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SoMa

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Where hip meets high culture, South of Market is also home to tech companies like Dropbox, Airbnb, Zynga, and uncountable startups.

History: Now replete with upscale lofts and towering high-rises, SoMa was known for much of the 2oth century as a center of maritime trade characterized by dilapidated tenements and parking lots. But ever since the San Francisco Museum of Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) set up a beachhead of class on Third Street in 1995, the neighborhood has been going gangbusters.

Don’t Miss: SoMa’s crown jewel, SFMOMA. Culture vultures have plenty to choose from in the neighborhood’s many other museums: the Museum of the African Diaspora, the Contemporary Jewish Art Museum, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, all within two blocks. For those who take their culture in edible form, turn up Yerba Buena Lane for charming shops and cool hangouts like Schoggi Chocoates and Press Club, an urban wine tasting lounge. For a proper sit-down meal, both Saison and Benu are among the city’s most revered restaurants. Or, weather permitting, bring a picnic and plunk down in front of the waterfall at Yerba Buena Gardens-you won’t be the only one.