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de Young, 2019. Photograph by Henrik Kam

Visit the de Young

Planning your visit.

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At the de Young

Find notable art books including museum publications, curated home decor, artisan and designer jewelry, fine art posters and prints, educational toys, and more.

Enjoy seasonal ingredients and unique menu items in our café or outside on our terrace.

Current exhibitions

Fashioning san francisco: a century of style, lee mingwei: rituals of care, lhola amira: facing the future, nampeyo and the sikyátki revival, upcoming events, free saturdays at the de young, the mending project, highlights tour, now on view, superman, 1962, rainy season in the tropics, 1866, stela with ix mutal ahaw, 761, laure (new general chart for the west indies of e. wright's projection), 2021, hovor ii, 2004, members always visit for free.

two people sitting next to each other in a gallery

Our other location

Visit the legion of honor.

Overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge from its home in Lincoln Park and featuring European, ancient, graphic, and contemporary art, the Legion of Honor has welcomed visitors for nearly a century.

TheBetterVacation.com

Everything about tourist attractions

De Young Museum – tickets, prices, free days, Hamon Tower

Edited by: Rekha Rajan Fact checked by: Jamshed V Rajan

De Young Museum, San Francisco

De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park is one of the largest public arts institutions in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Museum gets its name from Michael H. de Young, who spearheaded the creation of the fine arts destination in 1895.

The museum is home to painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century, from Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.

Besides costume and textile arts, visitors also explore international modern and contemporary art.

This article shares everything you must know before booking your De Young Museum tickets.

Table of contents

What to expect at de young museum, where to book tickets, how do online tickets work, de young museum ticket price, de young museum tickets, how to get to de young museum, de young museum timings, how long does the tour take, best time to visit de young museum, audio tours at de young museum, de young museum free days, what’s inside de young museum, de young’s hamon tower, de young cafe.

Step through the de Young Museum doors, and you’ll be greeted by a stunning collection of American art, international contemporary art, textiles, and costumes spanning centuries.

Impressive examples of American art, such as paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, and photography, will be found in the permanent collection. 

Works by well-known painters like Ansel Adams, Diego Rivera, and Georgia O’Keeffe will be on display, providing a thorough understanding of the rich history of American art.

From avant-garde installations to boundary-pushing sculptures, the museum’s contemporary art collection showcases the thought-provoking evolution of artistic expression.

Delve into the rich history of textiles and costumes from around the world, featuring a kaleidoscope of colors, patterns, and craftsmanship.

The de Young Museum constantly hosts an array of temporary exhibitions, presenting a dynamic mix of artistic movements, thematic showcases, and cutting-edge multimedia installations.

Tickets for the de Young Museum are available online and at the attraction.

Online ticket prices tend to be cheaper than tickets at the attraction.

When you buy online, you can avoid the long queues at the ticket counters. 

Because de Young Museum sells limited tickets, they may sell out during peak days.

Booking early helps avoid last-minute disappointments.

Visit the ticket  booking page for de Young Museum , select the preferred date and number of tickets, and buy the tickets immediately.

Once you purchase tickets, they get delivered to your email address.

There is no need to get printouts of the ticket. 

Show the e-ticket on your smartphone at the entrance and walk in.

Please carry a valid ID with you.

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For de Young Museum: Entry Ticket , adults aged between 18 and 64 are charged US$20.

College students with ID are charged US$11 for entry, while seniors above 64 years of age are charged US$17.

Visitors under 18 years of age can enter the museum for free.

De Young Museum tickets

Image: Selene

These tickets provide a brilliant deal as, along with de Young Museum, they also allow you same-day admission to the Legion of Honor , an art museum merely a 12-minute drive from the de Young

Access to some temporary exhibitions is excluded from this visit, and you can visit them by paying an extra fee.

Once at the art museum, you can explore at your own pace or join a free guided tour led by one of the museum guides. 

Ticket Price

Adult ticket (18 to 64 years): US$20 Seniors ticket (65+ years): US$17 College Students (with student ID): US$11 Child ticket (up to 17 years): Free entry

De Young Museum is at Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118. Get Directions

The building is an essential architectural landmark of San Francisco and offers sweeping views of the city from a fascinating observation deck. 

The de Young Museum is in the Golden Gate Park, next to another popular San Francisco fixture, the California Academy of Sciences.

You can use  MUNI  to get to the de Young Museum, a mini-bus and light-rail mass transportation service in San Francisco.

N Judah, a Muni Metro light rail line in San Francisco at 9th Avenue and Irving Street station, is just a 10-minute walk from the museum.

If you don’t want to walk, get onto the 44-O’Shaughnessy bus outside 9th Avenue and Irving St Station and get down at the Cal Academy stop on Music Concourse Drive​.

When Southbound,  44-O’Shaughnessy bus  stops at the Music Concourse on Tea Garden Drive (across Cal Academy).

When Northbound, it stops in front of the Academy of Music Concourse Drive.

5-Fulton bus  stops at  8th Avenue and Fulton Street bus stop, a five-minute walk from the de Young museum

The 7-Haight bus line stops at Lincoln Way & 9th Ave bus stop, just a seven-minute walk from the museum.

Cars for Rent and Taxis for hire are easily available in San Francisco.

Put on Google Maps to navigate to the de Young Museum.

De Young Museum doesn’t have parking of its own.

When driving to the museum, the Music Concourse Garage is the best spot to park your car.

It is an underground parking facility a few steps from the Academy’s main entrance.

You can enter the parking facility from  Music Concourse @ MLK, Jr.  or  Fulton @ 10th.

The Garage remains open from 7 am to 7 pm from Fridays to Wednesdays.

On Thursdays, it stays open from 7 am to 11 pm.

The parking charges are $5.25/hour on weekdays and $6.25/hour on weekends.

After 5.30 pm, the cost of parking goes up to a flat rate of $17.

Learn about more parking spots nearby.

* Unfortunately, car burglaries occur often in San Francisco. Please don’t leave anything valuable in your car, in the trunk, or out of plain sight to lower your risk. For $8, you can rent a secure locker at Academy to store your stuff.

Several parking slots are available within Golden Gate Park and along Fulton Street. 

de Young entrance

If you park your vehicle in Music Concourse Garage, you can cross into the museum through a simple tunnel walk from Fulton Street and 10th Avenue. 

If you have parked elsewhere or have taken public transport, you must enter from the entrance on Tea Garden Drive. 

Some other parking spots can be found in the vicinity.

Tip: Book your De Young Museum tickets in advance for a quick, seamless entry.

De Young Museum opens at 9.30 am and closes at 5.15 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. 

During the peak season (28 Mar to 28 Nov), the museum remains open till 8.45 pm on Fridays.

The last entry is an hour before closure. 

It remains closed on Mondays, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. 

From the perspective of casual visitors, a tour of the de Young Museum typically takes around 2 to 3 hours, providing ample time to explore the museum’s architecture, permanent collection, and any special exhibits that may interest them.

For art enthusiasts who wish to delve deeper into the museum’s offerings, a visit to the de Young Museum can span anywhere from 3 to 4 hours, allowing them to immerse themselves in the art thoroughly, engage with the exhibits, and possibly interact with docents or guides for additional insights.

De Young Museum Gallery

Since De Young Museum is spaciously laid out and doesn’t seem crowded even when many visitors are exploring the exhibits, any time of the day is good enough for a visit.

Most visitors usually spend two to three hours exploring De Young Museum.

When you start early, you can explore the exhibits and then stop by De Young Cafe for lunch. 

