“Goat Hill” boasts views and a small town feel.

Potrero Hill is a bastion of sunshine in a city known all too well for its incredible fog.

The commercial strips along 18th and 20th streets imbue the area with a small-town feel. The area was once dubbed Goat Hill, in honor of the livestock roaming about; and one can still enjoy spectacular downtown views, offering residents a constant reminder that they are indeed in San Francisco.

World-class restaurants and bars are tucked into corners along the steep streets, and residents and visitors alike enjoy ample street parking in this less-traveled part of the city. Easy Caltrain and freeway access have made Potrero Hill a popular home base for those who commute to the Peninsula or East Bay; downtown is a hop, skip & jump away.

Visitors may mistake Potrero Hill for an industrial or business district, due to its proximity to the San Francisco Design Center and Mission Bay. But in fact, the residential community is a tightly knit one, with strong neighborhood and parents' groups at its core. You can catch that community spirit at the annual Halloween Potrero Hill Pet Parade, or on a daily basis as you join your neighbors for a cup of joe at Farley's.

Locals take advantage of Potrero Hill's many hidden secrets, such as the historic Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, the Anchor Steam Brewery tour, art shows at California College of the Arts, live music at Bottom of the Hill or Thee Parkside and of course, the annual big wheel race down the city's real crookedest street, Vermont Street.