Sightseeing
IconicChinatown
No admission feeWalk through the Dragon's Gate onto Grant Avenue for lantern-lined streets, temples, markets and dim sum parlors.
Transit: reachable by public transit
Photo: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
SightseeingIconicFamily FavoriteHistory Buff
San Francisco Cable Cars
Ride an open-sided cable car up and over the hills on three historic lines pulled by underground cables.
Car barn and Cable Car Museum, 1201 Mason St · San Francisco, CA
About San Francisco Cable Cars
San Francisco runs the last manually operated cable car system in the world, a National Historic Landmark since 1964. Two lines start at the Powell and Market turntable and head toward Fisherman's Wharf, while the California line runs from Market Street to Van Ness Avenue. Grip operators work the cars by hand, and crews turn them around on turntables at the ends of the Powell lines. At the busiest terminals you must buy your fare before boarding.
- #cable car
- #historic transit
- #national historic landmark
- #city sightseeing
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What's around here?
The closest stops to San Francisco Cable Cars, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
Steps awayMore like this
- Museums
San Francisco Cable Car Museum
No admission feeA free museum on Nob Hill showing the history of San Francisco's cable car system, housed in a working powerhouse and carbarn.
0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
- Sports & Outdoors
Ina Coolbrith Park
Check pricesA small hillside park in the Russian Hill neighborhood with views over the city and the bay.
0.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors
- SightseeingIconic
Coit Tower
Under $25Ride the elevator up this 210-foot Art Deco tower on Telegraph Hill for 360-degree views of the city and bay.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.5 mi awayMore like this
- ShoppingIconic
Union Square
No admission feeShop the department stores and boutiques around a 2.6-acre downtown plaza, then hop a Powell Street cable car.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
- SightseeingIconic
Lombard Street
No admission feeWalk the side stairs or drive down eight brick hairpin turns on a single steep block of Russian Hill.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.8 mi awayMore like this