Visitors who prefer an immersive experience of the Permanent Collections can opt for De Young’s audio tours, which are available for purchase.

Visitors can get the audio tour in English and Spanish at the entrance for $7 per person. 

Or book them online along with your De Young Museum tickets . 

The audio tour is customized for kids and adults and is designed by the museum’s curators.

Visitors must bring their mobiles and headphones. 

Check out this visitor guide if you don’t plan to spend on the museum’s audio tours.

Fine arts museums of San Francisco

De Young in San Francisco offers free entry to qualified visitors on the first Tuesday of the month and all Saturdays. 

Free Tuesdays for all

General admission is free on the first Tuesday of every month.

Visitors can see the permanent collection galleries for free but must purchase tickets to enter the special exhibitions.

It would be best if you visited the museum’s Ticketing Desk to avail these free tickets, which are issued based on availability. 

Free Saturdays for locals

The de Young art museum offers all nine Bay Area county residents free general admission every Saturday.

Locals must reserve tickets in advance and have a valid local ID (driver’s license or postmarked envelope) for verification on the day of the visit. 

The nine qualifying counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.

The San Francisco Fine Art Museum has a three-story main building and a nine-story educational tower.

Access to both these sections is included in the regular De Young Museum tickets .

The primary building has three levels: Concourse, Exhibition, and Upper Gallery.

Map of De Young Museum

The main entrance of the De Young Museum leads to the Concourse Level. 

Here, visitors see the art of the Americas, 20th Century and Contemporary Art, Native American Art, and the Piazonni Murals Room.

The de Young Cafe is also on the Concourse Level, as is the Sculpture Garden entrance.

The exhibition level is below the Concourse level, and the Herbst Special Exhibition galleries are the main attractions here. 

The upper Gallery Level is above the Concourse Level. 

You can view various paintings, sculptures, decorative objects, furniture, and more throughout your visit. 

Besides what’s on display in the galleries, visitors enjoy the outdoor sculptures and site-specific artworks near the West Entrance in the Osher Sculpture Garden and the Marcus Garden of Enchantment.

The nine-story De Young’s Hamon Tower has an observation deck offering sweeping views of San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean.

Visitors don’t need a ticket to get to the observation deck and enjoy the fascinating views. 

The Hamon Tower Observation Level closes one hour before the museum closes for the day.

The De Young Cafe on the Concourse Level is the perfect place to take a break from centuries-old artwork on display at the museum.

The café is open from 11 am to 3 pm and has limited indoor and outdoor dining.

Reservations are not accepted; you must have a De Young Museum ticket to enter.

Sources # Famsf.org # Wikipedia.org # En.wikiarquitectura.com # Tripadvisor.com The travel specialists at TheBetterVacation.com use only high-quality sources while researching & writing their articles. We make every attempt to keep our content current, reliable and trustworthy .

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# Alcatraz Island # San Francisco Zoo # California Academy of Sciences # Monterey Bay Aquarium # San Francisco aquarium # Exploratorium # De Young Museum # San Francisco Bus Tours # Madame Tussauds # San Francisco Bay Cruise # San Francisco Ghost Tour # The Tech Interactive # San Francisco MoMA # San Francisco Dinner Cruise # SFO Go Car Tour # Legion of Honor Museum # Walt Disney Family Museum # Museum of 3D Illusions # 7D Ride Experience

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She is an explorer who wants to fulfill her wanderlust. Destinations don't matter as long as she gets to step out of her home and keep going. She prefers to travel with a buddy because it helps her share the experience with a loved one. Favorite Cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Athens

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A guide to ‘Ramses the Great’: 8 takeaways from the de Young’s new exhibit of ancient Egyptian artifacts

audio tour de young museum

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Thousands of years before the ’49ers descended upon San Francisco in the hopes of unearthing a fortune in the mountains of California, a living god half a world away was laid to rest in The Valley of the Kings with a cache of gold that all but the most fortunate prospecters could have only dreamed of.

“ Ramses the Great and The Gold of the Pharaohs ,” opening Aug. 20 at the de Young Museum, showcases this royal mother lode in one of the largest exhibitions of ancient Egyptian splendor to come to the West Coast since the de Young’s “King Tut” exhibits—which captivated local museum goers in 1979 and 2009 .

The exhibit features 181 artifacts lent to the de Young by the Egyptian government. It includes priceless relics found at the tomb of the powerful Pharaoh Ramses II, along with animal mummies, intricate jewerly and recently uncovered burial objects from the ancient cities of Dashur and Tanis along the Nile River. Present day Egyptologists continue to excavate and unearth new treasures.

The collection has been billed as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to see the “greatest collection of Ramses II objects and Egyptian jewelry ever to travel to the United States”—and the hype is not without merit.

audio tour de young museum

In recent decades, evolutions in international law and curatorial codes of ethics have made exhibitions like “Ramses the Great” increasingly difficult to coordinate. All of the objects currently on display at the de Young are on a short-term special loan from Egypt—approved by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Supreme Council of Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt. They are not likely to leave their country of origin again for a long time after this world tour ends in 2025.

But “Ramses the Great” is more than a rare chance to see Egyptian treasures. It is also a cutting-edge display of applied technology. The highly choreographed experience features state-of-the-art lighting, sound and multimedia equipment—and includes a virtual reality tour of two of Egypt’s most impressive monuments (tickets to this cost extra).

With all there is to see and experience, you may feel overwhelmed by it all. To help you better appreciate “Ramses the Great and The Gold of the Pharaohs” here are eight essential takeaways—from easily recognizing a Pharaoh and quickly understanding Egyptian seating arrangements to avoiding the nausea some experience while strapped into a VR headset. Read on to prepare yourself to walk through the show like an Egyptian.

The King is King

With few exceptions, artistic depictions of the pharaohs remained the same for 3,000 years. But while the people of ancient Egypt were familiar with the uniform aesthetic, modern museum goers would do well to keep a few things in mind.

For starters, ancient Egyptian artists often put the king’s head on the body of a lion to form a sphinx. Also, the patriarchy was just as real then as it is today: All pharaohs, no matter their actual sex or gender, were depicted as male.

Finally, keep an eye out for some of these key pieces of royal regalia:

  • Triangular royal kilt, with an ornamental bull’s tail.
  • Emblematic crown with a sacred cobra, uraeus , at the forehead. The nemes, the most common headdress, has black and gold stripes framing the face and hanging to the shoulders.
  • False rectangular beard.
  • Hand held scepters, crook and flails or an ankh (symbol for life).

Size Matters

Size indicates relative importance. Pharaohs are often rendered larger than life to symbolize their authority and superhuman powers. In wall reliefs and paintings, workers and entertainers, flora and fauna, and architectural details are subsidiary and usually shown in smaller scale than the figures of the gods, kings, high officials or landowners. 

Walk Like an Egyptian

Why did the ancient Egyptian paintings depict people in such stilted and stiff poses? The key is to think of these paintings as a composite established hieroglyphic forms, which were never intended to be naturalistic representations. The views of the body come from different perspectives: the eye and shoulders from the front; torso and hips from three-quarter view; head, feet, legs and arms in profile.

Take a Seat

Seated figures are almost certainly of a higher social status than anyone shown standing or working. Gods, goddesses, kings and scribes are often depicted as sitting. Scribes were part of an elite group of individuals who knew over 700 hieroglyphs. The elevation of these select writers attests to the importance of writing and literacy in Egypt. A scribe is usually seated with a papyrus scroll on his lap. 

