Vibrant, hip and ethnically mixed, the Mission is easily San Francisco's funkiest neighborhood. A mile or so south of downtown, it is also the warmest, eluding the summer fogs. As the traditional first stop for immigrants, the Mission serves as a microcosm of the city's history and, for the time being, ensures that the neighborhood never transcends the "transitional" stage it has been in for years.

The area takes its name from the old Mission Dolores , at 16th and Dolores ($3 suggested donation; daily 9am-4pm, until 4.30pm May-Oct), the oldest building to survive the 1906 earthquake and fire. Founded in 1776, it was the sixth in a series of missions built along the Pacific coast as Spain staked its claim to California; the graves of the Native Americans it tried to "civilize" can be seen in the cemetery next door, along with those of white pioneers. Go early in the morning to avoid the tour buses.

The heart of the Mission lies east of Mission Street between 16th and 24th streets. Here you'll absorb the district's original Latin flavor, with Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, Costa Rican and Mexican stores and restaurants, along with markets selling tropical fruits and panaderias baking traditional pastries.

In the last few years, however, the "in" crowd has descended on a strip of Valencia south of 16th, site of a new crop of hip bars, cafés and restaurants. The profusion of independent bookstores and thrift stores around here makes for heavenly browsing and the vicinity of 22nd Street has become a new gourmet-dining ghetto. Worth a visit is the Levi Strauss & Co factory , at 250 Valencia St, built after the original factories were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Though tours have been discontinued, you can admire the yellow brick facade of where the world's most famous jeans are made.

What really sets the Mission apart from other neighborhoods, though, are its murals - there are over two hundred in all. A brilliant tribute to local hero Carlos Santana adorns three buildings where 22nd Street meets South Van Ness, while every possible surface on Balmy Alley , between Folsom and Harrison off 24th Street, has been covered with murals depicting the political agonies of Central America. The mural organization, Precita Eyes, hosts weekend mural tours by foot, bike or bus ($10 to $50; tel 415/285-2287, ). A visitor's center is also located at 2981 24th St.

The Mission

• The Mission

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