Top Museums in San Francisco
World-class art collections, interactive science exhibits and everything you ever wanted to know about cable car systems, San Francisco has a diverse museum scene. Where else is there an aquarium, rainforest, planetarium and natural history museum rolled into one? Beyond the exhibits, many of the museums offer breathtaking views of the bay and the city’s best parks. Here are the most iconic museum stops to include on your itinerary.
Exploratorium
What better way to learn and absorb the information you are seeing than to be able to interact with it? At the Exploratorium in San Francisco, visitors get to do just that.
- Included in CityPASS
- 2 Hours
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is an entirely immersive experience that takes visitors through a rainforest, the deep blue sea, and the bright stars of the universe.
- Included in CityPASS
- 2 Hours
de Young Museum
Located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge Park, the de Young Museum is a wonderful attraction brimming with global artwork.
- Included in C3
- 2 Hours
Legion of Honor
Located in the heart of San Francisco's Lincoln Park, the Legion of Honor Museum shines inside and out with 4,000 years of ancient and European art and an unbeatable view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco cityscape.
- Included in C3
- 2 Hours
SFMOMA
San Francisco lives and breathes art, and modern art emulates the spirit of San Francisco. And so, the recently expanded SFMoMA, the California equal to its New York big sister, is the collective home of all things modern art.
- Included in C3
- 3 Hours
Cable Car Museum
San Francisco is visualized by outsiders as the hilly, foggy city with the Golden Gate Bridge and iconic cable cars. Nothing shouts "San Francisco" quite as loudly as the Cable Car Museum.
- 2 Hours
Now that you know about the best San Francisco museums, use San Francisco and save nearly half off combined admission prices to some of the museums listed above as well as other top attractions in San Francisco. San Francisco includes prepaid admission to the California Academy of Sciences and a Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise, plus your choice of two of the following attractions: Aquarium of the Bay, The Walt Disney Family Museum, Exploratorium, and San Francisco Zoo & Gardens.
CityPASS can be purchased online or at any of our participating San Francisco attractions. Use San Francisco and discover the top museums and things to do in San Francisco.
If you think five attractions isn't right for you, check out San Francisco C3, which gives you admission to 3 of San Francisco's top attractions. Choose from the attractions included in San Francisco CityPASS, as well as SFMOMA, Bay City Bike & Parkwide Bike Rentals, or de Young Museum + Legion of Honor. With both San Francisco CityPASS and San Francisco C3 you'll see the best San Francisco has to offer at a significant savings.
Cable Car Museum Photo Credit
Legion of Honor and de Young Museum Images courtesy of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Legion of Honor and de Young Museum Images courtesy of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
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San Francisco CityPASS
4.7 (3189)
Amazing
So happy I bought the citypass in San Francisco. It helped make my trip there unforgettable. Would definitely do it again!Great Deal
Easy to use and save you quite a bit of money. Our family had a trip to San Francisco and didn’t know what to do out there and this gave us a great option to enjoy activities as a family while still getting to know parts of San Francisco.Great
I bought Citypass for my boyfriend’s birthday to show him some cool places in the city and I thought it was perfect. We went to four different places, and it was extremely affordable. 10/10 would recommend.Great value for money!
It was a great trip and we loved the city pass . Will definitely recommend !!NorCal CityPASS
We had an amazing experience visiting Northern California and much of it had to do with the activities included within the San Francisco CityPASS we purchased. Thank you, CityPASS, for helping to create lasting memories for my family!
San Francisco CityPASS is rated
out of
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3189.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
G. Liggett from
Such a great deal
We bought a City Pass for our trip to San Francisco and it turned out to be a great deal. We were able to enjoy 4 attractions for a great low price. I will definitely look into City Passes for future vacation sites!
Date published: 2021-12-01
Rated 5 out of
5
by
AJ-PL from
Great value!
What a great value! We visited the Aquarium at the Bay, took a chartered cruise out to the Golden Gate Bridge, toured the Walt Disney Family Museum, and explored the California Academy of Sciences.
Date published: 2021-11-04
Rated 5 out of
5
by
HappyTraveler1992 from
Glad we got it
Wasn't sure about getting City Pass, but glad we did! The Science Center was way cooler than I expected (and great way to spend a rainy day), the boat ride was awesome, and the Zoo/Aquarium were fun as well
Date published: 2021-04-02
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Brydac from
Wonderful Experience
We absolutely loved City Pass. It made transportation and attractions very accessible. It was our first time visiting San Francisco and my girls ages 10 and 8 loved all the places we went to. We highly recommend the Exploratorium, Academy of Science and Aquarium. You could easily spend an entire day each at the Exploratorium and Academy of Science.
Date published: 2019-07-16
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Esby from
very pleased!
We were very happy with the CityPass, made transport all over the city so much easier! Between the public transport and passes to attractions it was worth every penny. We'd assuredly use it again.
Date published: 2019-04-08
Rated 5 out of
5
by
BenjoBear from
Loved it!
Our family of 3 used the CityPass for San Francisco and it was excellent value for money. The attractions were varied and having the MUNI included in the pass made getting around easy. We would highly recommend to everyone and would definitely purchase again for our future travels.
Date published: 2019-04-06
Rated 5 out of
5
by
HappyTraveler91 from
Always the BEST!
This is the second time I have used CityPass in San Francisco and it is the way to go! Easy, fun, and worry free for a good time.
Date published: 2019-03-13
Rated 5 out of
5
by
RudyFranco from
A wonderful time!
We bought the CityPASS and used it everywhere! Transportation! Museums! You name it! Would not go again without one!
Date published: 2018-12-26
Rated 5 out of
5
by
ineedmorevacations from
Great value
I bought a CityPass prior to leaving for my trip to San Francisco. It ended up being a great value! We were able to ride the cable cars multiple times and use the other modes of Muni to get to the sites. For the amount of attractions you get to see and the price, it is certainly worth it!
Date published: 2018-12-07
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Djrevere from
Great Value
We bought the CityPass for our recent trip to San Francisco. It included a public transportation pass and admission to four attractions. It was the perfect amount of activities for our family without feeling rushed. We would definitely purchase a CityPass again.
Date published: 2018-07-12