De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park is one of the largest public arts institutions in San Francisco.
The San Francisco Museum gets its name from Michael H. de Young, who spearheaded the creation of the fine arts destination in 1895.
The museum is home to painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century, from Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.
Besides costume and textile arts, visitors also explore international modern and contemporary art.
This article shares everything you must know before booking your De Young Museum tickets.
Table of contents
- What to Expect at De Young Museum
- Where to book tickets
- How do online tickets work
- De Young Museum ticket price
- de Young Museum tickets
- How to get to De Young Museum
- De Young Museum timings
- How long does the tour take
- Best time to visit De Young Museum
- Audio tours at De Young Museum
- De Young Museum free days
- What’s inside De Young Museum
- De Young’s Hamon Tower
- De Young Cafe
What to Expect at De Young Museum
Step through the de Young Museum doors, and you’ll be greeted by a stunning collection of American art, international contemporary art, textiles, and costumes spanning centuries.
Impressive examples of American art, such as paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, and photography, will be found in the permanent collection.
Works by well-known painters like Ansel Adams, Diego Rivera, and Georgia O’Keeffe will be on display, providing a thorough understanding of the rich history of American art.
From avant-garde installations to boundary-pushing sculptures, the museum’s contemporary art collection showcases the thought-provoking evolution of artistic expression.
Delve into the rich history of textiles and costumes from around the world, featuring a kaleidoscope of colors, patterns, and craftsmanship.
The de Young Museum constantly hosts an array of temporary exhibitions, presenting a dynamic mix of artistic movements, thematic showcases, and cutting-edge multimedia installations.
Where to book tickets
Tickets for the de Young Museum are available online and at the attraction.
Online ticket prices tend to be cheaper than tickets at the attraction.
When you buy online, you can avoid the long queues at the ticket counters.
Because de Young Museum sells limited tickets, they may sell out during peak days.
Booking early helps avoid last-minute disappointments.
How do online tickets work
Visit the ticket booking page for de Young Museum, select the preferred date and number of tickets, and buy the tickets immediately.
Once you purchase tickets, they get delivered to your email address.
There is no need to get printouts of the ticket.
Show the e-ticket on your smartphone at the entrance and walk in.
Please carry a valid ID with you.
De Young Museum ticket price
For de Young Museum: Entry Ticket, adults aged between 18 and 64 are charged US$20.
College students with ID are charged US$11 for entry, while seniors above 64 years of age are charged US$17.
Visitors under 18 years of age can enter the museum for free.
de Young Museum tickets
Image: Selene
These tickets provide a brilliant deal as, along with de Young Museum, they also allow you same-day admission to the Legion of Honor, an art museum merely a 12-minute drive from the de Young
Access to some temporary exhibitions is excluded from this visit, and you can visit them by paying an extra fee.
Once at the art museum, you can explore at your own pace or join a free guided tour led by one of the museum guides.
Ticket Price
Adult ticket (18 to 64 years): US$20
Seniors ticket (65+ years): US$17
College Students (with student ID): US$11
Child ticket (up to 17 years): Free entry
How to get to De Young Museum
De Young Museum is at Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118. Get Directions
The building is an essential architectural landmark of San Francisco and offers sweeping views of the city from a fascinating observation deck.
The de Young Museum is in the Golden Gate Park, next to another popular San Francisco fixture, the California Academy of Sciences.
You can use MUNI to get to the de Young Museum, a mini-bus and light-rail mass transportation service in San Francisco.
By Tram
N Judah, a Muni Metro light rail line in San Francisco at 9th Avenue and Irving Street station, is just a 10-minute walk from the museum.
If you don’t want to walk, get onto the 44-O’Shaughnessy bus outside 9th Avenue and Irving St Station and get down at the Cal Academy stop on Music Concourse Drive.
By Bus
When Southbound, 44-O’Shaughnessy bus stops at the Music Concourse on Tea Garden Drive (across Cal Academy).
When Northbound, it stops in front of the Academy of Music Concourse Drive.
5-Fulton bus stops at 8th Avenue and Fulton Street bus stop, a five-minute walk from the de Young museum
The 7-Haight bus line stops at Lincoln Way & 9th Ave bus stop, just a seven-minute walk from the museum.
By Car
Cars for Rent and Taxis for hire are easily available in San Francisco.
Put on Google Maps to navigate to the de Young Museum.
De Young Museum doesn’t have parking of its own.
When driving to the museum, the Music Concourse Garage is the best spot to park your car.
It is an underground parking facility a few steps from the Academy’s main entrance.
You can enter the parking facility from Music Concourse @ MLK, Jr. or Fulton @ 10th.
The Garage remains open from 7 am to 7 pm from Fridays to Wednesdays.
On Thursdays, it stays open from 7 am to 11 pm.
