Dubbed the world’s “crookedest street”, Lombard Street switchbacks up a slope in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighbourhood. It’s eight sharp hairpin turns have become one of the city’s most iconic photo-op destinations, surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens with blooming flowers and opulent mansions.
Lombard Street officially stretches east from The Presidio to The Embarcadero and serves as a major thoroughfare along US Route 101, named after a street in Philadelphia. It’s the one-block stretch between Jones and Hyde streets. However, that is a tourist hotspot with hundreds visiting every day to either drive down its precarious hairpin turns or walk along its pedestrian strip. From the top of the hill, there are fantastic views out across the San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge and Coit Tower, while from the bottom is its most picturesque angle, framed by the mansions of Russian Hill. Lombard Street is within easy walking distance of North Beach, Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf, and just a few blocks away from the San Francisco Art Institute.
The base of Lombard Street’s crooked section is just a short walk from the Columbus bus stop, or the Hyde Street cable car stops at its top. For those wanting to drive along Lombard Street, keep in mind that it only runs one way towards the east and there is often a long wait to descend in the middle of the day.
Lombard Street’s switchbacks were designed in the 1920s to increase its safety, with the steep gradient of Potrero Hill considered too dangerous to drive down. While its scenic setting has made it famous, the title of “crookedest street” in San Francisco actually goes to Vermont Street to the south and its section between 20th and 22nd streets.