Sights & Attractions in San Francisco

Worth Noting

Sights Overview
Name Category Location
 
1360 Montgomery Street
In the 1947 film Dark Passage Humphrey Bogart plays an escaped... 		Architectural Sites North Beach
 
Alta Plaza Park
Golden Gate Park's longtime superintendent, John McLaren, designed... 		Parks Pacific Heights
 
American Conservatory Theater
Celebrated local architects Bliss and Faville, also responsible... 		Arts / Performance Venues Union Square
 
Angel Island
For an outdoorsy adventure, consider a day at this island northwest... 		Parks, Islands On the Waterfront
 
Axford House
This mauve house was built in 1877, when Noe Valley was still... 		Houses / Mansions Noe Valley
 
Beat Museum
This small museum, opened in 2006, is likely to see an uptick... 		Museums / Galleries North Beach
 
Broadway and Webster Street estates
Broadway uptown, unlike its garish North Beach stretch, has plenty... 		Architectural Sites Pacific Heights
 
Buena Vista Park
If you can manage the steep climb, this eucalyptus-filled park... 		Parks Haight
 
California Historical Society
If you're not a history buff, the CHS might seem like an obvious... 		Libraries SoMa
 
Cartoon Art Museum
Krazy Kat, Zippy the Pinhead, Batman, and other colorful cartoon... 		Museums / Galleries SoMa
 
Chinese Culture Center
Mostly a place for the community to gather for calligraphy and... 		Arts / Performance Venues Chinatown
 
Chinese Historical Society of America Museum and Learning Center
This airy, light-filled gallery has displays about the Chinese-American... 		Museums / Galleries Chinatown
 
Chinese Six Companies
Once the White House of Chinatown, this striking building has... 		Architectural Sites Chinatown
 
City Hall
This imposing 1915 structure with its massive gold-leaf dome—higher... 		Government Buildings Civic Center
 
Clarke's Mansion
Built for attorney Alfred "Nobby" Clarke, this 1892 off-white... 		Houses / Mansions Castro
 
Cliff House
A meal at the Cliff House isn't about the food—the spectacular... 		Restaurants Western Shoreline
 
Creativity Explored
Joyous, if chaotic, creativity pervades the workshops of this... 		Educational Institutions Mission District
 
Fairmont San Francisco
The hotel's dazzling opening was delayed a year by the 1906 quake... 		Hotels Nob Hill
 
Feusier House
Octagonal houses were once thought to make the best use of space... 		Houses / Mansions Russian Hill
 
Fort Mason Center
Originally a depot for the shipment of supplies to the Pacific... 		Arts / Performance Venues Marina
 
Fort Point
Dwarfed today by the Golden Gate Bridge, this brick fortress... 		Military Sites Presidio
 
Franklin Street buildings
What at first looks like a stone facade on the Golden Gate Church... 		Architectural Sites Pacific Heights
 
Galería de la Raza
San Francisco's premier showcase for contemporary Latino art... 		Museums / Galleries Mission District
 
Ghirardelli Square
Most of the redbrick buildings in this early-20th-century complex... 		Stores / Malls On the Waterfront
 
GLBT Historical Society Museum
Finally in a home of its own, the one-room Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual... 		Museums / Galleries SoMa
 
Golden fire hydrant
When all the other fire hydrants went dry during the fire that... 		Memorials / Monuments Noe Valley
 
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory
Follow your nose down Ross Alley to this tiny but fragrant cookie... 		Industrial Sites, Stores / Malls Chinatown
 
Grant Avenue
Originally called Calle de la Fundación, Grant Avenue... 		Neighborhoods / Streets North Beach
 
Grateful Dead House
On the outside, this is just one more well-kept Victorian on... 		Houses / Mansions Haight
 
Hallidie Building
Named for cable-car inventor Andrew S. Hallidie, this 1918 structure... 		Architectural Sites Union Square
 
Harvey Milk Plaza
An 18-foot-long rainbow flag, the symbol of gay pride, flies... 		Squares Castro
 
InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel
Built on the ashes of railroad tycoon Mark Hopkins's grand estate... 		Hotels Nob Hill
 
Jackson Square
This was the heart of the Barbary Coast of the Gay '90s (the... 		Squares On the Waterfront
 
Japan Center Mall
The buildings lining this open-air mall are of the shoji school... 		Stores / Malls Japantown
 
Kong Chow Temple
This ornate temple sets a somber, spiritual tone right away with... 		Religious Sites Chinatown
 
Lafayette Park
Clusters of trees dot this four-block-square oasis for sunbathers... 		Parks Pacific Heights
 
Levi Strauss headquarters
The carefully landscaped complex appears so collegiate that it's... 		Architectural Sites North Beach
 
Lotta's Fountain
Saucy gold rush-era actress, singer, and dancer Lotta Crabtree... 		Fountains Union Square
 
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall
Fascinating and futuristic looking, this 2,750-seat hall is the... 		Arts / Performance Venues Civic Center
 
Market Street buildings
The street, which bisects the city at an angle, has consistently... 		Architectural Sites On the Waterfront
 
Mint Plaza
Arising from what had long been a gritty, windswept cut-through... 		Squares SoMa
 
