Filbert Steps
This point of interest is available as audio on the tour: Visit San Francisco, The city by the bay
The stairs you are now taking are the famous Filbert Steps. They’re the best way to walk from the Embarcadero to the Coit Tower. The three sections of the staircase take you past art deco buildings, through beautiful gardens and offer stunning views of San Francisco and beyond. On your right, Napier Lane unfolds, which is one of San Francisco’s most picturesque passageways, adorned with houses from the 1900s. Perhaps you’ve also enjoyed the soundtrack of Telegraph Hill’s wild parrots on your way down! They’re an icon of the city! Locals know them well, and tourists are eager to meet them. There’s even a book and documentary dedicated to them! According to Marc Bittner, the book’s author, these birds are red-masked parakeets, native to southern Ecuador and northern Peru, and certainly arrived in the United States before the 1930s. The most likely cause of their presence would be that they were adopted as pets before being deliberately released back into the wild. The lush gardens of Telegraph Hill provided them with a suitable habitat and they proliferated. Ornithologists advise against feeding them, as it could disrupt their independence and even cause them to become aggressive.
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