Cable Cars
- Address:San Francisco
- Hours:Cars run daily
- Admission:$5 fare one-way, day passes available
11:11 AM Sunday, May 27
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In this age of seat belts and air bags, a rickety ride on a much-loved San Francisco cable car is an anachronistic thrill. Indeed, cable cars may not be the most practical means of transportation, but in San Francisco, a cable car ride is a must-do experience when visiting the city.
They clank up and down the city’s steep hills, carrying locals and visitors alike, some seated, some hanging onto leather straps, while standing the outer running boards. You catch a cable car two ways: at the turnaround stops at the beginning and end of the lines, or follow the tracks up a few blocks and do what the locals do: hop on when the car stops, hang on to the pole, and have your $5 fare ready to hand to the brakeman. It’s from out here that the best views of San Francisco unfold.
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The CityPass saved me a fortune in just cable car rides alone! Easy to use with some excellent attractions.
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The most obvious choice when travelling to San Franciso. Considering the prices of the cable car has gone up to $6 each ride this pays for itself. The Aquarium is awesome and for $5 you can up upgrade to the speed boat instead of the the boat tour. Worth every penny!
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You just can't miss. We definitely used the transit pass enough to pay for the entire booklet (at $6 a cable car ride), meaning the other things were all icing. And what icing! Spent 5 hours at the Academy of Sciences, loved the Aquarium and Exploratorium, enjoyed the nearly obligatory cruise of the Bay, and made sure to take advantage of $20 off the incredible Go Car tour experience. Seriously hundreds of dollars of value for the $69 we spent per. Absolutely essential starting point for a SF trip!
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San Francisco has three cable car lines: California, Powell-Mason, and Powell-Hyde. The California line begins at the foot of Market Street and runs east-west along California Street through Chinatown and Nob Hill. The Powell-Mason line begins at the base of Powell and Market streets, then heads past Union Square. The Powell-Hyde line follows the same route as Powell-Mason until Jackson Street, where it turns down Hyde Street to terminate at Aquatic Park. There are seats for about 30 passengers, but sitters are often outnumbered by passengers clinging to the creaky leather straps.
