58 Best Sights in San Francisco, California

Golden Gate Park's longtime superintendent, John McLaren, designed this 12-acre park in the early 1900s, modeling its steep south-facing terracing on that of the Grand Casino in Monte Carlo. At any time of day, you're guaranteed to find San Francisco's exercise warriors running up the park's south steps. From the top of those steps, you can see Marin to the north, downtown to the east, Twin Peaks to the south, and Golden Gate Park to the west. Kids love the many play structures at the large, enclosed playground at the top; dogs love the off-leash area in the park's southeast corner.

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.

This imposing 1915 structure with its massive gold-leaf dome—higher than the U.S. Capitol's—is as close to a palace as you'll find in San Francisco: the classic granite-and-marble behemoth was modeled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Architect Arthur Brown Jr., who was also behind Coit Tower and the War Memorial Opera House, designed an interior with grand columns and a sweeping central staircase. The 1899 structure it replaced had taken 27 years to erect, but it collapsed in about 27 seconds during the 1906 earthquake.

City Hall was seismically retrofitted in the late 1990s, but the sense of history remains palpable, and you can learn about it on a free tour. Some noteworthy events that have taken place here include the hosing of civil-rights and freedom-of-speech protesters (1960); the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk (1978); the torching of the lobby by angry members of the gay community in response to the light sentence given to their killer (1979); and the first domestic partnership registrations of gay couples (1991). In 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsom took a stand against then-current state and federal law by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex partners.

Across Polk Street from City Hall is Civic Center Plaza, with an outdoor café, flower beds, and a playground. This sprawling space is generally clean but somewhat grim, as many homeless people hang out here.

If you make it all the way up here, you may have the place all to yourself, or at least feel like you do. The park's terraces are carved from a hill so steep that it's difficult to see if anyone else is there or not. Locals love this park because it feels like a secret—one of the city's magical hidden gardens, with a meditative setting and spectacular views of the bay peeking out from among the trees. A poet, Oakland librarian, and niece of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, Ina Coolbrith introduced Jack London and Isadora Duncan to the world of books. For years she entertained literary greats in her Macondray Lane home near the park. In 1915 she was named poet laureate of California.

Lincoln Park is a wild, 275-acre park with windswept cliffs and panoramic views. The Coastal Trail, the park's most dramatic, leads out to Lands End; pick it up west of the Legion of Honor (at the end of El Camino del Mar) or from the parking lot at Point Lobos and El Camino del Mar. Time your hike to hit Mile Rock at low tide, and you might catch a glimpse of two wrecked ships peeking up from their watery graves.

Be careful if you hike here; landslides are frequent, and people have fallen into the sea by standing too close to the edge of a crumbling bluff top.

Lincoln Park's 18-hole golf course ( www.lincolnparkgolfcourse.com) is on land that in the 19th century was the Golden Gate Cemetery. (When digging has to be done in the park, human bones still occasionally surface.) Next door on 33rd Avenue and California Street are the dazzling, mosaic Lincoln Park Steps, which rival the 16th Avenue Steps and the Hidden Garden Steps in the Sunset District. They provide a delightful backdrop for contemplation or an Instagram photo op.

The block-long "Crookedest Street in the World" makes eight switchbacks down the east face of Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets. Join the line of cars waiting to drive down the steep hill, or avoid the whole mess and walk down the steps on either side of Lombard. You take in super views of North Beach and Coit Tower either way—though if you're the one behind the wheel, you'd better keep your eye on the road lest you become yet another of the many folks who ram the garden barriers. Can't stand the traffic? Thrill seekers of a different stripe may want to head two blocks south of Lombard to Filbert Street. At a gradient of 31.5%, the hair-raising descent between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets is one of the city's steepest. Go slowly!

San Francisco has no shortage of impressive, grand homes, but Macondray Lane is the quintessential hidden garden. Enter under a lovely wooden trellis and proceed down a quiet, cobbled pedestrian lane lined with Edwardian cottages and flowering plants and trees. A flight of steep wooden stairs at the end of the lane leads to Taylor Street—on the way down you can't miss the bay views. If you've read any of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City books, you may find the lane vaguely familiar; it's the thinly disguised setting for parts of the series.

A two-square-block microcosm of life in the district, Mission Dolores Park is one of San Francisco's liveliest green spaces: dog lovers and their pampered pups congregate, kids play at the extravagant playground, and hipsters hold court, drinking beer and rosé cans on sunny days. (Fair warning: if it's over 70°F, the place can get packed like traffic at rush hour for picnic-blanket space.) During the summer, Dolores Park hosts movie nights, performances by the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and pop-up events and impromptu parties. Spend a warm day here—maybe sitting at the top of the park with a view of the city and the Bay Bridge—surrounded by locals and that laid-back, still-abundant San Francisco energy, and you may well find yourself plotting your move to the city. The best views are in the southwest corner, near the historic golden fire hydrant that saved the neighborhood after the 1906 earthquake.