Stoned Poses

Egyptian sculptors seldomly completely freed the figure from the stone block. With few exceptions they did not carve out the space around the legs or between a figure's body and arms due to the stone’s brittleness. Artists left that negative space filled in so the sculpture stayed intact.This technique provided not only with a desired longevity but also resulted in a very centered, calm, poised and motionless pose. 

Colorful Patterns

Jewelry, sculpture, wall paintings and coffins are enriched with patterns and bright colors. Egyptians adored patterns—not only because they are pleasing to the eye, but because they could go on and on without end and thus served as a potent symbol for eternal life. Colors also had both aesthetic appeal and symbolic meaning for ancient Egyptians:

  • Yellow & Gold = Sun and Ra, the Sun God
  • Red & Orange = Desert, power, blood and vitality
  • Blue & Green = Water, the Nile River and vegetation
  • White = Lotus flower and purity
  • Black = Death and resurrection

As Good As Gold

Mined along the Nile River and the Eastern Desert of Egypt, gold was prized for its color and sheen. Since it does not rust, gold served as a metaphor for eternal life. The Egyptians’ love of gold has never been a secret, and royal Egyptian burial sites have been a target for grave robbers for millennia. As such, exhibits like “Ramses the Great” are particularly noteworthy; by the time modern museums started seeking out ancient Egyptian relics, much of the gold beneath the sand was long gone.

In recent years, Western museums have been forced to reckon with the role they have played in encouraging, enabling and profiting from ancient plunder . In an effort to right historical wrongs, the UNESCO 1970 Convention, a permanent intergovernmental committee, oversees the return and restitution of cultural property and takes measures to prohibit the import, export or transfer ownership of objects from the country of origin.

Don’t Skip The VR Tour

Tucked away in a side room on the ground floor of the de Young, the “Ramses & Nefertari: Journey to Osiris” virtual reality tour is available to visitors for an additional $18. Donning a VR headset and headphones, viewers are invited to sit in an articulating chair that twists, turns, rumbles and even occasionally releases the scent of frankincense. The experience is not recommended for small children and a disclaimer on the de Young’s website warns that it may induce anxiety and vertigo in some participants. However, the virtual tour does an impressive job of conveying the scale and grandeur of these ancient Egyptian sites without the price or stress of intercontinental travel. It is well worth the extra charge. Pro tip: closing your eyes while swooping through narrow hallways can help viewers avoid feeling nauseous.

Ramses the Great and The Gold of the Pharaohs

de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr. Aug. 20 Through Feb. 12, 2023 |  $23+ ($16-$18 additional for VR experience)

Nick Veronin contributed additional reporting for this story.

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Tickets to De Young Museum

Admission prices, parking, directions, and more.

audio tour de young museum

If you're interested in visiting the De Young Museum, this post will cover details about ticket prices, directions, parking, and what you can expect to see and do while you're here.

  • Tickets & Hours
  • How to Get Here

Internationally acclaimed, the De Young Museum is the third most visited art museum in the United States.

It is one that every art, architecture, and culture lover should make a point of exploring.

Reopened in a newly designed building in 2005, the de Young dates back to 1895 and, in its own words, “has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city and a cherished destination for millions of residents and visitors to the region for over 100 years.”

The main categories of collection at the De Young Museum include American Art, Spanning from 17th century to the 20th century; Africa Art, a collection featuring masks, sculptures, textiles, textile arts and ceremonial objects from Africa.

Art of Oceania, showcasing the artistic traditions of Pacific Island cultures including Mori woodcarvings from New Zealand; Art of the Americas, highlighting indigenous art from the Americas, including North, Central, and South America and Textiles and Costumes, Featuring a wide range of textiles, garments, and fashion.

This is one of the best  44 museums in San Francisco .

De Young Museum Tickets

This section lists the different ticket options and add-ons available for the De Young Museum.

But there's no need to pay full price - take a look at  the discounts section  to find ways to get cheap tickets.

General Admission prices

  • Senior 65+: $17
  • Youth 0-17: FREE
  • Click here to purchase tickets .

Special Exhibits (Add-On Charge)

  • Senior 65+: $27
  • Youth 6 - 17: $15
  • Audio Guide: $8

De Young Museum Hours

Monday:  Closed

Tuesday – Sunday:  9:30 am – 5:15 pm

Hamon Observation Tower closes at 4:30 pm.

HOW TO GET HERE

You have several transportation options to get to the De Young Museum:

Driving Directions

If you're approaching from the north, take US-101 South and exit at Fell Street. Turn left onto Fell Street and continue onto John F. Kennedy Drive. The museum will be on your right.

If you're coming from the south, take US-101 North and exit at Octavia Street. Continue straight onto Octavia Street and turn right onto Fell Street. Follow Fell Street, which will merge into John F. Kennedy Drive. The museum will be on your right.

Use the below map to get to the museum from your present location.

Public Transportation

There are several ways to reach the museum using public transportation.

  • Bus : Several Muni bus lines serve the area near the De Young Museum. You can check the official website of the  San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)  for specific bus routes and schedules.
  • Light Rail:  The N-Judah Muni Metro line stops near the museum. Exit at the Judah/Lincoln Way stop and walk east to the museum.
  • Golden Gate Park Shuttle:  Visitors to the park can enjoy the complimentary Golden Gate Park shuttle service. The shuttle runs every 15 minutes between 9 am and 6 pm on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. On weekdays, the shuttle operates every 20 to 25 minutes between noon and 6 pm.

Parking at De Young Museum

Free parking

There are only a restricted number of free parking spaces on the streets within Golden Gate Park and along Fulton Street.

Paid parking

You can find paid parking options for both cars and bicycles at the Music Concourse Garage.

This garage is owned by the Music Concourse Community Partnership (MCCP) and operated by REEF Parking.

To access the garage, you can enter from Fulton Street and 10th Avenue on the north side or from Concourse Drive near the California Academy of Sciences on the south side.

In addition to this, the museum is also wheelchair accessible by ramp or level ground.

EXHIBITS AND EVENTS

audio tour de young museum

The De Young Exterior

The exterior of the De Young was designed with the surrounding landscape in mind; warm copper hues, stone, wood, and glass reflect and balance the nature of Golden Gate Park around it.

The perforated copper walls are meant to make one feel as though they were looking through a tree canopy — a work of art in itself!

The De Young Tower

Be sure to visit the De Young’s 144-foot tower for a panorama view of the surrounding Sunset and Richmond Districts, with the sunny day possibility of seeing even more of San Francisco.

The De Young Sculpture Garden

Before or after you visit the museum, take a stroll outside of the museum.

Not only will this give you an opportunity to admire the building’s unique design and get an up-close view of the copper, but it will also provide you with an added art experience.

Through the various small gardens surrounding the museum, you’ll see sculptures both old and new, including some of the museum’s original sphinxes.

Permanent Collection at the De Young Museum

The De Young hosts one of the finest collections of American art, showcasing over 1,000 paintings dating from 1670 to today.

Along with paintings, the museum has over 800 sculptures, 3,000 decorative objects, 13,000 textiles and costumes, and much much more.

Special Exhibits at the De Young

The special exhibits at the De Young Museum are ever-changing and always exquisite.

With past exhibits including Bulgari jewelry, Johannes Vermeer’s  Girl with a Pearl Earring , Danny Lyon photography, Jean-Paul Gaultier’s haute couture fashion, Picasso, Van Gogh, Cézanne, and others.

