Five of the fourteen cost nothing: the Cable Car Museum, the Randall Museum, Musee Mecanique, Presidio Tunnel Tops and walking the Golden Gate Bridge. Alcatraz charges 29.15 dollars for a child of 5 to 11 and 47.95 from twelve, so a twelfth birthday adds nearly 19 dollars. Youth aged 18 and under ride all regular Muni free, with the cable car excepted at 9 dollars a ride from age 5.
What are the best things to do in San Francisco with kids?
The Exploratorium is the flagship and it earns it, best from about six to fourteen. Alcatraz is the other unmissable one and it works from about eight, because the audio tour is the whole experience and a younger child will not follow it. Then lean on the free half: the Cable Car Museum, Musee Mecanique and Presidio Tunnel Tops are all free and genuinely good. Check the Academy of Sciences planetarium rule before booking if anyone is under four.
The 14 things worth doing, easiest first
Ordered by how well each holds a school-age child rather than by fame. At this age the useful question is whether there is something to do rather than something to look at, which is why the free machinery museums outrank several paid attractions, and why Alcatraz outranks almost everything despite being a prison tour.
Pier 15, the Embarcadero
Exploratorium
Six hundred hands-on exhibits across a pier, built on the principle that a child should be turning, pulling or building something rather than reading a label. The flagship of this list.
A solid half day3 to 4 hours, and school-age children will use all of itSix to fourteen is the sweet spot, and it is genuinely good across that whole range- Cost
- 39.95 dollars for an adult aged 18 to 64 and 29.95 for youth aged 4 to 17. Children 3 and under are free.
- Booking ahead
- Not timed, which helps. Closed Mondays, opens at noon on Sundays, and the Thursday evening session is 18 and over.
- If it rains
- If it rains: It is itself the best wet-weather day in the city.
In the bay, ferries from Pier 33
Alcatraz Island
The federal prison on its island, reached by a ferry that is half the experience, with an audio tour narrated by former inmates and officers that is the other half.
A solid half day2.5 to 3 hours door to doorEight and up. The audio tour is gripping at that age and lost on a younger child- Cost
- 47.95 dollars for an adult, 29.15 for a child aged 5 to 11, and free under 5. Note the cliff: from twelve a child pays the full adult rate.
- Booking ahead
- Book weeks ahead, and buy only from the official operator. The Park Service publishes a warning about third parties reselling these tickets.
- If it rains
- If it rains: The cellhouse is indoors, but there is nothing to switch to on the island if the weather turns, and you are there until your ferry.
Nob Hill, on Mason Street
Cable Car Museum
The working powerhouse that drives every cable car in the city, where the enormous winding wheels pulling the cables run behind glass while you watch and listen.
Easy on everyone45 minutes to an hourFive to twelve. The machinery is loud and hypnotic and holds attention without a label- Cost
- Free. Run by a non-profit, with no ticket and no booking.
- Booking ahead
- None. Tuesday to Thursday 10:00 to 16:00 and Friday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00, closed Mondays.
- If it rains
- If it rains: It is itself indoor and free, which makes it the best rain plan on this page.
Pier 45, at the end of the wharf
Musee Mecanique
A working collection of antique arcade machines, fortune tellers and mechanical dioramas, every one of them coin-operated and still running.
Easy on everyone45 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on your changeFive to fourteen, which is a wider band than almost anything else here- Cost
- Free to enter, and every machine takes coins. Bring quarters, because that is the entire cost model.
- Booking ahead
- None. Open daily, to 19:00 on weekdays and 20:00 at weekends.
- If it rains
- If it rains: It is itself indoor, free, and open later than anything else on this list.
The Presidio, above Crissy Field
Presidio Tunnel Tops, the Outpost and the Field Station
Parkland built over the bridge approach tunnels, with the Outpost playground constructed into the landscape and a free indoor Field Station beside it.
A solid half day2 to 4 hoursThe Presidio states the Outpost is for children aged 2 to 12, and it means it- Cost
- Free. No tickets and no reservations. Parking is charged.
- Booking ahead
- None. The Outpost runs 09:30 to 18:00 April to October and closes an hour earlier in winter.
- If it rains
- If it rains: The Field Station on site, Wednesday to Sunday only, otherwise the Walt Disney Family Museum a short walk away.
Music Concourse, Golden Gate Park
California Academy of Sciences
An aquarium, a planetarium, a four-storey rainforest dome and a natural history museum under one living roof, and the most complete indoor day in the city.
