June through August are the foggiest months in San Francisco, and the west side can sit gray all day while the Mission gets sun. When the marine layer wins, these are the ten indoor picks I give on tour, ranked, with a map.
Two planning notes: the Academy of Sciences and the Exploratorium each fill half a day on their own, and several museums on this list have a free day each month (details in the write-ups). The Conservatory of Flowers counts as indoors and runs warm and humid year round.
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1
California Academy of Sciences
An aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum under one living roof in Golden Gate Park. Over 46 million specimens, plus a four-story rainforest dome.
See the four story Rainforest Dome and the coral reef aquarium, and come back for the 21+ NightLife event on Thursday evenings.
55 Music Concourse Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118 Full write-up → -
2
Exploratorium
A hands-on science museum at Pier 15. About 600 exhibits explore perception, physics, and the natural world. Founded in 1969, relocated to the Embarcadero in 2013.
A hands on science museum founded in 1969 by physicist Frank Oppenheimer, moved to Pier 15 on the Embarcadero in April 2013. Around 600 exhibits on the floor, curated from more than 1,000 the museum has built itself. After Dark Thursdays are 18+ with cocktails. The Tactile Dome requires a separate reservation.
Pier 15, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94111 Full write-up → -
3
SFMOMA
The West Coast's largest modern art museum spans seven floors of painting, sculpture, photography, and architecture. Free first-floor gallery, no ticket needed.
Start with the sculpture filled atrium, then work your way up through seven floors of galleries.
151 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94103 Full write-up → -
4
de Young Museum
American art from the 17th century to today, plus international textiles and major traveling exhibitions. The Hamon Observation Tower is free to enter.
Skip the line and go straight to Hamon Observation Tower. It's free, and the 360-degree views of the park and ocean are best from this structure.
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118 Full write-up → -
5
Asian Art Museum
A comprehensive Asian art collection spanning 6,000 years across every major Asian culture. Housed in the former San Francisco Main Library, a 1917 Beaux-Arts building in Civic Center.
Free admission on first Sundays. Don't miss the rooftop terrace.
200 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94102 Full write-up → -
6
Conservatory of Flowers
Victorian wood-and-glass conservatory at 100 JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park, opened in 1879. Five galleries of tropical and aquatic plants. $12 adults, free first Tuesdays.
A Victorian wood and glass conservatory that opened in April 1879, the oldest still operating in North America. James Lick ordered the prefabricated parts from Lord & Burnham of New York in 1876. Five galleries of tropical and aquatic plants under 16,800 panes of glass. In Golden Gate Park. $12 adults, free the first Tuesday of each month.
100 John F. Kennedy Dr, Golden Gate Park Full write-up → -
7
Cable Car Museum
The working powerhouse for San Francisco's cable car system. Free admission. The 14-foot sheaves and cables that pull every cable car in the city run continuously under a public mezzanine.
San Francisco's cable cars have run from this powerhouse since 1887. Watch the 14 foot winding wheels grip the cables that run under the city's streets. Free, about 30 to 45 minutes, with stops on the Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde lines.
1201 Mason Street, Nob Hill Full write-up → -
8
Beat Museum
Two floors of Beat Generation manuscripts, letters, and ephemera at 540 Broadway in North Beach. Half a block from City Lights. $8 adult admission. Daily 10 AM to 7 PM.
Two floors of original Beat manuscripts, letters, and ephemera tracing the movement from Columbia University through the 1955 Six Gallery reading where Ginsberg debuted "Howl." Half a block from City Lights. 540 Broadway in North Beach, $8 adults, daily 10am to 7pm.
540 Broadway, North Beach Full write-up → -
9
GLBT Historical Society Museum
The first stand-alone LGBTQ history museum in the United States, opened in 2011 in a storefront on 18th Street in the Castro. Rotating exhibitions drawn from the GLBT Historical Society's archive.
America's first standalone LGBTQ history museum, in the Castro, about 1,600 square feet. Exhibits draw on more than 1,000 items from the GLBT Historical Society's collection; past displays included Harvey Milk's camera and artifacts from the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria riot. $10, free the first Wednesday of each month. An expansion on Market Street was approved by the Board of Supervisors in late 2024.
4127 18th Street, The Castro Full write-up → -
10
Sutro Egyptian Collection
About 700 ancient Egyptian artifacts (including two intact mummies) collected by former SF mayor Adolph Sutro in the 1880s. Housed in the free Global Museum at San Francisco State University.
About 700 ancient Egyptian artifacts, including two intact mummies, collected by businessman Adolph Sutro in Thebes in the 1880s. Free at the Global Museum at SF State. Exhibits rotate, so check hours on the SFSU website.
Global Museum, SFSU, 1600 Holloway Ave, Parkmerced Full write-up →
