Opened in 1970, this dramatic exhibition space is arranged in terraces so visitors can see the works from various vantage points. The collection's strength is 20th-century art,...

Built as a memorial to the Californians who died in World War I, and set in a wooded spot overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Palace of the Legion of Honor is San Francisco's...

The camera that was used to create the first animation for television (called Crusader Rabbit and produced from 1949 to 1951) graces the lobby of this museum. Boasting over...

The most prominent feature of this controversial new future-primitive building, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, is the massive tower that emerges from the surrounding canopy of...

Housed in the historic Palace of Fine Arts, the Exploratorium has over 600 interactive exhibits about science, art and human perception. A highlight is the Tactile Dome, a...

This collection of ex-military buildings features various cultural institutions, including the Museo ItaloAmericano (Building C, 673 2200, www.museoitaloamericano.org) and the...

The former San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum was closed for renovation at the time of writing, due to reopen in March 2008 as the Museum of Performance and Design....

The art collection includes sketches by early explorers and genre pictures from the Gold Rush, along with sculpture, landscapes and Bay Area figurative, pop and funk works. The...

The 1861 Octagon House is home to the small Museum of Colonial and Federal Decorative Arts, but is most notable as one of two surviving examples of eight-sided homes in the...

Once the city's mint, this structure is now a Bank of Canton and also a museum. Emphasising San Francisco's connections with the Pacific Rim, the museum features changing...

The lobby (facing Mission Street) of this art deco post office-cum-residential and office tower has intriguing WPA-style murals. Painted in 1941 by the Russian Social Realist...

This modest, three-room museum, opened in 2004, highlights how contemporary craft and design enrich everyday life. Exhibitions have included contemporary studio furniture from...

The second-largest US museum devoted to modern art, SFMOMA moved here from Civic Center in 1995, reaping enthusiastic approval as much for its $60-million design as for the...

Yerba Buena Center stands opposite SFMOMA and is somewhat in its shadow, yet it seems unintimidated, tugging at the modern art scene's shirt-tails with a scrappy itinerary and...