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San Francisco's Exploratorium offers free admission to the public on the first Wednesday of every month.
Housed within the walls of the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District, the Exploratorium boasts more than 400 interactive science, art, and human perception exhibits for kids of all ages.
Also offering public presentations such as hands-on workshops, lectures, performances, films, and other special events, the museum aims to create a culture of learning through innovative environments, programs, and tools that help people nurture their curiosity about the world around them.
San Francisco's most visited museums offer FREE admission on the first Tuesday of every month. Take advantage of Free Museum Tuesdays at:
Conservatory of Flowers
Located in Golden Gate Park, the Conservatory of Flowers boasts almost 2,000 plant species in five immersive galleries. From tropical flowers to giant water lilies, the conservatory is a lush and diverse living museum for all ages.
de Young Museum
Founded in 1895 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the de Young boasts a state-of-the-art new facility that integrates art, architecture, and the natural landscape in one multi-faceted destination. The museum showcases collections of American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries, and art of the native Americas, Africa, and the Pacific. Admission fees to special exhibits still apply.
Museum of Craft and Folk Art
As the only folk art museum in Northern California, the museum is known for a rich offering of focused and unique exhibitions of traditional and contemporary folk art and craft from around the world, demonstrating how folk art, contemporary craft, and fine art are all part of the same continuum.
Palace of the Legion of Honor
Built to commemorate Californian soldiers who died in World War I, the Legion of Honor is a beautiful Beaux-arts building located in San Francisco's Lincoln Park. Displaying an impressive collection of 4,000 years worth of ancient and European art in an unforgettable setting overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, the Legion is also home to an early cast of Rodin's famous "Thinker" sculpture. Admission fees to special exhibits still apply.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Located in downtown San Francisco, SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art. Opened in 1935 to "explore compelling expressions of visual culture," the permanent collection comprises more than 25,000 works of modern and contemporary art, including photography, painting, sculpture, media arts, architecture, and design. Admission fees to special exhibits still apply.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
YBCA presents contemporary art from the Bay Area and around the world that reflects the profound issues and ideas of our time, expands the boundaries of artistic practice, and celebrates the diversity of human experience and expression.
For more than 20 years sea music enthusiasts have gathered at San Francisco's Hyde Street Pier on the historic tall ships C. A. Thayer and Balclutha to sing chanteys and other sea songs.
This free event, which takes place the first Saturday of every month, has garnered a loyal following, drawing 80 to 200 people monthly.
Hear California history come alive with chanteys that describe the perils of San Francisco's Barbary Coast, the dangers of rounding Cape Horn, cruel ship officers, the joys and curse of drink, and hopes for riches during the Gold Rush.
Be sure to bring a mug for complimentary apple cider!
Reservations required; call (415) 561-7171.
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco offers free admission to all visitors on the first Sunday of every month.
One of the largest museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian art, the Asian Art Museum collection spans 6,000 years of history and includes 17,000 objects, from tiny jades to monumental sculptures, paintings, porcelains and ceramics, lacquers, textiles, furniture, arms and armor, puppets, and basketry.
The collection galleries are divided into seven geographic regions: South Asia; the Persian World and West Asia; Southeast Asia; the Himalayas and the Tibetan Buddhist World; China; Korea; and Japan. Winding through all the galleries are three major themes: the development of Buddhism; trade and cultural exchange; and local beliefs and practices.
Every third Wednesday of the month, the newly reopened California Academy of Sciences offers free admission to all guests.
Located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, this groundbreaking institution has been a city landmark for more than 150 years, and is the only facility in the world to combine a museum, aquarium, planetarium, and world-class research and education programs under one roof.
This unique combination allows visitors to explore everything from the depths of a Philippine coral reef to the canopy of a Costa Rican rainforest to the outer reaches of the universe -- all within a single visit.
The new facility -- which employs sustainable materials and energy-saving technologies -- unifies the Academy's original array of 12 buildings into a single, modern monument to eco-conscious architecture. Crowning the building is the Living Roof, a 2.5-acre expanse of native California plants and wildflowers, which creates a sense of transparency and connectedness between the building and the surrounding park.
Join your guide Henry for an extensive walk through the streets (and over the hills) of San Francisco.
Enjoy the sights of the city as you wander through neighborhoods such as Russian Hill, Nob Hill, Chinatown, North Beach, and Telegraph Hill. See Lombard Street, Coit Tower, and some of the oldest homes and hidden gardens in the city.
