Legion of Honor San Francisco: Hours, Parking, Free Days, Discounts & Other Tips to Visit

The Legion of Honor San Francisco is a fine arts museum on the northwestern side of the city. Here you can see thousands of pieces of ancient and European fine art spanning more than 4,000 years.

Some of the most famous works of art on display here include Auguste Rodin sculptures, paintings by Claude Monet, and an interesting piece by Pablo Picasso.

You will also see exhibits with ancient art from the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman empires.

During your visit, make sure you take a little time to view not only the art on display but also the beautiful building that houses it, which is, in itself, an historic work of art.

Built in the early 1920s, the building is a replica of the Palais de la Legion d'Honneur, a distinguished 18th-century landmark in Paris.

Alma de Bretteville Spreckels built and gifted the palace to the city of San Francisco in honor of the Californians who died during World War I.

This is one of my absolute favorite museums in San Francisco.

I visit often as I find the exhibits so engaging. I also love to check out their special exhibits throughout the year.

Disclaimer: I receive a small commission from some of the links on this page.

Everything You Need to Know to Visit the Legion of Honor San Francisco

The Legion of Honor in San Francisco is another one of my personal favorites. I love everything about this museum from the exhibits to the setting to the views from many of its windows.

This fine arts museum takes about two to three hours to fully explore.

On a beautiful day, don't miss your chance to soak in some of the views from the surrounding Lands End area.

How much is admission to the museum? Is there an extra fee for special exhibits? 

Does the Legion of Honor San Francisco offer free days? What other discount tickets are available? 

What are the hours and what days are you closed?

Where is the museum located?

Do you offer docent led tours and how much do they cost?

What exhibits are in their permanent collection? Where is a calendar of their current and upcoming special exhibits?

When is the best time to visit the museum? How long should I set aside for my visit? 

Do they have a café and what’s on their menu?

What is the best way to get to the museum? Do they offer parking near the Legion of Honor San Francisco and how much does it cost? 

How do I get between the Legion of Honor and the de Young? 

Is the museum ADA accessible? 

What are the best restaurants nearby? 

How are the Legion of Honor and the de Young different? 

What is the history of the Legion of Honor San Francisco? 

Tickets to the Legion of Honor San Francisco

Adults (18 to 64): $20

Seniors (65+): $17

Students (w/ valid ID): $11

Youth and Children (17 and under): Free

After 4:30 pm every Tuesday through Sunday (permanent collection only): Free

>> Find tickets for your visit

Extra Cost for Special Exhibits

In addition to the entrance fee, there is an extra cost if you want to see some of their special exhibits. 

The cost for these varies based on what's on display. They can range from $15 to $40 per person. 

Some of these sell out in advance as well, so make sure to pick up a ticket for any special exhibit that you do not want to miss. If you are okay with deciding at the time of your arrival, you can always pay when you arrive.

Free Admission Days and Times for the Legion of Honor San Francisco

You will find a variety of options to visit the Legion of Honor for free. Here is a little more about each one.

Monthly Free Day at the Legion of Honor

Both of the San Francisco fine arts museums (Legion of Honor and the de Young) offer free admission on the first Tuesday of the month.

This includes free admission into their permanent collection all day long.

There may be an additional charge for any special exhibits on display that day.

Make sure to book your tickets in advance as these are first come, first served tickets.

>> Find tickets for the free day at the Legion of Honor

>> Find free days for other museums in SF

Bay Area Free Days at the Legion of Honor

Each Saturday, Bay Area residents are invited to visit the Legion of Honor for free with a local ID. This is for the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.

During this free day, you will have access to their permanent collection. 

You can book your ticket in advance online, but you will need to show them your ID when you arrive. You can show them either your drivers license or a postmarked envelope with your current address. 

>> Book your free tickets online

Bank of America Free Day at the Legion of Honor

If you are a Bank of America customer, you can also get in free on the first full weekend of the month. 

