A vast waterfront museum on Pier 15 with more than 650 hands-on exhibits for all ages. Children blow giant bubbles, walk through fog and crawl through the pitch-dark Tactile Dome.
Aquarium, natural history and science overlap well for mixed-interest families.
The former federal prison on its island in the bay, reached by ferry from Pier 33. The cellhouse audio tour, included with the ferry ticket, takes families through the cells and the stories of famous escape attempts.
The visitor centre at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge, with history exhibits about how the bridge was built, park rangers to ask, and the start of the walk onto the bridge.
Ride the city's historic cable cars up and over the hills. The Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines run from Powell and Market to Fisherman's Wharf; the California line runs from California and Market to Van Ness.
A sandy bayside beach in the Presidio for paddling in the waves and picnics, looking straight at the Golden Gate Bridge.
At PIER 39: two walk-through tunnels under 750,000 gallons of bay water, plus Touch the Bay, where children can gently touch young bat rays, skates, small sharks and tide-pool creatures.
Public ferries from the Downtown San Francisco Ferry Building across the bay to Oakland, Alameda, Vallejo and Richmond. A short round trip to Oakland or Alameda gives children a real boat ride with skyline views.
A 1,017-acre park running from the Haight to Ocean Beach, with lakes, meadows and gardens. It holds the California Academy of Sciences, the Koret Children's Quarter playground and carousel, and car-free roads that are good for bikes and scooters.
A wild, windy coastal trail around the rocky cliffs at the north-western corner of the city, through cypress and eucalyptus to wide views of the shore, the headlands and the Golden Gate.