California Palace of the Legion of Honor

If you visit only one museum in San Francisco, this should be it. Recently renovated, the Legion of Honor building is a reproduction of an 18th century French palace in a spectacular setting with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands.

The building of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor is stunning: you enter through a magnificent courtyard, called the Court of Honor, which is dominated by an original cast of Rodin’s The Thinker. The courtyard also features a glass structure (much like the pyramids at the Louvre in Paris) that provides natural light to the special exhibition galleries that lie below it. The Palace's extensive art collection includes European paintings, sculpture and decorative arts from the 1300s to the 1900s, as well as art from ancient Assyria, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Favorites
Our favorite sections of the museum are the two galleries devoted to sculptures by Rodin, especially the Diane & Alfred Wilsey Court that features the well-known piece, The Three Shades. We also love visiting the rooms filled with works by Salvadore Dali, Edgar Degas, Matisse, Monet (including one of his large Waterlily canvases), Picasso, Pissarro, Renoir, and Georges Seurat.

What Else You’ll See
The Palace is filled with fine examples of European works of art from earlier periods as well. You’ll see Medieval Art, including tapestries and stained glass; Limoges enamels; 17^th century paintings by Rubens and Rembrandt; 18^th century paintings by the likes of Fragonard and Watteau; works by the British artists Gainsborough and Reynolds; and a whole host of decorative arts (glassware, furniture, French silver, cut and engraved stemware, and beautiful porcelain).

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Together, the California Palace of the Legion of Honor and the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park make up the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. If you are interested in seeing the de Young Museum’s collection of American art, save your receipt and you will receive free, same-day admission.

Details
Getting There: The California Palace of the Legion of Honor is located in Lincoln Park on Legion of Honor Drive (a continuation of 34th Avenue) near Clement Street. To get there from Union Square, take bus #38 to 33^rd and Clement and either transfer to bus #18 or walk uphill to the Museum. If you choose to drive, ample parking is available.

For more information, call (415) 863-3330 or visit the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco's web site.