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.

Windswept and desolate, Twin Peaks yields sweeping vistas of San Francisco and the neighboring counties. At a hilltop park 922 feet above sea level, you can get a real feel for the city's layout, but you'll share it with busloads of other admirers; in summer, arrive before the late-afternoon fog turns the view into pea soup. To drive here, head west from Castro Street up Market Street, which eventually becomes Portola Drive. Turn right (north) on Twin Peaks Boulevard and follow the signs to the top. Muni bus 37–Corbett heads west to Twin Peaks from Market Street. Catch this bus above the Castro Street Muni light-rail station on the island west of Castro at Market Street.

Several Russian Hill buildings survived the 1906 earthquake and fire and remain standing. Patriotic firefighters saved what's become known as the Flag House ( 1652–56 Taylor St.) when they spotted the American flag on the property. The owner, a flag collector, fearing the house would burn, wanted it to go down with "all flags flying." At the southwest corner of Ina Coolbrith Park, it is one of a number of California shingle–style homes in this neighborhood, several of which the architect Willis Polk designed.

Polk drew up the plans for the nearby Polk-Williams House ( Taylor and Vallejo Sts.) and lived in one of its finer sections, and he was responsible for 1034–1036 Vallejo, across the street. He also laid out the Vallejo Steps themselves, which climb the steep ridge across Taylor Street from the Flag House. The precipitous walk up to Ina Coolbrith Park and beyond is possibly the most pleasurable thing to do while on Russian Hill. If the walk up the steps will be too taxing, park at the top by heading east on Vallejo from Jones and enjoy the scene from there.

A community-based project dedicated in 2005, these 163 tiled steps have beautiful designs showing fish, shells, animals, starry skies, and other scenes. The steps are in a residential neighborhood, so enjoy the steps and the city views from the top quietly.

Fans of graphic novelist Chris Ware will want to take a good look at the facade of 826 Valencia, the nonprofit organization established by writer Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari to help students in elementary, middle, and high school develop their writing skills. Ware designed the intricate mural for the group's storefront as a meditation on the evolution of human communication.

This urban beach, surrounded by Fort Mason, Ghirardelli Square, and Fisherman's Wharf, is a quarter-mile-long strip of sand. The gentle waters near shore are shallow, safe for kids to swim or wade, and fairly clean. Locals come out for quick dips in the frigid water. Members of the Dolphin Club and the South End Rowing Club come every morning for a swim, and a large and raucous crowd braves the cold on New Year's Day. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; walking.

Mission District artists have transformed the walls of their neighborhood with paintings, and Balmy Alley is one of the best-executed examples. Many murals adorn the one-block alley, with newer ones continually filling in the blank spaces. In 1971, artists began teaming with local children to create a space to promote peace in Central America, community spirit, and (later) AIDS awareness; since then dozens of muralists have added their vibrant works. The alley's longtime popularity has grown exponentially thanks to its Instagram appeal. Once you're done at Balmy Alley, head a couple blocks west on 24th Street to another prominent alley of murals on Cypress Street (also between 24th and 25th Streets).  Be alert here: the 25th Street end of the alley adjoins a somewhat dangerous area.

Hugging the park's western border, this 1925 Willis Polk–designed structure houses gorgeous Depression-era murals by Lucien Labaudt of familiar San Francisco scenes, while verses by local poets adorn niches here and there. Stop by the ground-floor Golden Gate Park Visitor Center to see the murals and gift shop on your way to indulge in a microbrew upstairs, ideally at sunset. The restaurant here, renovated in 2021 and with a refreshed menu that includes more seafood, is open for lunch and dinner. The ocean views are spectacular.

The reward for the steep climb to get here is this eucalyptus-filled space with great city views. Dog walkers and homeless folks make good use of the park, and the playground at the top is popular with kids and adults alike. Be sure to scan the stone rain gutters lining many of the walkways for inscribed names and dates; these are the remains of gravestones left unclaimed when the city closed the Laurel Hill cemetery around 1940. A pit stop includes a portable toilet and disposal for used needles and condoms; definitely avoid the park after dark, when these items are left behind.

One of the city's best free offerings, this museum is an absolute must for kids and compelling for adults too. You can even ride a cable car here—all three lines stop between Russian Hill and Nob Hill. The facility, which is inside the city's last remaining cable-car barn, takes the top off the system to show you how it all works. Eternally humming and squealing, the massive powerhouse cable wheels steal the show. You can also climb aboard a vintage car and take the grip, let the kids ring a cable-car bell, and check out vintage gear dating from 1873.

