San Francisco offers visitors scenic ocean and bay views, trendy art galleries, cable car rides and a giant city park filled with activities. You can stroll along the Barbary Coast Trail, admire the Golden Gate Bridge and explore the city's diverse neighborhoods, such as Nob Hill and Chinatown. Whether you're looking for historical places of interest, cultural attractions, educational experiences or a little of each, you'll find plenty in San Francisco.
Take a cellhouse tour and wander through historic gardens. Alcatraz Cruises offers year-round trips to Alcatraz Island, where visitors can tour the famous building that has served as a civil war fort, military prison and federal penitentiary. Cruise options range from a basic drop-off trip to a personally narrated boat tour and guided tours of the island. Visitors can learn more about life on Alcatraz during its penitentiary days with an audio presentation featuring former prisoners and correctional officers. Tours of the surrounding gardens are also available.
Study 10th-century Chinese calligraphic works and 18th-century Japanese woodblock prints at the Asian Art Museum, which contains approximately 17,000 objects. The museum features historical and contemporary works of art from several regions, including Korea, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas and South Asia. The collection consists of sculptures, jades, furniture, armor, lacquers, paintings, ceramics and puppets. Guided architectural and gallery tours are available. The museum is closed on Mondays.
Walk through a rainforest, see a Tyrannosaurus Rex and watch a supernova at the California Academy of Sciences. Featured exhibits include an aquarium containing over 900 animal species, a planetarium with an all-digital dome and a natural history museum filled with interactive exhibits and dioramas. The four-story rainforest houses 1600 animals, including bats, butterflies and chameleons, as well as tropical trees, shrubs and flowers. Visitors can also watch shows in the 3D theater and explore the naturalist center to learn more about research techniques. The Academy is open daily.
See William Shakespeare, Dorothy and Toto, Elvis Presley and Tiger Woods at the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf. The museum contains several exhibits containing life-like representations of historical and religious figures, as well as movie stars, professional athletes and musicians. Historical figures range from scientists and artists, such as Albert Einstein and Andy Warhol, to dictators and royalty, including Napoleon Bonaparte and Queen Elizabeth II. The Hall of Religions features a Last Supper scene. The Palace of Living Art shows renowned artists at work creating well-known works such as the "Mona Lisa" and "Whistlers Mother". The museum also features a King Tut exhibit and a Chamber of Horrors filled with characters such as Freddy Krueger and Dracula, along with torture devices, including an iron maiden. The museum is open daily.
