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The ‘Old Secretariat’ government building in New Delhi.
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All the United States California San Francisco

The Atlas Obscura Guide To San Francisco

217 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in San Francisco, California

Updated March 19, 2025

From the Gold Rush to Silicon Valley, the Bay Area has long attracted people from all over the country and the world. And thatʼs reflected in its collection of hidden wonders, from Japanese tea gardens to a 19th-century church with a second life as a popular roller rink.

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Attractions
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Unusual Attractions in San Francisco

The Wave Organ, San Francisco Bay

San Francisco, California

The Wave Organ

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

San Francisco, California

Magowan's Infinite Mirror Maze

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

San Francisco, California

Secret Tiled Staircase

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.
Seward Street Slides

San Francisco, California

Seward Street Slides

Bring your own cardboard to the slippery slopes of concrete hidden in a neighborhood park.
Alcatraz from the Bay 2012

San Francisco, California

Alcatraz Island

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.
Peephole Cinema.

San Francisco, California

Peephole Cinema

A tiny theater hidden in an alley plays a constant stream of short silent films for anyone willing to peer through the peephole.
Albion Castle from the front of the property

San Francisco, California

Albion Castle

A 140-year-old castle with underground caves hidden in San Francisco.
‘Wood Line’

San Francisco, California

'Wood Line'

Get lost in this haunting fairytale art walk through a man-made eucalyptus grove.
See All 217 Things To Do in San Francisco

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in San Francisco

The Tonga Room’s pool.

San Francisco, California

The Tonga Room

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.
“Anti-Saloon League San Francisco Est. 1920” A sign seen outside Bourbon & Branch.

San Francisco, California

Bourbon & Branch

A nondescript building that's been functioning as a speakeasy for nearly a century and a half.

San Francisco, California

Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company

One of the oldest producers of hand-folded fortune cookies still uses its original secret recipe.

San Francisco, California

The Old Ship Saloon

A Barbary Coast watering hole built into a Gold Rush shipwreck.
See all 12 Places to Eat in San Francisco
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

In Partnership with GetYourGuide

Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

From the exploratorium after dark to a Chinatown culinary tour.

Discover Experiences

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

Hidden Haight-Ashbury

In 1967, 100,000 artists, activists, and hippies gathered in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood for the Summer of Love. Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix played free concerts for fields of college dropouts, and San Francisco established itself as a countercultural capital. More than 50 years later, in a city increasingly known for Twitter and tech rather than art and activism, travelers who come on a pilgrimage are often disappointed to find expensive, skin-deep psychedelia. But if you know where to look, you’ll find a walk down Haight Street to be wonderfully weird, full of historic links to hippiedom and modern takes on the vibe.

View Itinerary

Explore San Francisco, California

A
Architecture 36
Architectural Oddities 28
Art 20
Statues 17
Ruins 16
Plants 15
Parks 13
Shops 12
Collections 11
Unique Restaurants & Bars 11
Sculptures 11
Outsider Art 11
Places To Stay 5

San Francisco Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Annetta Black
    45
  2. Tre
    13
  3. SEANETTA
    9
  4. rebeccaclara
    7
  5. littlebrumble
    6

Places Edited

  1. Annetta Black
    75
  2. SEANETTA
    71
  3. Rachel
    49
  4. Martin
    36
  5. James Ricci
    26

Places Visited

  1. PQPP3
    193
  2. mkz
    193
  3. pollardld
    178
  4. BryanKnight
    162
  5. christinagrlnd
    160

Recent San Francisco Activity

  • petlover0097

    has been to Free Gold Watch

    about 22 hours ago
  • lindsayrandall

    has been to Golden Gate Park Bison

    about 22 hours ago
  • alicednl3

    wants to go to Secret Tiled Staircase

    about 22 hours ago
  • sigmasuz94

    wants to go to Yoda Fountain

    about 21 hours ago
  • burgnerstuff

    wants to go to The Tonga Room

    about 21 hours ago

Stories About San Francisco

Taxidermy two-headed calves are on display inside San Francisco’s Two-Headed Calf MOOseum.