Inspired by the work in Balmy Alley, a new generation of muralists began creating a fresh alley-cum-gallery here in 1992, offering a quick but dense glimpse at the Mission's contemporary art scene. The works by the loosely connected artists of the Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP) represent a broad range of styles and imagery, such as an exuberant, flowery exhortation to Tax the Rich, several colorful and powerful messages about hot-button political topics, and poignant murals honoring the legacies of George Floyd and Prince.

Among San Francisco's most distinctive skyline sights, this 210-foot tower is often considered a tribute to firefighters because of the donor's special attachment to the local fire company. As the story goes, a young gold rush–era girl, Lillie Hitchcock Coit (known as Miss Lil), was a fervent admirer of her local fire company—so much so that she once deserted a wedding party and chased down the street after her favorite engine, Knickerbocker No. 5, while clad in her bridesmaid finery. When Lillie died in 1929, she left the city $125,000 to "expend in an appropriate manner . . . to the beauty of San Francisco."

You can ride the elevator to the top of the tower to enjoy the 360-degree view of the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge; due north is Alcatraz Island. Most visitors saunter past the 27 fabulous Depression-era murals inside the tower that depict California's economic and political life, but take the time to appreciate the first New Deal art project, supported by taxpayer money. It's also possible to walk up and down to the tower (if you're in shape): a highlight is the descent toward the Embarcadero via the Filbert Steps, a series of stairways that are a shaded green oasis in the middle of the city.

The elegant park west of the Pacific Union Club and east of Grace Cathedral occupies the site of a mansion owned by railroad baron Collis P. Huntington. He died in 1900, the mansion was destroyed in the 1906 fire, and in 1915 his widow—by then married to Huntington's nephew—donated the land to the city. The Huntingtons' neighbors, the Crockers, once owned the Fountain of the Tortoises, based on the original in Rome's Piazza Mattei. The benches around the fountain offer a welcome break after climbing Nob Hill.

Joyous creativity pervades the workshops of this art-education center and gallery for developmentally disabled adults. Several dozen adults work at the center each day—guided by a staff of working artists—painting, working in the darkroom, producing videos, and crafting prints, textiles, and ceramics. Drop by to see the artists at work and pick up a unique San Francisco masterpiece. The art produced here is striking, and some of it is for sale.

It may not pump water anymore, but this carefully restored windmill, built in 1903 to irrigate Golden Gate Park, continues to enchant visitors. The Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden here is a welcoming respite, particularly lovely during its February and March bloom. On the south side of the park at Lincoln Way and the Great Highway is the Murphy Windmill, the largest in the world when it was completed in 1908; swing by for an interesting comparison.

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. 

For a rockin' gospel concert and an inclusive, feel-good vibe, head to Glide, where Reverend Emeritus Cecil Williams, a bear of a man and a local celeb do-gooder, and other engaging pastors lead a hand-clapping, shout-it-out, get-on-your-feet Sunday "celebration." The diverse crowd—gay and straight, all colors of the rainbow, religious and not—is large and enthusiastic. You might recognize the church from the Will Smith filmThe Pursuit of Happyness.

When all the other fire hydrants went dry during the fire that followed the 1906 earthquake, this one kept pumping. Noe Valley and the Mission District were thus spared the devastation wrought elsewhere in the city, which explains the large number of pre-quake homes here. Every year on April 18th (the anniversary of the quake), folks gather here to share stories about the disaster, and the famous hydrant gets a fresh coat of gold paint.

Follow your nose down Ross Alley to this tiny but fragrant cookie factory. Two workers sit at circular motorized griddles and wait for dollops of batter to drop onto a tiny metal plate, which rotates into an oven. A few moments later, out comes a cookie that's pliable and ready for folding. It's easy to peek in for a moment, and hard to leave without getting a few free samples and then buying a bagful of fortune cookies for snacks and wisdom later.

Originally called Calle de la Fundación, Grant Avenue is the oldest street in the city, but it's got plenty of young blood. Dusty bars such as The Saloon mix with independent boutiques, odd curio shops, and curated gourmet shops. While the street runs from Union Square through Chinatown, North Beach, and beyond, the fun stuff in this neighborhood is jammed into the four blocks from Columbus Avenue north to Filbert Street.

On October 6, 1967, hippies took over the intersection of Haight and Ashbury Streets to proclaim the "Death of Hip." If they thought hip was dead then, they'd find absolute confirmation of it today—the only tie-dye in sight on the famed corner is a Ben & Jerry's storefront.