De Young Museum Events

The De Young Museum conducts a variety of events and programs to engage and educate visitors. Some of the events commonly held at the de Young Museum include:

  • Sketching in the Galleries
  • Docent Tour: Ansel Adams in Our Time
  • Free Saturdays at the de Young
  • Compelling Conversations
  • Highlights Tour

In addition to this, museum also conducts some date specific events. To know more about them, click  here .

Frequently Asked Questions

The de Young Museum. Image source: Wikimedia user Gobbler.

How long does it take to go through the De Young Museum?

On average, visitors spend around two to three hours exploring the De Young Museum in San Francisco.

However, the duration can vary based on individual interest and the size of current exhibitions. Plan accordingly and allocate more time if you have specific areas of interest.

Is the Hamon Observation Tower free to access?

Yes, it is free to access and doesn't require tickets for entry.

Hamon Observation Tower is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

How many floors does the De Young Museum have?

The main museum building has a total 3 floors, but there is also a tower which is a 9 story structure.

Does the De Young Museum permit backpacks, small bags, or food?

Visitors can bring backpacks of a regular size.

Any bags, purses, or backpacks that are bigger than 8" x 8" x 5" need to be held by hand.

For the protection of the collection, the museum doesn't allow visitors to wear backpacks in the galleries.

Bags larger than the typical carry-on size (over 9 inches by 14 inches by 22 inches) are prohibited.

Basically, if you have a purse or something of similar size, you should be fine.

Only food and drinks bought at the De Young café are permitted in the café and adjacent terraces, so you cannot bring snacks inside.

Do I need to reserve tickets to the De Young Museum in advance?

Yes, it is recommended to reserve tickets to De Young Museum in advance.

Reserving tickets in advance helps ensure your entry into the museum and allows you to plan your visit accordingly.

It also helps manage crowd capacity and maintain a smooth visitor experience.

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How to See the De Young Museum

audio tour de young museum

de Young Museum

The de Young Museum in San Francisco is the city's flagship art museum, but don't let that lofty description put you off. Visitors to the de Young find lots to see, including a collection of art that includes works from 17th- to 20th-century America, the native Americas, Africa, and the Pacific.

The de Young Museum also hosts most of the important special exhibits that come to San Francisco. Their curation is excellent for both presentation and explanation. Check the de Young exhibit schedule  to find out what's coming up when you visit.

The de Young has been around since 1895, but the current facility was completed in 2005, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and San Francisco's Fong & Chan Architects. People either love or hate the building itself, but everyone agrees that views from the observation tower are great.

In fact, the tower is a don't-miss part of the museum and is open to the public without an admission ticket. All you have to do is get there at least an hour before the museum's closing time and walk through the lobby to the tower elevator. You can also get into the museum's excellent gift shop without buying a ticket. 

If you're in a hurry to see the de Young, look for these five paintings which span more than three centuries. They are also among their most spectacular holdings:

  • Still Life With Crabs on a Pewter Plate by Abraham Mignon (1669-1672)
  • Caroline de Bassano, Marquise d’Espeuilles by John Singer Sargent (1884)
  • Diego Rivera's Two Women and a Child (1926)
  • Crusades by Helen Frankenthaler (1976)
  • A Particular Kind of Heaven by Ed Ruscha (1983)

Tips for Visiting the de Young Museum

The de Young Museum doesn't allow baby carrier backpacks (unless they convert to the front), but strollers are fine.

Ticket counter lines are rarely long, but you can buy your tickets online before you go to avoid any waiting.

If you visit the de Young and its sister museum the Legion of Honor on the same day, you'll only have to pay one admission fee.

To dodge the crowds at popular exhibits, go at the latest entry time and go slow, staying at the end of your group.

The Museum Café is a good place to get a bite to eat, and it's a good place to view the Barbro Osher Sculpture Garden. It closes about an hour before the museum does.

To get more out of your visit, you can rent an audio tour or take a free docent tour. Or do it at your pace:  Download their app which gives in-depth insights into more than 30 of their works.

The museum's rules about what you can bring in and what you can do inside are typical for art museums, but there are few things you can't stow in their coast-check area, so you might want to check the policies before you go .

What You Need to Know About the de Young Museum

M. H. de Young Museum 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive San Francisco, CA de Young Museum website

The museum is open most days of the week, except major holidays. You can find their operating schedule on the  de Young Museum website . They are also sometimes  open late on Friday evenings , with music and local artist demonstrations.

You don't need a reservation to visit the de Young except for special exhibits, which require a separate, timed-entry ticket. The museum charges a general admission fee, but children under six years old get in free. The museum also offers monthly free days for the general public. Check the schedule for free days on their website .

The de Young Museum is on the east end of Golden Gate Park, near the California Academy of Sciences , The San Francisco Botanical Garden , and Japanese Tea Garden . 

If you drive to the de Young Museum, enter the underground garage at Fulton Street and 8th Avenue. You can park for free on streets nearby, but on a busy day, it's a frustrating search that is best avoided. The most convenient places for street parking are John F. Kennedy Drive near the Conservatory of Flowers or Martin Luther King Drive. Find several ways to get there by car .

Parking fills up on weekends, and some nearby streets are closed to automobiles on Sunday. Using public transit is not only convenient but if you keep your pass or transfer to show at the ticket desk, it will save you money on museum admission.  Check public transit options .

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de Young Free Museum Weekend + Free Audio Tour (May 20-21)

Free / learn more.

Submitted by the Event Organizer

de Young Museum Hosts 8 Free Weekends in 2023 (March 18-Sept. 17)

The US Premiere of “Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence” at the de Young Museum received grant from Google.org providing eight weekends of free admission to the exhibition and support for vital public programming, including school and youth curriculum.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (the “Museums”) just announced the receipt of their single largest grant in the institution’s history from a corporate foundation. Google.org, with support from Google Arts & Culture, has provided $1 million in funding in support of the US premiere of the exhibition Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence , which opens at the de Young museum on March 18.

