If you ever find yourself in the picturesque City by the Bay, hop on a historic cable car and catch these top attractions!
Fisherman’s Wharf
You can catch the resident sea lions that live at Pier 39, eat clam chowder in a bread bowl and watch the bread makers in the window at Boudins Bakery, see what lives beneath the water at Aquarium of the Bay, grab a nostalgic treat at Candy Baron, and play a cheap arcade game from the past or present at Musée Mécanique! When you’re done, you’ll want to take the short walk to Ghirardelli Square to handpick chocolates or indulge in their famous hot fudge sundae!
Golden Gate Park
This iconic park nestled in the city packs a punch with 1,000+ acres of green space in the middle of the city:
- California Academy of Sciences – complete with an aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum and rainforest! They even have a “quake room” where you can experience what it felt like when San Francisco had their two historic earthquakes.
- San Francisco Botanical Gardens has FREE monthly story times at the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture, the Japanese Tea Garden has a “Half-Moon Bridge” you can’t miss and the Conservatory of Flowers is beautiful in every season!
- Stowe Lake is perfect for picnicking, a leisurely boat ride or a hike to the top of Strawberry Hill Island.
- Koret Children’s Playground is the best of the five playgrounds in GGP. It’s got concrete slides, a carousel and is said to be the nation’s first public playground!
Outpost Playground at Presidio Tunnel Tops
Don’t say we didn’t warn you when your kids don’t want to leave this awesome playground! Kids can explore the inside of a giant fallen tree, scale the Woodland Wall, and play with water features inspired by historic water channels. When you’re done playing, take the stairs up to witness one of the best sunset spots in the city as the sun goes down on the Golden Gate Bridge.
San Francisco Public Library (Main Branch)
Located next to Civic Center Plaza, the beautiful main library branch has six floors with an extensive children’s section on the second floor. They have a variety of programming daily and a vast book collection that’ll entertain kids of all ages! If you have a minute to spare, go grab a chocolate croissant from Arsicault Bakery down the street!
Bay Area Discovery Museum
This destination is an indoor and outdoor interactive children’s museum that’s entertaining for the whole family! From a big sandbox with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, to a big water table, an indoor play space just for toddlers, a big outdoor treehouse style play structure to art stations and more…you’ll be wishing you only had more time to play!
More Attractions:
- Take the ferry to Alcatraz Island and learn the fascinating history of this National Park. Don’t forget if you’ve got a 4th grader, you can get in FREE!
- Get curious at the Exploratorium and Children’s Creativity museums.
- Go behind the scenes at the Walt Disney Family Museum, located at the beautiful Presidio.
- Go wild at the San Francisco Zoo and if you happen to be a SF resident, don’t forget to mark your calendar for their monthly FREE day!
- Nothing beats a warm and sunny day at Crissy Field East Beach. It’s the perfect beach for littles with soft sand, small waves and free parking!
