Jack Kerouac Alley
Jack Kerouac Alley
4
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
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Neighbourhood: Chinatown
As the oldest in North America, San Francisco's Chinatown is an exotic experience. A unique neighbourhood decorated with colourful shops, historic streetlights, hanging lanterns, and pagoda roofs awaits behind the stone-carved dragon gates. Feast on dim sum at the tea houses, or meet the locals who gather at historic Portsmouth Square to play chess or practice Tai Chi. Fish markets, produce stands, tourist shops, jewelry stores, fortune tellers, temples and restaurants come together to create a world unto itself in this historic neighbourhood.
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1,097 within 6 miles
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4.0
18 reviews
Excellent
7
Very good
5
Average
5
Poor
1
Terrible
0
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mini
Fremont, CA212,261 contributions
Jan 2020
In the North Beach area by City Lights Bookstore is Jack Keruac Alley. Jack Keruac was an American writer and poet. I liked seeing the sayings in the cement in the alley and also the many interesting wall murals.
Written 30 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
J M
East Lyme, CT75 contributions
Jun 2022 • Family
We mapped out a walking tour for our visit that began in Chinatown all the way to the Ferry Marketplace. This was a stop along the way between Chinatown and Little Italy. It’s an alley with murals painted in it. It’s interesting enough but not somewhere we spent a lot of time.
Written 25 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
misopiso88
Seattle, WA24,967 contributions
Mar 2019 • Family
One of the many nice alleys in SF with interesting art murals. This one has historical significance as well. It was named after Jack Kerouac, a Beat Generation writer who used to frequent the pub and bookstore adjacent to the alley. The Beats were friends first and then together became a movement. The core group – Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, Gregory Corso, Herbert Huncke, and William S. Burroughs – met at Columbia University in NYC in the mid-1940s. After moving west to San Francisco, the group added core members Gary Snyder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti (one of the founders of City Lights Bookstore), Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, and Lew Welch. Since then, Beat culture has been entwined with the city of San Francisco.
Written 11 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Olga G
Toronto, Canada34 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
There is a particular energy and spirit you feel in this place. It is also right next to City Lights Bookstore which is one of my favorite bookstores in the world.
Written 29 August 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TravelinSuz
Fernley, NV939 contributions
Sept 2017 • Friends
There’s an imprint or engraving on the side walk a street sign and the arch with the quote and name of the alley. That’s it. Better than nothing I suppose.
Written 23 August 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pete
Fredericksburg, VA1,201 contributions
May 2018 • Friends
Up until 2007, this alley was apparently in disrepair. At times, it was used as a trash dumping ground. A very successful job of restoring it to a tourist spot was done. Jack Kerouac used to frequent the place and today there are inscriptions from famous writers like John Steinbeck. There was a famous bar called: The Saloon, because it was the only bar to survive the huge fire from the early 1900’s. I was told by my tour guide that it is also a cauldron that connects the Italian area of the city to the Asian area of the city.
Written 27 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maggi713
Baltimore, MD12,360 contributions
Apr 2017 • Couples
We stumbled onto this alley quite by accident. It is a one way alleyway in Chinatown that connects Grant Avenue and Columbus Avenue. We had no idea who Jack Kerouac was, but we “Googled” him. He was a beat generation writer who used to go to the pub and bookstore near the alley. In 1988, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who is the co-founder of City Lights Bookstore, suggested that the alley be transformed. He wanted the alley repaved, made one way, with no cars allowed, and new street lights installed. It was reopened in March 2007. We enjoyed reading the engraved Western and Chinese sayings and poems in the pavement.
Written 26 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jota2015Ce
Madrid, Spain9,657 contributions
May 2024 • Couples
Alley on whose floor a phrase from the novel On the Road, by Jack Kerouac, is inscribed. This alley is a shortcut between Chinatown and North Beach.
Written 26 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
valerio v
Rome, Italy1,121 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
A small abandoned and desolate street with dirt everywhere: a real shame if you consider that the beat generation was born here. The memory remains but nothing more!
Written 7 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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