Urban art hop

If spending a leisurely couple of hours gallery hopping without having to repark the car sounds like a plan, head to the five-story building just east of Union Square, where more than a dozen of San Francisco’s best-loved contemporary art galleries are clustered.

Shows change about once a month, and there’s plenty of variety ― 871 Fine Arts has a don’t-miss art bookstore in back, while Fraenkel Gallery is known for challenging, high-end photography, and Brian Gross Fine Art shows primarily abstract work.

Patricia Sweetow Gallery focuses on midcareer German Americans, and across the hall, the folks at tiny Toomey-Tourell Fine Art love answering questions.

The best times to go? Saturday afternoon, when the building is abuzz, or during First Thursday art nights, when galleries stay open until 7:30.

Info: 49 Geary St., San Francisco (open Tue-Sat; next First Thursday art night Mar 2); Brian Gross Fine Art (415/788-1050); 871 Fine Arts (415/543-5155); Fraenkel Gallery (415/981-2661); Patricia Sweetow Gallery (415/788-5126); Toomey-Tourell Fine Art (415/989-6444)