See which of these things other people like in San Francisco
Or vote for your favorite: The Exploratorium | Golden Gate Park | Ferry Building Marketplace | Victorian Houses | The Palace of the Legion of Honor | Musee Mechanique, | Nob Hill | 49-Mile Drive | North Beach | Camera Obscura
If you plan to visit more than a couple of these popular sights, you can save money by getting a Go Card or a San Francisco CityPass. Which one is right for you will depend on how many things you want to do.
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The Exploratorium is a modern, hands-on science museum housed in The Palace of Fine Arts, a Roman-style remainder of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. The outdoor rotunda, and its lagoon, are some of the city's most-photographed sights
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Golden Gate Park is the city's largest park. One of the most popular attractions in the park is the Japanese Tea Garden, but there's plenty more to see here, including the Strybing Arboretum, California Academy of Sciences and Conservatory of Flowers. View photos
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Ferry Building Marketplace is one of the city's liveliest venues as its shops fill with local artisan food shops and restaurants, and tourists mix with locals at the weekly Farmers' markets.
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Victorian Houses, or "painted ladies" seem synonymous with San Francisco. Some of the best are found near Alamo Square.
View photos
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The Palace of the Legion of Honor is one of San Francisco's premier art museums. They hold an impressive collection of Rodin statues, including The Thinker, which sits in their outer courtyard.
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Musee Mechanique, which was once housed under the Cliff House and is now located on Pier 45 at the end of Taylor Street, is a collection of over 160 coin-operated automatic mechanical musical instruments and old-fashioned penny arcade games. Even in the age of Game Boy and PlayStation, their fortune tellers, strength testers, photo booths and games of chance still enchant.
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Nob Hill is famous for panoramic views, expensive hotels and restaurants, but you can hang out in Huntington Park or visit Grace Cathedral for free.
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Twin Peaks offers the highest vantage point in the city of San Francisco. Travel on Market Street away from the waterfront, and follow the signs to reach a vista point with expansive city and Bay views.
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49-Mile Drive Blue and white seagull signs lead you through the city, and although part of the drive is not very scenic, this is a great way to learn what ALL the city is about. Pick up a map at the Visitors Center on Powell before you go, the signs make popular souvenirs and often disappear.
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North Beach is an Italian veneer laid over a half-Chinese neighborhood, and that's only the first of its many surprises and contradictions. This is the place to go for old-fashioned Italian food, people-watching in the park and some interesting neighborhood shops.
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Cable Car Barn Museum Massive motors here spin the cables that draw San Francisco's cable cars up and down its hills. Exhibits include antique cable cars and photos from the renovation.
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Camera Obscura The small building behind the Cliff House dressed up like a giant camera is a camera obscura, its design based on a fifteenth century design by Leonardo da Vinci. Inside, views are reflected from the surrounding ocean and beach and displayed on a parabolic dish.
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Mission San Francisco San Francisco's oldest building and California's second-oldest Spanish mission, Mission San Francisco preserves the city's beginnings.
- City Hall Spanning over two city blocks and sporting a spectacular black-and-gold dome that rises over 300 feet tall, San Francisco's City Hall is a National Landmark. Explore it on a public tour.
