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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
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 → -
3
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.
Pier 15, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94111 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.
Don't miss the rooftop terrace.
200 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94102 Full write-up → -
6
Musée Mécanique
More than 300 antique coin-operated arcade machines at Pier 45, including Laffing Sal. Free entry; bring quarters.
Pier 45, Shed A, Fisherman's Wharf 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
Walt Disney Family Museum
A museum in the Presidio dedicated to Walt Disney's life and work, from his early animation experiments through the planning of Disneyland. Founded by his daughter Diane Disney Miller and housed in a converted Army barracks.
The Disneyland scale model fills an entire room, and the multiplane camera display shows how cels were layered for depth.
104 Montgomery Street, Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129 Full write-up → -
9
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.
540 Broadway, North Beach Full write-up → -
10
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 → -
11
Cartoon Art Museum
Cartoon and comic art museum at 781 Beach Street in Fisherman's Wharf. Collection of about 7,000 original pieces; rotating exhibitions. $10 adults, free first Tuesdays.
781 Beach St, Fisherman's Wharf Full write-up → -
12
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.
Global Museum, SFSU, 1600 Holloway Ave, Parkmerced Full write-up → -
13
Letterform Archive
A hands-on typography and design archive in Dogpatch with over 100,000 items, from medieval manuscripts to punk zines. Staff pull pieces for you to examine. Free visits by appointment.
Book a guided tour and the team pulls out typefaces, punk magazines, or calligraphy handbooks on the table in front of you.
2339 Third St, Dogpatch Full write-up → -
14
American Bookbinders Museum
The only bookbinding museum in North America, with historic tools and machinery from the 16th century to modern industrial equipment. Self-guided audio tours, hands-on exhibits, and docent-led visits in SoMa.
North America's lone bookbinding museum, with 16th-century hand-binding tools alongside 19th-century industrial machinery (much of it functioning). Self-guided audio tour runs about 63 minutes. On Clementina in SoMa; $15 adult, $12 senior/youth, kids under 10 free. Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm.
355 Clementina Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 Full write-up → -
15
Internet Archive Headquarters
Internet Archive headquarters at 300 Funston Avenue, in a former Christian Science church the nonprofit bought in 2009. Servers where the pews used to be. Free public reading room and Friday tours.
300 Funston Ave, Inner Richmond Full write-up →
Last updated August 18, 2026
