Tucked between the chaotic hipness of the Upper Haight and the sleepy affluence of Sutro Forest and Buena Vista Heights, Cole Valley is a tiny, quiet neighborhood that feels more like a village than the big city. Populated partly by settles yuppies that seem to put a lot of time into gardening, flowers seem to be everywhere. For a bird’s eye view of the neighborhood, and one of the most spectacular views in the city, climb Tank Hill via the rickety, wooden staircase at the end of Belgrave Street of 17th. Locals frequent the spot for watching fireworks. What locals will not find in Cole Valley are banks, huge grocery stores, and that ever-present landmark, Walgreen’s. This is a neighborhood largely unpopulated by chains and franchises, and shoppers are likely to find the stores owner working behind the counter.

Wild Parrots: For more than a decade Cole Valley has been a destination of choice for a flock of birds known as the "wild parrots of Telegraph Hill." Anywhere from late June to late August, usually just between 7 am and 8 am, a cluster of up to 20 birds makes its way from their nighttime nesting place around Jackson and Davis streets to one section of Cole Valley, around Willard, Belmont, Woodland and Edgewood streets. These parrots, most of which are cherry-headed conures native to South America, sport green bodies and red heads and tend to make a lot of noise, so they're hard to miss. First, they head for the pine trees, and then the hawthorne, apple and plum trees.

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