16 Best Sights in San Francisco, California

West of the Golden Gate Bridge is a mile-long stretch of soft sand beneath steep cliffs, beloved for its spectacular views and laid-back vibe (read: good chance you'll see naked people here on the northernmost end). Its isolated location makes it rarely crowded, but many San Franciscans know that there is no better place to take in the sunset than this beach. Kids love climbing around the old Battery Chamberlin. This is truly one of those places that inspires local pride. Amenities: parking (no fee); toilets. Best for: nudists; solitude; sunsets.

Instantly recognizable as an icon of San Francisco, the two reddish-orange towers of the majestic Golden Gate Bridge rise 750 feet over the Golden Gate strait at the mouth of San Francisco Bay, linking the city and Marin County. With its simple but powerful art-deco design, the 1.7-mile suspension span was built to withstand winds of more than 100 mph. It's also not a bad place to be in an earthquake: designed to sway almost 28 feet, the Golden Gate Bridge (unlike the Bay Bridge) was undamaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta quake. If you're walking on the bridge when it's windy, stand still and you can feel it swaying a bit.

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge under your own power is exhilarating—a little scary, and definitely chilly. From the bridge's eastern-side walkway, the only side pedestrians are allowed on, you can take in the San Francisco skyline and the bay islands; look west for the wild hills of the Marin Headlands, the curving coast south to Lands End, and the Pacific Ocean. On sunny days, sailboats dot the water, and brave windsurfers test the often-treacherous tides beneath the bridge. A vista point on the Marin County side provides a spectacular city panorama.

A structural engineer, dreamer, and poet named Joseph Strauss worked tirelessly for 20 years to make the bridge a reality, first promoting the idea of it and then overseeing design and construction. Though the final structure bore little resemblance to his original plan, Strauss guarded his legacy jealously, refusing to recognize the seminal contributions of engineer Charles Ellis. In 2007, the Golden Gate Bridge district finally recognized Ellis's role, though Strauss, who died less than a year after the bridge's opening day in 1937, would doubtless be pleased with the inscription on his statue, which stands sentry in the southern parking lot: "The Man Who Built the Bridge."

At the outdoor exhibits near the bridge's Welcome Center, you can learn about the features that make it art deco and read about the personalities behind its design and construction. For some pre– or post–bridge walk fuel, there is an Equator Coffees café in the historic Round House at the visitor's plaza. City Guides ( sfcityguides.org) offers free walking tours of the bridge every Thursday and Sunday at 11 am.

This stunning, rosy rococo palace on a lagoon seems to be from another world—it's the sole survivor of the many tinted-plaster structures (a temporary neoclassical city of sorts) built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the world's fair that celebrated San Francisco's recovery from the 1906 earthquake and fire. The expo buildings originally extended about a mile along the shore. Bernard Maybeck designed this faux-Roman classic beauty, which was reconstructed in concrete and reopened in 1967.

The pseudo-Latin language adorning the Palace's exterior urns continues to stump scholars. The massive columns (each topped with four "weeping maidens"), great rotunda, and swan-filled lagoon have been used in countless fashion layouts, films, and wedding photo shoots. Other than its use for major events and exhibitions inside the building, it's really an outdoor architecture attraction that's perfect for an hour of strolling and relaxing. After admiring the lagoon, look across the street to the house at 3460 Baker Street. If the statues out front look familiar, they should—they're original casts of the "garland ladies" you can see in the Palace's colonnade.

When San Franciscans want to spend a day in the woods, they come here. The Presidio has 1,400 acres of hills and majestic woods, two small beaches, and stunning views of the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Marin County. Famed environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy's work greets visitors at the Arguello Gate entrance. The 100-plus-foot Spire, made of 37 cypress logs reclaimed from the Presidio, looks like a rough, natural version of a church spire. The Presidio's best lookout points lie along Washington Boulevard, which meanders through the park.

Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Presidio was a military post for more than 200 years. Don Juan Bautista de Anza and a band of Spanish settlers first claimed the area in 1776. It became a Mexican garrison in 1822, when Mexico gained its independence from Spain; U.S. troops forcibly occupied the Presidio in 1846. The U.S. Sixth Army was stationed here until 1994.

The Presidio is now a thriving community of residential and nonresidential tenants, who help to fund its operations by rehabilitating and leasing its more than 700 buildings. Bay Area filmmaker George Lucas's 23-acre Letterman Digital Arts Center, a digital studio "campus," along the eastern edge of the land, is exquisitely landscaped and largely open to the public. If you have kids in tow or are a Star Wars fan yourself, sidle over to the Yoda Fountain (Letterman Drive at Dewitt Road), between two of the arts-center buildings, then take your picture with the life-size Darth Vader statue in the lobby, open to the public on weekdays.

