Several San Francisco museums and gardens offer free admission days in November 2026. The month starts on a Sunday, so the Asian Art Museum’s free first Sunday lands on November 1, and the first Tuesday, with free admission at the de Young, the Legion of Honor and the Conservatory of Flowers, falls on November 3. Free days draw crowds, so arriving near opening helps. Special exhibitions usually carry a separate fee even on free days.
Free Days in November 2026
Sunday, November 1: The Asian Art Museum in Civic Center is free to all on the first Sunday of the month. The museum is open 10am to 5pm on Sundays. Vishnu’s Cosmic Ocean, the exhibition built around the Reclining Vishnu of West Mebon, is on view through January 25, 2027 and is included with general admission. Our Vishnu’s Cosmic Ocean guide has the details.
Tuesday, November 3: The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park and the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park are each free on the first Tuesday of the month under the Fine Arts Museums’ schedule. At the de Young and the Legion, free admission covers the permanent collection galleries only; Treasures of the Pharaohs at the de Young is ticketed separately. November 3 is also Election Day, and the Fine Arts Museums suggest booking online in advance. Confirm hours with the museum before you go.
Wednesday, November 4: The GLBT Historical Society Museum in the Castro is free to all on the first Wednesday of the month. Free tickets cannot be reserved online, so entry is first come, first served while there is capacity.
Thursday, November 5: The Museum of Craft and Design in the Dogpatch is free on the first Thursday of the month, with no ticket needed. It is open Thursday to Sunday, noon to 5pm, and OBJECTS: USA is on view through January 17, 2027.
Saturday, November 14: The Museum of the African Diaspora is free on the second Saturday of the month through THRIVE @ MoAD Community Day, which covers all exhibitions. Dewey Crumpler: Sonic Lineages is among the shows listed on the museum’s site.
Tuesday, November 10: The San Francisco Botanical Garden is free to all on the second Tuesday of the month.
Free Every Week or Every Day
The de Young and the Legion of Honor are free every Saturday for residents of nine Bay Area counties. Bring ID showing your address. As with first Tuesdays, this covers the permanent collection galleries only. The first Saturday in this month is November 7, which is also part of the first full weekend of the month.
At the Gardens of Golden Gate Park, the Japanese Tea Garden is free from 9 to 10am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and the San Francisco Botanical Garden is free from 7:30 to 9am daily. From the first Sunday in November, the Botanical Garden’s last entry is 4pm. The Conservatory of Flowers is open 10am to 4:30pm, with last entry at 4pm, and is closed on Wednesdays. The Botanical Garden is also free on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26.
SFMOMA is free every day for visitors 18 and under. The museum lists no Free Family Day for November. Its public areas, with about 45,000 square feet of art, are open without admission.
Other Ways In
Bank of America Museums on Us: Bank of America, Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank cardholders get free general admission at the de Young and the Legion of Honor on the first full weekend of the month, November 7 and 8. Tickets are day-of and on-site only.
Museums for All: Visitors with a Medi-Cal or EBT card get free general admission at the de Young and the Legion of Honor, and reduced or free entry at several other museums.
Discover and Go: California public library cardholders can reserve free museum passes through the Discover and Go program. Passes are limited and book up quickly.
Transit discount: The de Young and the Legion take $3 off admission with proof of a same-day trip on a Bay Area transit system, in person only.
Good to Know
The Museum of Craft and Design is closed Thursday, November 26 for Thanksgiving and Friday, November 27. The Museum of the African Diaspora is closed on Thanksgiving as well. The Asian Art Museum is closed on Thanksgiving Day, and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays every week.
Looking ahead, Azzedine Alaïa: Sculpting Fashion opens at the Legion of Honor on November 21, and Sarah Sze: Forever is Composed of Nows, a light, sound and video commission in the SFMOMA atrium that is free to visit, opens the same day.
For everything else happening this month, see our guide to things to do in San Francisco in November 2026.
Details from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s free and reduced admission page, the Gardens of Golden Gate Park, the Asian Art Museum’s Free First Sunday calendar, MoAD, SFMOMA, the GLBT Historical Society and the Museum of Craft and Design.
Photo: View from the de Young tower, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
