Public Transportation, comprised of three systems, makes getting around San Francisco incredibly easy. For a complete rundown of MUNI, BART, Caltrain and our historic Cable Cars, visit our getting around itinerary.
Transit Options
Union Square is two to three short blocks from Market Street, the City's major downtown street and busiest transit spine, with many rail and bus options.
- BART to Powell Street BART Station and walk 3 blocks
- Cable Car: California Street, Powell-Hyde, or Powell-Mason line
- Muni rail: T, N, J, K, M, L to Powell Street Station; F line to Powell and Market
- Muni Bus (at Union Square): 8X Bayshore Express, 30 Stockton, 38 Geary
Non-Mass Transit Options
- Bike Route 16 (along Sutter and Post streets)
- Bike Lane 17 (along Stockton Street)
- Union Square is part of the Barbary Coast Trail, a 3.8-mile San Francisco history walking tour marked by bronze medallions embedded in the sidewalk at key historic locations. The trail is accessible at both ends by the Powell-Hyde cable car route.
Best Transportation Lines and Stops Per Attraction
All attractions in this neighborhood can be reached by foot from Union Square
Local Tips
- The neighborhood is the heart of the city's designer shopping area, hotel and theater district and hosts its most prestigious art galleries.
- Union Square plaza, hosts public concerts and, in the winter, ice skating.
- The Geary Theater, home of the American Conservatory Theater, the Curran Theatre and the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre are all about 1.5 blocks from the Square.
- Maiden Lane alley, a pedestrian oasis between Union Square and Stockton Street, offers sidewalk café dining; boutique browsing; and the city's only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed structure, the V. C. Morris Gift Shop, a prototype for the Guggenheim Museum.
- During prime tourism season, expect long lines at the Cable Car Turnaround, 3 blocks from Union Square at Market Street, to board the cable car.—try the California Cable Car instead (board at California and Drumm)
- GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church, in the Tenderloin neighborhood on Ellis Street three blocks west of Union Square, has become a counterculture community institution, known for its celebrations and extensive anti-poverty efforts
- Don’t miss the French Quarter (Belden Place, Bush St, Claude Lane) for outdoor alley dining
Essential Toolkit
San Francisco Icons
 |
 |
 |
| Alcatraz | Bay Bridge | Cable Cars |
 |
 |
 |
| Coit Tower | Ferry Building | Golden Gate Bridge |
 |
 |
 |
| Haight-Ashbury | The Painted Ladies | Palace of Fine Arts |
Transit Updates
For transit information visit 511.org.
