Whether you are visiting San Francisco for the food, the outdoor adventures or the culture, you will have to pay high hotel rates and a lot for parking or other modes of transportation. So budget minded travelers will appreciate the wealth of free things to do in San Francisco. Walking is the best way to see the Bay City – and it’s among the 20 best free things to do in San Francisco with kids!
20 Top Free Things to Do in San Francisco
1. Golden Gate Bridge
2. Lombard Street
3. Chinatown
4. Coit Tower: more walking!
5. See the Painted Ladies in Alamo Square.
6. Check out a Farmers Market
7. Bay Bridge
8. Walk around the Mission District
9. Sea Lions at Fisherman’s Wharf
10. Spend the Day at the Presidio
11. Hear The Wave Organ
12. Outdoor Movies & Live Music in the Parks
13. San Francisco Public Library
14. Stern Grove Festival
15. Japanese Tea Garden
16. Cable Car Museum
17. Palace of Fine Arts
18. Plan Ahead: Free First Tuesdays
19. Other Free Museum Days
20. More Free Fun Things to do in San Francisco
A trip to San Francisco for me means an opportunity to try amazing food. To fill in the time between meals (and snacks, and cocktails – this is truly a special culinary destination) I seek out all the free things to do in San Francisco. After all, man, woman, and child need more than just delicious bread, fantastic ice cream, the best cheese and everything in Chinatown.
For the perfect San Francisco family vacation, give your stomach, and wallet, a rest with these free fun things.
1. Golden Gate Bridge
The number one free thing to do in San Francisco is to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. I live in New York, where walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is usually reserved for tourists. Guess what? When I go to San Francisco I AM a tourist and I love to do the bridge walk. Push a toddler in a stroller across or tire out your kids if they can walk. And when they are older, definitely bike across the bridge.
But for the picture-perfect vacation photo, walk the bridge. And watch out for cyclists! My sister-in-law had a close encounter when she was taking photos and not paying attention. Her iPhone wound up in the San Francisco Bay.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Walk to the midpoint and turn around. It’s a mile-long walk each way and you want to keep some leg strength for the rest of your day.
2. Lombard Street
You’ll want some of that energy reserve for the next best free San Francisco activity, walking up and down Lombard Street. Also known as “the crookedest street in the world,” Lombard is both steep and curvy.
Driving is an adventure and walking is a workout. Pick your poison. Some of the best free things in this city involve walking so bring comfortable shoes.
3. Walkthrough Chinatown
You can eat an inexpensive dim sum lunch and explore the crowded streets. Don’t miss the Gateway Arch (aka the Dragon’s Gate) at Grant Avenue and Bush Street.
At The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, you can watch the fortune cookies being made. And you might get a sample cookie. But if you take a picture, you are charged $.50.
4. Coit Tower: more walking!
You can see the colorful lobby murals and outside areas for free.
There is a charge to go to the observation deck and get those iconic views of the Golden Gate Bridge and some of the best views of the city.
The 210 foot Coit Tower, in Telegraph Hill, was built solely to beautify the city.
5. See the Painted Ladies in Alamo Square.
Since we live in a Victorian brownstone, my kids enjoy seeing the colorfully painted Queen Anne houses. They stand out whether you are in the Bay Area for a blue skies day or a dreary one.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Alamo Square itself has a nice playground and clean restrooms. Make the playground the ‘destination’ and seeing the houses a bonus.
6. Check out a Farmers Market
The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, outside the San Francisco Ferry Building, is open year-round on Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Many of the farmers offer samples. There are frequent chef demonstrations with tastings and seasonal celebrations, with activities for children, all free. The food vendors in the Ferry Building are also known to hand out samples.
Note: The farmers market does not allow dogs.
7. Bay Bridge
Be sure to walk down to the water and see the Bay Bridge, which may not equal its red cousin but is pretty nonetheless.
8. Walk around the Mission District
The colorful murals make this an outdoor museum. Stop at Mission Dolores Park for one of the best views of downtown San Francisco and the bay.
The park also has a large playground.
9. Sea Lions at Fisherman’s Wharf
Visit the sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf. These pungent – and loud – creatures make their home at Fisherman’s Wharf. Avoid the paid attractions at PIER 39, which include the Aquarium of the Bay. Instead, opt for viewing marine animals for free!
BONUS: On a clear day, you can even see Alcatraz across the bay.
10. Spend the Day at the Presidio
This former military base turned national park, has beaches, playgrounds, and hiking trails. There is a free shuttle around the park, as well as a free shuttle from downtown to the park.
Free programming at the park includes theater, walking tours, and exhibits at the Presidio Officers’ Club.
11. Hear The Wave Organ
This sound installation, on a jetty in the San Francisco Bay, is an acoustic sculpture that amplifies the waves.
It was built in collaboration with the Exploratorium Museum. You can go to the marina near the Presidio.
12. Outdoor Movies & Live Music in the Parks
Unlike in NYC, outdoor movies here don’t stop when the kids go back to school. Sundown Cinema has an annual free outdoor movie series July – October, at different parks throughout the city. You can bring a blanket or just sit in the grass, picnic, and watch a movie.