Inside the World’s Largest Two-Headed Calf Collection

A San Francisco collector's unlikely herd of taxidermy cows will have you seeing double.
by Julie Zigoris
March 19, 2025
Bottles range from bourbon to whiskey to gin.

The Return of 'The Squadron Bottle,' a San Francisco Tradition

Anyone with a military ID can have a shot at this famed bar.
by Anne Ewbank
October 8, 2024

Podcast: Musée Mécanique

Inside a vintage arcade in San Francisco.
by The Podcast Team
May 8, 2024

Podcast: Showgirl Magic Museum

In San Francisco, learn all about the history of showgirls.
by The Podcast Team
April 16, 2024
In the past Golden Gate Park’s bison were given thematic names; now, half have names starting with B and the others are referred to by the numbers on their ear tags.

The Surprising Story of the 10 Bison Roaming Golden Gate Park

A herd of the largest land mammal in North America thrive in the country’s third-most-visited urban park, in the heart of San Francisco.
Sponsored by Visit California
Golden Gate Park was the site of many a Digger meal.

This 1960s Anarchist Group Believed Food Should Be Free

For the Diggers of San Francisco, stew was subversive.
by Wren Awry
October 3, 2023
Some 5,000 Ohlone Tribe members were buried in unmarked graves in San Francisco’s Mission Dolores Cemetery. Today, many of those graves have been paved over and forgotten.

Honoring the Thousands of Forgotten Souls Buried Beneath San Francisco

Experts estimate some 50,000 people are buried beneath the sprawling metropolis.
by Shoshi Parks
September 28, 2023

Podcast: Getting Lost in Golden Gate Park

Learn more about orienteering, the sport that forces you to navigate with just old-fashioned maps and compasses—no GPS allowed.
by The Podcast Team
September 19, 2023

Lists Featuring San Francisco

Seward Street Slides
The Wave Organ, San Francisco Bay
Alcatraz from the Bay 2012

San Francisco's Top 8 Wonders of 2018

The strange and unusual places Atlas Obscura readers wanted to visit most in the “City by the Bay” in 2018.

8

Including Seward Street Slides, Labyrinth at Land’s End, and The Wave Organ

They were built in 1979.
Seward Street Slides

When Stairs and Slides Are Hiding in Plain Sight

Play real-life Chutes and Ladders at these obscure thruways.

9

Including Secret Tiled Staircase, Esmeralda Slide Park, and Howe Street Stairs

Dr. TK Peters and Dr. Thornwell Jacobs examining obejcts in the Crypt of Civilization
The entrace to Svalbard’s Global Seed Vault.

39 Places That Will Warp Your Perspective of Time

Some of these spots have been around for thousands of years, while others will exist for millennia to come.

39

Including Clock of the Long Now: Prototype 1, Crypt of Civilization, and Longplayer

Rats of Karni Mata Temple
Paxton Gate Exterior
Albino Squirrels of Olney, Illinois

A Rat Lover's Tour of the World

15 places where rodents are celebrated, feared, preserved, and studied.

15

Including Karni Mata Temple, Nutty Narrows Bridge, and Paxton Gate

Lobby of the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, formerly known as the Ahwahnee.
The ivy covered hotel.
Staircase at Hotel Vertigo
Mid Eastern-themed billiards room

19 Unusual Hotels in California

Remarkable places to stay—or at least visit—in the Golden State.

19

Including The Ahwahnee Hotel, Venice Beach House, and Hotel Vertigo

Handbound Books made by students at San Francisco Center for the Book
Paxton Gate Exterior
Audra Kunkle mounts some specimens in a workspace above the store.

8 Cool Shops in San Francisco

Wonderfully unique stores to visit in SF.

8

Including The Pirate Supply Store at 826 Valencia, San Francisco Center for the Book, and Paxton Gate

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