A campus landmark at the east of the Main Quad, the 285ft-high Hoover Tower offers superb views. The tower houses a university library, offices and part of the conservative Hoover Institution on War, Revolution & Peace (where Donald Rumsfeld caused a university-wide stir by accepting a position after he resigned as Secretary of Defense).
Hoover Tower
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
29.17 MILES
When Frederick Law Olmsted, architect of New York's Central Park, gazed in 1865 upon the plot of land San Francisco Mayor Frank McCoppin wanted to turn…
28.26 MILES
Hedonism is alive and well at this transit hub turned gourmet emporium, where foodies happily miss their ferries over Sonoma oysters and bubbly, SF craft…
28.71 MILES
Is there a science to skateboarding? Do toilets really flush counterclockwise in Australia? At San Francisco's hands-on science museum, you'll find out…
26.1 MILES
Since at least the 1980s, if you stroll through San Francisco's Mission District you've likely noticed the neighborhood's profusion of colorful murals and…
28.19 MILES
Was it the fall of 1966 or the winter of ’67? As the Haight saying goes, if you can remember the Summer of Love, you probably weren’t here. The fog was…
28.57 MILES
If you look close today at the clinker-brick buildings lining these narrow backstreets, past the temple balconies jutting out over bakeries, acupuncture…
28.53 MILES
Is there any church that better embodies San Francisco's resilience, inclusivity and activist streak? The Nob Hill gem has been rebuilt three times since…
28.71 MILES
No one could have predicted the cultural force City Lights would become when it first opened in 1953. Sure, it had a proletarian ethos suggested by its…
Nearby attractions
0.18 MILES
Auguste Rodin’s Burghers of Calais bronze sculpture marks the entrance to Stanford University's Main Quad, an open plaza where the original 12 campus…
0.42 MILES
The Cantor Center for Visual Arts is a beautiful large museum originally dating from 1894. Its collection spans works from ancient civilizations to…
3. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
2.13 MILES
Nobel Prize–winning scientific discoveries have been made at this 2-mile-long linear accelerator – the world's longest – built in the mid-1960s…
4.57 MILES
Though there are no official tours of the Googleplex, visitors can stroll the campus and gawk at the public art on the leafy grounds, where scads of…
5.01 MILES
Touted as the largest computer-history exhibition in the world, this museum has rotating exhibits drawn from its 100,000-item collection. Artifacts range…
10.53 MILES
Stretch your legs in the redwoods in this park, 2 miles south of La Honda. It has several forested hiking trails and a secluded hike-to cabin available…
10.98 MILES
Definitely the most interesting tech visitor center in the area. You'll be met by an army of Geniuses in red shirts offering information from how to use…
11.54 MILES
At Intel's headquarters, this museum has displays on the birth and growth of the computer industry with special emphasis, not surprisingly, on microchips…