.

From here, you can see the famous Coit Tower at the top of Telegraph Hill to the northwest. If you’d like to get back to your starting point at Columbus and Montgomery, walk south (away from the water) on Columbus.

8

SHOPPING

Ghirardelli Square.

Like its population, San Francisco’s shopping scene is incredibly diverse. Every style, era, fetish, and financial status is represented here—not in huge, sprawling shopping malls, but in hundreds of boutiques and secondhand stores scattered throughout the city. Whether it’s a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes, a Chanel knockoff, or Chinese herbal medicine you’re looking for, San Francisco’s got it. Just pick a shopping neighborhood, wear some sensible shoes, and you’re sure to end up with at least a few take-home treasures.

THE SHOPPING SCENE

Major Shopping Areas

San Francisco has many