A solid half day4 to 5 hours to do it properlyFour to twelve across the building, though the planetarium narrows that sharply- Cost
- 49 dollars off-peak and 55 peak for an adult aged 19 and over, 39 and 45 for a child aged 3 to 12, and a separate youth band of 45 and 49 for ages 13 to 18. Under-3s are free.
- Booking ahead
- Book, and read the planetarium rule first if anyone is small: the Academy states it cannot permit any child under 4 into the Morrison Planetarium, and that shows may not suit under-7s.
- If it rains
- If it rains: It is itself the indoor answer for Golden Gate Park.
Corona Heights, above the Castro
Randall Museum
A free city museum with live animals, a large model railroad running at weekends, and workshops, on a hillside with one of the better views in San Francisco.
Easy on everyone1.5 to 2 hoursFour to twelve- Cost
- Free. Individual classes and workshops are charged separately.
- Booking ahead
- None. Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:00, closed Sunday and Monday.
- If it rains
- If it rains: It is itself indoor and free.
Sloat Boulevard, at the ocean end of the city
San Francisco Zoo and Gardens
The city zoo, with an Exploration Zone and a Family Farm aimed squarely at this age group, and a playground banded by age from six months upward.
A solid half day4 to 5 hours plus the journey outThree to ten. The Exploration Zone and Family Farm are built for the younger half of that- Cost
- 32 dollars weekdays and 34 at weekends for an adult aged 12 to 64, and 22 and 24 for a child aged 2 to 11.
- Booking ahead
- Not required. Strollers rent at the Main Gate for 15 dollars single and 18 double, which is the only published stroller price in the city.
- If it rains
- If it rains: Very little. The Great Hall, Exhibit Hall and Lion House are the only real cover, and this is the foggiest corner of San Francisco.
Yerba Buena Gardens, downtown
Children's Creativity Museum
Animation, music and design studios where children make something and take it away, at the top of the steps above Yerba Buena Gardens.
Easy on everyone2 to 3 hoursFour to ten. The animation and music studios are the school-age draw- Cost
- 20 dollars for everyone aged 1 and over, with no adult and child split.
- Booking ahead
- Not required. Wednesday to Sunday 10:00 to 16:00, so check the day.
- If it rains
- If it rains: It is itself indoor, and Yerba Buena Gardens outside is the fine-weather half of the same trip.
From the Welcome Center on the San Francisco side
Golden Gate Bridge on foot
Walking out onto the bridge itself, which costs nothing and is louder, windier and more impressive than any photograph of it suggests.
A solid half day1 to 1.5 hours for the walk out and backSix and up. The noise and the wind are a great deal for a smaller child- Cost
- Free on foot. The 10.25 dollar toll applies only to southbound vehicles, not to pedestrians.
- Booking ahead
- None, but check the sidewalk hours: pedestrian access runs 05:00 to 18:30 in winter and later in summer.
- If it rains
- If it rains: The Welcome Center, and Fort Point below the bridge if it is a Thursday to Monday.
The entrance to Pier 39
Aquarium of the Bay and the Pier 39 sea lions
Walk-through tunnels under bay water holding local species rather than tropical ones, with the free sea lion haul-out on K Dock a few minutes away.
Easy on everyone1 to 1.5 hours for the aquariumFour to ten. Older children find it small for the money- Cost
- 28.25 dollars at the gate for an adult aged 13 to 64 and 20.25 for a child aged 4 to 12. Online is 30.48, because a 6 per cent web service fee is added, so the gate is the cheaper buy.
- Booking ahead
- Do not book online unless you need a guaranteed slot, because here booking ahead costs more rather than less. The sea lions are free at any time.
- If it rains
- If it rains: The aquarium is itself the indoor option when the wharf is wet.
Directly beneath the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge
Fort Point National Historic Site
A Civil War brick fort on three tiers with cannons, spiral stairs and the bridge passing directly overhead, free to enter.
A solid half day1 to 1.5 hoursSix and up. The cannons and the stairs are the draw and both need a bit of size- Cost
- Free. No admission fee is published.
- Booking ahead
- None, but note it is closed Tuesday and Wednesday, open Thursday to Monday 10:00 to 17:00 with roof access closing at 16:30.
- If it rains
- If it rains: The fort is itself sheltered on three tiers, with a small bookstore inside.
The Presidio, on the Main Post
Walt Disney Family Museum
A biographical museum about Walt Disney the person, with original artwork, early animation equipment and a large model of Disneyland, in a former barracks.
