San Francisco is made up of many self-contained little neighborhoods, each with their own beauty and character.

My favorite will always be North Beach. Ironically, you won’t find a beach here, but you will find a small enclave that clings to its Italian heritage and ties to the Beat generation.

North Beach has it all — Liguria, a tiny family-owned bakery that sells only focaccia, the best you ever tasted; City Lights, Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s historic book seller and publishing house; Sts. Peter and Paul and the shrine of St. Francis, two stunning Catholic churches; Coit Tower, the graceful monument at the top of Telegraph Hill; Molinari’s Deli, selling Italian specialty foods and the best chicken cutlets on the planet; Washington Square Park where you might catch a glimpse of the flock of wild parrots who live over the hill; one-of-a-kind shops and boutiques on Grant Ave; legendary bars like Vesuvio, Specs and Tosca; and dozens of excellent caffes and restaurants with strong coffee, delicious food, and outdoor tables for the best people watching in town.

Smack in the middle, on Columbus Avenue, the fifteen rooms of the exceptionally groovy Hotel Boheme sits above it all. The Boheme is an homage to the Beat era with dimly lit halls, walls painted deep terracotta and sage, beds with wrought-iron frames and filmy white bowers, heavy drapes on the windows and light shades made from painted parasols and collages of Beat ephemera.

But the mood is truly captivated by the smoky black-and-white photos of San Francisco in the fifties by photographer Jerry Stoll. Moody, street scenes and shots of famous Beat hangouts like the Jazz Cellar, Enrico’s, La Bodega, and the Coffee Gallery are captured with a pensiveness that almost feels intrusive. Stoll’s images are transportive.

An excellent website offers information on the history of North Beach and the Beats as well as current event listings, links to area attractions, and a detailed walking tour with lots of insider tips and trivia.

Rooms range from $174 to $194. If you stay here, do yourself a favor and stop into Stella’s Pastry downstairs for the best cannoli in the city.

Photos by Dan Dion