de Young Museum Free Weekends 2023 Select Weekends, March 18-Sept. 17, 2023 9:30am to 5:15pm de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., Golden Gate Park, SF FREE for all visitors (does not include certain special exhibitions) The Museums will welcome all visitors free of charge for the following eight weekends: Saturday–Sunday, March 18–19 (opening weekend) + Free artist talk at 1pm on March 18 Saturday–Sunday, April 15–16 Saturday–Sunday, May 20–21 Saturday–Sunday, June 17–18 Saturday–Sunday, July 8–9 Saturday–Sunday, July 29–30 Saturday–Sunday, August 19–20 Saturday–Sunday, September 16–17 What is free? What’s not free? General admission on free dates includes entry to see the permanent galleries plus Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence (on view March 18–October 15, 2023) Free audio guide There are no residency requirements (i.e. you don’t have to be a Bay Area resident. This offer is valid for anyone) Free public programming and events Free days do NOT include admission to special exhibitions like Sargent and Spain, which requires separate admission fee Get Free Tickets Special Events Free Programs – In addition, there will be many opportunities for visitors to engage with free public programs, including an opening day talk with artist Kehinde Wiley, facilitated by the Museums’ Curator in Charge of Contemporary Art and Programming Claudia Schmuckli on Saturday March 18 from 1 -2 pm in the Koret Auditorium at the de Young museum. An accompanying four-part conversation series will run throughout the exhibition, exploring its major themes, and connecting with current racial justice conversations. Workshops – Google.org’s grant also supports a special series of workshops titled The Quiet Hours, a series of community undertakings and collective mournings, that will take place on May 27, August 5, August 19, and September 16 in the de Young’s Piazzoni Murals Room from 1 – 2 pm. Paying homage to Black funerary practices, the series will be hosted by artist and professor Angela Hennessy and poet, author, and public theologian Marvin K. White. Other Opportunities for Free Admission Google.org will support eight weekends of free admission for visitors to the exhibition and the de Young museum for visitors. This is in addition to free admission to the de Young and Legion of Honor for Bay Area residents on Saturdays supported through a generous grant from Diane B. Wilsey, as well as free admission to all on the first Tuesday of the month. In addition, medical and food assistance recipients and California library card holders enjoy free admission during museum hours through the Museums for All and Discovery & Go programs. See full details of free + reduced admission .
  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by de Young Museum (@deyoungmuseum)
About Kehinde Wiley Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977, Los Angeles) is an American artist best known for his portraits that render people of color in the traditional settings of European Old Master paintings. Wiley’s work brings art history face-to-face with contemporary culture, using the visual rhetoric of the heroic, the powerful, the majestic and the sublime to celebrate Black and Brown people the artist has met throughout the world. Working in the mediums of painting, sculpture, and video, Wiley’s portraits challenge and reorient art-historical narratives, awakening complex issues that many would prefer to remain muted. In 2018, Wiley became the first African American artist to paint an official US presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery after former US president Barack Obama selected Wiley for this honor. In 2019 Wiley founded Black Rock Senegal, a multidisciplinary artist-in-residence program that invites artists from around the world to live and create work in Dakar, Senegal. Wiley is the recipient of the US Department of State’s Medal of Arts, Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Medal, and France’s distinction of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. He holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, an MFA from Yale University, and honorary doctorates from the Rhode Island School of Design and San Francisco Art Institute. He has held solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally and his works are included in the collections of more than 50 public institutions around the world. He lives and works in Beijing, Dakar, and New York.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by de Young Museum (@deyoungmuseum)

Respite Room  Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence  features paintings and sculptures that force viewers to confront their relationship to and complicity in systemic violence against Black people. Throughout the run of the exhibition, the TB Walker Textiles Education Gallery adjacent to the exhibition will be utilized as a space of respite with the primary aim of practicing care for visitors during and after their visit.  Exhibition Organization Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence  is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Presenting sponsors: Ford Foundation and Google.org. Major support is provided by Dagmar Dolby. Generous support is provided by The Harris Family, Charles and Brandi Hudson, Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman, Paul L. Wattis Foundation and Sonya Yu. Additional support is provided by the Adamolekun Family, Lisa Blackwell, Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan, Delvecchio and Kelly Finley, Bryan and Tara Meehan, Elaine Mellis, the Plexo Foundation, Soho House, Lisa and Jim Zanze, and the Contemporary Support Council. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Contemporary Arts Program is made possible through the following donors: generous support is provided by the Harris Family, Rebecca and Cal Henderson, and Vance Wall Foundation. Additional support is provided by Joachim Bechtle, Katie Colendich and Albert d’Hoste, Jeffrey N. Dauber and Marc A. Levin, Shaari Ergas, Lizelle and Martin Green, Katie Hagey & Jill Hagey in memory of their mother, Mary Beth Hagey, Kate Harbin Clammer and Adam Clammer, Ella Qing Hou and J. Sanford Miller, Kaitlyn and Mike Krieger, Lore Harp McGovern, Jason Moment, Katie Schwab Paige and Matt Paige, Rotasa Fund, Keiko Sakamoto and Bill Witte, Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Schwab, David and Roxanne Soward, Pascale Thomas and Tayo Famakinwa, Zlot Buell + Associates, and the Contemporary Support Council of the Fine Arts Museums. Visiting \ de Young Entry to  Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence  will be included in general admission to the de Young museum, with free admission for San Francisco Bay Area residents every Saturday, generously provided by Diane B. Wilsey.

The de Young Museum is open Tuesday–Sunday, 9:30 am – 5:15 pm. For more information, please visit famsf.org.

Google.org Google.org , Google’s philanthropy, brings the best of Google to help solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges combining funding, product donations and technical expertise to support underserved communities and provide opportunity for everyone. We engage nonprofits, social enterprises and civic entities who make a significant impact on the communities they serve, and whose work has the potential to produce scalable, meaningful change. LIVE FREE LIVE FREE is a justice network of thousands of organizers, faith leaders, directly impacted families, and organizations working to reimagine public safety and increase civic engagement. We build power and agency in communities to eradicate gun violence, mass criminalization, and mass incarceration. LIVE FREE sees a world where every person is safely and peacefully connected to community, free of the systemic constraints that undermine freedom. For more information on LIVE FREE, visit  www.livefreeusa.org . About Contemporary Art and Programming at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Established in 2016, the Department of Contemporary Art and Programming (CAP), led by Claudia Schmuckli, has distinguished itself through an innovative and dynamic program of commissions, exhibitions, and interventions in dialogue with the Museums’ historical sites, architecture, and permanent collections. As the only department not delineated by either medium or geography, CAP presents and collects works in all mediums and across geographies that incite dialogues, embrace a multiplicity of perspectives, and shed new light on both the past and the present. Reflecting a commitment to fostering an inclusive, diverse, and forward-looking dialogue, CAP highlights pressing societal issues and concerns through its programs and acquisitions. About the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco oversee the de Young museum, located in Golden Gate Park, and the Legion of Honor, in Lincoln Park. It is the largest public arts institution in San Francisco, and one of the most visited arts institutions in the United States. The de Young originated from the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park and was established as the Memorial Museum in 1895. It was later renamed in honor of Michael H. de Young, who spearheaded its creation. The present copper-clad landmark building, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, opened in October 2005. Reflecting an active conversation among cultures, perspectives, and time periods, the collections on view include American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the 17th to the 21st centuries; arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; costume and textile arts; and international modern and contemporary art. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco respectfully acknowledge the Ramaytush Ohlone, the original inhabitants of what is now the San Francisco Peninsula, and acknowledge that the Greater Bay Area is the ancestral territory of the Miwok, Yokuts, Patwin, and other Ohlone. Indigenous communities have lived in and moved through this place over hundreds of generations, and Indigenous peoples from many nations make their home in this region today. Please join us in recognizing and honoring their ancestors, descendants, elders, and communities.

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De Young Museum

San Francisco, California, United States of America (USA)

Sculpture and paintings in the De Young Museum of Fine Arts, San francisco

Credit Shutterstock.com/Asif Islam

Exterior of the De Young Museum of Fine Arts in the Golden Gate Park

De Young Museum of Fine Arts

Credit Shutterstock.com/Checubus

Close up of fruits artwork in the De Young Museum of Fine Arts

Credit Shutterstock.com/Tada Images

Sculpture and paintings in the De Young Museum of Fine Arts, San francisco

Set in a striking new building clad entirely in copper (designed to oxidise so that it eventually blends in with the surrounding eucalyptus trees), De Young’s highly regarded collection showcases American art from the 17th-21st centuries, as well as international contemporary art, costumes and textiles.

Together with SF’s Legion of Honor, which focuses more on ancient artworks, the two make up the largest public arts institution in the city.

Look for works by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, Surrealist painter Salvador Dali, and fabric sculptor, Nick Cave.

While you're there

The De Young’s Observation Tower offers 360-degree views on a clear day, and it also happens to be free!

Some of the city’s best food trucks congregate behind the bandshell in the Music Concourse. Their schedules and offerings vary, so check the SF Recreation and Parks website for details.

