Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.

A favorite haunt of dinosaur loving children and hallucinogen loving hippies alike.

The remains of a 12th-century chapter house in Golden Gate Park.

California's most comprehensive horticultural library.

Under the shadow of its towering parent tree, a rare specimen of sequoia produces ghostly white leaves.

An elaborate gift from Claus Spreckels is now a piece of San Francisco history.

A garden oasis filled with flowers mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

Part mural and part sculpture, this work of art sits in the middle of the Promenade, as if swimming in a river of asphalt towards the ocean.

Olfactory delights in San Francisco's Botanical Gardens.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

San Franciscans leave gifts and messages for the magical beings that live behind the tiny, mysterious door installed on a tree in Golden Gate Park.

Once the largest windmill outside of Holland, with enormous 114 foot sails.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

A hidden gem, named after a San Franciscan icon, offers spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

A 300-ship graveyard, with a few still visible at low tide.

Shoot for par over the bodies of the dead on this cemetery-cum-golf course.

The United States' first transcontinental automobile road came to its end at this spot in San Francisco's Lincoln Park.

Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

Longtime headquarters of controversial boys' club for the world's wealthiest and most powerful.

A nondescript building that's been functioning as a speakeasy for nearly a century and a half.