Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco

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Last year my husband and I went to San Francisco for our anniversary. It was such a fun trip and we packed so much into those few days we were there. A few of our favorite things were the Blue and Gold Fleet Bay Cruise San Francisco, Alcatraz Night Tour (San Francisco, CA), Powell Hyde Cable Car Ride, and Walking the Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco). But there is so MUCH to do in that area – so be sure to check out our San Francisco Travel Guide for more tips and ideas. One of the places I loved seeing was The Palace of Fine Arts! It is just so incredibly beautiful.

If you love soaking in beautiful architecture and designs, be sure to put the Palace of Fine Arts on your list of places to visit. We didn’t go to an event or show, but we just walked around the grounds and really enjoyed the beautiful architecture. There are a lot of great Instagram-worthy spots here, if you are looking for places to take pictures in San Francisco – this is definitely a must!

Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco — Source

The History of The Palace of Fine Arts

The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to 1974, it is the only structure from the exposition that survives on site.

The most prominent building of the complex, a 162-foot-high (49-meter) open rotunda, is enclosed by a lagoon on one side and adjoins a large, curved exhibition center on the other side, separated from the lagoon by colonnades. As of 2019, the exhibition center (one of San Francisco’s largest single-story buildings) is used as a venue for events such as weddings or trade fairs.

Conceived to evoke a decaying ruin of ancient Rome, the Palace of Fine Arts became one of San Francisco’s most recognizable landmarks. Early 2009 marked the completion of a renovation of the lagoons and walkways and a seismic retrofit.
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Tour of The Palace of Fine Arts

Overall we spent about 20-30 minutes walking around and looking at everything. We rode the buses to a nearby stop and walked down. The Palace of Fine Arts is located in the Marina District, and is close to other places like the Yoda Fountain, the Walt Disney Family Museum, Crissy Beach, The Wave Organ, and more! So be sure to research what you would like to do and explore this area while you are there. It is also fairly close to The Golden Gate Bridge if you want to fit that in as well!

Have you been there before? What did you think? I would love to hear your comments.