Getting there & doing it

The museum is located in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse, just across from the California Academy of Sciences and an easy walk to the Japanese Tea Garden. It’s accessible via multiple nearby bus lines and the free Golden Gate Park Shuttle, or you can walk or bike.

When to do it

The museum is open all year round, seven days a week. Weekends are undeniably crowded. For the special exhibits especially, plan on visiting midweek.

Who to go with: organised tours

Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

de Young Museum General Admission Ticket

de Young Museum General Admission Ticket

Rating 4 / 5 [71 ratings]

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California, United States of America (USA)

Early morning low fog at Golden Gate Bridge

A beautiful bayside city with home-grown authenticity, charmingly unique neighbourhoods and excellent locally-driven food. Home to the magnificent red-ochre Golden Gate Bridg e and the world’s most infamous prison, Alcatraz .

How to Create a World Class Audio Tour

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As a kid visiting museums, I approached audio tours with caution. I knew that the information on these devices would fill in a lot of the facts and details I otherwise may miss in the exhibits, but I also wanted to view the museum at my own pace and to not have to carry around an extra device.

As the technology improved, audio tours became more in sync with the visitor experience; the devices generally became smaller, and you could “choose your adventure” with a number pad that correlated to the exhibits. Great!

And audio tour technology continues to develop. Today, many museums are transitioning their audio experiences to mobile apps, which allows for greater distribution and functionality of the material.

That’s why I was THRILLED when Historic Charleston Foundation reached out to Museum Hack to create an audio tour experience for visitors to the city. Today’s post is a case study on how we created that tour, including specific best practices we applied to create a world-class audio experience.

What You Don’t Know About Charleston

The Historic Charleston Foundation (“HCF”), founded in 1947, has an important mission: to preserve and protect the integrity of the architectural, historical and cultural heritage of Charleston, South Carolina.

To “preserve”, taken literally, is, of course, ensuring that the buildings, monuments and other objects of Charleston remain in their present condition for as long as possible. Another way to think of preservation is promotion; ensuring that the city’s cultural heritage reaches the hearts and minds of visitors for generations to come.

With this mission in mind, HCF reached out to Museum Hack to collaborate on an exciting new project: an audio tour app to tell the amazing preservation stories dating back to the mid-1600s, including the stories of two historic houses and a city guide.

Let’s get into it…

Building An Audio Tour Experience From Scratch

The HCF audio tour experience took the form of a mobile app and had two main components:

  • The City Guide, with 30 audio tour stops, and 300+ additional text stops highlighting the larger preservation history of the city; and
  • The two historic house tours, including stories of the families and enslaved people who called the houses home, with both stories meant to preserve the heritage as well as educate visitors with the until now “untold stories” of these houses.

Approaching an app, or any project, of this scale involves significant planning, blueprinting, and brainstorming. We drew from the experience and expertise of Museum Hack team members across the company, including audience engagement, strategic planning, marketing and more; all in collaboration with HCF to ensure the audio tour experience we created would match their expectations. Specifically, Museum Hack has a unique style and voice, and we worked closely with HCF staff to refine the stories to match THEIR voice.

Here are four best practices we applied to create a world-class audio tour experience:

  • We built the City Guide as a nonlinear system. Like child-me, many visitors want to experience your space at their own pace and on their own path; moving to the pieces which catch their eye or inspire them. We built the City Guide as a collection of audio and text stops, so that as visitors explore the city they can use a map function on the app to find the preservation stories close to them.
  • We turned the un-highlights into highlights. Instead of telling only the best-known stories of Charleston’s rich history, we created a comprehensive resource that also included the, until now, untold stories. Because of this, the app has the unique opportunity of sharing the story of Charleston’s founding, as well as its African American history, women’s history, immigrant history, LGBTQ history, and working-class history.
  • Research, research, research . We used the usual methods of research for this project, including books, internet resources and other literature. To go a step deeper, we also interviewed Charleston residents to learn their personal stories and experience, and combined these with the already documented resources to create engaging, memorable stories.
  • Shorten those stories! Live guest experiences allow for a flexible approach to story length; you can start with the most memorable elements and then gauge your audience’s reaction, adding more facts and context as needed. With audio experiences, the story isn’t quite as flexible. After testing numerous formats, we’ve found that short stories work best to engage listeners. You can use our Story Shortening Exercise to help with this. Start with a four-minute story, and then try to tell that same story in one minute. What did you leave out? Use this one minute story as the base for your recording, and add in additional content as needed.

With these considerations, and others, we created a unique and exciting experience that visitors to Charleston will learn from and share for years to come.

Our Review: “We are obsessed with this fresh new experience…”

audio tour de young museum

Museum Hack is best known for our renegade tours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, Art Institute of Chicago and other amazing institutions across the country. From the moment we started, our guides have been obsessed with the live experience, crafting tours that engage and delight audiences.

Building an audio tour experience with the Historic Charleston Foundation was a fresh opportunity to reimagine the way visitors engage with a space. We collaborated to infuse Museum Hack’s style and approach into the app, while maintaining the reverent tone of the historic houses, content, and institution.

Are you working on an audio experience of your space? Email us at [email protected] , or learn more on our audio tour development page; we’d love to chat about best practices and how we can help create a world class experience for your visitors.

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audio tour de young museum

Beautiful audio tour solutions for

Museums and galleries.

Creating audio tours can be complicated and expensive. YourAudioTour makes it easy and affordable for museums and galleries to build custom audio tours. Get started in 30 seconds.

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What Customers Have Built

Examples of tours built by museums and galleries around the world:

Beaufort History Museum

...Welcome to an audio tour of the Beaufort History Museum... Before St. Augustine,... learn more

Augusta's Story

[Train Whistle] For nearly 13,000 years, humans have lived in what is now Augusta, Georgia.... learn more

In Focus: The Chicago Freedom Movement & t...

Enjoy an audio tour of our latest exhibition, In Focus: The Chicago Freedom Movement &... learn more

Upload Custom Audio

Upload your own custom recorded audio in mp3 format and update at any time.

Available Offline

Tours can be downloaded onto Apple and Android phones and accessed like an app.

Charge For Your Tours

Charge visitors to take your tour and get paid quickly and securely.

Text-to-Speech Technology

Instantly create audio with the latest text-to-speech technology. Choose from 5+ voices.

Why Customers Choose Us

We Make it Simple!

Most audio tour solutions are complicated . You need to jump through hoops to get a tour running and updates take time. We use simple online forms that museums and galleries use to build and customise their tours. Edit your tour and watch the changes appear immediately.

Get Started →

It's affordable!

Audio tour apps can be expensive (often costing more than $200/month!). Instead, we offer a variety of discounted plans for those who don't need all the bells and whistles. We know museums and galleries can be on a tight budget and we didn't want them locked out! We also offer not-for-profit discounts - just ask. Larger museums and galleries can still unlock more features at a higher price point.

Easy Access for Visitors!

Using bulky devices or downloading a new app from the app store is annoying . Instead, visitors access our tours on their phone like any other website . Visitors are ready to take your tour after clicking a link or scanning a QR code! You can even provide a QR code at each exhibit for visitors to scan as they experience the space.

Customize as you like!

Build a tour that you and your visitors will love! You can make it free or charge a fee. You can add a download button that visitors can click to access the tour offline. You can include maps with GPS signal or a custom map that you create yourself.

Email [email protected] with questions!

