California Academy of Sciences
One general admission includes access to all museum and aquarium exhibits, including the rainforest, planetarium, and living roof. Admission to this popular Bay Area attraction includes a wide range of daily programmes and activities, including dive shows, penguin feedings, swamp talks and more. It's fun for the whole family!
The Academy is a single structure but contains multiple venues, including the aquarium, the planetarium, the natural history museum and the 4-story rainforest. In addition, there's a 3D theater, a lecture hall, a Naturalist Center, two restaurants, an adjacent garden and aviary, a roof terrace, and an Academy store. The building also houses the Academy science labs and administrative offices, including an extensive library and scientific archive consisting of more than 26 million specimens.
The Academy is now the largest public Platinum-rated building in the world, and also the world’s greenest museum. The Academy earned the platinum rating (highest rating possible) for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). This commitment to sustainability extends to all facets of the facility - from the bike racks and rechargeable vehicle stations outside the building to the radiant sub-floor heating inside the building to the energy-generating solar panels on top of the building!
City Sightseeing San Francisco - More Information
Downtown Tour (red route)
Enjoy an entirely guided one hour tour of San Francisco's most famous sites on an original open top Double Decker Bus in the San Francisco Downtown area, with unlimited hop on and off privileges up to 24 hours from first use.
Some of the tour highlights include: Fisherman’s Wharf with its lively waterfront and the famous sea lions, Union Square shopping mecca, Chinatown, North Beach with crooked Lombard Street, Ferry Building and the Farmers Market, Embarcadero, Financial District, and famous Pier 39.
Official City Tour (blue route)
This tour departs from Fisherman’s Wharf, taking you along Ghirardelli Square, the Palace of Fine Arts, and the Marina District, before visiting the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. At South Vista Point you can hop off the bus to walk across the 1.7 mile span of bridge, or you can explore the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center and the Presidio. The tour continues into Golden Gate Park, one of the world’s largest man-made havens, ranging over more than 50 city blocks and home to 10 lakes, making it one of the most popular places to see in San Francisco. With several stops throughout the park, you can visit the California Academy of Sciences, the De Young Museum, the Japanese Tea Garden, or the Botanical Gardens. Continuing the tour through Haight Ashbury, you will experience the so called “Hippie District”, before we head into the Civic Center area with many architectural landmarks, such as our impressive City Hall, the Opera House, Symphony Hall, the Asian Art Museum and the Public Library. From there, the tour continues to the central shopping district of San Francisco – Union Square, where you can find Macy’s Department store and hundreds of other major department stores and high end retailers. After about two hours we return towards Fisherman’s Wharf, stopping at various waterfront locations, including Pier 39 with its world-famous sea lions as well as restaurants, shopping opportunities and many attractions for more fun in San Francisco.
Sausalito Tour (purple tour)
Take this tour from South Vista Point to have the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge while driving across the bridge to North Vista Point. From there you have breathtaking views of the San Francisco Bay (weather permitting), and on a nice day you can see the San Francisco skyline, Alcatraz Island and the Bay Bridge, making it a great photo stop for every visitor. The tour continues into Marin County and stops in charming Sausalito where you can hop off the bus, stroll around, shop, dine, visit various art galleries and enjoy a relaxing lunch by the waterfront.
San Francisco Night Tour
This live narrated 90 minute tour of San Francisco shows you the most vibrant neighborhoods of the city! With spectacular views from the top of an open top Double Decker bus, the tour covers all major sites of San Francisco and visits the most popular areas, such as Fisherman’s Wharf, Union Square, Financial District, the Embarcadero, Chinatown, North Beach, and Nob Hill with its impressive Grace Cathedral. The tour includes two brief walking tours around Nob Hill and the Embarcadero for even more photo opportunities.
Official City Tour will be available with audio commentary in many different languages for various departures throughout the day, starting within the next few weeks. This will provide more opportunities for you to experience the Official City Tour in your own language instead of only having one option with the previous 3-hr Multi-Lingual City Tour each day.
