San Francisco hosts one the nation’s most spectacular Fourth of July pyrotechnic displays. To celebrate Independence Day as a true local head down to Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39, Crissy Field, or the Marina Green to see the city’s annual fireworks display, which begins at 9:30 pm. Pier 39 also features a free concert from 80s cover band Tainted Love from 5 to 8 pm. You can also catch the display aboard a Fourth of July Fireworks Cruise to Angel Island. The trip includes a free drink and live music. In addition, Jack London Square welcomes thousands and features live music, local vendors, face painting and barbecue all day, as well as a beer and cider garden. Finally, the Shoreline Amphitheatre hosts the San Francisco Symphony for a fireworks show accompanied by music from Star Wars, Pixar, and more.

René Magritte: The Fifth Season

Via SFMoMA

In July, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art hosts a special exhibit, René Magritte: The Fifth Season, which features more than 70 surrealist paintings by the Belgian master. The exhibition looks at Magritte’s late-career from the forties through the sixties. The Fifth Season delves into Magritte’s balance of irony, conviction, and philosophy to highlight the paradoxes between reality and fantasy. Among the most impressive works, visitors will find Personal Values (1952), which displays a bedroom framed by cloud-filled walls, with an oversized comb and shaving brush that dwarfs the surrounding furniture, as well as The Listening Room (1952) and The Tomb of the Wrestlers (1960) in which everyday objects are enlarged to fill entire rooms. Also displayed are Magritte’s renowned bowler hat figures from the fifties.

San Francisco Dungeon

Via The San Francisco Examiner

An exciting visit to the city’s thrilling past, the San Francisco Dungeon, which is part theater performance part thrill ride, will take you back to 1905 to explore life at Alcatraz. A drop ride will transport guests far below the city, then a 60-minute boat ride will visit nine of the most notorious Bay Area criminals. The adventure explores the Descent, the Gold Rush Greed, the Lost Mines of Sutter's Mill, the Gangs of San Francisco, the Court Room of San Francisco, Miss Piggott's Saloon, Shanghai Kelly, Chinatown Plague, and the Ghosts of Alcatraz. The dungeon is located next to Madame Tussauds on Jefferson Street. The attraction has been awarded a TripAdvisor "Certificate of Excellence" and is rated a must-visit stop on both TripAdvisor and Yelp.

Other events in the city this week include The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, which presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Saturday and Sunday at 7 pm. The play follows the misadventures of four young lovers, a group of aspiring actors, and a team of mischievous fairies as they all enter the woods outside Athens on a summer night. Also on Sunday, visitors can take in the Stern Grove Festival in Sigmund Stern Grove, located at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard. The event features performances from Mexican Institute of Sound, a latin-electronica band, and Ginkgoa, a Parisian electro-swing band, as well as a selection of food and drinks from Tante's and food trucks.