Museum of Craft and Folk Art
If you're in the area, this one-room museum is a great way to... 		Museums / Galleries SoMa
 
Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)
Dedicated to the influence that people of African descent have... 		Museums / Galleries SoMa
 
New People
The kids' counterpart to the Japan Center, this fresh shopping... 		Museums / Galleries, Arts / Performance Venues, Stores / Malls Japantown
 
Nob Hill Masonic Center
Erected by Freemasons in 1957, the hall is familiar to locals... 		Arts / Performance Venues Nob Hill
 
Noe Valley/Sally Brunn Branch Library
In the early 20th century philanthropist Andrew Carnegie told... 		Libraries Noe Valley
 
Ocean Beach
Stretching 3 miles along the western side of the city from the... 		Beaches Western Shoreline
 
Octagon House
This eight-sided home sits across the street from its original... 		Houses / Mansions Pacific Heights
 
Old Chinese Telephone Exchange
After the 1906 earthquake, many Chinatown buildings were rebuilt... 		Architectural Sites Chinatown
 
Old St. Mary's Cathedral
Dedicated in 1854, this served as the city's Catholic cathedral... 		Religious Sites Chinatown
 
Pacific Union Club
The former home of silver baron James Flood cost a whopping $1.5... 		Architectural Sites Nob Hill
 
Palace Hotel
The city's oldest hotel, a Sheraton property, has a storied past... 		Hotels SoMa
 
Portsmouth Square
Chinatown's living room buzzes with activity. The square, with... 		Squares Chinatown
 
Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center
Founded by muralists, this nonprofit arts organization designs... 		Arts / Performance Venues, Information Centers Mission District
 
Randall Museum
The best thing about visiting this free nature museum for kids... 		Museums / Galleries Castro
 
Red Victorian Bed & Breakfast Inn and Peace Center
By even the most generous accounts, the Summer of Love quickly... 		Architectural Sites Haight
 
Rincon Center
The only reason to visit what is basically a modern office building... 		Public Art (Mural / Sculpture / Statue) SoMa
 
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church
Camera-toting visitors focus their lenses on the Romanesque splendor... 		Religious Sites North Beach
 
San Francisco National Maritime Museum
You'll feel as if you're out to sea when you step aboard, er... 		Museums / Galleries On the Waterfront
 
San Francisco Public Library
Topped with a swirl like an art-deco nautilus, the library's... 		Libraries Civic Center
 
San Francisco Railway Museum
A labor of love brought to you by the same vintage-transit enthusiasts... 		Museums / Galleries On the Waterfront
 
San Francisco Visitor Information Center
A multilingual staff operates this facility below the cable-car... 		Information Centers Union Square
 
San Francisco Zoo
Ever since one of its tigers escaped its enclosure and killed... 		Zoos / Aquariums Western Shoreline
 
Sentinel Building
A striking triangular shape and a gorgeous green patina make... 		Architectural Sites North Beach
 
Spreckels Mansion
Not to be confused with the Spreckels Mansion of Pacific Heights... 		Houses / Mansions Haight
 
Spreckels Mansion
Shrouded behind tall juniper hedges at the corner of lovely winding... 		Houses / Mansions Pacific Heights
 
The Stanford Court Hotel
In 1876 trendsetter Leland Stanford, a California governor and... 		Hotels Nob Hill
 
Sutro Heights Park
Crows and other large birds battle the heady breezes at this... 		Parks Western Shoreline
 
Transamerica Pyramid
It's neither owned by Transamerica nor is it a pyramid, but this... 		Architectural Sites On the Waterfront
 
Twin Peaks
Windswept and desolate Twin Peaks yields sweeping vistas of San... 		Viewpoints Noe Valley
 
United Nations Plaza
Locals know this plaza for two things: its Wednesday and Sunday... 		Squares Civic Center
 
Vallejo Steps area
Several Russian Hill buildings survived the 1906 earthquake and... 		Architectural Sites Russian Hill
 
Vedanta Society
A pastiche of colonial, Queen Anne, Moorish, and Hindu opulence... 		Religious Sites Pacific Heights
 
Vermont Street
With a similar series of switchbacks, this Potrero Hill street... 		Neighborhoods / Streets Mission District
 
War Memorial Opera House
During San Francisco's Barbary Coast days, operagoers smoked... 		Arts / Performance Venues Civic Center
 
War Memorial Veterans Building
Performing- and visual-arts organizations occupy much of this... 		Arts / Performance Venues Civic Center
 
Washington Square
Once the daytime social heart of Little Italy, this grassy patch... 		Squares North Beach
 
Wedding Houses
These identical white double-peak homes (joined in the middle)... 		Houses / Mansions Pacific Heights
 
Wells Fargo Bank History Museum
There were no formal banks in San Francisco during the early... 		Museums / Galleries On the Waterfront
 
Westin St. Francis Hotel
The second-oldest hotel in the city, established in 1904, was... 		Hotels Union Square
 
Whittier Mansion
With a Spanish-tile roof and scrolled bay windows on all four... 		Houses / Mansions Pacific Heights
 
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
You never know what's going to be on display at this facility... 		Arts / Performance Venues SoMa
Sights Overview »

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