San Francisco's modern art museum has a respectable and worthwhile collection. All the big names are there, it's close to Union Square, and the building is remarkable.

It also has a very good cafe, specialising in Italian-inspired California cuisine. It's not a bad way to spend a few hours if you're tired of the hustle and bustle outside.

Alternatively, if you've just had enough of the art, it's a short walk to the Metreon, where you can blast your senses with IMAX movies to neutralize those Clyfford Stills.

151 Third Street (between Mission and Howard Streets), San Francisco, CA 94103; tel: (415) 357-4000, or www.sfmoma.org

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A "mixed" place, this Castro bar becomes mostly gay (and more crowded) by midnight. What sets it apart are not the little TVs embedded into the bar, nor the tiny but zesty little dishes (mini-burgers, grilled-cheese sandwiches with tomato soup "dip," Yukon potatoes with paprika aioli), but the fact that you can actually have a grown-up conversation there. In general, it's a chilled-out and friendly place, more suited to the flush of young professionals than the party boys. The decor doesn't hurt, either: space-age white furniture, curvy chairs, and tasteful (yes, really) neon.

2247 Market Street (between Noe and Sanchez), San Francisco; tel: (415) 621-5256; www.lime-sf.com

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