5 Free Things San Francisco

Why it made the list: Photographing it is fine; walking it is the experience. The pedestrian path runs the full span, the towers are far bigger up close than any picture suggests, and the view back at the city is the one you came for. You don't have to cross, fifteen minutes out and back gets you everything.

Why it made the list: Bigger than Central Park and far less busy. The park itself is free to walk and holds gardens, lakes, bison, windmills and a lot of quiet, the museums and the Japanese Tea Garden charge, but you can spend a whole afternoon without paying anything.

Why it made the list: A cliff-top coastal path through cypress trees with the Golden Gate Bridge appearing through the gaps, the most dramatic free thing in San Francisco and one most visitors never find. The ruins of the Sutro Baths sit at the trailhead.

Why it made the list: The row of Victorian houses with the downtown skyline rising behind them, the most photographed block in San Francisco, and worth ten minutes even though you've seen it a thousand times. The park opposite is the point: sit on the grass, look at the contrast, then walk into Hayes Valley for coffee.

Why it made the list: Not a museum in the dusty sense, it's the actual powerhouse, and the giant wheels pulling the cables that run the whole system are spinning in front of you while you stand there. Free to enter, genuinely fascinating, and it explains a piece of engineering you'll otherwise just ride past.