@Paolo's s[::-1] is fastest; a slower approach (maybe more readable, but that's debatable) is ''.join(reversed(s)).

What is the best way of implementing a reverse function for strings?

My own experience with this question is academic. However, if you're a pro looking for the quick answer, use a slice that steps by -1:

>>> 'a string'[::-1]
'gnirts a'

or more readably (but slower due to the method name lookups and the fact that join forms a list when given an iterator), str.join:

>>> ''.join(reversed('a string'))
'gnirts a'

or for readability and reusability, put the slice in a function

def reversed_string(a_string):
    return a_string[::-1]

and then:

>>> reversed_string('a_string')
'gnirts_a'

Longer explanation

If you're interested in the academic exposition, please keep reading.

There is no built-in reverse function in Python's str object.

Here is a couple of things about Python's strings you should know:

1. In Python, strings are immutable. Changing a string does not modify the string. It creates a new one.

2. Strings are sliceable. Slicing a string gives you a new string from one point in the string, backwards or forwards, to another point, by given increments. They take slice notation or a slice object in a subscript:

   string[subscript]
   

The subscript creates a slice by including a colon within the braces:

    string[start:stop:step]

To create a slice outside of the braces, you'll need to create a slice object:

    slice_obj = slice(start, stop, step)
    string[slice_obj]