Chinese Historical Society

A climbable water dragon wrapped around a two-level tower and slide, and a fiery phoenix between the tot and big-kid zones.

A small volunteer-run history hall in Japantown. Reading-heavy, and better with older children.

A grand old Nob Hill hotel with beehives in the rooftop garden and a family room with a bunk bed. A band plays on a boat in the Tonga Room, the hotel's old indoor pool, and at the holidays there's a life-sized gingerbread house.

Fairmont tiki bar with indoor rainstorms.

A Chinatown alley the width of a hallway where two women fold cookies off a hot press by hand. Two minutes, a sample, and worth the detour.

Nob Hill luxury hotel with a kids' program, a kids' menu, and a garden terrace.