Los Angeles is a city rich with creative excellence, not just in the filmmaking sense but also in the breadth and depth of its art museums, botanical gardens, aquariums, and even in an actively excavated ice age fossil site. That being said, there are also incredible museums devoted to our city’s signature star power, including the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, the Academy of Art Museum, and more.

Whether you're visiting the city and want to round out your itinerary, looking to shake up your date night routine, or just want to see the batmobile up close, there's a museum for you. As with all offerings in Los Angeles, there’s a ton to get through, so we picked out a few of the must-see exhibits and coolest museums in LA (along with which ones you can visit for free). Let’s dive in.

14 Cool Museums to Check Out in LA

Aquarium of the Pacific

Open daily

LA’s shared border with the Pacific inspires more than epic beach culture. It's also home to SoCal’s largest aquarium, displaying over 12,000 animals and 100 exhibits. Visit shark and ray touch pools, be mesmerized by coral reefs in the tropical Pacific gallery, and wave to penguins and sea otters in their habitats. 

Free museum days: None currently.
Where: 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA
More information.

 

LACMA

Open Thursday–Tuesday

An absolute classic for a reason, the LA Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the Western US. Its entrance is famously helmed by the famous public art feature “Urban Light,” which appears like a forest of city street lights. Take a day to explore some of its collection of 152,000 pieces spanning 6,000 years of art, and see how it can expand your worldview.

Free museum days: Free after 3 pm Monday–Friday for residents of LA county with valid ID. Free every second Tuesday of the month for all.
Where: 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA
More information.

 

The Broad

Open Tuesday–Sunday

Focusing on the contemporary side of things, The Broad is a must-see. Here you’ll find influential pieces of art from the 1950s to the present day. The museum is one of the world’s leading collections of postwar and contemporary art and presents an active program of rotating temporary exhibitions.

On view now are special exhibits featuring Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Roy Lichtenstein, to name a few. And you definitely don't want to miss Kusama’s immersive exhibit, Infinity Mirrored Room.

Free museum days: Every day! Admission is always free.
Where: 221 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
More information.

 

The Getty Museum

Open Tuesday–Sunday

Self-described as a home for art from ancient to contemporary, the Getty Center is renowned for its pre-20th century art and sculptures, as well as its 20th-century American/Euro/Asian photos and sculpture. And in case you didn't know it, there are two locations.

The Getty Center is located in Brentwood and showcases European art amid modern architecture and bird's-eye views of LA. The Getty Villa Museum lies along the coast, north of Santa Monica, and displays ancient Greek and Roman art in a recreated, tranquil, garden-laden Roman house. Both are worth a visit.

Free museum days: Every day! Admission is always free.
Where: Getty Center: 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA | Getty Villa: 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, CA
More information.

 

The Huntington

Open Wednesday–Monday

The Huntington is an art museum, independent research library, and botanical garden all in one. Take advantage of the golden coast weather and tour its 130 acres of botanical gardens, which are home to 16 individual themed gardens ranging from a greenhouse conservatory, Jungle Garden, Shakespeare garden, and more.

Leave time or come back for the Art Museum, featuring famed decorative arts and folk art alongside British and European masterpieces.

Free museum days: Free the first Thursday of every month with advance reservation. Free Day tickets are available the last Thursday of every month at 9 a.m. until sold out for admission the following week.
Where: 1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA
More information.

 

Natural History Museum

Open daily

Take a captivating journey through time and nature at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. From awe-inspiring dinosaur fossils to a walk through the glittering Gem and Mineral Hall, this museum awakes the inner archeologist in each of us.

Free museum days: Free after 3 pm Monday–Friday for residents of LA county with valid ID.
Where: 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
More information.

 

Cal Science Center

Open daily

Right next to the Natural History Museum, you can explore the far reaches of space at the Cal Science Center. Visitors can get hands-on with exhibits that bring complex concepts to life, experience the IMAX theater, and visit the world-famous space shuttle, Endeavour. The museum's permanent exhibits—including the space shuttle—are always free to visit!

Free museum days: Admission to permanent exhibits is always free.
Where: 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles, CA
More information.

 

Grammy Museum

Open Wednesday–Monday

Keep the star power coming with a trip to the Grammy Museum. The interactive, educational powerhouse is devoted to the history and winners of the Grammy Awards. And if you couldn’t score one of the insanely coveted tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour—you can explore her exhibit with a Lavender Haze Latte in hand.

Free museum days: None currently. Free for children 4 and under.
Where: 800 W Olympic Blvd, Ste A245, Los Angeles, CA
More information.

 

Petersen Automotive Museum

Open daily

Inside the very photographable Petersen Automotive Museum, you'll find one of the largest car collections in the world. The 300,000 sqft exhibit has over 150 rare and classic vehicles to see, making it a car lover's paradise. Fittingly for La La Land, there’s now an exhibit featuring “Cars of Film and Television,” displaying the epic 1989 Batmobile, the 1985 Back to the Future DeLorean, and more.

Free museum days: None currently.
Where: 6060 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA
More information.

Hammer Museum at UCLA

Open Tuesday–Sunday

The Hammer Museum prides itself on championing “art and ideas for a more just world,” and features rotating exhibits of edgy contemporary art and a permanent collection of historical art alongside weekly programs on current social issues. Admission is always free, along with hundreds of free programming in the form of film screenings, performances, lectures, and panel discussions.

Free museum days: Every day! Admission is always free.
Where: 10899 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA
More information.

 

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

Open Wednesday–Monday

Where else would the largest museum in the US devoted to the art and science of moviemaking be located? This epic museum campus includes over 50,000 sq. feet of exhibition spaces, two state-of-the-art theaters, the Shirley Temple Education Studio, and beautiful public spaces that are free and open to the public. A must-visit museum for anyone looking for Hollywood history and the LA experience.

Free museum days: None currently. Free for guests 17 and under.
Where: 6067 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
More information.

 

La Brea Tar Pits

Open daily. Closed the first Tuesday of every month.

For the Indiana Jones in us all, don’t miss the only Ice Age fossil site in the world that's actively excavated in the middle of a city! Here, scientists bring the past to life with recreations of mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and giant sloths, which all roamed the area we now know as Los Angeles during the Ice Age. Over 100 excavations have been made since the 1900s and are now on display in the museum at the center of the pits.

Free museum days: Free after 3 pm Monday–Friday for residents of LA county with valid ID.
Where: 5801 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
More information.

 

Museum of Contemporary Art Grand Ave

Open Friday–Wednesday

Established in 1979, the MOCA Grand Ave is the only artist-founded museum in LA. The iconic contemporary art space has a vast collection of multimedia works, displaying the many ways artists have addressed aesthetic and philosophical concerns in the last 75 years—be it by innovating new forms of abstract art, commemorating loves and losses, rethinking portraiture, or challenging the secondary status of craft.

Free museum days: Every day! General admission is free.
Where: MOCA Grand Ave: 250 S. Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA
More information.

 

Warner Bros. Studio Tour

Open daily

What would LA be without its Hollywood side? Discover where Hollywood is made and go behind the lens at Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood. Experience the iconic back-lot sets, immerse yourself in movie-making magic, and step into the shoes of superheroes in the all-new DC Universe Exhibit. Guests will even be able to get up close to the Batmobile and take a peek into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Free museum days: None currently.
Where: 3400 Warner Boulevard, 91505, Burbank, CA
More information.

 

 

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