On foot
Chinatown is also an easy walk from Union Square walk north on Stockton through the tunnel or north on Grant through the Chinatown Gate at Grant and Bush. Similarly, North Beach can be easily accessed by walking northbound from Market Street, straight through the Financial District. Both neighborhoods can also be easily reached from Market Street by simply walking northbound on Grant Avenue. To get to the area from Fisherman's Wharf, walk southbound straight down Columbus Avenue.
By Cable Car
Each of the three Cable Car lines pass through Chinatown. If you exit BART or the MUNI Metro at the Powell St. Station you can catch the Powell-Mason or the Powell-Hyde cable car line at Powell and Market. Both routes will take you into Chinatown, but the Powell-Mason line is a better bet for getting to North Beach as the Powell-Hyde line turns west at Jackson and proceeds into Russian Hill. To reach Chinatown's famous Grant Avenue via the cable car, exit BART or the MUNI Metro at the Embarcadero Station and catch the California cable car line at California and Market.
By bus
Of course, if you'd rather avoid the long lines and crowded trip that a cable car ride entails, there are several good MUNI (http://www.sfmta.com/cms/...) bus lines that serve the area. To get to Chinatown from the BART/MUNI Metro, exit at the Montgomery Street Station, walk one block up Post Street, and catch the 30-Stockton or 45-Union SF-Muni bus line on Kearny near Post. The 30 or 45 bus will turn left onto Sutter and then right onto Stockton; after passing through the Stockton Tunnel, the bus will stop twice in Chinatown, on Stockton near Clay and on Stockton near Pacific. To get to North Beach from Market Street, the 10-Townsend, 30, or 45 lines will do nicely. From the east, the 1-California and 12-Folsom/Pacific lines pass through Chinatown. The 39-Coit goes from Fisherman's Wharf up to the Coit Tower, but can be obstructed by traffic that clogs the parking lot there, but there are plans to change this.
By car
Driving into the area is not recommended, but if you must, the closest parking garage to Chinatown is underneath Portsmouth Plaza, on Kearny Street which is a one-way street north between Clay and Washington. Other Chinatown garages are the Golden Gateway at 250 Clay Street, North Beach at 755 Vallejo Street, and St. Mary's Square at 433 Kearny Street. All garages are open 24 hours a day, except for Golden Gateway. There are also a few small parking garages scattered throughout North Beach, including Imperial Parking at 425 Broadway Street. Driving to the base of Coit Tower is definitely not recommended, as there is a very limited amount of parking at the top of the hill.