The northeast corner of the San Francisco Peninsula (facing Oakland and the Bay) is occupied by two of the city's most popular and vivacious neighborhoods: Fisherman's Wharf, which is the center of both fishing and tourism in San Francisco; and North Beach, the "Little Italy" district, which is also the hotbed of local nightlife and the historical headquarters of the Beat Generation. Both neighborhoods are easily accessible from the Union Square location of ICA's 2007 Conference, via either the Market Street Tram or the San Francisco Cablecar system.

The most popular tourist draw in San Francisco-dwarfing even the Golden Gate Bridge-Fisherman's Wharf is the section of coastline on the San Francisco Bay. The area combines the hub of the fishing industry (including both the municipal public fishery and a full fleet of commercial fishing boats) with a practical metropolis of tourist stops. Around the famous Fisherman's Wharf sign at Jefferson and Taylor Streets are dozens of seafood restaurants, souvenir shacks, street vendors, and novelty museums, not to mention the two large shopping centers of Ghirardelli Square and Pier 39. Accordingly, the streets and sidewalks of the neighborhood are almost always jammed full of people and cars.

Despite the tourists and tourist traps, however, there's much to see and do that's worthwhile. Some of the museums are of genuine value and interest: the Maritime National Historical Park, for example, includes a visitor center, a maritime museum (closed for renovation), a library/research facility, and a fleet of historic vessels that includes six major craft and over 100 smaller craft. Also in Fisherman's Wharf is the Musee Mechanique, to which ICA's Theme Committee and Game Studies Division are sponsoring an excursion on Sunday, May 27. This museum has one of largest collections of in the world of mechanical toys, musical instruments, and other devices…as well as early video games from "Pong" to "Pac-Man." Entering visitors are greeted by an automated 1930s figure, "Laughing Sal," who has become one of the icons of Fisherman's Wharf.

Additionally, the water in the Bay yields attractions of its own. One of the most beloved is Dungeness crab meat, which you can buy from any number of sidewalk vendors and eat as you walk. The hundreds of sea lions who sunbathe outside of Pier 39 are also a perennial favorite, with crowds often gathering to watch them and hear their "arf-arf" barks. If that's not enough, you might navigate the waters themselves: the boats that cruise the bay and the ferries out to Alcatraz, or even to Marin County, all depart from and arrive at Fisherman's Wharf.

The glut of street performers near the Wharf also make for great entertainment and a chance to absorb unique forms of communication. In particular, keep an eye out for the famous Bushman-an act best left unexplained.

North Beach, elevated above Fisherman's Wharf at the bases of Telegraph and Russian Hills, is a lively urban reprieve for anyone exhausted by the tackiness and shameless commerce of the wharf. Although it's best known as San Francisco's Italian section, North Beach is arguably its most cosmopolitan neighborhood, having within its boundaries an entire city's worth of experiences. Still, you will know when you've arrived in North Beach when you see the Italian flag (red, white, and green stripes) painted onto the streetlamp posts.

One of the most distinctive sites in North Beach is not Italian at all: it's Washington Square Park at Filbert and Columbus, whose most "ethnic" characteristic is probably the groups of people who practice Tai Chi in the park every morning. (The art is Chinese, but the practitioners at Washington Square are from any number of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.) Across Filbert Street from the square is another of the neighborhood's most recognizable landmarks, the Saints Peter and Paul Church. Built in 1924, the Roman Catholic church's twin spires are a marvel and a frequent photographic subject; most famously, Saints Peter and Paul was the site of Marilyn Monroe's 1954 wedding to American athlete Joe DiMaggio, who grew up in North Beach.

A few blocks down Columbus Avenue from Washington Square is the intersection of Columbus and Broadway: the heart of North Beach. Once the home of San Francisco's adult entertainment district, the intersection has largely left its seedy past behind and grown into a more diverse and respectable cultural center. The famous Condor Club, for example, has become a lobster restaurant. However, the other historical character of the intersection has not changed in 50 years: Columbus and Broadway was the core of the Beat culture of the 1950s. Half a block south of Broadway, in fact, is an alleyway named "Jack Kerouac Alley" after the most famous Beatnik. Kerouac, along with Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassidy, frequented (and were published by) the world-famous City Lights Bookstore, the independent, alternative bookshop and publisher founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. One of the best bookstores in the western United States, City Lights still retains its art-loft flavor of 50 years ago. The surrounding blocks are full of Beat-themed coffee shops (the most famous being Caffe Trieste at Grant and Vallejo), jazz clubs, and other attractions, including the 125-year-old Hotel Boheme and the Beat Museum on nearby Grant Avenue.

North Beach contains dozens of bars, nightclubs, boutiques, museums, and beautiful buildings (including the green copper Columbus Tower/Sentinel Building, home of Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope film studios)-however, what it probably contains more of than anything else is eateries. The Italian establishments, of course, dominate this arena, with countless sit-down restaurants, cafes, and delicatessens (many of which have been family-owned and operated for generations) spread all over the area. But amongst the rambling pizzerias and espresso bars are unique gourmet restaurants with cuisine from all over the world. Near Caffe Trieste at Vallejo Street and Grant Avenue is the Citizen Thai & Monkey Noodle Bar, with architecture that resembles a Buddhist Temple and a menu featuring traditional Thai food prepared from contemporary ingredients. A few blocks away on Broadway is the El Gran Taco, which claims to serve the Best Burrito on Broadway. (In fact, it serves the only burrito on Broadway.) And Moose's, across Stockton Street from Washington Square, is a favorite spot of San Francisco's movers and shakers, famous for its gourmet "Mooseburger."

If you're stopping in North Beach for dinner, however, don't let the glut of Italian restaurants discourage you from trying one. With so many in the area it's impossible to determine which are good and which are bad; the crowded eateries are a safe bet, but the best restaurants are often the little-known hole-in-the-wall places you can only find by exploring. Still, there are some perennial winners, particularly Michelangelo's just down Columbus from the Park, and Mama's, an eccentric brunch spot that is known for its homemade raspberry jam.

Finally, if you want to see both Fisherman's Wharf and North Beach but have little time to explore either, there is one absolutely essential stop: the Coit Tower, a 210-foot concrete tower in the Art Deco style. Inside the walls of the tower are fresco murals done by 26 different artists and containing myriad different subjects (only two being San Francisco scenes). The top of the tower rises almost 500 feet over the center of North Beach and even higher over Fisherman's Wharf, affording impressive views of both neighborhoods and much of San Francisco Bay.

Ultimately, though, visits to the two neighborhoods are immensely rewarding and essential to an understanding of San Francisco's culture: North Beach is key to the experience of the city life from its residents' perspective, and Fisherman's Wharf to the experience of San Francisco as a tourist destination. Their proximity to the ICA Conference makes exploration of these areas particularly convenient and revelatory.

Photo Credits: Fisherman's Wharf sign - SFCVB/Jerry Lee Hayes. Tai Chi - SFCVB/Mark Downey. Bakery - David Sanger. All others public domain.