This mission, established in 1771, is the most remote of California’s Franciscan missions.

Eat a tasty meal in the house where John Steinbeck was born.

Here, visitors can swing with the waves of the Pacific Ocean.

The world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory continues to report on the stars.

It took years to decode its mysterious messages.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

One of the largest free-standing structures ever built, this dirigible hangar is now simply a giant skeleton.

A classically inspired temple in Redwood City.

The oldest burial ground in the city, final resting place of city founders, Ohlone natives and murderers alike.

The best place in the park to test out your throwing arm.

Lombard Street may be more famous, but this is the real “crookedest street in the world.”

San Francisco's oldest surviving monument and meeting place for 1906 survivors.

A former hardware store near Yerba Buena is the official home of California's history.

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.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

A working model of the entire San Francisco Bay and much of the Sacramento River Delta, complete with regular tides that change every 14 minutes.

The lighthouse central to the 1980s horror classic "The Fog" is, in fact, located in one of the foggiest areas of the Pacific Coast.

The southernmost outpost of the Russian Empire in colonial America.

An optical illusion found amid a logged redwood forest.

This massive redwood tree has a drive-thru tunnel carved out of its trunk.

Two mammoth statues inspired by equally tall tales lure tourists to this roadside attraction.

This natural marble cave is one of only five national monuments in Oregon.