The parking charges are $5.25/hour on weekdays and $6.25/hour on weekends.
After 5.30 pm, the cost of parking goes up to a flat rate of $17.
Learn about more parking spots nearby.
*Unfortunately, car burglaries occur often in San Francisco. Please don’t leave anything valuable in your car, in the trunk, or out of plain sight to lower your risk. For $8, you can rent a secure locker at Academy to store your stuff.
Several parking slots are available within Golden Gate Park and along Fulton Street.
de Young entrance
If you park your vehicle in Music Concourse Garage, you can cross into the museum through a simple tunnel walk from Fulton Street and 10th Avenue.
If you have parked elsewhere or have taken public transport, you must enter from the entrance on Tea Garden Drive.
Some other parking spots can be found in the vicinity.
Tip: Book your De Young Museum tickets in advance for a quick, seamless entry.
De Young Museum timings
De Young Museum opens at 9.30 am and closes at 5.15 pm from Tuesday to Sunday.
During the peak season (28 Mar to 28 Nov), the museum remains open till 8.45 pm on Fridays.
The last entry is an hour before closure.
It remains closed on Mondays, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
How long does the tour take
From the perspective of casual visitors, a tour of the de Young Museum typically takes around 2 to 3 hours, providing ample time to explore the museum’s architecture, permanent collection, and any special exhibits that may interest them.
For art enthusiasts who wish to delve deeper into the museum’s offerings, a visit to the de Young Museum can span anywhere from 3 to 4 hours, allowing them to immerse themselves in the art thoroughly, engage with the exhibits, and possibly interact with docents or guides for additional insights.
Best time to visit De Young Museum
Since De Young Museum is spaciously laid out and doesn’t seem crowded even when many visitors are exploring the exhibits, any time of the day is good enough for a visit.
Most visitors usually spend two to three hours exploring De Young Museum.
When you start early, you can explore the exhibits and then stop by De Young Cafe for lunch.
Audio tours at De Young Museum
Visitors who prefer an immersive experience of the Permanent Collections can opt for De Young’s audio tours, which are available for purchase.
Visitors can get the audio tour in English and Spanish at the entrance for $7 per person.
Or book them online along with your De Young Museum tickets.
The audio tour is customized for kids and adults and is designed by the museum’s curators.
Visitors must bring their mobiles and headphones.
Check out this visitor guide if you don’t plan to spend on the museum’s audio tours.
De Young Museum free days
De Young in San Francisco offers free entry to qualified visitors on the first Tuesday of the month and all Saturdays.
Free Tuesdays for all
General admission is free on the first Tuesday of every month.
Visitors can see the permanent collection galleries for free but must purchase tickets to enter the special exhibitions.
It would be best if you visited the museum’s Ticketing Desk to avail these free tickets, which are issued based on availability.
Free Saturdays for locals
The de Young art museum offers all nine Bay Area county residents free general admission every Saturday.
Locals must reserve tickets in advance and have a valid local ID (driver’s license or postmarked envelope) for verification on the day of the visit.
The nine qualifying counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.
What’s inside De Young Museum
The San Francisco Fine Art Museum has a three-story main building and a nine-story educational tower.
Access to both these sections is included in the regular De Young Museum tickets.
The primary building has three levels: Concourse, Exhibition, and Upper Gallery.
The main entrance of the De Young Museum leads to the Concourse Level.
Here, visitors see the art of the Americas, 20th Century and Contemporary Art, Native American Art, and the Piazonni Murals Room.
The de Young Cafe is also on the Concourse Level, as is the Sculpture Garden entrance.
The exhibition level is below the Concourse level, and the Herbst Special Exhibition galleries are the main attractions here.
The upper Gallery Level is above the Concourse Level.
You can view various paintings, sculptures, decorative objects, furniture, and more throughout your visit.
Besides what’s on display in the galleries, visitors enjoy the outdoor sculptures and site-specific artworks near the West Entrance in the Osher Sculpture Garden and the Marcus Garden of Enchantment.
De Young’s Hamon Tower
The nine-story De Young’s Hamon Tower has an observation deck offering sweeping views of San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean.
Visitors don’t need a ticket to get to the observation deck and enjoy the fascinating views.
The Hamon Tower Observation Level closes one hour before the museum closes for the day.
De Young Cafe
The De Young Cafe on the Concourse Level is the perfect place to take a break from centuries-old artwork on display at the museum.
The café is open from 11 am to 3 pm and has limited indoor and outdoor dining.
Reservations are not accepted; you must have a De Young Museum ticket to enter.
Sources
# Famsf.org
# Wikipedia.org
# En.wikiarquitectura.com
# Tripadvisor.com
The travel specialists at TheBetterVacation.com use only high-quality sources while researching & writing their articles. We make every attempt to keep our content current, reliable and trustworthy.
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