188 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

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.

San Francisco, California

Seward Street Slides

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

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

Albion Castle

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

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.

San Francisco, California

Labyrinth at Land’s End

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

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in San Francisco

San Francisco, California

Crown & Crumpet

The tea room that pushed the boundaries of adorable straight into...we can't find the words.

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

Li Po Cocktail Lounge

One of the last remnants of the city's Chinese nightclub scene is now a dive bar selling killer mai tais.

San Francisco, California

Benkyodo

This Japanese treats shop may have been the first business to mass-produce fortune cookies in the United States.

See all 7 places to eat in San Francisco See all 7 places to eat in San Francisco

Atlas Obscura Trips

Art of Joshua Tree and the Mojave

Join us as we venture deep into the High Desert, glimpsing massive sculptures, fluorescent painted mountains, and revitalizing domes along the way.

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Stories About San Francisco

Podcast: Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team

September 13, 2021

The San Francisco garter snake has been on the federal endangered species list for more than half a century.

A San Francisco Airport Site Is Crawling With Snakes—And That's a Good Thing

An endangered species is thriving at a once-blighted lot, but climate change and other challenges threaten its future.

by Ashley Stimpson

Podcast: The Institute of Illegal Images

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team

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

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