The sight most often associated with San Francisco is its cable cars. The best way to study them is to ride one, but at this entertaining museum you can find out how the cars...

Dominating the skyline, the exterior of this 1970 cathedral is stark, a flowing, sculptural structure (some say it resembles the blades of a washing machine) reaching 198ft...

Linked to Portsmouth Square by a footbridge and located on the third floor of a Hilton hotel, the Center hosts a variety of events, including Asian-themed art exhibitions and...

Built in 1915 to designs by Arthur Brown and John Bakewell, City Hall is the epitome of the Beaux Arts style visible across the whole Civic Center. The building has lots of...

This round, domed neo-classical rotunda is honeycombed with hundreds of niches, all filled with lavishly and individualistically decorated cremation urns. Among them are the...

The spectacular brick-built Fort Point was built between 1853 and 1861 to protect the city from a sea attack. The assault never came; the 126 cannons remained idle, and the...

Maritime fans, students of history and children will love the historic vessels permanently docked here. Typical of the ships that would have been common here in the 19th and...

Visit the sea lions and sea otters at this non-profit centre, which rescues sick or stranded animals, nurtures them back to health and returns them to the Pacific. Spring is...

Pack a pocketful of quarters before you visit this wonderful museum, a vintage arcade housing more than 170 old-fashioned coin-operated gizmos dating from the 1880s, ranging...

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...

Much early missionary work, and the city's first English lessons for Chinese immigrants, took place under this 19th-century building's foreboding clock tower: 'Son, observe 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...

This small museum offers panoramic views of the city and hands-on fun for pre-teens, including an exhibit where they can create their own earthquake. Otherwise, visit the...

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...