This applies for anyone with a Bank of America, Merrill or Bank of America Private Bank (US Trust) card. 

You can only get these tickets in person. Make sure to have your bank card on hand for proof that you are a customer. 

There are a limited number of tickets available, so I recommend you arrive early to make sure you can access their permanent collection for free.

Free Admission to the Legion of Honor Daily

Every Tuesday - Sunday, you can also get free admission starting at 4:30 pm. This will give you about 45 minutes to check out their permanent collection.

Free access at 4:30 pm is for everyone and you do not need to reserve a ticket in advance.

Other Free Admission Options

If you receive Medi-Cal and SNAP benefits, you are given free general admission. You must show your Medi-Cal or SNAP benefits card.

The "Discover and Go" California Library Card holders are given free admission to the permanent collection galleries.

Discounts and Passes

Admission to the Legion of Honor San Francisco is included with several of our popular discount passes. You purchase these passes for a set price and then you will gain access to a variety of museums, attractions and tours. In total, you will spend up to 50% less than purchasing individual tickets for all of these activities.

Here is my top pick that includes the Legion of Honor San Francisco.

Go City: Admission to the Legion of Honor is included with the Go City card. This pass includes admission to more than 25 San Francisco and Bay Area attractions. This is for their All Inclusive pass only (not their Explorer pass).

It also includes admission to the Asian Art Museum, the SF Museum of Modern Art and the California Academy of Sciences. You can also get a ticket for a bay cruise and the Oracle Park Tour.

>> More details and ticketing information

Public Transportation Discount

You can receive up to $2 off admission when using public transportation to arrive to the museum. You will need to show your ticket stub or transfer as proof.

You will then receive $2 off when you purchase your ticket at the door.

This is for any local transit agency including SF MUNI, BART, Caltrain, and others.

Hours

Tuesday - Sunday: 9:30 am - 5:15 pm

Monday: Closed, except on certain major Monday holidays

They typically close early on July 4, Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve. Check this page to learn more.

Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day

Legion of Honor San Francisco Location

The Legion of Honor in San Francisco is located at 100 34th Avenue.

It's on the north western side of SF just north of the Outer Richmond District. It's right next to the Land's End Trail and the Lincoln Park Golf Course.

Free Docent Tours

The Legion of Honor San Francisco also offers daily docent-led tours of some of their exhibits. These tours are included with admission and most begin in the rotunda. Some of the specialized tours start in other locations so make sure to confirm the starting location and time with the admission desk.

Some of the tours you can expect on your visit include:

• Highlights of the European Collection
• Docents in the Gallery: Bouke de Vries
• Drawing the Line
• Botticelli Drawings

No reservations are required for any of these tours. Pick up a daily tours guide when you arrive for the most up-to-date list.

Galleries in the Legion of Honor in San Francisco

The Legion of Honor in San Francisco is well designed and one of my favorites. Below you'll find some information and pictures of the key galleries from my last visit.

Medieval, Renaissance, and Mannerist Art

In this gallery, you will find a number of sculptures, tapestries, and paintings. There is also an amazing 15th century Spanish ceiling, so don't forget to look up as you walk through.

Here are just a few of the beautiful pieces on display in this gallery.

Also make sure you stop by El Greco's famous painting of St. John the Baptist.

French and Italian Baroque and Rococo

This gallery showcases both 17th and 18th century paintings. You will also see a number of sculptures and French furniture.

Here's just one example of the types of pieces you will see in this gallery.

Sculptures

One of my favorite galleries within the Legion of Honor is the sculpture gallery. Here you can see more than 100 pieces of Rodin's famous works of art.

Below are just a couple of his pieces on display in the three rooms dedicated to Rodin.

18th to 20th Century Neoclassical Art through Post Impressionism

This is another amazing gallery with works of art from famous European artists including Monet, Picasso, and Renoir. Here you can also see a beautiful Faberge tea table.

You'll find four rooms that make up this gallery. The final room, shown below, is where the most famous works of art in this gallery are on display.

