Spend a Day at These Top Museums in Los Angeles

Located on the Wilshire Boulevard of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art popularly called LACMA is inspired by the rich cultural legacy of the place. With more than 142,000 collections, the museum echoes artistic expressions from across the globe. The heaven for art lovers and aesthetic minds with a spur for art and culture, the place offers numerous dreamy exhibits along with countless art collections.

Time Required : 1 to 2 hours
Entry : Adults: $ 25 and $ 20 for LA county Resident
Seniors: $ 21 and $ 16 for LA county Resident
Students: $ 21and $ 16 for LA county Resident
Wednesdays Closed 
Museum Hours : Mondays, Tuesday, Thursday: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fridays: 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Saturdays and Sundays: 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Parking : $ 16 at Pritzker Parking Garage
Nearest Transit Hub : Wilshire Boulevard
Amenities : Shopping Corner, Dining restaurants, cafes and food trucks

Upright with the mission to share Japanese American history and help visitors to realise the importance of ethnic diversity, The Japanese American National Museum is the largest museum in the US which works to echo the experiences of Americans of Japanese ancestry through programs dedicated to strengthening their community. Apart from the multitude of displays and permanent collections, the museum is quite famous for its varied exhibitions. One of the most popular and must-visit exhibitions is named as Common Ground: The Heart of Community which unravels hundreds of photographs, documents and objects reflecting 130 years of Japanese American History through the second world war confinement to the present.

Time Required : 1 to 2 hours
Timing : Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Thursdays: 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Mondays are closed
Admission : Adults: $ 16
Seniors (above 62) and Students: $ 7
Free on Thursday from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Free at all time on the third Thursday of every month
Parking :  Self-parking at local lots
Nearest Transit Hub : 100 North Central Avenue
Amenities : Lockers to keep baggage, Shopping store, Dining

With the vision to reflect upon automobile history in terms of its impact on global and cultural life, the Petersen Automotive Museum is one of a kind museum exhibiting a variety of automobiles along with educating the visitors with their history and significance. Designed innovatively, the first floor of the museum is known as the Artistry floor exhibiting the relationship between art and automobiles through artfully designed vehicles. The second floor, known as the Industry floor, explores the diversity of automotive efficiency in terms of speed as it serves as a design studio to modify the portions of any automobile. The third floor houses the nostalgic history of automobiles and is rightfully known as the History floor. With the main galleries of the museum displaying over hundreds of vehicles like the rare 1939 Porsche 64, the vault of the museum located at the basement lines more than 250 of vintage and iconic automobiles.

Time Required :  2 to 3 hours
Timings : Monday to Friday: 10:00 Am to 5:00 Pm
Saturdays and Sundays: 10:00 Am to 6:00 Pm
Admission : Adults: $ 16
Children (4-17) Senior citizens (62 and above): $ 14
Vault tour: $ 28
Parking : Free parking for the first 30 minutes, $ 17 all-day
Nearest Transit hub : Wilshire Boulevard
Amenities : Free Wi-Fi, Gift Shop, Restaurant

Blended in the aesthetic of Colorado boulevard of Pasadena city, this ‘H’ shaped art museum has distinct brown tiles engraved in its exterior walls making it an architectural delight to everyone laying eyes on it. What lies inside these curved and shiny walls is a gorgeous collection reflecting diverse artistic expressions from different parts of the world. Housing artists like Rembrandt, Picasso, Van Gough and Monet, this Museum in Los Angeles stands as a dynasty to numerous American, European and Asian paintings as well as sculptures.

Time Required : 1-2 hours
Admission : Adults: $15
Senior citizen: $ 12
Free entry on first Friday of every month between 5:00 to 8:00 PM
Timings : Monday to Thursday: 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Fridays and Saturdays: 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Sundays: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Tuesdays are closed
Parking : Free parking in the Museum’s parking lot
Nearest Transit Hub : West Colorado Boulevard
Amenities : Restaurant, Shopping corner

A child of Getty Trust, the Getty Centre in Los Angeles California sits on the top of a hill above the San Diego freeway housing an extensive range of art collection. Linked to the downhill parking, by a hover board which conveys visitors to the welcome centre, this Museum in Los Angeles, inside its white walls houses conservation and research institutes, a museum, an auditorium and a garden flourishing hordes of plant species. Honoring the world's artistic inheritance, this modern architecture displays both permanent art collections from renowned artists and frequent exhibitions, performances and workshops from emerging contemporary artists.