Testimonials

YourAudioTour has been the perfect solution for us. Over several years we looked at a lot of options to create an audio tour for our Art Walk, but this was by far the easiest to create, best looking finished product, and on top of that we received super customer service! Kim, Yountville CA
Great customer service! YourAudioTour implemented custom stop identifiers and QR code integration to help us create the tour we wanted. We love that the tour works on any type of phone and it is easy to share online and in person. Our visitors are loving it, keep up the great work! Joshua, Cleveland OH
Perfect for our small museum - the text to speech made it really easy! Ryan, Leeds UK
The custom audio option allowed us to build the tour we wanted. Excellent customer service helping us through the whole process! Sarah, Waterloo ON

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Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours’ itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin’s regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as “a people’s palace”. Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics, stained glass, bronze statues… Our Moscow metro tour includes the most impressive stations best architects and designers worked at - Ploshchad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Komsomolskaya, Kievskaya, Novoslobodskaya and some others.

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The guide will not only help you navigate the metro, but will also provide you with fascinating background tales for the images you see and a history of each station.

And there some stories to be told during the Moscow metro tour! The deepest station - Park Pobedy - is 84 metres under the ground with the world longest escalator of 140 meters. Parts of the so-called Metro-2, a secret strategic system of underground tunnels, was used for its construction.

During the Second World War the metro itself became a strategic asset: it was turned into the city's biggest bomb-shelter and one of the stations even became a library. 217 children were born here in 1941-1942! The metro is the most effective means of transport in the capital.

There are almost 200 stations 196 at the moment and trains run every 90 seconds! The guide of your Moscow metro tour can explain to you how to buy tickets and find your way if you plan to get around by yourself.

NECN

Years after audio prank at Boston's MFA, BJ Novak gets official pardon

In 2007, before he'd first appeared on "the office," a recording matching the tour's description was uploaded as a podcast, with a brief news clipping about the prank as its cover art — find a link below, published 3 hours ago • updated 3 hours ago.

It's not Boston's most famous art heist, but it might be the funniest.

Back in 1997, when he was in high school, B.J. Novak and a friend made convincing replicas of an audio tour for an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. The Newton South student who would go onto fame as a TV star, writer and movie director swapped out some of the original tapes for the spoofs, which start off like the original version did before taking a wild and debaucherous turn.

The museum described it as "a stunt that both confused countless innocent visitors and showed us that even the pettiest and most sophomoric pranksters among us can leave an impact on a historic institution," in a Facebook post Monday as they officially proclaimed that Novak was pardoned.

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The Newton native returned to the museum to give a lecture called "Art & Pranks" last week, where he was presented with a scroll of the proclamation.

"We were such good kids that we took the tapes we had stolen and put them in a bag in a locker at the MFA and wrote a ransom note," he said, according to to a Boston Globe account of the evening .

Safe to say it was not quite at the level of the nearby Isabella Stewart Gardner heist seven years earlier, though apparently it made an impact on the MFA's security, too.

"I even got to talk to Edwin the security guard who was there on the day of the prank. I thought it might be a sting operation at first. But it seems all is well. Thank you MFA for your sense of humor and mercy and to everyone in Boston who came to see it," Novak said in an Instagram post Tuesday.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by B.J. Novak (@bjnovak)

A representative for the museum didn't have a copy of the recording they could share with NBC10 Boston. While Novak embedded a video of the recording in a 2014 post explaining the prank on his blog , that video is now private.

At a 2011 fundraiser at Newton South, he opened up about the prank for what he suggested then was the first time, according to a contemporaneous Globe piece , which described the recording.

But in 2007, before Novak first appeared on "The Office," a recording matching the tour's description was uploaded as a podcast, with a brief news clipping about the prank as its cover art. It's credited to Peter Owen Nelson (a friend of Novak's) and B.J. Novak, and at least as of Tuesday afternoon, was available to listen on Apple Podcasts . (If you do listen, there are some curse words.)

"Quietly remove the glass and smell the rich aroma of the paints," the narrator says, sniffing. "That's it. Take it right in. Then, please, replace the glass to its previous position."

Later, in a sidebar on the Oscars, the heavily accented narrator says, "Show me the money," in a Tom Cruise impression before an elaborate "Hokey Pokey" routine.

"You see, we are spicy here at the Museum of Fine Arts. We always keep you on your toes," Bronstein says.

The recording ends with the narrator going off the rails, followed by about three uninterrupted minutes of a Tito Puente cha cha song.

More BJ Novak news

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Newton Native BJ Novak Talks Directing Debut in New Film ‘Vengeance'

audio tour de young museum

Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak Joke About Their ‘Complicated' Relationship at the 2022 Emmys

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Moscow Metro Tour

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Moscow metro private tours.

  • 2-hour tour $87:  10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off
  • 3-hour tour $137:  20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. 
  • Metro pass is included in the price of both tours.

Highlight of Metro Tour

  • Visit 10 must-see stations of Moscow metro on 2-hr tour and 20 Metro stations on 3-hr tour, including grand Komsomolskaya station with its distinctive Baroque décor, aristocratic Mayakovskaya station with Soviet mosaics, legendary Revolution Square station with 72 bronze sculptures and more!
  • Explore Museum of Moscow Metro and learn a ton of technical and historical facts;
  • Listen to the secrets about the Metro-2, a secret line supposedly used by the government and KGB;
  • Experience a selection of most striking features of Moscow Metro hidden from most tourists and even locals;
  • Discover the underground treasure of Russian Soviet past – from mosaics to bronzes, paintings, marble arches, stained glass and even paleontological elements;
  • Learn fun stories and myths about Coffee Ring, Zodiac signs of Moscow Metro and more;
  • Admire Soviet-era architecture of pre- and post- World War II perious;
  • Enjoy panoramic views of Sparrow Hills from Luzhniki Metro Bridge – MetroMost, the only station of Moscow Metro located over water and the highest station above ground level;
  • If lucky, catch a unique «Aquarelle Train» – a wheeled picture gallery, brightly painted with images of peony, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers and each car unit is unique;
  • Become an expert at navigating the legendary Moscow Metro system;
  • Have fun time with a very friendly local;
  • + Atmospheric Metro lunch in Moscow’s the only Metro Diner (included in a 3-hr tour)

Hotel Pick-up

Metro stations:.

Komsomolskaya

Novoslobodskaya

Prospekt Mira

Belorusskaya

Mayakovskaya

Novokuznetskaya

Revolution Square

Sparrow Hills

+ for 3-hour tour

Victory Park

Slavic Boulevard

Vystavochnaya

Dostoevskaya

Elektrozavodskaya

Partizanskaya

Museum of Moscow Metro

  • Drop-off  at your hotel, Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills or any place you wish
  • + Russian lunch  in Metro Diner with artistic metro-style interior for 3-hour tour

Fun facts from our Moscow Metro Tours:

From the very first days of its existence, the Moscow Metro was the object of civil defense, used as a bomb shelter, and designed as a defense for a possible attack on the Soviet Union.

At a depth of 50 to 120 meters lies the second, the coded system of Metro-2 of Moscow subway, which is equipped with everything you need, from food storage to the nuclear button.

According to some sources, the total length of Metro-2 reaches over 150 kilometers.

The Museum was opened on Sportivnaya metro station on November 6, 1967. It features the most interesting models of trains and stations.

Coffee Ring

The first scheme of Moscow Metro looked like a bunch of separate lines. Listen to a myth about Joseph Stalin and the main brown line of Moscow Metro.

Zodiac Metro

According to some astrologers, each of the 12 stops of the Moscow Ring Line corresponds to a particular sign of the zodiac and divides the city into astrological sector.

Astrologers believe that being in a particular zadiac sector of Moscow for a long time, you attract certain energy and events into your life.

