26 Apr Getting Around San Francisco Without a Car
Leave your heart in San Francisco; but leave your car at home!
San Francisco is a wonderful city! Great people, terrific shopping, delicious dining and gorgeous scenery at every turn. It also has wonderfully diverse neighborhoods and lots of hills! Thankfully, it’s an easy city to navigate without a car. Like a lot of European and Asian cities, San Francisco offers plenty of transportation options that are easy to use and less expensive than driving. From cable cars and buses to ferry boats and bicycles, visitors can find quick, fun and cost-effective ways to navigate the city’s top spots and neighborhoods.
Let’s talk public transit.
San Francisco has a few public transit agencies that operate in the city. SF MUNI operates the city-wide bus and trolley system, including the famous cable cars! These options are convenient and cost-effective. You can buy 1-, 3-, or 7-day MUNI Visitor Passport for unlimited rides throughout the city.
About those iconic cable cars… San Francisco’s cable cars have been running for 151 years and are considered National Landmarks! They were introduced in August 1873 by Andrew Smith Hallidie, an engineer and inventor who came to the United States from Scotland. He created the system to move people en masse through the city and up and down the steep hills using an innovative cable pulley system. They were immediately popular and became integral to San Francisco’s early growth. The cable cars have 3 main lines that all start at Market Street: California; Powell/Hyde; Powell/Mason.
The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART) is the regional heavy-rail system that connects San Francisco across the Bay to Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, North San Jose and more. It also connects directly from downtown San Francisco to San Francisco International Airport. In San Francisco, BART runs in the subway beneath Market Street serving the Embarcadero, Union Square, Civic Center and through the colorful Mission District.
If you’d like to explore Marin County or the East Bay, try a ferry ride across the beautiful San Francisco Bay! Several ferry routes leave from the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero. The San Francisco Bay Ferry serves Alameda, Oakland, Vallejo and Richmond. The Golden Gate Ferry runs to Sausalito and Larkspur in Marin County.
San Francisco is also a very bike-friendly town. Several major thoroughfares – like Market Street and Embarcadero – have dedicated bike lanes. And, you can easily rent bikes by the hour or day through Bay Wheels, the city’s bike share system operated by Lyft. Download the app, and you will have immediate access to hundreds of bikes located at docking stations all over the city. Worried about biking up those hills? Don’t be – Bay Wheels has plenty of e-bikes to give you an assist. To find your way around San Francisco on a bike, Google and Apple maps both show the best bicycle routes.
Despite the hills, San Francisco is a very walkable city, especially the downtown and waterfront areas. In fact, Redfin gives San Francisco a Walk Score of 89 – a very high score that indicates that indicates great accessibility for walking, biking and transit, and neighborhoods with shops, restaurants, parks, schools and more. Explore the City like a local – leave your car behind and walk through the neighborhoods!
Now, how to get to San Francisco’s top destinations without a car!
Chinatown – This historic neighborhood is in the heart of San Francisco and is filled with restaurants, shops and iconic landmarks, like the Red Lanterns and Dragon Gate on Grant Street. Chinatown has a perfect walkability and transit score of “100” from Redfin! It’s easily accessible by a 15-minute walk or 5-minute bike ride from downtown San Francisco. It is also well served by several bus and trolley lines and cable cars. From San Francisco’s downtown and Union Square hotels: MUNI bus routes 2, 12; the T Chinatown trolley; and the California Street Cable Car. Not to mention, it’s where one of the best Chinese restaurants in San Francisco is located, Z & Y Restaurant!
Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39 & the Embarcadero – San Francisco’s world-famous waterfront is known for panoramic views stretching from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headlands, Alcatraz and beyond. It’s home to Ghirardelli chocolate, Boudin’s famous sourdough, the Ferry Building Marketplace, the Bay Aquarium, Exploratorium, the SkyStar Ferris Wheel, and a whole lot more. It is also where you can catch boats and ferries to Alcatraz, the East Bay and Marin County. Because the waterfront is flat and served by the wide Embarcadero, biking or walking is a great way to experience it. It is also well served by the Powell/Mason Cable Car; numerous MUNI bus routes, including 8, 30 and 45; the MUNI streetcar system; and BART.
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco’s iconic, 1000-acre park stretches from the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood to Ocean Beach and is filled with museums, gardens, lakes, meadows, play fields and even 2 windmills! It’s perfect for walking and biking. From downtown, Golden Gate Park is served by MUNI bus routes 5, 6, 7; and the N Judah streetcar. Once inside the park, the Golden Gate Park free shuttle is available to take visitors from one end of the park to the other.
The Presidio & Crissy Field – Explore this stunningly beautiful and historic National Park site along San Francisco Bay. The Presidio features trails, bike paths, picnic areas, museums, theaters, restaurants and beautiful open spaces – like the new Presidio Tunnel Tops – with sweeping views of San Francisco Bay. Crissy Field is a 1.5-mile former airfield that has been converted into an accessible shoreline with the best beaches and best views in the city. From downtown, the area is accessible by bike and MUNI routes 43, 30 and the Presidio GO Shuttle.
Oracle Park & Chase Center – Oracle Park is home to the San Francisco Giants baseball team, and Chase Center is the new home for the Golden State Warriors. The ballparks are located in the adjacent neighborhoods of SoMa and Mission Bay, which are filled with terrific restaurants, hotels, great shopping and interesting museums. These neighborhoods are well-served by MUNI streetcars N and T as well as bus lines 12, 15.
The Mission – The vibrant Mission District is one of San Francisco’s hippest areas and is also steeped in history. Take in its brightly painted Latino-influenced murals and enjoy cafes, bars, restaurants and clothing boutiques. Valencia Street in the Mission is very bike-friendly; BART makes stops on Mission Street at 16th and 24th streets; and MUNI trains J, M and N can get you there.
What’s the best car-free way to get to Z&Y Restaurant at 655 Jackson Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown? If you’re coming from Union Square or the Embarcadero – walking is probably the easiest. Or, from Union Square, take the T Train, or the 8 bus, or the Powell Street Cable Car to Chinatown. From the Embarcadero, hop onto the 1 California bus and get off in Chinatown.
Reservations are always recommended: call (415) 981-8988 orclick Z&Y for more information.
Written by,
Grier McCurdy Mathews
