Telegraph Hill is generally located between San Francisco’s North Beach and the Embarcadero area which lines the bay.  The thing that you see sitting on top of it is Coit Tower, a famous landmark which offers a terrific 360 degree view of San Francisco.  This tower was constructed in honor of San Francisco’s fireman by their longtime historical fan, Lillie Coit.  (As a quirky note, she’s called the mascot to these fireman, having ridden along with them on their life-saving treks years ago).  Inexplicably, there is also a statue of Christopher Columbus up here; if anyone ever figures out why, they should let me know because I’ve always been curious.

To walk to Coit Tower, you can either take the Coit Tower steps (also known as The Filbert Steps) on the east side of Telegraph Hill or you can head east from the North Beach neighborhood, at approximately Union Street.  In either case, you’ll have to do quite a bit of uphill trekking, but the view that you’ll get from the top is worth the climb.  You can pay a few dollars and head all the way up Coit Tower itself or you can simply enjoy the scenery from the hill.  Even if you don’t head up to the tower’s top for the view, you should go inside and check out the murals that you’ll find along the circular walls there.  There are grassy areas up at Coit Tower and lots of peace so you can pack a snack, take a book and a camera and enjoy a few hours of absolutely relaxing in-city peace.

The thing that Telegraph Hill is famous for besides Coit Tower is the wild parrots that live there.  “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” were noticed years ago by a then-homeless man who had plenty of time to spend on Telegraph Hill.  They have since been commemorated with a book and a movie and sightings of them are sought after by San Francisco tourists who are curious to hear the calls of the wild birds.  I’ve only seen the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill once, but it was a beautiful experience; it just seems so rare to find a flock of parrots inside a bustling city.

Although Telegraph Hill really doesn’t seem like a bustling part of the city despite the fact that it is an active area.  There are a great number of trees here and many pockets of quiet.  It’s an urban retreat which is much less noticed than obvious choices such as Golden Gate Park.  The Filbert Steps which lead down from Coit Tower take you through the lush backyard gardens of the homes on this hill.  The streets, despite having tourist traffic, lack the pedestrians normally seen throughout the city.  It’s a place right in the heart of San Francisco that has a lot of small town peacefulness to it.  There’s not much to do in Telegraph Hill other than wander and enjoy the views but sometimes that is the best way to spend an afternoon in San Francisco.

Learn the history of Telegraph Hill here.