I believe I paid 10$ for senior and child under 16. This was a beautiful self-guided tour. My nephew had built this mission when he was in the 4th grade and remembered it. So it was his idea to make this one of our stops while in San Francisco. Great choice! My favorite was the cemetery cemetery, such a serene, place of beauty for the remains of our earthly bodies…

The Mission and Basilica are wonderful to visit in a neighborhood far from any crowds in SF. The 18th century Mission marks the beginning of the city so there is incredible history here. The modern Basilica next to the Mission is an amazingly gorgeous building. Together they are a great way to spend an hour learning about the historic and religious heart of the city. A subtle but extremely rewarding experience.

Amazing basilica near Dolores park in San Francisco. You can easily reach this by the F train to 15th and market street, and walking 5 minutes. The tour is $10 and you go on a self guided tour. I did read information in the basilica about Sunday services there that are open to the public as well. This is one of the 21 mission churches throughout California all located about 30 miles from each other. The basilica is magnificent as well as the outdoor area where there is an old cemetery. There is also a large placard on the outside wall dedicated to the church from the DAR daughters of the American revolution which was neat to see.

The Mission Dolores Basilica offers a fascinating glimpse into history with its stunning architecture and beautiful stained glass windows, some of which date back to the 1700s. A self-guided tour costs just $10, granting access not only to the basilica itself but also to the adjacent small museum and peaceful cemetery, where you can immerse yourself in the mission’s rich past. During my visit, the atmosphere was serene, with fewer than a dozen people inside, allowing for quiet reflection and an uninterrupted experience. You’ll enter and exit through the gift shop, which offers a variety of unique souvenirs to commemorate your visit.

Where to start? If you are visiting the city this place should be definitely on your list. We took tram F from Powell Street where is the cable car turn and we got out at Church St/16th St. Then we walked about 5 minutes on 16th St to the Mission San Francisco de Asís which is known as Mission Dolores. But first you have to know that there are two churches - the taller and very ornamental exterior is that of Basilica which was built in 1918 on the same place of the previous church destroyed in the earthquake in 1906. Next to it is smaller Mission Dolores adobe chapel which is the oldest building in San Francisco from 1776. You can see the Mission Dolores Basilica church towers from distance. When we came near we did hear singing, beautiful, in Spanish - we didn't understood - but we stood outside for a while and listen. I said to my husband that it's probably service, and it was, we sit quietly in one of the back benches and listen to the wonderful singing. Actually I switched my mobile on and recorded a short bit of it - everybody who did hear it didn't think it's singing during service in the church, it's like modern folk song, it's difficult to describe it, you have to be at Spanish mass and simply listen. We decided that while there is mass we will visit the older chapel and come back later. The entry fee for chapel, small museum and cemetery self guided tour was $7 per adult. The chapel is wonderful, as is the Basilica. I will not describe what everything we saw there, you have to visit it. But don't miss the cemetery, we found there gravestones of settlers from Scotland, Dalmatia (now Croatia), Ireland, France, Italy, New York etc. It's one of a few still existing cemeteries in the city despite the last person was buried in 1898. There were buried thousands of Native Americans but we found only a few graves of them. All together there are about 200 headstones now and there is a list of all at the beginning of the cemetery. This is amazing place from many points of view - history, culture, art even botany.