Before the movie, there is live music, Locations include Union Square, Alamo Square Park, and Mission Dolores Park.
13. San Francisco Public Library
The main branch of the San Francisco Public Library has free programming for the whole family. There is storytime for kids, and exhibits in conjunction with the San Francisco History Center. Teens can learn how to record music, take better videos and mixtapes, with help from professional artists.
The library is near the Asian Art Museum (check out #19 and #20 for more free museum days).
14. Stern Grove Festival
The Stern Grove Festival has presented free concerts in the park every summer since 1938. On Sunday afternoons you can see performances from nationally known bands to the San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Symphony. Stern Grove is at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard. The website warns that the Grove is “is NOT in Golden Gate Park” but it is nearby.
SheBuysTravel Tip: These free events get very crowded, and the Grove is closed when it reaches capacity, so plan to get there early.
15. Japanese Tea Garden
The Japanese Tea Garden, which actually IS in Golden Gate Park, has free admission on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays before 10 a.m. It’s worthwhile to make an early morning trek. This is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States. In addition to native Japanese plants, koi ponds, and a zen garden there are cherry trees, Japanese pagodas, and an arched drum bridge.
To get around the enormous Golden Gate Park, take the free park shuttle.
16. Cable Car Museum
Everyone wants to ride a cable car once. Or twice. But you have to pay for that. Did you know that the Cable Car Museum is free?
The museum, in Nob Hill, is open daily. See historic cable cars, photographs, and mechanical displays.
17. Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco is a giant structure originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. The landmark building is all that remains from the World’s Fair exposition.
You often see wedding parties taking photos here.
18. Plan Ahead: Free First Tuesdays
Several museums in the Bay Area offer free admission on the first Tuesday of each month. If you happen to be in town, this is a great way to see more culture for free.
The Contemporary Jewish Museum hosts traveling exhibits about the Jewish experience in the modern world – it doesn’t have its own collection. Exhibits focus on culture, history, and art and welcome all. The Daniel Libeskind designed museum space is worth a visit on its own. Children 18 and under are always free.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, in Yerba Buena Gardens, features visual art, performance, and film and video. It is across the street from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
In addition to free Tuesdays, during the months of May to October, the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival presents over 75 admission-free outdoor programs. Performances include music, theater, circus, dance and children’s programs.
The Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park offers free admission on the first Tuesday of every month. This specialized botanical garden showcases rare and unusual plants, all inside the glass conservatory. The landmark building, from 1879 is the oldest existing wood and glass conservatory in North America.
The de Young Museum is part of the fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which also includes the Legion of Honor Museum in Lincoln Park. A single ticket gets you into both museums.
The de Young, in Golden Gate Park, has free First Tuesdays where you can see American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries, textile arts, and African art. And on 9 Friday nights in the fall, the de Young also offers free admission.
19. Other Free Museum Days
The Exploratorium can break the budget for a large family, though it does offer a full day of hands-on science exhibits and experiments. Everything here is a delight, from the information panels at the drinking fountains and in the restrooms to the locally sourced and reasonably priced cafe.
We visited once when my kids were teens and felt they had outgrown this kind of museum. We convinced them to stop by for an hour. three hours later, they were begging to stay. There are over 650 exhibits that encourage you to move, challenge your brain and educate you.
The museum has five pay what you wish community days throughout the year, including Mother’s Day and Pi Day. (Regular admission is $29.95 per adult, $19.95 for kids ages 4-12). The Exploratorium is at Pier 15 on the Embarcadero.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art bills itself as “the largest museum of modern and contemporary art in the United States.” Its huge collection of paintings, sculpture, and photography is worthwhile, but if you don’t have the money to spend, you can still see a lot for free. There are over 45,000 square feet of public spaces filled with art; just seeing all that could satisfy your cultural needs.
The SFMOMA also has an annual Culture for Community initiative with free days for all, and Free Family Days where kids can bring in up to two adults for free. The museum always offers free admission for kids ages 18 and under. The museum is in SOMA, or South of Market.
20. More Free Fun Things to do in San Francisco
The Asian Art Museum, near the Civic Center and City Hall, has free First Sundays every month. The museum aims to bring Asian art and culture to everyone. There is art from South Asia, China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet, among other countries. Children should check out the Vietnamese and Thai puppets and shadow figures, stone and bronze Hindu and Buddhist gods and decorative jade objects from India.
The California Academy of Sciences, in Golden Gate Park, is a science and natural history museum, with an aquarium and planetarium. Don’t miss the rainforest, where butterflies and birds fly freely, and the penguins. There is also a swamp with an albino alligator and a green roof that has views of the park.
Kids should visit hands-on exhibits like the Discovery Tide pool and the Eel Garden. The museum has free tickets for families on select dates. Check the website; you need to make a reservation.
If you have just one day in San Francisco, you can fill your day with activities. But I think you need at least a week to enjoy the Bay Area.
Have we missed any free things to do in San Francisco? Let us know in the comments below.
Leave a Reply