Ancient Art

This is a fairly small exhibit located in the lower level of the Legion of Honor. Here's where you'll find the oldest artwork in the museum, including an 18th Dynasty Egyptian torso of a God and other sculptures and jewelry that are thousands of years old.

Here are two of my favorite pieces from this collection.

Porcelain Gallery

The Legion of Honor also has a fairly large collection of porcelain. Here you can see several works of art including those from the famous Chelsea, Bow, and Worchester Factories. You will also find pieces of porcelain from both Italy and China.

Here's a view of some of the pieces in the gallery.

Other Galleries

Other galleries at this San Francisco art museum include the British Art Gallery, 17th Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings, and the Reva and David Logan Gallery of Illustrated Books.

There is also a graphic arts gallery that includes nearly 100,000 prints, drawings, photographs, and artists books. This is called the Jacqueline and Peter Hoefer Print Study Room and is available for viewing by appointment only.

Special Exhibits

The Legion of Honor in San Francisco also attracts some amazing special exhibits. They usually have more than one special exhibit on display at any given time. You'll find these in designated rooms, one on the main level and the rest in the lower level.

During my last visit, I was excited to get to see the Gifts from the Gods exhibit. It included several pieces of art from or supporting the Olympics.

Since the exhibits change all of the time, I've created a calendar so you can see what's schedule during your visit.

Find a full list of current exhibits for the Legion of Honor museum.

Best Times to Visit the Legion of Honor

You will find there are several great times to visit the Legion of Honor San Francisco. 

During the Week

Wednesday is the slowest day of the week for this museum.

Tuesday and Thursday are a little busier, but it's usually still not too crowded on these days (outside of the monthly free Tuesday).

The busiest day of the week is Saturday, so if you don't like crowds, you'll want to avoid visiting on a Saturday.

Off Season

It also slows down quite a bit from January through March. This is when there are fewer visitors around San Francisco and it's a great time to visit this wonderful museum.

During this time, you will find that Wednesday is still the slowest day and Saturdays are still the busiest. 

How Long It Takes to Visit

I usually spend a couple of hours here when I visit just their permanent collection. If it's your first time, I would leave at least two to three hours for the permanent collection.

I'd add on an hour for each special exhibit you plan to check out as well. Visiting a special exhibit could extend your visit out to about 3 to 4 hours. 

Legion of Honor Café

If you want to relax, grab a bite to eat or have a drink, then you will want to stop by the Legion of Honor Café. You will find a wide range of delicious foods ranging from American to European cuisine. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced so you know you will only have the best of the best for your meal.

The hours of the café are Tuesday through Sunday starting at 9:30 am and closing at 4:30 pm. They offer grab and go options with a sit down lunch from 11 am to 3:30 pm. Reservations are not accepted.

Getting to the Legion of Honor San Francisco

There are two easy ways to get to this art museum: public transportation and driving.

Public Transportation

You will need to take two buses to get to the Legion of Honor. First, hop on either the 1-California or the 38-Geary. Both of them have stops at 33rd Avenue.

This is where you will transfer to the 18-Legion of Honor. If you love walking, you can also walk the half mile or so up the hill from this transfer spot.

BART

Unfortunately, BART does not have a stop near the Legion of Honor. However, you can easily get over here with just a couple of bus transfers.

My recommendation is to take BART to the Montgomery Street Station and follow the public transportation route outlined above.

Driving

Getting Between the Legion of Honor and the de Young

If you decide you want to visit both of the San Francisco fine arts museums in the same day, here is the best route via public transportation. There are other options, but this route involves the least amount of walking.

18-Legion of Honor & 5-Fulton: Pick up the bus at the stop in the parking lot of the Legion of Honor.

• Take this to the La Playa Street and Cabrillo Avenue bus stop - near the Safeway.
• From this same stop, you'll hop on the 5-Fulton.
• Take this bus to 8th Avenue. It is about a 10-minute walk into the park from this stop.
• On the map below, the Legion of Honor is the pink star and the de Young is the blue star.

