Photos: Alen Ištoković · CC BY 3.0 · Evan0512 · CC BY 4.0 · Mickey Løgitmark · CC BY 3.0 · Evan0512 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · bryan.. · CC BY-SA 2.0
Open-sided wooden cars haul themselves up Nob Hill and Russian Hill by gripping a cable that runs constantly under the street. Three lines remain: Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason and California.
Why it's unique
The cable car was introduced in San Francisco on 2 August 1873, and every later system copied the idea. This one is still carrying passengers, on three lines, as a National Historic Landmark.
You are not riding a reconstruction or a museum loop. These are public transport routes over the hills they were built to climb, with a gripman working the cable by hand a few feet from your seat.
Before you go
The queues are at the turntables. At Powell and Market, Bay and Taylor, and Hyde and Beach you must already hold a ticket between 8am and 8pm, so prepay on MuniMobile or Clipper and board at any brown-and-white sign post further along the line instead.
The California line, from California and Market to Van Ness, is the oldest surviving line and the one tourists overlook. Riders 18 and under ride free. There is no accessible boarding and no bikes are allowed.
