CityPASS Makes Travel More Affordable

The hills, the thrills, the cable cars - must be San Francisco. Renowned for its cool neighborhoods, busy waterfront and quirky personality, San Francisco makes for a great spring getaway. And thanks to San Francisco CityPASS , smart travelers can save nearly half off admission to the city’s top attractions and enjoy a week’s worth of unlimited cable car rides.

Inside each San Francisco CityPASS is a San Francisco Muni & Cable Car seven-day Transportation Passport , as well as prepaid admission tickets to the California Academy of Sciences, Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise, Aquarium of the Bay, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The booklet also includes an option ticket that gives travelers a choice between the Exploratorium, or the de Young and Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museums .

A 2011 San Francisco CityPASS costs $69 for adults (value $129.90) and $39 for kids, 5-12. In addition to the 47 percent savings, CityPASS allows holders to bypass most of the attractions’ main-entrance ticket lines.

Spring is an ideal time to enjoy both San Francisco’s iconic cable cars - daytime temps are pleasant and the summer crush of visitors isn’t yet jostling for seats - and a one-hour Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise that includes views of the famed Golden Gate Bridge and notorious Alcatraz prison.

Back on dry land, San Francisco’s museums offer a myriad of collections and a wealth of special exhibitions. Among these is Helios: Eadweard Muybridge in a Time of Change (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Feb. 26-June 7, 2011), a first-ever retrospective of the work of pioneering British photographer Eadweard Muybridge, whose stop-motion pictures ushered in a new way of looking at the world.

San Francisco CityPASS can be purchased online atCityPASS.com or at any of the CityPASS attractions. It is valid for nine consecutive days, beginning with the first day of use. CityPASS is also available for New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hollywood, Houston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Southern California and Toronto. For more information, visit CityPASS.com.