Cable Car Museum
Here you can see the mechanisms that drive San Francisco's famed cable cars, as well as plenty of cable car memorabilia and information on the history of the cable cars.
Filbert Street
At a 31.5% grade, this is one of the very steepest streets in the entire Western Hemisphere. Like many of the steeper streets in the city, it has steps along the sidewalk and its own special set of parking rules, so that people and cars don't all come tumbling down!
Lombard Street
Do see the "crookedest street in the world", a one-block portion of Lombard Street that contains eight hairpin turns, created to reduce the hill's natural steep slope. The best time to see and photograph the winding street from the bottom from Leavenworth St is in the morning because Lombard Street runs east-west and slopes eastward. The best time to see and photograph the view from the top from Hyde St is in the afternoon. At night there are great views of Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower. The wild parrots of Telegraph Hill frequently fly over head in the morning.
Francisco Street
This block contains twelve spectacular mansions in a variety of styles. It is very close to the crooked section of Lombard Street and is worth the minor detour on the way.
Famous hotels
Pretend you are a guest and not just a visitor, and have a look around the lobbies of some swanky San Francisco hotels. The Fairmont and Mark Hopkins have impressive lobbies that will leave you counting your pennies to see if you can afford a room. See below under the Sleep section for further info.
Grace Cathedral
The main Episcopalian church of the city, based on the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. They request a donation and the tour is an hour long. You learn a lot but at times it is way too detailed.
Grand Lodge F&AM of California
In addition to the lodge room and corporate offices, this place also has a museum of Freemasonry.
Polk Street
These five blocks form the heart of the Russian Hill neighborhood district. There are over 20 restaurants, 10 bars and cafes, and 20 shops. Dinner at many of the restaurants typically require reservations.
Shakris Fine Asian Works of Art
This galley houses a broad collection of Asian antiques that span thousands of years of history. It has arts from China, Japan, India, Indonesia and Thailand among other countries. Popular categories include ceramics, paintings, metalwork, erotic art, carvings, and jade sculpture.