Two of the best museums in San Francisco — the Legion of Honor and the de Young Museum — are covered by a single entrance fee! At $20, it’s not pocket change — but if you plan your time well, you can get a lot of bang for your two sawbucks. Let’s look at the Legion of Honor and de Young museums and see what each one has to offer.

The Legion of Honor

This is a truly grand museum, exactly what you’d expect from a place that covers 6,000 years of the Western canon. Here’s what you can expect, along with some of the highlights.

Europe, 1400s-early 1900s

The museum’s main floor takes you on a largely chronological journey.

Ancient Lands

You’ll find just a few small cabinets with items from ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Near East. Note the ibis coffin with real bird bones inside!

European Porcelain

If you like ceramics, you’re in luck. The Legion of Honor has a sizable porcelain collection, featuring works from England and continental Europe.

The Rodin Collection

Two giant rooms are dedicated solely to the works of Auguste Rodin.

Period Rooms

There are also several full replicas of period rooms (albeit much-changed since their original selves), such as the golden salon from the 1781 Hotel de la Tremoille:

The Legion of Honor: Curation & Architecture

This museum somehow manages to feel spacious, majestic, and welcoming all at the same time. I also appreciated that the curators have placed an interesting mix of statuary, furniture, and other works of decorative art among the paintings — you feel like you’re entering a whole world of art and design.

To admire the Legion of Honor’s sweeping French neoclassical architecture, head to the Rodin rooms. Fun fact: the San Francisco Legion of Honor is a full-scale replica of the French pavilion from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition — which itself was a three-quarter scale replica of the Palais de la Légion d’Honneur in Paris.

The de Young Museum

If the Legion of Honor encapsulates the old world, the de Young sits solidly in the new. The art here is organized roughly into five areas.

Modern and Contemporary Western Art

There’s a lot of this — and because it’s where the museum starts, it looks like the focal point.

Arts of the Americas

The focus here is really on Central and North America, and the ceramics are particularly wonderful.

Arts of Africa

There’s a lot to see in this section, but I found myself drawn to the masks and reliquary figures.

Arts of Oceania

Wow, does the de Young have a lot of material from Papua New Guinea and nearby islands. The museum’s founder, M.H. De Young, amassed a significant collection of Oceanic art, and the museum has been adding to the collection for over 125 years. I’m not exaggerating when I say that you could spend your whole visit just in these rooms.

American Art, 1600s-Today

The de Young says that it has the “most comprehensive” collection of American art in the American West, and I believe them.

Sculpture Garden & Tower

The tower at the de Young reputedly offers great views of Golden Gate Park, but unfortunately, it was closed when I was there. I did sit in the outdoor section of the café, which has views out over the sculpture garden.

The de Young: Curation and Architecture

Where the Legion of Honor building is a throwback to classical antiquity, the 2005 de Young is relentlessly modern, all hard angles and rigid copper plates.

Because the collection is broken into multiple distinct parts, the de Young feels like much more of a mishmash (albeit an organized one) than the Legion of Honor. There’s a lot going on here!

Only Have Time for One Museum?

The Legion of Honor is great if you like a traditional art museum with a heavily European focus. The de Young is better if you want variety, contemporary works, and art from different regions of the world.

I liked each museum in its own way, though I’ll admit to being more of a traditionalist — and I found the de Young surprisingly overwhelming. So if I had to pick one, I’d probably choose the Legion of Honor.

The Legion of Honor and de Young Museums: What to Know Before You Go

• If you’re going to both museums, save the receipt that you get at the first cashier — you’ll need it to secure your free entrance into the second museum.
• The Legion of Honor and the de Young are nine minutes apart by car or an hour apart on foot. I took an Uber to get from one to the other.
• I would allocate roughly 2-3 hours to see each museum — maybe a shade longer for the de Young.
• Both museums have cafés with similar menus. I recommend the light and airy strawberry cake, but there’s also plenty of real food.
• Admission is free for children.

Further Explorations Near the Legion of Honor and de Young Museums

• If you visit the de Young, you can also enjoy other Golden Gate Park attractions, including the nearby Hagiwara Tea Garden and the California Academy of Sciences. Make sure to read my Conservatory of Flowers post before you go!
• Just beyond the Legion of Honor lies a walking path that leads to Lands End, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This is a great place to get views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean.

Planning to venture beyond the city? Check out my Pacific Coast Highway Highlights post for stunning coastal stops and hidden gems, all part of California’s most famous road trip.