Bernal Heights

is located on the southeast side of San Francisco on a hill rising above the Mission District and Noe Valley. Ten years ago, everyone considered Bernal's North Slope to be the better part of the neighborhood. That's changed with the advent of commercial development along Cortland Street, which now boasts a clutch of nice restaurants, a grocery store, bookstore, and other small shops. Bernal Heights is one of the last parts of San Francisco where a Victorian can be found for a reasonable price in a sunny neighborhood. If Victorian's are not up your alley, then look no further than St. Mary's Park. This is a great section of Bernal Heights and features 1920s and 1930s bungalow homes with tidy front yards.
The quaint Queen Anne cottages and Victorian bungalows of Bernal Heights are still some of the most affordable homes in the City, with a close knit community of iconoclasts on guard against strip malls and chain stores. The population of more than 25,000 is about one-third white, one-third Hispanic, and the remainder Asian, African-American and other ethnicities. Dogs walk their owners frequently at Bernal Heights and Holly Parks; if the uphill climbs don?t take your breath away, the magnificent views will. Local bars and restaurants have everything from sushi to sandwiches; shopping districts offer music stores and arts & crafts stores.