If you don't spend much time on foot, you could visit the city without even noticing their existence - but once you discover one hidden stairway, uncovering others becomes compulsive. Park your car, lace up your favourite pair of comfortable climbers and discover another side of San Francisco. The best stairways are those that replace road or pavement altogether. Idiosyncratic houses line one side, through which you can catch tantalising glimpses of the Bay beyond. Novice stairway spotters should look for the yellow diamond-shaped signs on hilly routes that say 'Not a Through Street' and assume that a staircase lies beyond.
Some walks are best combined with several stairways.
Continue down another long block of stairs, enjoying the view of the Bay Bridge, the piers and Treasure Island, until you reach Mason Street - where you'll find the Mason Street cable car line at the periphery of Chinatown and North Beach. From there, walk diagonally through Wash-ington Square Park , and catch Greenwich east until it winds up Telegraph Hill . After you've caught your breath, take the Filbert Street steps that wind away from Coit on the east side. These will drop you, slowly at first and then quickly and abruptly, onto Levi Plaza and, eventually, the Embarcadero . Consider taking a cab home.