A Tour on San Francisco's Cable Cars, San Francisco, California, USA

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Possibly one of the nicest cities I've ever been too, there's loads of typically touristy things to do and lots of sights that are instantly recognisable - Alcatraz, Lombard Street, Fisherman's Wharf, any of the typically steep ascending and descending streets - and so it's perhaps a little surprising that only one, the cable cars are listed.

This photo is taken at the end of the Powell Street line which is an end point of two of the three lines - Powell/Market and Powell/Hyde. Keeping the tradition, the cars can only move forward and so when they reach the end of the line, everyone gets off and the car is moved onto a turning circle and manually turned round. We took the Powell/Market line which takes you past the edge of Chinatown, up past Lombard Street and down to Fishermans Wharf where you get good views of Alcatraz and can also take a bus tour across the Golden Gate Bridge. Also of note is the Beuna Vista cafe just behind the end of the line which serves an amazing Irish Coffee.

Personally I'd add Alcatraz as one of the coolest things to do. It's a much smaller prison than I'd expected but the history and folklore of it really makes it a must-see. We took a night tour where the famous San Fransiscan fog starts to come in, enveloping the island in eventual darkness, at which point you're acutely aware that there is nothing nearby. A really good tour and workshops on escape attempts and the workings and routine inside Alcatraz. If you're really lucky, you might get to stand inside Al Capone's cell, on the first floor and therefore usually off-limits, they've also got the letter he wrote requesting to see the warden which identifies that during his stay he was in cell 181.


996 to see

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