I'm the sort of traveler who always looks for local independent booksellers in every city I visit, so it's something of a wonder that I'd never gone to City Lights before this trip. I think it has something to do with the fact that every photo I've seen makes it look like a closet. But photos lie! City Lights has three levels, tons of beat-up leather chairs for lounging (and many signs encouraging you to sit and read for a while), and enough old posters and memorabilia on the walls and shelf-ends to make the Beat Museum across the street just a tiny bit superfluous. Make sure to read the walls - framed letterpress editions of seminal short poems line the staircases. Jazz on the stereo, natch, and staff that wants to chat with you about your purchases, which is always fun.

The organization and section naming is exactly what you'd expect from a venerable indie bookstore in a famously lefty city: "Muckraking," "Class Warfare" and "Anarchism" greet you at the foot of the steps down to the basement-level nonfiction shelves, and "Commodity Aesthetics" is just around the corner. My favorite section, "Evidence," is the place to grab all your favorite UFO, Conspiracy Theory, and UFO Conspiracy Theory titles. Up on the top level is the largest poetry collection I've ever seen (and I live within walking distance of a bookstore that sells nothing but poetry!) as well as the entire Beat canon. You don't have to walk all the way up there to grab a copy of Howl, though - stacks of the tiny paperback are tucked into niches all over the store. I left with a book of poems by Chicago Slam Poetry champion Lisa Buscani and a postcard advertising an anarchist book fair to be held later in the month.

A little trivia for you:

Their list is small, but City Lights is a publisher as well as a bookseller, and boasts some titles that will surely never go out of print, including Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems.
The bookstore has been a registered landmark in the city of San Francisco since 2001.
The mural on the Jack Kerouac Alley side of the building is a recreation of a Chiapas mural celebrating the Zapatista movement, and destroyed by the Mexican Army in 1998.

Famous for its beat-poet owner, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights has long been the site of liberal, Berkeley-style protests and intellectualism. The store itself is just a bookstore, with an upstairs dedicated to the beats, but the staff get tired of tourists who come in gawking and oogling over the place. Every occasion I've stopped in, I've always found a cold and distant staff, too busy reading or judging me to actually help. Customer service is not big here, and while staff would prefer to cater to its small niche local audience, it can't help that its owners and history have secured it as a famous sight in San Francisco.

I've only known the famed City Lights in its tourist incarnation, so I have no idea what I'm missing out on.

It's still a great independent bookstore that I could easily spend a day browsing around in. With that said, it just doesn't have the feel of a local bookstore. While I was there, I only saw tourists and even a class of Chinese kids who were shushed by their teacher. Maybe that's because it's in North Beach, primo tourist spot, or maybe because it's so famous.

Generally, I shun the North Beach area, but it's still very beautiful and full of quirky sights and sounds (as well as sex shops, clubs, etc.).

But if its books you're after, also check out the used bookstore right on Broadway, kitty-corner after leaving City Lights.

I loved this bookstore!!! It was amazing!!! This was one of my favorite sites to see. Situated just at the tip of Chinatown, City Lights bookstore is where Allen Ginsberg and other famous authors used to visit and read frequently. Next door is the Vagabond bar where Jack Kerouac used to go afterwards for the nastiest drink of tequila, rum, vodka and just about any hard liquor you could imagine in one. I spent half a day at the bookstore, reading and rummaging through the sections.

http://www.citylights.com/

It doesn't seem to matter where I go, I always end up trying to find that city's best bookstore. Because of the number of really good bookstores in San Francisco, it's really tough to call one of them the best. But, if for nothing else but the history of the place, I seem to always wander back to City Lights.

Founded in 1953, City Lights is, of course, best known for the Beats. Jack Kerouac hung out here when he wasn't across the street at Vesuvio. Allen Ginsberg's "Howl", published by City Lights, set off a landmark battle over First Ammendment rights when co-founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti was arrested at the store for selling the poem. Supposedly, Ferlinghetti still wanders the stacks. I've never seem him, but I've also usually got my eyes plastered on the books.

Even if you're not a fan of the Kerouac and Ginsberg, City Lights is worth the trip. The vast variety of books alone will keep you wandering around for hours. On top of stocking just about everything, the employees know all about what's on the racks. If you have even a vague idea of what you're looking for, ask. Chances are, somebody's going to know exactly what you're looking for.

For more information, check out www.citylights.com. They've got a list of upcoming events and a great selection of recommended books.