Access San FranciscoRide over two hills, then watch the fog come under the bridge.
The top of Lombard Street's crooked block on Russian Hill, looking east across the city to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill
SAN FRANCISCO · CALIFORNIA

More than fifty hills on a seven-mile square, with the cable cars still climbing them and the fog coming in through the Gate.

A city on the tip of a peninsula, founded as a Spanish fort and mission in 1776, rebuilt after the fire of 1906, and still climbed by the world's last manually operated cable cars.

Photo: dconvertini, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
No. 1Where you stand

Seven by seven, and more than fifty hills

A peninsula city

San Francisco is a city and a county at once, on the northern tip of a peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Bay to the north and east, and the Golden Gate strait between them. About 830,000 people live here. The land part of the city is roughly a seven-by-seven-mile square, and more than fifty hills rise within it — which is why the hills get a page of their own. Most visitors fly into the main airport thirteen miles south of downtown (getting here) and get around on foot, by cable car and streetcar, and on Muni and BART. The city is a set of districts, each with its own character, which is most of where to stay.

A fort, a mission, a gold rush and a fire

Settlers from New Spain founded the Presidio at the Golden Gate and the Mission San Francisco de Asís a few miles away in 1776, on land where the Yelamu Ohlone lived; both were named for Francis of Assisi. The gold rush of 1849 made San Francisco the largest city on the West Coast. In 1906 an earthquake and the fires that followed left more than three-quarters of the city in ruins, and it was rebuilt fast enough to host a world's fair nine years later. Begin with the sights; the Bay Area beyond the city is for day trips.

The weather, the table and the street

Summer here is cool and often foggy, and September is the warmest month (when to come). Alcatraz is the booking to make first (booking ahead). The city has its own dishes, from sourdough to the Mission burrito (eating and drinking). Pick an itinerary by the length of your stay, and read street sense for the practical things visitors ask about — above all, leave nothing in a parked car.

Schematic map of San Francisco: the peninsula between the Pacific and the Bay, its hills, the homepage walk, and the eighteen sights, numbered as in the indexPACIFIC OCEANSAN FRANCISCO BAYGOLDEN GATEMarin — day trips across the bridgeGolden Gate ParkMarket Streetthe peninsula beyond the city lineTwin PeaksMount DavidsonMount SutroPotrero HillBernal Heights123456789101112131415161718
  1. The Ferry Building and the Embarcadero
  2. Fisherman's Wharf and the Hyde Street Pier
  3. Alcatraz
  4. The Palace of Fine Arts
  5. The Presidio and Crissy Field
  6. The Golden Gate Bridge and Fort Point
  7. Lands End and the Sutro Baths
  8. Golden Gate Park
  9. Chinatown
  10. SFMOMA and Yerba Buena
  11. City Hall and the Civic Center
  12. Mission Dolores and the Mission District
  13. Haight-Ashbury
  14. The Cable Cars
  15. Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill
  16. Lombard Street and Russian Hill
  17. Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies
  18. Twin Peaks
Schematic, not to scale — north is up; the rings are hills, the solid line the Powell–Hyde cable car, the dotted line the walk below, the numbers the sights.
No. 2Six stops, one steep climb

A walk through the city

From the water to the top of Telegraph Hill and down through North Beach and Chinatown to the cable cars: six stops, one steep climb, and every step of it on foot.

The walk in side view: from the Ferry Building up the Filbert Steps to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill, down through North Beach and Chinatown to Powell and Marketabout 400 stepsTelegraph Hill, 285 ft123456The Ferry Building, at the waterPowell and Market
  1. The Ferry Building's clock tower framed between downtown towers at the end of Commercial Street
    The Ferry Building's clock tower framed between downtown towers at the end of Commercial StreetIlkka Simomaa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

    The clock tower at the foot of Market Street

    Start at the Ferry Building, completed in 1898 with a clock tower 245 feet high that can be seen all the way up Market Street. It is still a ferry terminal, and inside it is now a food hall.

  2. A California Street cable car, riders on its running boards, climbing past bay-windowed houses on Nob Hill
    A California Street cable car, riders on its running boards, climbing past bay-windowed houses on Nob HillDaniel Lu (User:dllu), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Four hundred wooden steps

    Walk north along the Embarcadero and climb the Filbert Steps: about 400 wooden steps up the east face of Telegraph Hill, past gardens and houses that can be reached only on foot. It is the steepest part of the walk; the hills page lists the ways around it.

  3. Coit Tower's fluted concrete shaft rising above the trees of Pioneer Park
    Coit Tower's fluted concrete shaft rising above the trees of Pioneer ParkRyan Schwark, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

    The tower on Telegraph Hill

    At the top, 285 feet above the Bay, stands Coit Tower, 210 feet of unpainted concrete built in 1933 with money left by Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the city. Its lobby is painted with fresco murals by more than twenty artists. The story that it was built to look like a fire hose nozzle is only a story.

  4. A mural-covered building on a North Beach corner, with the Financial District towers behind
    A mural-covered building on a North Beach corner, with the Financial District towers behindLigocsicnarf89, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

    Washington Square, North Beach

    Walk down into North Beach, the city's Little Italy and the center of the Beat writers in the 1950s. Coit's other bequest is here: the statue of the volunteer firefighters in Washington Square.

  5. Red lanterns strung across Grant Avenue in Chinatown after dark
    Red lanterns strung across Grant Avenue in Chinatown after darkFrank Schulenburg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Grant Avenue

    A few blocks south, Grant Avenue runs through Chinatown, the oldest in North America, under dragon street lamps paid for in 1925. The Dragon Gate stands where Grant Avenue meets Bush Street.