The Presidio Trust, created to manage the Presidio and guide its transformation from military post to national park, has now turned its focus to rolling out the welcome mat to the public. The Presidio’s visitor-serving tenants, such as the Asian-theme SenSpa, the House of Air Trampoline Park, Planet Granite climbing gym, the Walt Disney museum, and a fabulous lodge at the Main Post, have helped with this goal. The rental of old military houses and apartments helps too, with top rents pushing $20,000 a month.

Especially popular is Crissy Field, a stretch of restored marshland along the sand of the bay. Kids on bikes, folks walking dogs, and joggers share the paved path along the shore, often winding up at the Warming Hut, a combination café and fun gift store at the end of the path, for a hot chocolate in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. Midway along the Golden Gate Promenade that winds along the shore is the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center, where kids can get a close-up view of small sea creatures and learn about the rich ecosystem offshore. Just across from the Palace of Fine Arts, Crissy Field Center offers great children's programs and has cool science displays. West of the Golden Gate Bridge is sandy Baker Beach, beloved for its spectacular views and laid-back vibe (read: you'll see naked people here). This is one of those places that inspires local pride.

The Presidio also has a golf course, picnic sites, and the only campground in the city; the views from the many overlooks are sublime. For background and to help plan your time here, stop at the high-tech Visitor Center (210 Lincoln Blvd., 415/561–4323).

With how seamlessly the Presidio Tunnel Tops landscape flows from the Presidio's Main Parade Lawn downhill to Crissy Field, it's almost impossible to envision the two not being connected. Yet, that was always the case until this impressive 14-acre green space with 1.8 miles of winding walking paths was completed in 2022. It's a park that is both function (bringing together two important areas atop a highway tunnel) and form (beautifully designed by James Corner Field Operations, the same firm that designed New York City's acclaimed High Line elevated park). 

The Presidio Tunnel Tops are a marquee destination for many reasons, but there's no escaping that the park is best known for its panoramic view of the Golden Gate Bridge. There's plenty more to do, from grabbing lunch from a visiting food truck or letting kids explore the impressive 2-acre Outpost playground that tells the Presidio's extensive history and evokes its natural habitat. There are three lawn areas for picnicking, a Campfire Circle where ranger talks are given, and 200,000 plants to gaze at.

Altogether, it's a fun breath of fresh air—and it's hard to believe that you're literally on top of the busy 101 highway. After exploring the Presidio Tunnel Tops, make sure to head over to their lesser-known "above the highway" park sibling, Battery Bluff. This park doesn't have the activities or amenities that makes the Tunnel Tops such a draw, but it's worth a visit for the views and to see the four preserved historic gun batteries.

One of the most popular places for San Franciscans to get fresh air is this stretch of restored marshland along the sand of the bay, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Kids on bikes, folks walking dogs, and joggers share the paved path along the shore, often winding up at the Warming Hut, a combination café and fun gift store at its end, for a hot chocolate in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. Midway along the Golden Gate Promenade that winds along the shore is the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center, where kids can get a close-up view of small sea creatures and learn about the rich ecosystem offshore. Alongside the main green of Crissy Field, several renovated airplane hangars and warehouses are now home to the likes of rock-climbing gyms, an air trampoline park, and a craft brewery (the latter is not open to the public). The Quartermaster Reach Marsh by Crissy Field was reclaimed as wetland ecosystem in 2020 and is an excellent area to see some of the local bird population.

Originally a depot for the shipment of supplies to the Pacific during World War II, the fort was converted into a cultural center in 1977 and is now home to the vegetarian restaurant Greens and shops, galleries, and performance spaces.

The Museo Italo Americano ( Bldg. C 415/673–2200  museoitaloamericano.org  Closed Mon.) is a small gallery that hosts one exhibit at a time, worth a glance if you're already at Fort Mason.

From March through September, Friday evening at Fort Mason means Off the Grid ( offthegridsf.com); the city's food-truck gathering happens at locations around town, and this is one of the oldest and most popular.

Dwarfed today by the Golden Gate Bridge, this brick fortress constructed between 1853 and 1861 was designed to protect San Francisco from a Civil War sea attack that never materialized. It was also used as a coastal-defense fortification post during World War II, when soldiers stood watch here. This National Historic Site is now a sprawling museum of military memorabilia. The building, which surrounds a lonely, windswept courtyard, has a gloomy air and is suitably atmospheric. It's usually chilly, too, so bring a jacket. The top floor affords a unique angle on the bay.

