Noe Valley, San Francisco is a hip, trendy neighborhood with many restaurants and boutique shops. The main commercial corridor is on 24th Street between Guerrero and Diamond St. Noe Valley is a long gentrified neighborhood and walking along 24th St in the day you will see well-attended coffee shops, chic boutiques and several baby strollers.

Get in

By Muni

Coming from downtown, take the J line outbound and get off at 24th St. and Church St. The 48 connects Noe Valley with the Mission to the east and Twin Peaks to the west.

By BART

Take BART to 24th Street station (in the Mission) and walk up 24th.

By car

As with many neighborhoods in San Francisco, parking can be a pain. Noe Valley finally has one small public lot, but you will likely need to find street parking. This can be particularly hairy on weekends during brunch and dinner times, so if you can take public transit, it's the best.

Buy

24th Street's thriving commercial corridor from Dolores Street to Diamond Street is well worth prowling. Some highlights include:

• Noe Valley Farmers Market new in 2004, in the parking lot between Sanchez/Vicksburg, Sat 8-Noon year-round.
• Just For Fun / Scribbledoodles, 3982 24th Street, San Francisco, CA, 415 285-4068. M-F 9a-9p, Sat 9a-8p, Sun 10a-6p. Stationery and gifts; custom color printing and calligraphy for announcements. They have also opened an art supply store across the street.

Eat

In addition to the restaurants on 24th St, there are many good places to eat on Church St between 25th and 30th.

• Eric's, 1500 Church (at 27th), 415 282-0919 (fax 415 282-9989). Mo-Th 11a-9:15p, F-Sa 11a-10p, Su 12n-9:15p:. California Chinese cuisine (e.g.: many vegs are fresh, white or brown rice, mu shu comes with grilled flour tortillas). Tasty food in a bustling place. Accessible, vegetarian friendly, beer and wine, moderately loud. $2-6 apps, $6-$11 entrees ($7 minimum).

• Haystack Pizza, 3881 24th Street #606 at Sanchez, 415-647-1929, Sun-Th 11:30a-11p, F-Sat 11:30a-Midnight. A neighborhood favorite with a full menu with many choices for various diets.

• Lovejoy's Tea Room, 1351 Church Street at Clipper, 415 648-5895. Tu - Sun 11a-6p, F 11a-7p. Combination antique store and one of the best places to have a cosy High Tea in the city.

• Swatdee Thai Cuisine, 4166 24th Street between Casto/Diamond, San Francisco, CA 94114. 415 824-8070. Lunch M-F 11:30a-3:30, Dinner daily 4:30p-10p.

Coffee

Noe Valley also has the nickname of "coffee gulch". While Starbucks is popular, the locals prefer Martha's (24th Street between Church and Sanchez), Tully's (24th between Noe and Sanchez) or Last Laugh Coffee House (1551 Dolores Street at the corner of Delores and Valley).

Snacks

You also shouldn't forget the snacks!!!

The Cheese shop across from Martha's (next to the Hardware store) carries hundreds of cheeses where you can taste before you buy.

Noe Valley Bakery is considered one of the best local bakeries in the area. They supply some of the better SF restaurants as well as neighborhood demand for baked goods.

Learn More

You can learn more about the goings-on in Noe Valley by reading either the print or online edition of the Noe Valley Voice.