  6. A Powell–Mason cable car at the Powell and Market turntable, riders stepping aboard
    A Powell–Mason cable car at the Powell and Market turntable, riders stepping aboardDietmar Rabich, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The turntable at Powell and Market

    End at Powell and Market, where the cable cars of both Powell Street lines are turned by hand on a turntable. They are what is left of twenty-three lines built between 1873 and 1890 — the world's last manually operated system, and the easy way back up the hills.

No. 3Before you go

Three things to know first

United States · CaliforniaAbout 830,000 peopleEnglishUS dollarFounded 1776City and county since 1856

No. 4Eleven practical questions, and the journal

The parts of this guide

  1. The SightsEighteen places, one page eachThe SightsFrom the Ferry Building to the top of Twin Peaks: what each one is, what you see, and how steep it is.
  2. Getting HereTwelve miles from the runwayGetting HereThe main airport lies south of the city with BART at its terminal; the other ways in by air, rail and road.
  3. Getting AroundCable cars, streetcars, Muni and your feetGetting AroundWhat the cable cars are good for, the heritage streetcars along the waterfront, Muni's buses and trains, BART, and what is simply a walk.
  4. The HillsGrades, step streets and the ways upThe HillsWhich sights sit on a steep grade or at the top of a stairway, the rides that save your legs, and what the hills mean for a wheelchair or a stroller.
  5. Booking AheadThe island comes firstBooking AheadAlcatraz is reached only by boat, and its sailings are the booking to make first; what else needs a reservation, and what never does.
  6. When to ComeCool summers and a warm SeptemberWhen to ComeWhy July can be cooler than October, which side of the city the fog reaches first, and the rain from November to April.
  7. Eating & DrinkingWhat the city put on the tableEating & DrinkingSourdough, chowder, cioppino, dim sum and the Mission burrito — where each comes from and where it is eaten.
  8. Where to StayA city of districtsWhere to StayUnion Square, the waterfront, North Beach, the Marina, the Mission and the rest — each for a night or a week, drawn on a map.
  9. ItinerariesOne day, three, fiveItinerariesRoutes by the length of your stay, built around the Alcatraz booking, the fog and the hills.
  10. Day TripsAcross the bridge and the BayDay TripsSausalito, Muir Woods, Berkeley and Oakland, Angel Island and the wine valleys — each a day out of the city.
  11. Street SenseWhat visitors ask aboutStreet SenseLeaving nothing in a parked car, curbing your wheels on a hill, and street conditions downtown — the mechanics, and what to check, without the scare stories.
  12. The JournalQuestions answered at lengthThe JournalVisitor questions about San Francisco, answered in full, with new pieces as they are written.
No. 5Grouped by how far above the water they stand, from the piers to the summits, and marked for the climb.

All eighteen sights

The waterlinePiers, a bay island and the strait

  1. The Ferry Building and the Embarcadero1The Ferry Building and the EmbarcaderoCompleted in 1898, with a 245-foot clock tower at the foot of Market Street.Level
  2. Fisherman's Wharf and the Hyde Street Pier2Fisherman's Wharf and the Hyde Street PierA working fishing port turned waterfront, with historic ships at the Hyde Street Pier.Level
  3. Alcatraz3AlcatrazA federal prison from 1934 to 1963, about a mile and a quarter offshore.Some climbing
  4. The Palace of Fine Arts4The Palace of Fine ArtsThe one structure of the 1915 exposition still on its site, rebuilt from 1964 to 1974.Level
  5. The Presidio and Crissy Field5The Presidio and Crissy FieldA Spanish fort in 1776 and an army post for 219 years, a national park since 1994.Some climbing
  6. The Golden Gate Bridge and Fort Point6The Golden Gate Bridge and Fort PointOpened in 1937; its towers stand 746 feet above the water.Level

The ocean edgeWhere the city meets the Pacific

  1. Lands End and the Sutro Baths7Lands End and the Sutro BathsA windswept shore trail at the mouth of the Golden Gate, above the ruins of the Sutro Baths.Steep or many steps
  2. Golden Gate Park8Golden Gate Park1,017 acres laid over the sand dunes of the Outside Lands.Level

The flats and the valleysDowntown, the Civic Center, the Mission and the Haight

  1. Chinatown9ChinatownThe oldest Chinatown in North America, centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street.Some climbing
  2. SFMOMA and Yerba Buena10SFMOMA and Yerba BuenaThe West Coast's first museum of 20th-century art, in SoMa since 1995.Level
  3. City Hall and the Civic Center11City Hall and the Civic CenterA Beaux-Arts dome of 1915, taller than the dome of the US Capitol.Level
  4. Mission Dolores and the Mission District12Mission Dolores and the Mission DistrictThe adobe chapel of 1791, the oldest intact structure in the city.Level
  5. Haight-Ashbury13Haight-AshburyNamed for a street corner, and one of the centers of the 1960s counterculture.Some climbing

The hillsThe climbs, and what you see from the top

  1. The Cable Cars14The Cable CarsThree lines left of the twenty-three built between 1873 and 1890.Some climbing
  2. Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill15Coit Tower and Telegraph HillA 210-foot tower of 1933 on Telegraph Hill, its lobby painted with fresco murals.Steep or many steps
  3. Lombard Street and Russian Hill16Lombard Street and Russian HillOne block, eight hairpin turns, built in 1922 to tame a 27 percent grade.Steep or many steps
  4. Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies17Alamo Square and the Painted LadiesVictorian houses facing a hilltop park that looks over downtown.Some climbing
  5. Twin Peaks18Twin PeaksTwo summits of about 925 feet near the middle of the city.Steep or many steps