184 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in San Francisco - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in San Francisco

San Francisco, California

The Wave Organ

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

San Francisco, California

Secret Tiled Staircase

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

San Francisco, California

Magowan's Infinite Mirror Maze

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

San Francisco, California

Seward Street Slides

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

San Francisco, California

Albion Castle

A 140-year-old castle with underground caves hidden in San Francisco.

San Francisco, California

Alcatraz Island

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

San Francisco, California

Loved to Death

This shop specializes in oddities and Victorian-inspired wonders.

San Francisco, California

Labyrinth at Land’s End

A winding path built in secret on the edge of the continent.

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Unique Food & Drink in San Francisco

It's It

This classic San Franciscan ice cream sandwich is it, isn't it?

Sourdough Starter

A century-old organism creates some of the world's best bread.

Hangtown Fry

This bacon-and-oyster omelet was a status symbol during the California Gold Rush.

Steam Beer

The unique style born out of the California Gold Rush blends the crispness of a lager with the flavor of an ale.

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Atlas Obscura Trips

Private Trip: Photographing Palm Springs

Join National Geographic author, photographer, and Palm Springs resident Christopher P. Baker on this privately guided, one-of-a-kind photography workshop.

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Stories About San Francisco

Fernando Padilla has designed all of Boudin's breads for the last 40 years.

The Master Baker Giving San Francisco Sourdough a New Shape

For 40 years, Fernando Padilla has sculpted with dough.

In 1933, Minnie Sun worked as a nurse in the baby ward of the Chinese Hospital. Bruce Lee would be born there seven years later.

When Chinese Americans Were Blamed for 19th-Century Epidemics, They Built Their Own Hospital

The Chinese Hospital in San Francisco is still one-of-a-kind.

Welcome, friends!

San Francisco’s Newest Bison Are Making Themselves at Home

Five new urban ungulates are settling in.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

Coast redwoods in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California.

Can Redwoods Save the World?

Not by themselves, but the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is out to show how they can help.

by Elizabeth Svoboda

A baker makes fortune cookies at Hougyokudo in Kyoto, Japan.

The Free Cookie in Your Chinese Takeout Is Actually Japanese

Fortune cookies emerged from one of America’s darkest moments.

by Selena Takigawa Hoy

October 11, 2019

Golden Gate Park is a leading candidate.

S.F. Marks the Spot for Buried Treasure

A fantasy author's 37-year-old cache may soon be unearthed in one of the city's 220 parks. But which one?

by Shoshi Parks

September 20, 2019

<em>Prost!</em>

In San Francisco, an East German Restaurant Is a Portal to the Past

Familiar foods such as "cold dog" offer former Eastern Bloc residents a taste of their youth.

by Laura Kiniry

September 17, 2019

These prefab pieces of type cast as solid units (“logotypes”) allowed a restaurant to assemble a menu without requiring access to a typesetter.

A California Type Foundry Is Keeping Vintage Printing Alive

“It’s a really neat feeling to help people be able to print from hot metal.”

by Glenn Fleishman

August 28, 2019

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