More about: De Young Museum Tickets and Tours in San Francisco
This museum houses a large number of exhibits featuring contemporary art not only from the United States, but also from around the world. You can also see textiles and costumes representative of the Americas, Africa and the Pacific.
The exhibits are always changing, which is why it's a visit I like to include on my list of things to see and do in San Francisco, because you 'll always feel like you're visiting for the first time. Book your tickets early so you don't miss out.
San Francisco Young Museum Tickets
Skip-the-line tickets to the Young Museum and the Legion of Honor Museum
With this pass you can enter the museum's permanent exhibitions, and also visit the Legion of Honor Museum in one day at no extra charge.
Inside Golden Gate Park you will find this treasure trove of contemporary art, where you can see all the most interesting exhibits with elements from the Americas, Africa and Oceania.
I also invite you to see what the special exhibits have to show you. A bonus of this experience is that you will have the opportunity to enter the Legion of Honor Museum on the same day. With skip-the-line tickets to the Young Museum you have same-day access to both collections.
Recommended if...: You like contemporary art and don't want to miss the opportunity to see some interesting works in the middle of Golden Gate Park.
How much do tickets to the De Young Museum cost?
Tickets to the De Young are organised by permanent, selected and special exhibitions. A general admission ticket for adults costs from 15 euros and upwards, although the price may change if you also want a ticket to the special exhibitions.
The general ticket includes the visit to the general and selected exhibitions, while to access the special exhibitions you will need an additional ticket, which, depending on the person, will have a higher or lower cost.
Adults over the age of 65 get in for approximately 12 euros, while students can pay up to 6 euros per ticket. People who are members of De Young get free admission to the museum.
On the other hand, if you want to enter the Harmon Tower, you can do so for free, because this attraction is part of the De Young Museum complex.
This place is amazing because it offers breathtaking views of the entire city of San Francisco. From 4:30 p.m. onwards, admission to see the permanent exhibits is completely free, but if you want to see other exhibits, you will have to pay an additional fee.
With general admission to the De Young, you can also enter the Legion of Honor museum. As with the De Young, at the Legion of Honor you will have access to the permanent exhibits with this ticket, but you will have to pay extra if you want to see other special exhibits.
How to get tickets to the De Young Museum at the box office?
If you are still not convinced to buy your tickets online before you visit San Francisco, then you also have the option to buy your tickets at the museum's ticket office.
This box office is open during the museum's opening hours and you can go and buy your tickets whenever you want to visit the museum.
As for this way of getting in, you have to take into account that tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and you may find a long queue at the time of purchase, so I still think it is a better option to buy your tickets online before going to the museum.
This will save you a long and annoying queue that will surely take time away from touring the museum.
Are tickets to the De Young included in any of the city's tourist passes?
There are some San Francisco sightseeing passes that include the De Young among the attractions on offer. However, be aware that these passes do not guarantee entry to the special exhibits.
Even if you have a tourist pass with which you can enter the De Young and its permanent exhibits, you must assume an additional cost to enter the temporary and special exhibits, as well as other specific locations in the museum.
Go San Francisco Card
With the Go San Francisco Card you can enjoy an average of 25 attractions between 1 and 5 days. This card is ideal for you if you have already visited San Francisco but this time you want to see other places you have missed.
The De Young is one of the attractions you can choose from when you purchase this pass, but remember that the pass only includes general admission. This pass can be purchased for yourself, your family or group of friends, and may also include children.
San Francisco Explorer Pass
For a price starting at 52 euros you can purchase this pass which offers entry to a maximum of 5 attractions in a period of up to 30 days. With this pass you can choose from approximately 20 options for museums, public transport and other activities in San Francisco.
The De Young is included among the museums offered as options in the San Francisco Explorer Pass. By choosing the De Young you can also enter the Legion of Honor with the same pass.
San Francisco Sightseeing Pass
This flexible pass gives you the opportunity to choose from at least 30 attractions to visit within a maximum of 60 days. The De Young is included in the two options offered by the San Francisco Sightseeing Pass.
The San Francisco Attractions Flexi Pass is designed to save you money on admission to the museums and other attractions you choose on the pass. There are two options to enjoy the pass, the De Young is included in both options.
Are there special children's tickets?
Children under the age of 17 and children are admitted free to the museum's permanent exhibits. In the case of special exhibitions and other services within the museum, they may have to pay a lower admission fee.
There are also special promotions for certain days of the week, where not only children can enter for free, but also the rest of the public, such as Tuesdays and Saturdays free for Bay Area residents only.
But definitely a visit to the De Young Museum is an activity I would include among the things to see and do in San Francisco with children because they love to know the details of American and world history.
Are there guided tours of the De Young Museum and is it worth it?
The museum offers an audio tour service. This tour is offered in a format compatible with mobile devices, so to access it you only have to request it at the entrance when you purchase your ticket.
This service is not included in the ticket price, it has an additional cost and you can request it in different languages, not just English, which is amazing if you don't speak English well.
As for excursions or tours to this museum, it is generally included in many of the full-day tours in and out of San Francisco, considering it is one of the best museums in the city.
How to get to the De Young Museum?
If you are driving your own car, you have the option of staying right in front of the De Young if you go along Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr. To park your car, the De Young offers paid parking at the Music Concourse Garage, but spaces are limited.
