A Mission District Weekend of Murals and Sourdough

Six pins mark the weekend's stops, not one continuous walk. Friday sits south: Balmy Alley, then Foreign Cinema about 15 minutes away on foot. Saturday stays within a few blocks at Dolores Park and Mission Dolores. Sunday runs along 18th Street, from Tartine Manufactory to Bi-Rite Creamery. Check each venue's own hours and booking page for your dates; this sequence does not hold a table or guarantee a door is open.

Begin in Balmy Alley, where the fences run mural to mural and the lane is open to anyone at any hour, with no ticket. Walk about 15 minutes northwest to Foreign Cinema, where the evening is dinner plus a film — but only from the right seat. The film is projected on the wall of the heated outdoor courtyard and starts at dusk; the indoor dining room with the fireplace gets no screen, so if the movie is the point, reserve courtyard seating specifically and confirm that night's title and start time. It also plays without clear dialogue audio, so treat it as a backdrop to dinner rather than a screening you can follow line by line. Friday dinner runs 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday 7 November dinner is already listed as sold out, so Friday is the table to reserve ahead; the restaurant notes that bookings can shift with the weather.

Give the middle of the day to Mission Dolores Park, where the lawn tilts toward downtown and the crowd is half the attraction. Five minutes on foot stands Old Mission Dolores Museum, beside the city's oldest intact building, with a small cemetery garden and the mission's own collection. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the weekend and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, self-guided visits need no reservation, and guided tours are currently suspended. Entry is not free: one ticket covers the chapel, the small museum and the cemetery, and it is sold at the gift shop. Budget roughly $7 to $10 per adult — the parish does not post a general rate online, so confirm at the desk. The parish's visitor page sets out the rules before you go in.

Start at Tartine Manufactory on Alabama Street, and keep its two clocks apart. The doors are open Monday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesday to Sunday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Inside, the pastry, breakfast and lunch counter stops serving at 4 p.m. every day — that 4 p.m. is the end of counter service, not the shop shutting. Dinner runs 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, with limited service on Tuesday. The counter is first come with no reservations; dinner takes bookings. Follow 18th Street west for about 15 minutes to Bi-Rite Creamery, scooping 12 to 9 p.m. every day.

Rain: leave the lawn for Alamo Drafthouse New Mission on Mission Street, a restored movie palace with food and drink served at the seats, and keep the museum as the second dry stop.

Crowds: a clear Saturday fills Dolores Park by early afternoon, so go before noon and take the museum afterwards. Tartine serves breakfast first come, first served; going early is a suggestion, not a guarantee.

Tighter budget: murals and park cost nothing. Drop the Foreign Cinema dinner for bread, cheese and fruit at Bi-Rite Market on 18th Street (8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily) and split one cone at the creamery.

Official info: foreigncinema.com, tartinebakery.com, biritemarket.com, missiondolores.org (checked 5 November).