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City Lights Booksellers

City Lights Booksellers
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What's Near City Lights Booksellers

Top-Rated Nearby Hotels
Hotel GBP* Distance Rating
Le Meridien San Francisco £197 0.4 mi 0.6 km 4.5 of 5 stars
Omni San Francisco Hotel £202 0.4 mi 0.6 km 4.5 of 5 stars
The Ritz-Carlton £286 0.4 mi 0.7 km 4.5 of 5 stars
Mandarin Oriental £260 0.5 mi 0.8 km 4.5 of 5 stars
Orchard Garden Hotel £162 0.5 mi 0.8 km 4.5 of 5 stars
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*Average price
Top-Rated Nearby Restaurants
restaurant Distance Rating
Albona Ristorante Istriano 0.6 mi 1.0 km 4.5 of 5 stars
Frascati 0.7 mi 1.1 km 4.5 of 5 stars
Dottie's True Blue Cafe 0.9 mi 1.4 km 4.5 of 5 stars
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Top-Rated Nearby Things to Do
Thing To Do Distance Rating
The Saloon 0.1 mi 0.1 km 4.5 of 5 stars
Red Blossom Tea Company 0.2 mi 0.3 km 4.5 of 5 stars
Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market 0.5 mi 0.7 km 4.5 of 5 stars
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Traveller Advice on City Lights Booksellers

Traveller Lists
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  • Ask a question or view 467 posts on San Francisco from this week.
Professional Advice (20)
Title Source
“City Lights Booksellers & Publishers” Frommer's
“City Lights Bookstore” Fodors.com
“The beat goes on” Boston.com / Boston Globe
“Nine destination bookstores worth putting on a tourist's itinerary” canoe.ca / Associated Press
“North Beach” Sally's Place
“Bookstore Reviews” Journey Magazine/Ambassadair
“North Beach, San Francisco: The Beat Goes On” Offbeat travel
“San Francisco special” msnbc.msn.com / Frommer's
“The electric organic tipple test” Sydney Morning Herald / The Sun-Herald
“Green valleys, blue bay” canada.com / National Post
“Secrets of San Francisco” Ambassadair Travel Club
“Tales from the foggy city” Telegraph Group Limited (free registration required)
“What's Doing in San Francisco” New York Times (free registration required)
“Ink Spots” VIA Online
“San Francisco Downtown” Fine Travel
“Leave your feet in San Francisco” canada.com / CanWest News Service
“The yin and yang of Frisco” canada.com / The Ottawa Citizen
“Read On: Great Dirt for Bookworms” VIA Magazine
“21 Offbeat Things to do in San Francisco” GreatestEscapes.com
“The Accidental Tour Guide” VIA Online
Web Comments from Travellers (1)
Title Source
“City Lights Bookstore --...” VirtualTourist.com
TripAdvisor Traveller Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
TripAdvisor Popularity Index: #11 of 610 attractions in San Francisco
Traveller Description: Famous bookstore founded and still owned by Beat Generation poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Familiar with City Lights Booksellers? Write your own description and share what you know with other travellers.
Attraction type: Speciality shop, Historic site
Activities: Shopping
Address: 261 Columbus Avenue
North Beach San Francisco, CA 94133
Tel: 415 362 8193
Fax: 415 362 4921

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TripAdvisor Traveller Reviews

Reviews of City Lights Booksellers

( 1-4 of 4 )
“Small Cozy Bookstore”
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3 of 5 stars
ives
Washington DC
19 Aug 2008

City Lights is quaint, small and cozy and the perfect place to spend a few hours rummaging for books. They have a surprisingly wide selection of novels and travel guides packed into very limited space. While the bookstore is quiet and restful, the neighborhood is anything but. Surrounded by 5 strip clubs, the bookstore is ideal to visit during daylight.... more

“A must-see for bookworms”
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5 of 5 stars
Ravenclaw79
Capital/Saratoga Region, NY
19 Jun 2008

For those who aren't literature geeks, this is still a really nice, cozy bookstore with a good selection and plenty of character. But for bookish types, it's a must-see, a piece of history, a literary landmark, the cradle of the Beat movement. Soak up the atmosphere, look closely at the brickwork and the posters and pictures, old and recent, on... more

“What a bookstore should be”
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5 of 5 stars
Redcircus
Adelaide, Australia
25 Apr 2008

This is my idea of a true bookstore, wooden shelves, chairs and stools combined with intimate "rooms" and the feeling you can really wander and take your time to choose your book. They have a fantastic range of local books and an amazing section on beat poetry (upstairs). more

“i love books”
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5 of 5 stars
Chica21
New York
23 Oct 2007
2/2 found this review helpful

This is the place or book lover...with many books relating to the area and beat generation. It was special to be there considering Lawrence Ferlinghetti is one of my favorite poets and I've studied the beat poets for years. There are many books published by city lights themselves. If you go you have to get a classic like Howl by... more

Reviews of City Lights Booksellers

( 1-4 of 4 )
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City Lights Booksellers: Management Resources

City Lights Booksellers Address

261 Columbus Avenue, North Beach, San Francisco, CA 94133
Tel: 415 362 8193 Fax: 415 362 4921