Hello. I have been to S.F. in my youth and been down the curviest street, but my husband has not. We are planning a trip to S.F and will be on foot. How best to enjoy street without a tour or the need to buy a book. Any suggestions please ?

I believe the Powell-Hyde cable car makes a stop at the top....

bookhall has the best suggestion for this. Note that Lombard is actually a long street, and it's only the short stretch between Hyde Street and Leavenworth Street that's famously twisting and picturesque.

If it's of any interest, this stretch of road supposedly isn't as steep as Filbert Street between Leavenworth and Hyde, just two blocks over from Lombard. No gardens on the side or curves, though, just a staggeringly steep incline.

be prepared for the amazingly long lines for that cable car. We just couldn't do it so we took a cab to the top of the street and walked down and then grabbed another cable car and went to china town

Well, if you're in moderately good health, you'll probably not find the Filbert Steps that much of a "staggeringly steep incline".

Trying to catch the Powell Street cablecar at the Powell turntable will be a long wait. Walk up the hill a bit to the next station and catch the cable car there. You can usually snag a place up the slope rather than at the end of the line.

easytraveler--

The stretch of Filbert Street between Hyde and Leavenworth is not the same as the Filbert Street Steps -- the latter are well east of the former, leading towards Coit Tower. And the former is apparently the steepest street segment in San Francisco with a grade of 31.5 degrees. I walked down it (it actually has steps in place of a sidewalk on the side) and was darned glad I didn't try to navigate it with a car -- the incline is pretty scary to contemplate when you see it from the intersection with Hyde. If you're going to visit the famously crooked section of Lombard two blocks away, I think it's worth the short detour to see Filbert as well.

I've seen the stretch of Lombard Street between Hyde and Leavenworth referred to as the steepest street in San Francisco, but apparently that's not the case.

I've always heard that Vermont Street in Potrero Hill is the curviest street in SF.

I'm just playing with Google Earth...

Hyde & Lombard is at ~291ft, and Leavenworth & Lombard is at ~171ft; the drop is about 120ft.

Hyde & Filbert is at ~299ft, and Leavenworth & Filbert is at ~223ft; the drop is about 76ft.

But of course, the length of Lombard is longer, so, it's the overall grade is not as steep. That's the whole point of the curves.

But interesting, if you look at Chestnut, Hyde & Chestnut is at ~240ft, and Leavenworth & Chestnut is at ~144ft; the drop is about 96ft!!!

So, while part of that block of Filbert may be steeper, if you measure the whole block, Chestnut is actually steeper.

Greenwich also has about a 100ft drop, but it's not a through street.

And on the Coit Tower side, Filbert & Kearney is at ~211ft, and Filbert & Grant is at ~120ft. 91ft drop, which also exceeds the drop of Filbert between Hyde and Leavenworth.

Early one morning, we had our cab driver drive down that street. Awesome! He took us up and down some of his other favorite streets as well. Worth every penny!

We were on our way to Coit Tower. After that, we walked down those stairs, then to the Ferry Building Marketplace where we picked up lunch to enjoy on the waterfront.

If you get Netflix & can view it before you leave for SF, check out the movie The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. (2005)
This documentary tells the true story of a Bohemian St. Francis of Assisi and his amazing relationship with a flock of wild parrots. Mark Bittner, a homeless street musician in San Francisco, adopts the flock as he searches for meaning in his life. The weird thing is, he's unaware that the wild parrots will bring him everything he needs. The film celebrates urban wildness (human and avian) and links the parrots' antics to human … antics.

bachslunch:

I stand corrected!

I saw "Filbert" and immediately thought of the Filbert Steps!

rkkwan: how do you get the differences in the contours? The Google Terrain map is not detailed enough on my computer.

easytraveler - I just look at the elevation display in the bottom tool bar.

If you have strong knees and can walk down, get off the Hyde line of Cable car, walk down to Columbus, take line 30 through Chinatown back to Union Square.

By the way, are you coming from Union Square?

If the cable car is not convenient, line 19 Polk or 47/49 Van Ness buses.

DD and I walked from Union Square until we found our way to the bottom of the curly part of Lombard. The next day we walked until we found ourselves at the top! Then we walked down it. I don't think there was any other angle we could have experienced it from without a car (and I have driven down it in the past. This time,there was a steady stream of cars and people in the street when we took the sidewalk down). We actually made a point of doing this to see which view was most interesting.

You say you'll be on foot, marcielee, but how about renting one of those cute little car/go-cart-like vehicles. They look kinda fun, and I know I've seen 'em going down Lombard before.

rkkwan: thanks very much!