Legion of Honor ADA Accessibility

The Legion of Honor Museum is dedicated to make your visit as easy as possible. Some of these options for the deaf or hard of hearing include assistive listening devices, ASL tactile interpreter, open and close captions and more. Others include large print labels (size 16 font), and braille or tactile museums guides and maps.

Service animals are allowed at the Legion of Honor. They request you keep your service animals well behaved. Please phone them in advance if you have a service animal that is something other than a dog.

You are welcome to use your motorized scooter in either museum. If you need a wheelchair, you can get one at the coat check or the admissions counter when you arrive. However, they are first-come, first-serve and can not be reserved beforehand.

To make the museum even more accessible, they offer wide sized wheelchairs. If you need just something to sit and rest on while in the museum, you can borrow stools here also.

All bathrooms are fully accessible. They also are gender neutral and have baby changing stations if needed.

There are specific parking areas marked with blue signs to make it easier to access it.

If you have other questions, please feel free to see their website or call them in advance.

Restaurants Near the Legion of Honor

Garden House Café

This is one of our favorite classic deli stops when we want a yummy sandwich and some cool décor. The food is very reasonably priced, and you will come away full.

Since it is so well known, even to locals, you may have to wait a bit on busier days. You will love the books, old furniture, and the garden seating. Their bread is freshly made each day.

We love their croissants in the morning!

3117 Clement Street

Pizza Joint

If you are a pizza lover, then you must hit this joint. There are so many varieties of pizza here (about 12 to 15), that you are going to have a hard time choosing which one is right for you.

If you aren’t feeling like having a pizza, then you can check out their salads, calzones, freshly baked sandwiches (there are around 20 of them!), pastas, and of course, desserts.

It is honestly a "can’t miss" restaurant when in this area.

3088 Balboa Street

Hard Knox Café

This is one of their two locations in the city, and both are great. They have pretty much everything you would expect from your usual restaurants, like sandwiches, eggs benedicts, and salads.

However, the reason we always like to eat here is the “downhome” southern style BBQ, fried, or blackened choices. Some of these include Chicken ‘n Waffles, Country Fried Steak, BBQ Pork Spareribs to name just a few.

If you are a vegetarian, you are still in good hands as they have a few dishes just for you.

2448 Clement Street

>> Additional options around the Richmond District

Difference Between the de Young and the Legion of Honor

What is the difference between the de Young and the Legion of Honor? 

These two museums make up what is called the "Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco." While they both offer fine arts, they focus on different regions in the world. Here's a little snippet about the types of exhibits at each location.

de Young: The de Young offers exhibits from the Americas, Africa, and Oceana. They also have a collection of Textiles and American art from the 17th through the 20th century. 

Legion of Honor: The Legion of Honor's collection that covers 4,000 years of ancient art. They also focus on European art. 

Which one should you visit if you can only see one? This is a tough one since it's really about personal preference. If you like art from the Americas, then head over to the de Young. If you are more into ancient or European art, then head to the Legion of Honor.

Both feature an extensive collection of pieces in their respective areas.

Legion of Honor History

This magnificent building and area around it was given to the city as a gift from Alma de Bretteville Spreckels. If you don’t know about the Spreckels family, they are famous for being producers of sugar for many years around this area. The building was supposed to be built in the early 1910s, but because of World War One , it was delayed until 1924.

During 1992 and 1995, the Legion had a major renovation because of the possibilities of earthquakes in this area. They also added a 35,000 square foot underground area at the same time.

One of the reasons that this museum is so special is that it has such a massive amount of art from around the world and throughout history. It includes pieces from over 6,000 years ago and up to today.

Some fun history facts are that the Legion of Honor has been used in a number of movies. These include Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock, Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin, and Raising Cain by Brian De Palma, among others.

Other Popular San Francisco Museums

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