Jul 29

Jul 29 The Palace Of Fine Arts – A Good Place to Picnic or Walk With Kids

I’ve always wanted to have a picnic by the pond at the Palace of Fine Arts so I decided to take Atlas there for one. In my mind it was going to be like a peaceful scene in a European travel show with the beautiful architecture and swans in the background and Atlas was going to sit with me on a picnic blanket and watch the swans float by.

It didn’t quite work out as planned but it was a lovely morning nonetheless.

The main reason my picnic idea failed was that Atlas wanted to be in the water or at least as close to it as possible. He refused to sit anywhere but on the border of the water so I ended up sitting in the dirt so he could sit there and watch the swans.

Therefore we scrapped the picnic idea and settled for walking around the water and admiring the beautiful Greek-like architecture.

The Palace is stunning and very different from all the architecture in San Francisco. It has a very peaceful and aesthetic feeling to it. The structure was created in 1915 and used to be a backdrop for Art. Now, it is the perfect backdrop for a stunning photo or wedding. So it is no surprise that tourists flock here.

We were there at 10 am and already you can see a lot of tourists in the background. There were also various locals getting photos taken that day.

Atlas had so much fun running around the park and attempting to chase the swans that he fell asleep in the stroller on our way back to the car and I was able to grab lunch on Chestnut Street. It was a great morning!

There is street parking around the Palace but you can also park on Chestnut and walk a few blocks to see it. If you have a child in a stroller like me, it makes for a nice (flat) walk and if you get lucky a nap!

The Palace of Fine arts is located in the Marina District. You can click here for directions and more of the history.

Enjoy!

Ana