Affordable culture: not just for tourists

I about freaked out when I discovered the SF CityPASS yesterday. It gets you into the California Academy of Sciences, SF MOMA, the Exploratorium or the De Young, the Aquarium of the Bay, a Blue & Gold Fleet Cruise around Alcatraz AND a 7 day pass for MUNI and the cable cars for the low price of $69. You can even upgrade your Bay cruise to take the boat to Alcatraz for just 5 bucks more. 

Okay, 69 bucks is kind of a lot of money, but when you calculate how much all that stuff costs on its own, this is close to half price. One adult admission to the Academy of Sciences alone is $30 for the day. I have been dying to go there ever since they remodeled a few years ago. Between the architecture that my husband keeps raving about, the exhibits, and the floor-to-ceiling aquarium, what’s not to like? Oh yeah, the $30 entry. Enter CityPASS! I'm assuming this was designed for tourists since it includes the 7 day MUNI pass, but San Francisco has such great museums that it is always worth a trip. 

So yeah, as soon as I have an extra $69, or let’s be honest, $138 because how much fun would this be to do alone, I am so all over this pass.

The fine print

Each pass is good for ONE admission to each attraction. When I first ran across the CityPASS I thought it was an annual pass. Of course not. This is the Bay Area, after all. For those of you who live in other areas, they also have these, for different rates and attractions, obviously, in a number of other major cities like Seattle, Chicago, New York and Toronto. Also, the Exploratorium is currently closed until April 17^th as they’re in the process of moving over to Pier 15. Until then, that CityPASS coupon is good for entrance to the De Young.