Explore San Francisco

San Francisco City Hall is the seat of the city and county government, a Beaux-Arts building by Arthur Brown Jr. that opened in 1915 after the 1906 earthquake destroyed its predecessor. Its dome rises higher than that of the US Capitol; visitors pass security to see the rotunda and grand staircase, and docent tours run on Fridays.

The San Francisco Cable Car Museum, opened in 1974 on Nob Hill, occupies the working Washington-Mason cable car barn and powerhouse. From its deck visitors watch the engines and winding wheels that pull the cables under the streets, and below is the sheave room; three antique cable cars from the 1870s, grips, models and photographs are on display.

The San Francisco Ferry Building is a ferry terminal on the Embarcadero at the foot of Market Street, designed by A. Page Brown and completed in 1898, with a 245-foot clock tower. After a restoration that ended in 2003, its 660-foot skylit nave holds a food hall with shops and restaurants, and ferries still leave from the piers behind it.

Twin Peaks are two grassy hills about 282 metres high near the geographic centre of San Francisco, the second and third highest natural points in the city. Christmas Tree Point, an overlook just below the North Peak, looks over downtown, the bay and the bridges, and footpaths and steps climb from Twin Peaks Boulevard to both summits.

Pier 39 is a pier at the edge of Fisherman's Wharf, developed by Warren Simmons and opened in 1978, lined with wooden two-storey buildings holding shops, restaurants and a two-level carousel. Since 1989 California sea lions have hauled out on the floating docks of its marina, and the pier looks out to Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure in San Francisco's Marina District, designed by Bernard Maybeck for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition and rebuilt in durable materials between 1964 and 1974. Its domed open rotunda and curved colonnades stand beside a lagoon, and the hall behind them is used for events.

The Presidio of San Francisco is a park at the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Founded as a Spanish fort in 1776 and a U.S. Army post until 1994, it is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, with trails, beaches, brick barracks and the Presidio Tunnel Tops park.

Golden Gate Park is a 412-hectare urban park on San Francisco's West Side, between the Richmond and Sunset districts and reaching to the Pacific Ocean. Laid out by William Hammond Hall on sand dunes and opened in 1870, it holds lakes, meadows and groves along with the Conservatory of Flowers, the Japanese Tea Garden and the de Young Museum.

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge across the Golden Gate strait, linking San Francisco with Marin County. Built under chief engineer Joseph Strauss and opened in 1937, it has a main span of 1,280 metres and towers rising 227 metres above the water. Pedestrians cross on the east sidewalk, facing the city.