Internet Archive

San Francisco

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Follow trails of deleted White House tweets, lost Grateful Dead tapes and defunct Nintendo gamer magazines to this 1923 Greek Revival landmark. In a former Christian Science church, the nonprofit Internet Archive hosts more than 30 petabytes (that's 300 million gigabytes) of bygone media, and counting. The archive is run by 100-plus dedicated volunteer archivists, depicted in ceramic sculptures by artist Nuala Creed.

Check the website for Friday visits (1pm to 2pm) and tours, often led by founder, internet pioneer and Alexa inventor Brewster Kahle.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • An aerial view of Golden Gate Park from the Pacific Ocean. Golden Gate Park is the third most visited city park in the US.

    Golden Gate Park

    1.06 MILES

    When Frederick Law Olmsted, architect of New York's Central Park, gazed in 1865 upon the plot of land San Francisco Mayor Frank McCoppin wanted to turn…

  • APRIL 24, 2018: Victorian-style homes in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco.

    Haight Street

    1.57 MILES

    Was it the fall of 1966 or the winter of ’67? As the Haight saying goes, if you can remember the Summer of Love, you probably weren’t here. The fog was…

  • SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. 15th August, 2017: historic san francisco chinatown neighborhood

    Chinatown Alleyways

    3.63 MILES

    If you look close today at the clinker-brick buildings lining these narrow backstreets, past the temple balconies jutting out over bakeries, acupuncture…

  • SAN FRANCISCO - SEPT 2, 2017: The Beat Generation lives on at City Lights bookstore in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco.

    City Lights Books

    3.72 MILES

    No one could have predicted the cultural force City Lights would become when it first opened in 1953. Sure, it had a proletarian ethos suggested by its…

  • SAN FRANCISCO, USA - December 8, 2019, visitors are similar in color to the artifacts in question at the California Museum of Modern Art, a girl walks past the picture.; Shutterstock ID 1622086819; your: Meghan O'Dea; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI page

    San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

    3.88 MILES

    When the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art expanded in 2016, it was a mind-boggling feat that nearly tripled the institution's size to accommodate a…

  • Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill Boulevard, San Francisco, USA

    Coit Tower

    3.87 MILES

    If you want to really see San Francisco, head to Coit Tower, a 1933 art deco beaut designed by Arthur Brown, Jr. and Henry Howard that sits high up on…

  • Golden Gate Bridge at the golden hour from Baker Beach.

    Golden Gate Bridge

    2.07 MILES

    Few cities boast a structure so iconic as the Golden Gate Bridge, commemorated in everything from films like The Maltese Falcon to not one but two emojis…

  • Dolores Park - San Francisco, California

    Dolores Park

    2.9 MILES

    Welcome to San Francisco's sunny side, the land of street ball and Mayan-pyramid playgrounds, semiprofessional tanning and taco picnics. Although the…

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Nearby San Francisco attractions

1. de Young Museum

0.77 MILES

Follow sculptor Andy Goldsworthy's artificial fault line in the sidewalk into Herzog & de Meuron's sleek, copper-clad building that's slowly oxidizing…

2. Columbarium

0.82 MILES

Art nouveau stained-glass windows and a dome skylight illuminate more than 8000 niches honoring dearly departed San Franciscans and their beloved pets…

3. Japanese Tea Garden

0.87 MILES

First planted in 1894, these 5 acres of gorgeous flower gardens are especially delightful in the spring, when the cherry blossoms pop, and also the fall…

4. California Academy of Sciences

0.92 MILES

This classic research institute and museum has been teaching San Franciscans about natural history since 1853. Right in the middle of Golden Gate Park,…

5. Shakespeare Garden

0.95 MILES

Sonnets dot the flower beds in this romantic gated garden, home since 1928 to more than 200 flowering plants mentioned in Shakespeare's writings. With all…

6. Stow Lake

0.96 MILES

When the weather's behaving, pedal boats and rowboats are available daily at the magnificent 1946 boathouse on Stow Lake. Folks also tend to drop by for…

7. Conservatory of Flowers

0.96 MILES

Flower power is alive and well at San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers. This gloriously restored 1878 Victorian greenhouse is home to freaky outer…

8. Baker Beach

0.98 MILES

Picnic amid wind-sculpted pines, fish from craggy rocks or frolic nude at mile-long Baker Beach, with spectacular views of the Golden Gate. Crowds come…