To join in, please sign up in advance at your hostel's front desk. This outing is held weekly, and is organized by Hostelling International -- everyone staying at one of our three San Francisco hostels is welcome!
Most Thursday nights, the California Academy of Sciences opens its doors after hours for NightLife.
Adults have a chance to explore the museum at night in a whole new light, as they dance to some of San Francisco's most popular DJs, enjoy food and cocktails, and mingle while perusing the Academy's world-class exhibits and getting up close and personal with aquarium critters.
Take in some knowledge with your libations -- each week features provocative science programming and a few surprises.
Meet your guide David at the San Francisco Downtown Hostel for a free historical tour of downtown San Francisco.
Learn about Union Square, Chinatown, Nob Hill, and other downtown landmarks. Don't forget your camera!
To join in, please sign up in advance at your hostel's front desk. This outing is held weekly, and is organized by Hostelling International -- everyone staying at one of our three San Francisco hostels is welcome!
Join your tour guide Joe for an evening excursion to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Located in downtown San Francisco, SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art. Opened in 1935 to "explore compelling expressions of visual culture," the permanent collection comprises more than 25,000 works of modern and contemporary art, including photography, painting, sculpture, media arts, architecture, and design.
SFMOMA offers half-price admission and extended hours every Thursday starting at 6 p.m., making this the perfect chance to soak up some culture with your fellow hostellers.
To join in, please sign up in advance at your hostel's front desk. This outing is organized by Hostelling International -- everyone staying at one of our three San Francisco hostels is welcome!
Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, the San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf Hostel's restaurant -- the lovely Cafe Franco -- transforms from a dining space into a film screening room.
The hostel shows a different film each weekend night fitting into a special theme (such as "So Bad it's Good" or "Shot in San Francisco,"), so check the events calendar at the front desk to see what's playing this week. Or, just drop in to see what's on the screen, and kick back with some freshly popped corn.
Café Franco also dishes up healthy, low-cost dinner specials and tasty coffee drinks during the screenings, so you won't go away hungry.
San Francisco City Guides offer free historical and architectural walking tours of San Francisco's most famous (or, in some cases, infamous) districts, as well as some of its more hidden neighborhoods.
Approximately 30 different walks are offered each month, year-round, rain or shine. Walkers meet at the place and time designated in the current tour schedule. No reservations are required.
Join your fellow hostellers for a trip to one of San Francisco's oldest and most captivating neighborhoods: Chinatown.
Though it's only a few blocks away from the San Francisco Downtown Hostel, Chinatown is another world unto itself, bustling with shops and buzzing with people. Explore hidden alleyways, sip various Chinese teas, see mysterious historic temples, and visit the famous San Francisco Fortune Cookie Factory.
To join in, please sign up in advance at your hostel's front desk. This outing is organized by Hostelling International -- everyone staying at one of our three San Francisco hostels is welcome!
San Francisco's famed Grace Cathedral presents a series of free recitals featuring some of the world's greatest organists, playing the cathedral's magnificent 7,466-pipe, Aeolian-Skinner organ.
After Easter (April 4), the series goes on hiatus, as work begins to replace the failing roofs over the two organ chambers. So go while you've still got the chance!
The Chinatown Community Street Fair takes place the weekend of the Chinese New Year Parade and is an opportunity for visitors to experience Chinese cultural arts such as folk dance, music, kite making, calligraphy, and acrobatics.
Traditional and modern entertainment is featured on the main stage throughout both days. Kids can enjoy the street fair's petting zoo and other fun activities.
Chinese New Year is a two-week spring festival celebrated for more than 5,000 years in China. The San Francisco Chinese New Year celebration originated in the 1860s during the Gold Rush days, and is now the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia.
The celebration includes two major fairs, the Chinese New Year Flower Fair (February 6-7) and the Chinatown Community Street Fair (February 27-28). The highlight of the festivities is the spectacular Chinese New Year Parade (February 27).
Noise Pop is San Francisco's leading independent music festival, showcasing nationally known indie rock, electronic, punk, and cutting-edge musical artists, as well as the best local bands.
Going 18 years strong, this year's festival boasts more than 60 bands and solo artists, including the Magnetic Fields, Mirah, Atlas Sound, John Vanderslice, Four Tet, Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band, Deerhoof, and Nice Nice, at various venues throughout the city. Some of the most widely acclaimed bands in America played Noise Pop as emerging artists early in their careers, including The White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, The Shins, The Flaming Lips, The Donnas, The Decemberists, and Bright Eyes.
