A collection of 20th-century automata, penny arcade games, and musical contraptions.

San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

Get lost in this haunting fairytale art walk through a man-made eucalyptus grove.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

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

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

San Francisco’s century-old Christmas Tree.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

Once close to extinction, there is no shortage of elephant seals on the beaches of Año Nuevo State Park.

This one-block alleyway is stuffed with street art that is colorful, cultural, and intensely political.

Antiques by the Bay.

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.

Since 1973, this block has been home to the most concentrated collection of murals in San Francisco.

A New England-style lighthouse along California's beautiful Highway 1 gets a re-do.

Over a century old, this restored Victorian building is surrounded by a lush garden filled with rare palms.

The graffiti-covered remnants of a former triangulation station are balanced precariously on this California peak.

This unique formation appears as though an asteroid landed on the forest.

The Internet Age began with a transmission from this biker bar.

This old-world mansion with lush gardens is a gem in the heart of Silicon Valley.

This massive redwood tree has stood in Northern California for nearly 2,000 years.