Take care when walking along the front side of the building, as it's slippery and the waves can have a dizzying effect.

The popular, guided candlelight tours, available only in winter, book up in advance, so plan ahead. Twice a day on days that the site is open (Fridays and weekends), rangers provide short orientations to the site's history. And, a few days a year, the site holds a Living History Day complete with Civil War reenactments, including a look at the music and medicine of that 1800s era. 

Bay Area filmmaker George Lucas's 23-acre Letterman Digital Arts Center, a digital studio campus along the eastern edge of the land, is exquisitely landscaped and largely open to the public. If you have kids in tow or are a Star Wars fan yourself, make the pilgrimage to the Yoda Fountain between two of the arts-center buildings, then take your picture with the life-size Darth Vader statue in the lobby, open to the public on weekdays. The center's public restaurant, Sessions, is a good stop for a craft beer and some satisfying eats that often include produce or beef from Lucas's Skywalker Ranch.

Get ready for a workout—and a spectacularly rewarding view at the top—when tackling the 332 steps at the eastern edge of the Presidio. There will likely be no shortage of exercise seekers bounding up the steps, but feel free to conquer the climb slowly. The trimmed hedge landscaping is worthy of its own visit, but the views of the Presidio forests and the bay are the reason these steps are a top attraction. The opulent mansions surrounding them are equally stunning.

This eight-sided home sits across the street from its original site on Gough Street; it's one of two remaining octagonal houses in the city (the other is on Russian Hill), and the only one open to the public. White quoins accent each of the eight corners of the pretty blue-gray exterior, and a colonial-style garden completes the picture. The house is full of antique American furniture, decorative arts (paintings, silver, rugs), and documents from the 18th and 19th centuries. Note that the home is only open on the second Sunday and second and fourth Thursday of each month, and is closed all January.

An excellent place to begin a historical tour of the Presidio, the Officers' Club offers a walk through time from the Presidio's earliest days as the first nonnative outpost in present-day San Francisco to more than a century as a U.S. Army post. Start with the excellent short film about life here from the time of the Ohlone people to the present, then peruse the displays of artifacts, including uniforms and weaponry. In the Mesa Room, you can literally see layers of history: parts of the original adobe wall from the 1790s, the brick fireplace in the 1880s commander's office, and the Mission revival–style fireplace in the 1930s billiard room. Note that the Officers' Club is only open on Saturdays.

Excavation of the Presidio continues: outside, a canopy covers the Presidio Archaeology Field Station, where you can sometimes see archaeologists at work. There is a docent on hand each Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm to answer questions about the dig.

A light-green pastiche of colonial, Queen Anne, Moorish, and Hindu opulence, with turrets battling red-top onion domes and Victorian detailing everywhere, this 1905 structure is considered the first Hindu temple in the West. Vedanta, an underlying philosophy of Hinduism, maintains that all religions are paths to one goal. It's an interesting building to study from the street.

This beautifully refurbished brick barracks is a tribute to the man behind Mickey Mouse, Disney Studios, and Disneyland. The smartly organized displays include hundreds of family photos, and well-chosen videos play throughout. Disney's legendary attention to detail is evident in the cels and footage of Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, and other animation classics. Galleries tell the story of Disney's life from his youth in the Midwest to lesser-known bits of his professional history, like the films Walt Disney made for the U.S. military during World War II. The liveliest exhibit, and the largest gallery, documents the creation of Disneyland with a fun, detailed model of what Disney imagined the park would be. Teacups spin, the Matterhorn looms, and that world-famous castle leads the way to Fantasyland. You won't be the first to leave humming "It's a Small World." In the final gallery, a series of cartoons and quotes chronicle the world's reaction to Disney's sudden death. Worth checking for are periodic special exhibitions that take a deep dive into film themes or historical periods surrounding Disney's life.

Conceived by environmental artist Peter Richards and fashioned by master stonecutter George Gonzales, this unusual wave-activated acoustic sculpture at the entrance of a harbor gives off subtle harmonic sounds produced by seawater as it passes through 25 tubes. The sound is loudest at high tide. The granite and marble used for walkways, benches, and alcoves that are part of the piece were salvaged from a gold rush–era cemetery.

These identical white double-peak homes (joined in the middle) were erected in the late 1870s or early 1880s by dairy rancher James Cudworth as wedding gifts for his two daughters, down the street from his own house at 2040 Union Street. These days the buildings house a bar and a restaurant.