Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Cable Cars & Chinatown
The tourist core of northern San Francisco — the waterfront from Fisherman's Wharf to the Ferry Building, connected to the downtown core by the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason cable car lines — encompasses the most iconic elements of San Francisco's public image: the sea lions of Pier 39, the dungeness crab of the Wharf, the Victorian cable cars climbing Nob Hill, and the dense commercial streets of the oldest and most established Chinese-American community in the United States.
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Cable Cars — The Moving National Monument
San Francisco cable cars (the Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason, and California Street lines, $8/ride, $24/day unlimited pass, SFMTA) are the world's only surviving manually operated cable car system — the underground cable (running at constant 9.5 mph, pulled by a stationary engine at the cable car barn, Mason and Washington Streets) was invented by Andrew Hallidie in 1873 after he witnessed horses dying trying to pull carriages up the steep hills; the grip operator physically clamps the cable car onto or releases it from the underground cable to start and stop; the system was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
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Fisherman's Wharf — The Former Crab Fishery
Fisherman's Wharf (the area from Pier 39 to the Hyde Street Pier, the former working fishing harbour of San Francisco's Italian-American fishing community) is the most visited area in San Francisco — Dungeness crab (the Bay Area's seasonal crab, December–March, sold live and cooked at outdoor stands, $30–50/crab) and sourdough bread (Boudin Bakery, 160 Jefferseon Street, baking since 1849 using the same original starter culture) are the defining foods; the SS Jeremiah O'Brien (the last operable Liberty Ship from WWII, Pier 45, $25) and the Maritime Museum are the serious historical attractions.
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Chinatown — The Oldest in North America (1848)
San Francisco Chinatown (the 24-block district bounded by Broadway, Powell, Bush, and Kearny, established 1848 when Chinese workers arrived for the Gold Rush) is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the most densely populated urban area in the US — 100,000+ residents in a 0.25 square mile area; the Grant Avenue (the tourist-facing main street) and Stockton Street (the working shopping street where actual Chinatown residents buy dim sum, produce, and medicinal herbs) present two different faces; the dim sum restaurants (Great Eastern, Yank Sing on Rincon) serve the authentic mid-morning dim sum experience.
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Pier 39 — Sea Lions and the Unexpected Marine Attraction
Pier 39 (the commercial pier converted to a tourist shopping mall in 1978) is most famous for the California Sea Lions that colonized the adjacent K-Dock in January 1990 following the Loma Prieta earthquake — the colony (300–1,000 animals depending on season) has been voluntarily maintained by the Port of San Francisco; the animals (Zalophus californianus) are at their most numerous November–July when the males (200–300kg) haul out in large numbers; Marine Mammal Center biologists are on the pier most days to answer questions; free viewing from the public pier.
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Ghirardelli Square — The Chocolate Factory Reborn
Ghirardelli Square (900 North Point Street, the former Ghirardelli chocolate factory complex, 1893–1962, converted to a shopping and restaurant complex in 1964 — the first major adaptive reuse of an industrial complex in the US) was the factory where Domingo Ghirardelli perfected the process of separating cocoa butter from roasted cocoa beans, creating the 'chocolate liquor' that became the basis of American chocolate manufacturing — the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience (free museum, daily 9am–11pm, the flagship store) serves hot fudge sundaes using Ghirardelli chocolate ($13) in the former factory building.
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Lombard Street — The World's Most Crooked Street
Lombard Street (the one-block section of Lombard between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, constructed 1922, the 8-switchback descent with 3m elevation change over 40m horizontal distance) was engineered with its curved switchbacks to allow cars to descend the 27% grade — the street's landscaping (roses and hydrangeas planted by the city, the best display in spring) and the photogenic red-brick paving make it one of the most photographed blocks in the US; the pedestrian path descends one side; the vehicle route (one-way downhill, no fee but long queues summer weekends) is 5mph maximum.