You’ve done Fisherman’s Wharf and Alcatraz, but haven’t ventured beyond the cable car tracks. Now there are reasons to linger in the North Beach quarter. The late-19th-century factory buildings that once housed the famous Ghirardelli chocolate factory have been revamped into a luxe hotel, shopping and eating complex-a quaint brick courtyard where you can still nosh on the chocolate maker’s finest sweets or spoon ice cream at an old-fashioned soda fountain.

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Some favourite San Francisco local businesses have outposts here, like funky stationery and gift store Lola of North Beach (415-567-7760, lolaofnorthbeach.com), but there are also unique finds. The exquisite fragrance boutique elizabethW (415-351-2800, elizabethw.com) is named for the grandmother of store founder and former architect Albert Nichols, who blueprints pure clean scents with the structure of modern masterpieces. The vetiver fragrance is a knockout and the lingerie packing bags are ingeniously infused with scent. Peekadoodle Kidsclub (415-440-PEEK, peekadoodlekidsclub.com) is a 10,000-square-foot romper room of an indoor playground that hosts parties and play dates for kids. Locals sign up for annual membership, but visitors can pay a $50 (U.S.) per day drop-in fee that includes fitness centre and lounge access for parents. The small-dog set is well served by Yap (415-346-8878, yapwraps.com), whose claim to fame is a clever Yap Wrap, a body harness for small dogs that can’t wear choke-style collars.

Eat and Drink
Pastry chef Kara Lind made her name with a shop in San Fran’s marina area, then opened this location of Kara’s Cupcakes (415-351-CAKE, karascupcakes.com). Small and perfectly snack-portioned, they come wrapped in a cute box that’s perfect for gifting. We like the Fleur de Sel, a chocolate cake bomb filled with caramel and delicately sprinkled with salt ($3.25 [U.S.]). For lunch, Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon (415-771-4252, crownandcrumpet.com) serves afternoon tea for one or two with scones, sandwiches and sweets ($32 to $42 [U.S.]). Cellar360 (415-440-0772, cellar360.com) is a quick trip through Northern California and other wine regions of the world, all under one roof. Catch a tasting or seminar, or pick up some gourmet accompaniments.
At dinner the opulent Ana Mandara, co-owned by Don Johnson and Cheech Marin, is an Indochine-inspired fantasy of fine Vietnamese cuisine and French-inflected decor (415-771-6800, anamandara.com). Hotly anticipated is the autumn arrival of Brasserie Gary Danko, the more casual outlet of the Relais & Châteaux-rated chef. Until it opens, walk just down the block to the original Restaurant Gary Danko (415-749-2060, garydanko.com) for unforgettable fine dining that is also a raucously fun experience.

Stay and Live
The flagship of the square is the Fairmont Heritage Place (900 N Point St., 415-576-1900, fairmont.com/ghirardelli), a residential-style condo-hotel made up of hip urban flats with gourmet-equipped kitchens, fireplaces, killer sound systems and spa-quality bathrooms (from $185,000 [U.S.] for a one-bedroom unit to $377,407 [U.S.] for a three-bedroom). As part of Fairmont’s Heritage Place club, owners have reciprocal stay options at similar properties around the world. Visitors can rent them as hotel suites (from $350 [U.S.] per night) with all the amenities of home-if home had exposed brick walls and an outdoor deck, chic modern firepits and a view of San Francisco Bay, and a Maserati and driver. wl

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