Paleontological finds 

Red marble walls of some of the Metro stations hide in themselves petrified inhabitants of ancient seas. Try and find some!

  • Every day each car in  Moscow metro passes  more than 600 km, which is the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
  • Moscow subway system is the  5th in the intensity  of use (after the subways of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai).
  • The interval in the movement of trains in rush hour is  90 seconds .

What you get:

  • + A friend in Moscow.
  • + Private & customized Moscow tour.
  • + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
  • + An authentic experience of local life.
  • + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
  • + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
  • + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
  • + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
  • + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

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de Young Museum

audio tour de young museum

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audio tour de young museum

de Young Museum - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

De young museum information.

IMAGES

  1. How the creative use of audio tours is attracting a new museum audience

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  2. The Companions at de Young Museum

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  3. Why Your Museum Should Consider Audio Tours

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  4. De Young Museum: How to See the San Francisco Art Museum

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  5. The Companions at de Young Museum

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  6. Le de Young Museum à San Francisco

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COMMENTS

  1. Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence Audio Tour

    This audio tour is made possible by the generous support of Google.org. To access the audio tour at the de Young museum, please visit the ticketing desk for a headset or bring your own device and scan the QR code in the galleries. Writer/producer Frances Homan Jue. Sound designer Dennis Hysom. Voices

  2. Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence Audio Tour

    This free audio tour of "Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence" features Wiley and local activists, including Oakland-based educator and activist Hodari Davis and Reverend Wanda Johnson, mother of Oscar Grant. ... To access the audio tour at the de Young museum, please visit the ticketing desk for a headset or bring your own device and ...

  3. Tickets + hours

    Get tickets by phone 24 / 7: 888.901.6645 (800.777.9996 for members). Transaction fees apply. Press can request tickets by emailing [email protected] . Enhance your visit to the museum by purchasing an audio tour (not included in museum admission). Audio tours can be enjoyed on provided devices or your personal device.

  4. de Young

    de Young Golden Gate Park 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive San Francisco, CA 94118 Directions. Hours Tuesday - Sunday 9:30 am - 5:15 pm ... Find notable art books including museum publications, curated home decor, artisan and designer jewelry, fine art posters and prints, educational toys, and more.

  5. Audio Tours

    Audio Tours. de Young Museum Highlights. Exhibitions Archive. Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style ...

  6. De Young Museum

    Audio tours at De Young Museum. Visitors who prefer an immersive experience of the Permanent Collections can opt for De Young's audio tours, which are available for purchase. Visitors can get the audio tour in English and Spanish at the entrance for $7 per person. Or book them online along with your De Young Museum tickets.

  7. Take a Tour of De Young Museum in Union Square

    The de Young Museum offers a self-guided audio tour, daily docent tours, and private docent-led tours. You may purchase tours at the kiosk in the lobby. Audio Tours are $7 for the public and $6 for members for the permanent collection or special exhibitions.

  8. Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence

    Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (November 19, 2023-June 19, 2024) ... Listen to an audio tour featuring Kehinde Wiley and local activists. Audio Contemporary art. ... de Young Golden Gate Park 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive San Francisco, CA 94118. Open Tuesday - Sunday 9:30 am - 5:15 pm.

  9. A Guide to 'Ramses the Great' at the De Young Museum

    The Virtual Reality component of the exhibition "Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs" at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park from August 20, 2022 - February 12, 2023. | Provided by Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. | Provided by World Heritage Exhibitions ... However, the virtual tour does an impressive job of conveying the ...

  10. Tickets to De Young Museum

    This post covers prices for De Young Museum Tickets, including details about prices, hours, parking, exhibits, events, and how to get here. ... Audio Tour. Audio Guide: $8; De Young Museum Hours. Monday: Closed. Tuesday - Sunday: 9:30 am - 5:15 pm. Hamon Observation Tower closes at 4:30 pm.

  11. De Young Museum: How to See the San Francisco Art Museum

    Address. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA. Phone +1 415-750-3600. Web Visit website. The de Young Museum in San Francisco is the city's flagship art museum, but don't let that lofty description put you off. Visitors to the de Young find lots to see, including a collection of art that includes works from 17th- to 20th ...

  12. de Young Free Museum Weekend + Free Audio Tour (May 20-21)

    The US Premiere of "Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence" at the de Young Museum received grant from Google.org providing eight weekends of free admission to the exhibition and support for vital public programming, including school and youth curriculum. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (the "Museums") just announced the receipt of their single largest grant in the institution's ...

  13. de Young Museum

    The de Young, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and located in Golden Gate Park, is the nation's fifth most visited art museum. It showcases American art from the seventeenth through the twenty-first centuries, international textile arts and costumes, and art from the Americas, the Pacific, and Africa. Suggest edits to improve what we show.

  14. de Young

    de Young

  15. De Young Museum

    Wander through the museum's spectacular permanent displays of paintings, sculpture and artifacts from the Americas, Africa and Oceania, and upgrade to include the audio tour and access to the top-tier Special Exhibitions. Head up to the Hamon Observation Tower to admire stunning views of San Francisco, Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate Bridge!

  16. How to Create a World Class Audio Tour

    Here are four best practices we applied to create a world-class audio tour experience: We built the City Guide as a nonlinear system. Like child-me, many visitors want to experience your space at their own pace and on their own path; moving to the pieces which catch their eye or inspire them. We built the City Guide as a collection of audio and ...

  17. Museums and galleries

    It's affordable! Audio tour apps can be expensive (often costing more than $200/month!). Instead, we offer a variety of discounted plans for those who don't need all the bells and whistles. We know museums and galleries can be on a tight budget and we didn't want them locked out! We also offer not-for-profit discounts - just ask.

  18. de Young Museum

    About. The de Young, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and located in Golden Gate Park, is the nation's fifth most visited art museum. It showcases American art from the seventeenth through the twenty-first centuries, international textile arts and costumes, and art from the Americas, the Pacific, and Africa. Suggest edits to improve what we show.

  19. Moscow metro tour

    The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours' itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin's regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as "a people's palace". Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics ...

  20. Moscow Metro Daily Tour

    It is by far the fastest, the most popular and convenient public transport in Moscow, which also looks like an extravagant museum. The stations feature the masterpieces of Russia's greatest sculptors, painters and artisans. On this 1.5 hour tour you will see jaw-dropping frescoes, sculptures, chandeliers and stained glass mosaics. We will ...

  21. BJ Novak's prank Boston museum audio tour: Audio, photos

    Back in 1997, when he was in high school, B.J. Novak and a friend made convincing replicas of an audio tour for an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. The Newton South student who would go onto ...

  22. Moscow Metro Tour with Friendly Local Guides

    Description Moscow Metro private tours. 2-hour tour $87: 10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off 3-hour tour $137: 20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. Metro pass is included in the price of both tours. Highlight of Metro Tour

  23. de Young Museum

    The de Young, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and located in Golden Gate Park, is the nation's fifth most visited art museum. It showcases American art from the seventeenth through the twenty-first centuries, international textile arts and costumes, and art from the Americas, the Pacific, and Africa. Suggest edits to improve what we show.

  24. Moscow Metro Daily Tour: Small Group

    Moscow has some of the most well-decorated metro stations in the world but visitors don't always know which are the best to see. This guided tour takes you to the city's most opulent stations, decorated in styles ranging from neoclassicism to art deco and featuring chandeliers and frescoes, and also provides a history of (and guidance on how to use) the Moscow metro system.