Easy on everyone2 to 3 hoursEight and up. This is a museum about a person, not a theme park, and younger children expect the latter- Cost
- 30 dollars for an adult and 15 for youth aged 6 to 17. Children aged 5 and under are free.
- Booking ahead
- Thursday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:30 with last entry at 16:30, so it is shut three days a week.
- If it rains
- If it rains: It is itself the indoor answer to a wet day in the Presidio, with Tunnel Tops nearby for when it clears.
Golden Gate Park, along the Music Concourse
The Gardens of Golden Gate Park
The Japanese Tea Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers and the Botanical Garden, sold together or separately, all within a few minutes of each other.
A solid half day45 minutes each, or 2.5 hours for all threeThree to ten. The Tea Garden bridge and the Conservatory's carnivorous plants are the hooks- Cost
- Not published on the operator's site, because non-resident pricing sits inside a booking engine that varies by date. Free windows are published: the Japanese Tea Garden is free 09:00 to 10:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
- Booking ahead
- Use the free morning window if the timing works. Note the Tea Garden publishes that most of its historic landscape is not step-free.
- If it rains
- If it rains: The Conservatory of Flowers is a glasshouse, and the Academy of Sciences is on the same concourse.
What parents ask about San Francisco
How much does Alcatraz cost for a family?
Two adults and two children aged 5 to 11 pay 154.20 dollars, at 47.95 an adult and 29.15 a child, with under-5s free. The number to plan around is the twelfth birthday, because the child band stops at 11 and a twelve-year-old pays the full adult 47.95, which adds 18.80 dollars in a single day. Book weeks ahead and only through the official operator: the National Park Service publishes an unusually blunt warning about third parties reselling these tickets, because there is no park entrance fee at all and what you are buying is purely the ferry.
What is free to do in San Francisco with kids?
Five of the fourteen things on this page, and two of them are among the best. The Cable Car Museum is free and shows you the actual machinery driving every cable car in the city. Musee Mecanique is free to enter and every antique machine is coin-operated, so the cost is however many quarters you brought. Presidio Tunnel Tops and its Outpost playground are free. The Randall Museum is free, with live animals and a weekend model railroad. And walking out onto the Golden Gate Bridge costs nothing, because the toll applies only to southbound vehicles.
Is it cheaper to buy San Francisco attraction tickets online?
Usually, and at least one attraction here is the other way round. Aquarium of the Bay charges 28.25 dollars at the gate for an adult and 30.48 online, because it adds a 6 per cent web service fee, so booking ahead costs you more. The Academy of Sciences and Alcatraz both price dynamically and reward booking early, and Alcatraz genuinely sells out weeks ahead in summer. The Exploratorium is not timed at all, so there is no advantage to booking beyond avoiding a queue. Check the gate price against the online one rather than assuming online is cheaper.
Getting around with children
Muni is free for anyone 18 and under on all regular service, which takes most of the transport cost out of a family week. The cable car is the exception, at 9 dollars a single ride with no transfers for everyone aged 5 and over, and free only for under-5s. BART draws its free line at 4 and under. The practical shape of a San Francisco family trip is two clusters and a journey between them: the Embarcadero and wharf end holds the Exploratorium, Musee Mecanique, the Alcatraz ferry and Pier 39 within an easy walk, while Golden Gate Park holds the Academy of Sciences, the gardens and the zoo at the far ocean end. Do not try to combine the two in one day with children.
Where to base yourself in San Francisco
The Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf end puts the Exploratorium, Musee Mecanique, the Alcatraz ferry and Pier 39 within walking distance of each other, which is the densest cluster on this page. Golden Gate Park is the other pole, with the Academy of Sciences and the gardens together, and the two are a long way apart, so pick which half of the city your trip is built around.
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What to skip
The Cliff House is the one to strike from any older list. The restaurant closed at the end of 2020 and the building at Lands End has stood empty since, yet the National Park Service, which owns it, still publishes a history page inviting visitors to continue the long tradition of enjoying the Pacific from the Cliff House. When the landowner's own site has not caught up, a guide written from it will not have either. Beyond that: check the days rather than the hours, because Fort Point is shut Tuesday and Wednesday, the Walt Disney Family Museum only opens Thursday to Sunday, the Children's Creativity Museum is closed Monday and Tuesday, the Randall closes Sunday and Monday, and the Exploratorium closes Mondays and opens at noon on Sundays. And if anyone in the party is under four, read the Academy of Sciences planetarium rule before you pay peak-season prices for the ticket.
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