Wave Organ
A 1986 sound sculpture by Peter Richards and George Gonzales on a jetty next to the St. Francis Yacht Club. Twenty-five PVC and concrete pipes turn wave action into low resonant tones. Free, open 24 hours, best at high tide.
Attraction Category: Quirky & Offbeat
Hippie Hill
A grassy slope in the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park, gathering spot for the Haight-Ashbury counterculture since the late 1960s. Sunday drum circle, picnics, and 4/20 traditions.
Seward Street Slides
Two long concrete slides in Seward Mini Park, designed by 14-year-old Kim Clark in 1973. Free, open Tuesday through Sunday 10am to 5pm. Bring or grab cardboard.
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company
A fortune cookie shop in a Chinatown alley, hand-folding cookies on motorized griddles since 1962. Owned by Franklin Yee. Free to watch; bags of flat unfolded cookies are $10.
San Francisco Columbarium
A neoclassical rotunda in the Inner Richmond where 8,500 urns rest in personalized niches decorated with Giants gear, whiskey bottles, and love letters. Free, quiet, and unlike any other building in the city.
Parrots of Telegraph Hill
A flock of wild parrots with bright red heads and green bodies lives on Telegraph Hill. Best spotted late afternoon near Coit Tower and the Filbert Steps during nesting season.
Peephole Cinema
A peephole in a Bernal Heights storefront door that screens curated short films 24 hours a day. One viewer at a time. Free, weird, and very San Francisco.
Internet Archive Headquarters
The nonprofit behind the Wayback Machine runs out of a former church in the Inner Richmond. Servers where the pews used to be. Free tours and a public reading room.
Mrs. Doubtfire House
The Pacific Heights Victorian used as the exterior in “Mrs. Doubtfire.” A photo stop on a beautiful block. It’s a private home, so stay on the sidewalk.