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Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA

Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

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Palace of Fine Arts

Palace of Fine Arts is a sightseeing stop in San Francisco, CA, part of the San Francisco Bay Area guide. Cost: free.

3601 Lyon St · San Francisco, CA

Why you should go…

The Palace of Fine Arts is a Greco-Roman style rotunda and colonnade set on a lagoon in the Marina District. It was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition and is the only structure from the fair still on its original site, though it was completely rebuilt between 1964 and 1974. You can stroll the paths around the water, stand under the 162-foot rotunda and watch the swans. The grounds are a city park, and the hall behind hosts events and performances.

  • #landmark
  • #architecture
  • #lagoon
  • #photo spot

What's around here?

The closest stops to Palace of Fine Arts, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

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    1.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Eat & Drink
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    Dandelion Chocolate

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    1.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink

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    Grace Cathedral

    Under $25

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    1.3 mi awayMore like this

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    Lombard Street

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    Walk the side stairs or drive down eight brick hairpin turns on a single steep block of Russian Hill.

    1.6 mi awayMore like this

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    Painted Ladies

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    See the row of pastel Victorian houses on Steiner Street from the lawn of Alamo Square, with the downtown skyline behind them.

    2.0 mi awayMore like this