San Francisco Between the Hills and the Bay

The Ferry Building's restored 660-foot nave now holds food shops and a farmers market beneath its 1898 clock tower. A short ride up the Embarcadero leads to the Exploratorium, where hundreds of exhibits turn light, sound, motion, and perception into experiments visitors can run themselves.Coit Tower adds Depression-era murals packed with dockworkers, farm labor, factories, newspapers, and political arguments. In Chinatown, the Chinese Historical Society of America fills a Julia Morgan-designed former YWCA with objects and exhibitions about Chinese American life. In the Castro, the country's first stand-alone LGBTQ history museum uses photographs, publications, clothing, protest material, oral histories, and changing exhibitions.Presidio Tunnel Tops provides the outdoor finish. The free park spans 14 acres above highway tunnels and reconnects the Presidio's Main Post with Crissy Field. It has Golden Gate views, lawns, picnic tables, trails, food vendors, a nature playground, and a field station. Museum admission, elevator tickets, food, tours, reservations, parking, and event tickets are not included with the PopHops Pass.