In addition, Noise Pop features a film festival, screening music documentaries and videos that embrace and reflect independent music and culture. This years films include P-Star Rising, the story of a nine-year-old rapper who goes from performing on the street corners to sold-out club shows, and Downtown Calling, a retrospective portrait of the underground scene in the late 1970s, featuring Fab 5 Freddy, Mos Def, TV on The Radio, Debbie Harry, and many more.
The festival also includes Pop 'n' Shop (Feb. 27), an independent design fair featuring over 40 Bay Area designers and artists selling their latest chic and unique clothing, jewelry, limited edition screen-printed posters, and other fun stuff at affordable prices. There will be tasty snacks for sale as well as a full bar and, of course, excellent music.
A festival showcasing independent music and film wouldn't be complete without art. The Art of Noise exhibition (Feb. 19-28) celebrates artists who create work that traverses the two timeless muses of Art and Music.
Lastly, the festival hosts Industry Noise, a day-long conference for musicians, groupies, music writers, and tech geeks on independent music, technology, and the changing music industry. In addition to panels and speakers, there will be small discussion groups and individual mentoring, with some "big names" talking about how they manage their music careers.
Open every day, San Francisco's Ferry Building Marketplace is a foodie mecca, offering fresh organic produce, gourmet treats, and fine dining. With a focus on small, regional food producers -- and many eateries and small businesses owned by well-known top chefs -- you can sample local artisan cheeses, chocolates, breads, and more.
Most Saturday mornings, celebrated Bay Area chefs stop in to demonstrate ways to prepare the sustainable, seasonable goods found in the Farmers' Market. Visitors can watch these experts in action, taste their creations, and leave with recipes to try themselves at home. Programs sometimes include interviews with farmers, food artisans, or other Farmers' Market vendors.
This month's schedule includes:
March 6: Joe Hargrave of Tacolicious
March 13: Michael Kalanty, author of How to Bake Bread
March 20: Peter Rudolph of Madera Restaurant at the Rosewood Sandhill, and David Bazirgan of Chez Papa Resto
March 27:Lorna Sass, author of Whole Grains Every Day Every Way, and Dominique Crenn of Luce
See the website for the full event schedule.
Join San Francisco Historical Society Docent Monika Trobits for a 90-minute tour exploring Coit Tower, its history, and its remarkable murals.
This tour is limited to 24 people; reserve at rsvp@sfhistory.org or by calling (415) 537-1105, ext. 100.
San Francisco's Dogpatch/Potrero Point neighborhood has many important ties to the city's historic commercial industries. From shipbuilding to fashion, sugar-refining to the internet, rope-making to show business, the eclectic group of industries that have resided in this area have left their mark through numerous booms and busts.
Explore the past and present of this surprising neighborhood in transition. Afterwards, join your fellow tour-goers for an optional lunch at Goat Hill Pizza on Potrero Hill.
This tour is limited to 25 people; reserve at rsvp@sfhistory.org or by calling (415) 537-1105, ext. 100.
Take a free walking tour with the San Francisco Historical Society. From devastation to dynamic rebirth, this tour showcases San Francisco's "rising" after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.
From the Old Mint, a national historic landmark, walk to Union Square, site of Civil War-era rallies; then stroll down Maiden Lane, a sunny street with a shady past. Visit the oldest Asian temple in the United States and the Clarion Music Center on Sacramento Street.
Join San Francisco Historical Society Docent Lesley Walsh on a 90-minute tour of the famous Mission Dolores, which has stood in the city since 1791.
Learn how 19th century settlers built the Mission District surrounding Mission Dolores, about Indian and missionary life in the area, and why the old mission survived the 1906 earthquake and fire.
Visit the mission museum, the 20th century parish church next door, and the oldest remaining cemetery in San Francisco, with graves of Indians, Spaniards, Mexicans, and Gold Rush immigrants.
The annual St. Patrick's Day celebration in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza showcases Irish culture with colorful festivities throughout the day.
The "largest St. Patrick's Day event west of the Mississippi" features live performances, cultural competitions, games, arts and crafts, and food and beverage vendors, as well as children's activities.
At 11:30 a.m., the St. Patrick's Day Parade -- 5,000 marchers strong and celebrating its 159th anniversary as a San Francisco tradition -- starts from the intersection of Market and 2nd Streets and proceeds down Market to Civic Center Plaza.
