Bastille Day is nearly upon us, and there isn't a better time to check out San Francisco's little French Quarter located on Belden Place and Claude Lane near Union Square. This area serves as a hub for the city's French-American community; the French Consulate and Alliance Francaise are nearby.

These tree-lined alleys house a number of charming restaurants and bars; Plouf and Cafe Bastille are noted for their traditional French offerings; Cafe Claude boasts live jazz on the weekends and an intimate zinc bar. The district's newest restaurant, Gitane Restaurant, is a festive, special-occasion restaurant that has garnered nods from local critics.

On Bastille Day (July 14th), streamers and balloons are hung, lights lit, and the party takes over Belden Place as live dance tunes crank.

Photo courtesy of Cafe Claude

If you are headed to San Francisco for the Fourth, check out our guide to fireworks, celebrations, and other Independence Day happenings. We've even got a map to show exactly where the fun begins. Enjoy!

If you haven't had an agua fresca (fresh fruit juice drink), hot summer days like today are the perfect excuse to try one. These refreshing soft drinks originated in Mexico and are ladled out of big glass jugs at most of the Taquerias in the Mission. Made with ingredients ranging from watermelon to guava and served over ice, aguas frescas are one of my all time favorite thirst quenchers.

If you mised the blockbuster King Tut show thirty years ago, here's another chance to see this spectacular exhibition. More than 3,000 years after his reign, and 30 years after the original exhibition opened in San Francisco, Tutankhamun, ancient Egypt’s celebrated “boy king,” returns to the de Young Museum June 27, 2009 and runs through March 10, 2010. "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" is a glorious exhibition of over 130 outstanding works from the tomb of Tutankhamun, as well as those of his royal predecessors, his family, and court officials.

Photo courtesy Andreas F. Voegelin, Antikenmuseum Basel and Sammlung Ludwig.

June is LGBT Pride month in San Francisco; it's a month-long celebration culminating in the hugely popular Pride Parade on Sunday June 28th. Check out our extensive guide to SF pride month, including performance and event shedules and pictures from last year's parade.

If you're craving some inspiration before your trip to San Francisco (or are stictly an armchair traveler), you'll want to peruse our photos of the city. Our galleries include pics of San Francisco at Night, Historic Streetcars, and SF Landmarks. Enjoy!

Let the family vacations begin! Since school's out in many parts of the country, some of you will be traveling to SF with children. If you are planning a trip here with the wee ones this summer, check out our guides to family-friendly hotels, budget hotels, and restaurants that cater to kids. You'll probably also want to know some great ways to save money while visiting SF. Finally, reward your kids for good behavior with a visit to one of the city's best candy shops.

As a pizza-obsessed diner, I can't wait to try Flour + Water, a new wine bar in the mission specializing in thin-crust, Neopolitan style wood-fired pizza. This neighborhood spot also serves housemade pastas and salumi and lovely sounding antipasti. The restaurant opened a couple of weeks ago to rave reviews and seems like the perfect place to spend a low-key evening.

Photo courtesy of Flour + Water

One coveted addition to my new office is what I call the San Francisco Poster. Jennifer Ork makes posters and screen prints of many neighborhood cities, but naturally her 'Frisco version is my favorite. You can pick one up online or at the wonderfully eccentric Curiosity Shoppe in the Mission, which sells them in three colors. In my book you can't find a better San Francisco souvenir.

Photo courtesy of Ork Posters, Inc.

One of the hidden gems of Chinatown is the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory (56 Ross Alley; 415-781-3956). As locals say, follow your nose to this tiny factory where twenty-thousand cookies are baked and folded everyday and visitors can watch it all happen. You can pick up a bag to go for $3.50 or have the cookies customized with your own message.