Lombard Street, San Francisco
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Lombard Street - by Cmichel67 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Description
Lombard Street is a street in San Francisco's Russian Hill neighbourhood known for its steep section with eight sharp turns. When the road was built in the 1920's, the natural gradient of 27% was too steep for vehicles so this was the simplest way to reduce it.
Access & Transport
The street runs east-west between Presidio and The Embarcadero respectively; the hairpins are located between Hyde St and Leavenworth (bottom). The nearest parking garage is about six blocks away at 721 Filbert Street. Bus 30 and 91 stops on Columbus Av., 300m from the bottom and the Powell-Hyde cable car line stops at the intersection of Hyde & Lombard.
Instructions & Recommendations
It is possible to drive through, but traffic is restricted to one way (downhill); there is often a waiting line and speed is limited at 5mph (8kmh). Set your navigation at '1099 Lombard Street'.
Environmental & Social
Env: not built for tourists but many tourists take their car there for a drive, so we deem this slightly negative. Negative for the residents who suffer from the unceasing traffic and passerby.
Conclusion
Probably one of the better known sights in San Francisco but its real draw really is its quirkiness rather than something inherently interesting about it.
Key positive
Photogenic
Unusual
Key negative
Busy with tourists
Suitability
Visitors with reduced mobility will not be able to go up or down without help (unless in a car) because of the stairs but they can get a good view from the bottom.
About this Rating
TYPE
Desktop
RESEARCHED IN
Updated in July 2023
PROVIDER
Koreval
av. transport time:0h 20m
est. visit time:0h 30m
Sunrise / early morningOk
MorningOk
Lunch timeOk
AfternoonOk
Sunset / eveningOk
Night – bef. midnightNo
Night – aft. midnightNo