Aquarium of the Bay

The visitor to the Bay Area is only a short Cable Car ride away from one of top San Francisco attractions; the Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and the adjacent San Francisco Aquarium of the Bay. You can learn about the ecology and marine life of San Francisco Bay with this impressive aquarium, which has 300 feet of tunnels you can walk through that make you feel like you're walking through a big fish tank.

Tiny silver anchovies, pink sea anemones, baby sharks and stingrays are some of the animals you will encounter as you enter the first exhibit of the San Francisco Aquarium of the Bay. Next you take an elevator designed to look like a transport chamber to the tunnel level of the aquarium. There is a slow moving walkway you can stand on, or you can walk along the stationary paths on each side. Here, adult sharks weave through the seaweed forest, and wolf eels glide elegantly through the water. If you can't see the elusive octopus, just ask, and one of the staff will point it out to you.

After the tunnels, you go back into the transport chamber to a light filled area with excellent views of Pier 39 San Francisco and beyond. Walk along the wooden boardwalk and over the sand to the touch pools, where you will be able to touch starfish and young bat rays and small sharks with the help of the friendly, knowledgeable staff.

While not as large as the Monterey Aquarium to the South, anyone visiting the Bay Area will love the depth this experience brings to his or her visit to San Francisco. From visiting the Boudin Sourdough factory and enjoying some of the best clam chowder you'll ever have right out of a fresh sourdough bowl to walking along the wharf and seeing shellfish and other seafood being prepared right out in the open, a visit to Pier 39 San Francisco and the great aquarium fits right in with the aquatic theme of a visit here.

Pier 39, which is just 30 feet away from the entrance to the San Francisco Aquarium of the Bay, is filled with excellent places to enjoy fresh fish, buy souvenirs, play at an exciting arcade, or watch the sea lions sun themselves on the floating docks. If you walk around Pier 39 first, you might be lucky enough to run into one of the employees from the Aquarium, in the summer they go out in teams and hand out discount coupons that can save you quite a bit off the cost of admission, which is $14.95 for adults, $8.00 for seniors and children 11 and under. There is also a family discount when two adults and two children come together; it is $37.95. General, most San Francisco attractions have later hours in the summer, and you will find many of the shops and restaurants in and around Pier 39 San Francisco open until 8 or 9 in the summer.

Since 1996, visitors have been including a visit to explore the marine life to their trip to the city by the Bay. There is so much to see and do along the wharf that many of the most unforgettable San Francisco attractions are all within easy walking distance of the nearby cable car stop. Adding a visit to the aquarium only enhances what is already an enriching, thoroughly enjoyable experience.