architectureviews

Pacific Heights: the mansions and the Lyon Street Steps

The grandest houses in the city, the garden steps down to the bay, then Fillmore Street.

Photo: Yngvadottir / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

3.5 km

Time

~ 90 min

Difficulty

Easy

Start

Fillmore & Jackson (Muni 22-Fillmore)

End

Fillmore & Bush (Muni 22-Fillmore)

Best at

afternoon

Right now

13°C· Fog

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

Pacific Heights has the grandest houses in San Francisco and the best staircase, and the walk threads the two together before dropping you onto a proper shopping street. It's a walk about looking up at facades and out at the bay.

About three and a half kilometres, best in the afternoon. Start at the Haas-Lilienthal House, the one turreted Victorian you can actually go inside, then walk west along Broadway through the mansion row — walled gardens, consulates, old money kept behind hedges. The views west open between the houses as you go.

Then the Lyon Street Steps, the grand garden staircase dropping toward the Marina, banked with flower beds the neighbours keep. Stand at the top for the bay and the Palace dome, then take both flights down. Climb back to Alta Plaza Park, a terraced green ziggurat with the city on one side and the bay on the other, and end down on Fillmore Street — boutiques, coffee, and a jazz history marked along the lower blocks. The 22-Fillmore runs the length of it home.

The route

On the map.

A soft dashed line, numbered stops. It’s a suggestion, not a turn-by-turn.

Elevation

↑ 74 m·↓ 117 m·50–110 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

01
1
Haas-Lilienthal House, 2007 Franklin
Start at the one grand Victorian you can actually go inside — a turreted 1886 Queen Anne, the only intact one in the city open as a museum. Worth the tour for the sense of how the rest were lived in. Then walk west into the streets you can only admire from the pavement.
01
Haas-Lilienthal House, 2007 Franklin
Start at the one grand Victorian you can actually go inside — a turreted 1886 Queen Anne, the only intact one in the city open as a museum. Worth the tour for the sense of how the rest were lived in. Then walk west into the streets you can only admire from the pavement.
02
2
Broadway's mansion row
Walk west on Broadway between Webster and Lyon — the deepest concentration of old money in the city, walled gardens and consulates and the odd film-famous facade. Quiet, hushed, and the views west start opening between the houses.
02
Broadway's mansion row
Walk west on Broadway between Webster and Lyon — the deepest concentration of old money in the city, walled gardens and consulates and the odd film-famous facade. Quiet, hushed, and the views west start opening between the houses.
03
3
Lyon Street Steps, top
The reason for the walk. The grand stone staircase drops from Broadway toward the Marina, banked with clipped hedges and flower beds the neighbours tend. Stand at the top first — the bay, the Palace of Fine Arts dome, and Marin fill the gap ahead.
03
Lyon Street Steps, top
The reason for the walk. The grand stone staircase drops from Broadway toward the Marina, banked with clipped hedges and flower beds the neighbours tend. Stand at the top first — the bay, the Palace of Fine Arts dome, and Marin fill the gap ahead.
04
4
Lyon Street Steps, the descent
Take the steps down, both flights — terraced gardens on either side, joggers treating it as a stairmaster, the view unfurling as you drop. Pause on the landing halfway. This is the best free thing in the neighbourhood.
04
Lyon Street Steps, the descent
Take the steps down, both flights — terraced gardens on either side, joggers treating it as a stairmaster, the view unfurling as you drop. Pause on the landing halfway. This is the best free thing in the neighbourhood.
05
5
Alta Plaza Park
Climb back south to this terraced hilltop park, laid out like a small green ziggurat with steps on every side. The south terrace gives you the city; the north, the bay. Fewer people than the Lyon steps and a place to sit.
05
Alta Plaza Park
Climb back south to this terraced hilltop park, laid out like a small green ziggurat with steps on every side. The south terrace gives you the city; the north, the bay. Fewer people than the Lyon steps and a place to sit.
06
6
Fillmore Street
Drop down to Fillmore, the neighbourhood's shopping spine — boutiques, cafés, and a jazz heritage marked along the lower blocks. Walk south for a coffee and a window or two. The 22-Fillmore runs the whole length to take you on.
06
Fillmore Street
Drop down to Fillmore, the neighbourhood's shopping spine — boutiques, cafés, and a jazz heritage marked along the lower blocks. Walk south for a coffee and a window or two. The 22-Fillmore runs the whole length to take you on.

Pacific Heights: the mansions and the Lyon Street Steps

On the map.

Things to notice.

Haas-Lilienthal House, 2007 Franklin

Haas-Lilienthal House, 2007 Franklin

Broadway's mansion row

Broadway's mansion row

Lyon Street Steps, top

Lyon Street Steps, top

Lyon Street Steps, the descent

Lyon Street Steps, the descent

Alta Plaza Park

Alta Plaza Park

Fillmore Street

Fillmore Street

Two more, on similar days.

Russian Hill: the crooked Lombard and the hidden lanes

Nob Hill: the hill of the railroad barons