If you don't want to pay for parking, you can also leave your car on the street near the museum in Golden Gate Park, but for security reasons I would recommend that you pay to park your car at the Music Concourse Garage.
On the other hand, you have the option of going to the museum by public transport, in fact, the De Young is one of the fine arts museums that encourage the use of public transport to visit them. For that reason, the entrance fee may have a small discount if you inform that you got there by public transport.
In that case, you have several options to get there, the muni, the bus and the metro. If you choose the muni, the routes that will get you closest to the De Young are: 44 O'Shaughnessy Bus, 5 and 5R Fulton Bus, 7 Haight/Noriega Bus, Judah Muni Metro and 28 Bus.
You also have the option of using the free routes offered by Golden Gate Park, which operate from 9am to 6pm, including Saturdays and Sundays, as well as holidays.
Top works you can't miss at the De Young Museum
The works on display in this museum are divided into temporary and permanent galleries. There is also an object conservation area where you can see multiple items from various cultures, as well as paintings, paper and textiles.
Special exhibitions may feature certain items that are not regularly on display in the museum. To find out which ones are being presented at the time of your visit, I recommend you visit the museum's official website to find out.
In the museum you can also see photographic works in perfect state of conservation, as well as different artistic elements made of fabric and paper. As for the rest of the galleries, they are divided by region of the world.
American Art
At the De Young you can appreciate one of the most complete collections of American art in the country. It includes paintings and sculpture from the 17th century to the present, making it the largest non-Indian collection.
Most of the pieces on display in this area are from the Rockefeller collection, while a few others were acquired through other means. Among the pieces in this exhibit are objects of value created by Native American cultures, as well as later immigrants, African slaves and their descendants.
It is an exhibition that will help you understand, through art, American history and how a large number of diverse cultures intertwined in this territory to give way to what is known as American culture itself.
African Art
The figures you will see in this area will surprise you because they are pieces that belonged to the primitive civilisations of sub-Saharan Africa, but research into their provenance and the history behind them is still ongoing.
Researchers are still trying to understand where these pieces come from and what they tell of those civilisations that were erected in Africa at some point in history. Many of them were acquired around 1894 at an exhibition of African artefacts in California.
Arts of the Americas
In this area you will see a wide variety of sculptures, paintings, vessels and other items from Mesoamerica and all the territories that comprise Western America.
Most of the items you will see in this exhibition will help you understand what life was like for Native Americans.
Among the items that stand out the most are some pieces from the Aztec cultures, ancestors of today's Mexicans.
Oceanic Art
In this area you can see everything from a strange amulet that simulates the climate in Micronesia, to textiles from Indonesia. In this exhibition you will be able to see incredible objects from all over Oceania.
Many of the pieces on display here come from purchases made in the late 1800s, while many others are gifts from sailors and travellers throughout the 19th and 20th centuries who explored the Pacific and brought back to the museum multiple pieces of value from these unique places.
How much time do you need to visit the De Young Museum?
The time you need to visit the De Young will depend on how you want to spend your visit. If you go alone, with your family or friends and only buy your tickets to visit the site, it may take you approximately one or two hours to walk around the entire site.
The museum gives you the opportunity to plan group visits, so your stay in the museum may take a little longer than usual. I highly recommend this type of group visits so that you can get to know each of the exhibits a little more in depth.
In group visits you will have the opportunity to get to know each and every one of the museum's exhibitions, from the permanent to the special ones. However, you should know that when planning this type of visit, you must inform which exhibitions you want to attend so that they are included in the entrance fee.
De Young Museum opening hours
The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9.30am to 5.15pm. The rest of the weekdays are used to clean the museum and organise new exhibits for the next opening.
Openings on special days such as 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day should be checked on the museum's official website before visiting. Sometimes the museum closes for these dates and sometimes it stays open.
Tips for visiting the De Young Museum
- Buy your ticket well in advance of your visit to the De Young to avoid unnecessary queues when you are on site.
- Check their website in advance to find out which exhibitions will be on at the time of your visit so you know which ones you want to see.
- If you are going by private car, try to arrive early so that you can secure your parking space in the pay-and-display area.
- If you have children with you, remember that you cannot leave them unsupervised in the museum. It is a place to admire, not to touch anything.
- Make sure you comply with the rules when you are inside the museum, such as not drinking and eating while walking around, or taking flash photography.
- If you want to take advantage of the free admission on Tuesdays, I recommend arriving on time so you don't miss out.
- Include the museum among the things to see and do in San Francisco in two days, so that you have time to visit the Legion of Honor Museum as well.
This is the De Young Museum shop
The De Young Museum Store is linked to the Legion of Honor Museum Store. This place, which operates both physically and online, is a great place to take souvenirs from your visit to both museums.
This shop is amazing because it allows you to buy both the things you see in the exhibition, as well as special orders of art.
The shop gives you the chance to take away everyday items such as home accessories, stationery, bookshelves and children's items, all related to the museum in question, as well as to the temporary and permanent exhibitions held there.
Where to eat near the De Young Museum?
Near the De Young there are plenty of places where you can enjoy a good meal after a visit to the museum. The museum café itself offers a variety of snacks for a light meal.
If you are looking for a more complete menu, I recommend places like Royal Ground Coffee, Green Island Restaurant or El Mansour Restaurant. Here you can sample the authentic flavours of Moroccan food.