Musée Mécanique: a magical place

The Musée Mécanique, located in the heart of San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, is home to a magical collection of games and coin-operated machines from years past. You can find everything from old music players and player pianos to vintage Pac Man, whack-a-moles and the Arm Wrestler. It’s perfect for families, for a date with your special person, or for your own solo adventure! They’re open from 10am – 8pm, literally every day of the year.

I’d walked past this place for years, never thinking to go in. A few weeks ago, I finally went inside. I was blown away by the magic that I found in this museum. I used to think that a collection of coin-operated games wouldn’t be too much fun… maybe I imagined a stale collection of run-down machines? In any case, I was so wrong.

I LOVE old and vintage-y things. And I love little snippets of history, music players and arcades. I’m not really sure what led me to believe (for such a long time) that I wouldn’t enjoy this place – it was absolutely amazing! [Note: my semi-sad face in the picture below is due to the fact that I was too old/heavy to ride on the automated horse. I guess some things are just meant for real kids. 🙁 ]

And the best part? Entrance is free! You’ll have to cough up some coins to play the games (which range from a penny to a dollar), but you can thoroughly enjoy yourself for like $2-3. Unless you are/have little kids. They might want to play more. If you just want to go around admiring the beautiful, funny, charming, and/or weird machines in their collection, you are welcome to do so for zero dollars 🙂

In conclusion, if you’re visiting San Francisco, stop by the Musée Mécanique! Plus, you’ll get to enjoy all the touristy goodness of Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 while you’re at it. 🙂

P.S. This is the spot where they filmed Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway in that arcade scene in Princess Diairies.

P.P.S. I leave you with this picture. I was highly amused at the labeling. Accurate, at the very least.