Hostelling International - San Francisco is proud to premiere our new promo video, which is actually more of a short film (because if you’re gonna do it, do it up right).
What happens when a director recruits his ex-girlfriend for a video gig, and pays her in donuts? Come to the premiere party and find out!
Action, romance, hijinks -- all this plus a keg o’ brew and Thatcher’s gourmet popcorn. Join us!
Who's Who
Danny Plotnick, director
KC Smith, cinematography
Jim Granato, 2nd camera
Miles Montalbano, grip & sound
Written by Stuart Bousel
Starring:
Rana Weber as The Host
Michael Cassidy as The Director
Jenni Gebhardt as The Staff Person
Jim Granato as The Camera Guy
Monica Bhat Nagar
GB Blackmon III
Stuart Bousel
Josh Greene
Nick Hanna
Julia Heitner
Jason Hirsch
Jennifer Liu
Jeffrey Daniel Parry
Music:
Jeffrey Cobb
Ed Hartman
Jonathan Richman
Illustrations by Michael Wertz
Animation by Danny Plotnick & Jeremy Troy
Produced by Molly Mitoma
Getting There
From the San Francisco City Center Hostel:
Exit the hostel to the left, and turn left on Larkin Street. Walk 7 blocks south. When you cross Market Street, Larkin becomes Ninth Street. Walk another 1.5 blocks south on Ninth Street; the Ninth Street Media Center is on your left, between Mission and Howard.
From the San Francisco Downtown Hostel:
From Powell and Market streets, take BART or MUNI underground metro to the Civic Center station, or take MUNI bus/trolley 9, 6, 71, or F to the Ninth Street stop. Walk 1.5 blocks south on Ninth Street; the Ninth Street Media Center is on your left, between Mission and Howard.
From the San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel:
From the bus stop at Van Ness and Bay, take MUNI bus 47 or 49 southbound to the Market Street stop. Walk 3 blocks east on Market to Ninth Street. Turn right and walk 1.5 blocks south; the Ninth Street Media Center is on your left, between Mission and Howard.
On this moderately strenuous hike, see and learn about some of the ships that perished on the rocky cliffs of San Francisco's Golden Gate.
Reservations required; call (415) 561-4323.
The San Francisco Chamber Orchestra (SFCO) is dedicated to exploring music composed for chamber orchestras from the 17th to the 21st centuries, and has been playing free concerts for Bay Area audiences for more than five decades.
SFCO's Home Concerts series features their signature blend of classic favorites, overlooked gems, and world premieres.
On March 19, catch "Mandolin Magic with Avi Avital." The noted Israeli mandolinist will perform works by Corelli, Bach, Beethoven, Golijov, and tango encores by Piazzolla.
Ever heard of a happy hour that lasted an entire week? Yelp's got one going on in San Francisco!
During the first week of March, 25 of the city's top bars and restaurants are offering three scrumptious cocktails at half-price -- and these specials are good all day, all night, all week.
Several of the participating establishments are located within a few blocks of the San Francisco Downtown Hostel, including Puccini and Pinetti, Grand Cafe, Gitane, and Fifth Floor Restaurant.
If you're staying at the San Francisco City Center Hostel, sample a French Pear ($4), a Spicy Dirty One ($5), or a JB's Ginger Manhattan ($5) at Olive, just one block from the hostel. Or head 4 blocks to Rye for a Basil Gimlet, a Fireside, or a Dogpatch (each $5).
Guests at the San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf Hostel can check out The Parlor near Fisherman's Wharf, and sip an Eagle Rare Manhattan, Spring Mountain, or Herradura Margarita (each $5.50).
For the full list of venues and drinks, go here.
Now in its 28th year, the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) showcases a dynamic and forward-looking selection of the best in new Asian and Asian American cinema from around the globe.
Ranging from locally produced documentaries to Asian blockbusters that have been lauded on the international film festival circuit, the Festival’s program is the largest showcase of its kind in the world.
This year's festival features a special focus on Filipino and Filipino American cinema and media. SFIAAFF will also present the world premiere of Deann Borshay Liem's new feature documentary In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee, in which a case of mistaken identity serves as a springboard for exploring the complex questions involving international trans-racial adoptions. Festival favorite Quentin Lee returns with his sex comedy The People I’ve Slept With, in which the promiscuous Angela (Karina Anna Cheung) gets pregnant and needs to find the father post haste.