land's end

As I mentioned before back in August, the beautiful Legion of Honor museum in Lincoln Park, on the northwest edge of the peninsula that is San Francisco, boasts great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the beginning of the bay. What I didn't know until a few weeks ago is that there is a fabulous little hiking trail past the museum, along the edge of the water. It's called Land's End, and for good reason. You may be in a very large, bustling American city, but you wouldn't know it when you step onto the trail. We started at Point Lobos, where the historic Cliff House restaurant perches above the Pacific. We headed north, into Lincoln Park, and followed the trail as it curved east toward the Golden Gate Bridge. We were rewarded with fantastic views of the bridge from a lesser-seen angle. All this is right in the city. Who knew?

the city of light meets the city by the bay

While the famous Musée d'Orsay in Paris is spending 2010 undergoing renovations, nearly 100 of its renowned pieces of art traveled to San Francisco for an unprecedented exhibition at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay is the largest loan of its kind, and it's closing next week, so I scurried across town to see famous Impressionist pieces like The Dance Class by Edgar Degas, which is one of my favorites.

In conjunction with this spectacular exhibition, the Legion of Honor art museum, in Lincoln Park, is showing Impressionist Paris: City of Light. This exhibition provides context for the de Young exhibition with prints, photographs and illustrations of Paris during the mid- to late-1800s when Monet, Degas, Manet, etc. were living and painting in Paris. The Legion of Honor has great art, but the building itself, along with its location near the coast and the Golden Gate Bridge, are enough to attract visitors.

The Legion of Honor Museum in Lincoln Park

A mini Louvre feature in the courtyard transports you to Paris

A view of the bay from the courtyard of the Legion of Honor

A view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Lincoln Park