Sunset

 

Previously labeled as the Outside Lands, the 19th century Sunset District was covered in sand dunes and not yet incorporated as part of the city. Those dunes and coastal scrub have been replaced by Golden Gate Park, the nation’s largest urban park, and by residential streets laid out in a grid of consecutively numbered avenues from low (Inner Sunset) to high (Outer Sunset) capped off at the Pacific’s edge by the Great Highway… a road which is neither great nor a highway!

 

Sunset District is home to a plethora of students attending San Francisco State University (SFSU) and City College San Francisco (CCSF) at Lake Merced.

 

Laid out in a grid of pastel-colored row houses all the way to the Great Highway and Ocean Beach, the area is bordered by a giant green rectangle: Golden Gate Park, home of the California Academy of Sciences, de Young Museum, Conservatory of Flowers and San Francisco Botanical Garden. Local dragon boat crews often practice on Lake Merced near the "planned" community of Park Merced and nearby San Francisco State University. There's eclectic shopping in West Portal and the acronym O-M-I is shorthand for Ocean View, Merced and Ingleside. The San Francisco Zoo is Northern California’s largest. Stern Grove (19th Avenue and Sloat) is home to free summer concerts.

 

Plenty of dining and shopping options - not to mention the beach - draw San Franciscans to Sunset on a daily basis. The neighborhood also has its fair share of dive bars. Sunset also has an elementary, middle, and high schools. Residents here also enjoy access to several parks, including the lush, amenity-filled McCoppin Square. Sunset borders Golden Gate Park to the north, where there is a botanical garden, conservatory, golf course, and the de Young Museum.

 

This neighborhood does not take its location near the Pacific Ocean for granted: seafood restaurants abound in Sunset, especially along the neighborhood's eatery-laden Judah Street. Sunset even has its own year-round farmers market on 8th Avenue, where local vendors sell a range of artisanal goods and organic food.

 

Along the eastern border of Sunset sits the campus for the University of California, San Francisco. The single-family homes along 10th Avenue allow for a quieter, more residential experience. Those seeking to be closer to the action tend to live along Parnassus Avenue to be within walking distance of the university, while 9th Avenue is home to the area's wide selection of eateries. Farther west in the neighborhood, an area known as Outer Sunset, one can find Mediterranean-style homes that run downhill to the ocean, allowing for incredible views of the Pacific. Although this area also skews residential, there are plenty of stores and restaurants along Judah Street.

 

You’ll fall in love with the endless possibilities for adventures and activities. Close proximity to the beach, shops and restaurants make for the perfect way to spend your days off form work.