These are the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco's two flagship buildings, and the permanent collections alone justify the trip — the de Young holds American art, textiles, and the knockout African and Oceanic galleries; the Legion runs European paintings through Rodin sculpture. First Tuesdays tend to draw families and retirees in the morning, younger crowds after noon. Neither museum is a ghost town on free days, but they're not unmanageable either.

Practical note: the de Young has a paid underground garage off Concourse Drive, but Golden Gate Park also has free street parking on JFK if you're early. At Legion of Honor, street parking around Lincoln Park Golf Course is usually findable on a weekday.

If you have two hours, pick one and commit. The de Young's textile and costume collection on the lower level is chronically undervisited and worth the whole trip on its own.