San Francisco Museums

(San Francisco, California - CA, USA)



The sheer array of museums located in San Francisco is quite overwhelming and many tourists find that a visit to these cultural attractions is the perfect way to spend a foggy morning, before the strong Californian sunshine arrives. Those wishing to learn a little more about the history of the city and its many recorded earthquakes may like to check out the Museum of the City of San Francisco on Leavenworth Street, while others with an interest in the city's famous network of trams will find the Cable Car Museum especially insightful.

Visitors near to the Golden Gate Park are strongly advised to pay a visit to the truly exceptional California Academy of Sciences, which currently ranks as one of the largest natural history museums in existence. Nearby San Francisco, further offerings await in the neighboring city of Oakland, where the Pardee Home Museum is a particular highlight.


San Francisco Museums

Cable Car Museum

Address: Mason Street, San Francisco, California, USA
This interesting museum gives you a detailed service history of San Francisco's iconic cable car system and is also the home to the cable car system itself. All three of the cable car lines running around the city are actually controlled from this very spot. This is both an informative and enjoyable way to find out how the cable car system works.
Open hours: daily
Admission: free

Museum of the City of San Francisco

Address: Cannery 2801, Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, CA, USA
Tel: +1 415 928 0289
The popular Museum of the City of San Francisco was established in 1991 and tells the interesting story of the city, with particular emphasis on the devastating earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. This attraction is situated on the third floor at the Cannery, in Leavenworth Street, just across from the Anchorage Shopping Center.
Open hours: Wednesday to Sunday - 10:00 to 16:00
Admission: free

San Francisco Museums

Fortune Cookie Museum

Address: 56 Ross Alley, San Francisco, California, USA
Tel: +1 415 781 3956
The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory is home to city's Fortune Cookie Museum. This small and interesting factory is the center of fortune cookie making in California, being where the fortune cookie was actually invented many years ago. The factory manages to produce a staggering 20,000 fortune cookies every day and sells bags of the cookies, which are very reasonably priced.
Open hours: daily
Admission: free

Pardee Home Museum

Address: 672 11th Street, Oakland, 94607, California, USA
Tel: +1 510 444 2187
The Pardee Home Museum is widely thought to be one of the most impressive historical landmarks in this part of the USA. This attractive house was built in 1868 and was owned by a wealthy family, who had an important role in local and state politics. Situated in Oakland, close to the city, the Pardee Home is part of the Preservation Park Historic District and features an attractive estate, with many historic features. Especially notable are the tobacco pipes originating from the Philippines, the antique furnishings and the original carriage house.
Open hours: guided tours of the estate are available every Wednesday and second Saturday in the month - 10:30, second Sunday - 14:00; private group tours can be arranged between Tuesday and Sunday
Admission: charge, children 12 years old and under are free

California Academy of Sciences

Address: 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 94118, California, USA
Tel: +1 415 379 8000
Located within the Golden Gate Park, the California Academy of Sciences was established in the middle of the 19th century and relocated to its new purpose-built home in 2008, which cost in excess of $500 million to construct and has been praised for its environmentally friendly, sustainable architecture. Attractions here are especially plentiful and come in the form of the Kimball Natural History Museum and African Hall, the Morrison Planetarium and the Steinhart Aquarium. Many of the one million annual visitors are often interested to see the living green roof, which covers an area of around 2.5 acres / 1 hectare.
Open hours: Monday to Saturday - 09:30 to 17:00, Sunday - 11:00 to 17:00
Admission: charge, discounts for children, students and seniors, children three years old and under are free, admission is free on the third Wednesday every month