Here's a radical concept: a government-funded institution giving something back to the people who actually fund it. Every Saturday, the Legion of Honor Museum opens its doors free of charge to Bay Area residents, and if you haven't taken advantage of this yet, you're literally leaving money on the table.

The Legion of Honor — perched dramatically above the Pacific in the Richmond District like it was airlifted from Paris — houses one of the finest collections of European art on the West Coast. We're talking Rodin sculptures, Rembrandt paintings, and 4,000 years of ancient art, all wrapped in a stunning Beaux-Arts building with views that make your Instagram followers hate you.

Normal admission runs $17 for adults. That means a family of four is looking at nearly $70 just to walk through the door on any given weekday. But on Saturdays? Free. Zero. Nada. Just bring proof you live in the Bay Area.

This is how public institutions should work. San Francisco residents pour an absurd amount of tax money into the city's cultural apparatus — it's nice when some of that investment actually flows back to regular people instead of disappearing into another consulting contract or feasibility study.

A few practical tips: Go early. Saturdays get crowded for obvious reasons, and parking in the Lincoln Park lot fills up fast. Take the 18 bus if you want to skip the headache. The café inside is decent but overpriced — pack a lunch and eat in the surrounding park afterward. You're already saving $17; might as well keep the fiscal responsibility going.

In a city where a mediocre burrito costs $16 and a one-bedroom apartment requires a second mortgage on your soul, free world-class art every weekend feels almost subversive. The Legion of Honor is one of San Francisco's genuine treasures, and Saturday is the day it belongs entirely to you.

Stop doom-scrolling. Go look at a Monet.