City Lights Bookstore

The 70-year-old institution almost disappeared during shelter-in-place, but loyal customers from around the globe saved it with a robust GoFundMe campaign. What would San Francisco be without this Beat Generation bookstore started by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti? With three floors of book nooks and crannies, get lost in anything from Allen Ginsberg’s Howl to discussions with local writers moderated by current SF Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin. What’s also great about City Lights is that you can pop next door to Vesuvio, grab a beer, tuck yourself away on the second floor, and dive into your new read.