Home » Special Features » The World’s Best » Best Museums San Francisco
These can’t-miss museums offer an array of attractions designed to mesmerize art addicts and curious gallery-goers alike. Distinguished by their modern art masterpieces, architectural triumphs, oddball collections, or undeniable cool factor, these are the best-in-class museums in the world’s hottest cities.
Best Museums in....
Best Starchitect Museums
San Francisco
California Academy of Sciences 50 Music Concourse Dr., Richmond, 415-379-8000 calacademy.org
The Draw: Science is fundamental. And fascinating. And Sigourney Weaver narrates the planetarium show. But the real hook is Reno Piano’s green design—the living roof, populated by 1.7 million native plants, seamlessly integrates the building into lush Golden Gate Park. The Scene: Cal Academy is not just for kids and science geeks. There’s a hot restaurant, The Moss Room (with a live moss wall, complete with periodic rainfall) tucked into a windowless downstairs corner, not to mention Charles Phan’s Pan-Asian cooking upstairs at The Academy Cafe (the only good vantage point from which to view Maya Lin’s outdoor sculpture). Mon–Sat 9:30am–5pm, Sun 11am–5pm. $$ Hot Tip: It’s tempting to see the museum first, then visit the roof, which is accessible from the third floor. Instead, avoid the crowds, defy the traffic flow, and head up to the living roof first.
Contemporary Jewish Museum 736 Mission St., SoMa, 415-655-7800 thecjm.org
The Draw: The CJM is an homage to early 20th-Century architecture, courtesy of Daniel Libeskind, housed in the 1907 Jessie Street Power Substation. The space retains the brick façade and skylights of the original and adds to it angular walls and a roof extension made of blue metallic steel, whose colors shift with the changing light. The Scene: There is no permanent collection, so the crowd depends on the exhibit. Those interested in Jewish culture and history will appreciate Libeskind’s implicit references to powerful religious symbols manifested in this secular setting. Mon–Tue 11am–5pm, Thu 1–8pm, Fri–Sun 11am–5pm. $ Hot Tip: The Museum store has some of the coolest gifts in the city,
including t-shirts with images of an alpine forest that read “Yo semite.”
De Young Museum 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., Richmond, 415-750-3600 famsf.org/deyoung
The Draw: If you feel like the Thames should be over your shoulder, that’s because the designers of the Tate Modern, Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron (along with Fong & Chan in San Francisco), also designed this space. The Scene: The permanent collection draws lovers of American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts, while the exhibition schedule is always cutting-edge. Look for the Musée d’Orsay Impressionists to arrive in 2010 and stay for four months. Tue–Thu 9:30am–5:15pm, Fri 9:30am–8:45pm, Sat–Sun 9:30am–5:15pm (tower closes at 4:30pm Tue–Sun and 8pm on Fri). $ Hot Tip: Do not pass go, do not collect your museum ticket: Walk past the Andy Goldsworthy fault lines, hang a right inside the entrance, and head straight up to the ninth floor tower for the best views in the city.