Time Required :  3 to 4 hours
Admission : Free
Timings : Mondays closed
Tuesday to Friday: 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Saturdays: 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Sunday:  10:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Nearest Transit hub : N Sepulveda Boulevard
Parking : $ 20 per vehicle
Amenities : Shopping, Dining

Museum of Latin American Art is the only entirely dedicated museum in the United States of America to display modern and contemporary art of Latin America. Situated in Long Beach, this Museum in Los Angeles houses collections from artists like Carlos Cruz Diez and Armando Morales. Spread across the area of 55,000 square feet, the museum contains a colossal 15,000 square foot sculpture garden inside its premises. You can stroll through beautiful murals, oil paintings, photographs, documents and charcoal art to take a dip into the history and legacy of Latin art. Engage in various interactive sessions as you choose among events like guided tours, festivals, Latin Comics Expo, Art and culture camps organised frequently by the museum.

Time Required : 1 to 2 hours
Timings : Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays: 11:00 Am to 5:00 Pm
Thursdays: 11:00 Am to 9:00 Pm
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
Admission : General Admission: $ 10
Seniors (65 and over) and Students: $ 7
Free admission on Sundays, fourth Thursdays of every month between 5:00 Pm and 9:00 pm
Parking : Free Parking at the museum or on the street
Nearest Transit hub :  Alamitos Avenue
Amenities : Garden, Shopping Store

Situated at the Pan Pacific Park of Los Angeles, California, the Holocaust Museum of Los Angeles is the oldest in the US founded by a group of local holocaust survivors. Culturally significant and historically an archetype of the worst of humanity, the museum stands as the reflection of Jewish suffering at the hands of the Nazis. It provides a crucial glimpse into the past by exhibiting various pieces of the holocaust. The tree of Testimony, one of its many exhibits, presents 51,000 heart-wrenching survivor testimonies

Admission to the Museum : Free
Holiday :  New Year’s Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day
Timing : Monday to Sunday - 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Friday – 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Amenities : Paid parking at The Grove Shopping mall, Metered Street Parking on Beverly Boulevard

A cultural centre which houses historic as well as contemporary art pieces inside its walls, The Hammer is an art Museum in Los Angeles located on Wilshire Boulevard. It has five distinct collections comprising the famous The Hammer Contemporary Collection and the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden which is amongst the most viewed exhibitions featured in the museum. These 5 acres of green space is decorated with numerous modern and contemporary sculptures making it an aesthetic space for the visitors to relax and enjoy their visit.

Time Required : 3 - 4 hours
Admission : Free
Timings : Tuesday to Friday: 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Saturdays and Sundays: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Closed on Mondays
Restaurant Timing : Tuesday to Saturday: 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM
Sundays: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Parking : Available under the museum at $ 7 for the first three hours and $ 3 for each additional 20 minutes.
Free bicycle parking
Nearest Transit Hub : Wilshire Boulevard
Amenities : Shopping, Restaurant

Located on Grand avenue of downtown Los Angeles, this Museum in Los Angeles houses modern and contemporary art pieces and exhibitions. In the neighbourhood of The Broad, the MOCA displays work like Bruce Nauman’s Walk with Contrapposto and Thomas Lawson’s The New World: Twins. Visitors can actively engage in frequent programs, lectures, workshops and screenings organised by the museum along with numerous live exhibitions that are reformed every few weeks.

Time Required : 2 to 3 hours
Nearest Transit hub : 250 South Grand Avenue
Timings : Wednesday to Monday: 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Tuesdays are closed
Admission : General Admission: Free
$ 18 per adult for Exhibition
$ 10 per senior citizen and adult for Exhibitions
Exhibitions are free on Thursdays from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Parking :Paid
Amenities : Shopping Corner, Dining at Lemonade

Displaying assembly of art collections, 120 acres of botanical landscapes, rare books in library and birds, The Huntington group is a historical, educational and research attraction located in San Marino, California. A stunning mix of beauty and literary, the place offers insight into 18th-century European art and 17th-century American art through multiple exhibits, books and art collection.

Time Required : 4 to 5 hours
Timings : 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Closed on Tuesdays
Admission charges : Adult: $ 25 on weekdays and $ 29 on weekends
Senior (65+), Military (active/ID) Student (f/t ID): $ 21 on Weekdays and $ 24 on Weekends
Youth (4-11): $ 13
Child (under 4): Free
Parking : Free
Nearest Transit hub : Oxford Road
Amenities : Food, Free WIFI, Shopping

Situated in the Griffith park of Los Angeles, the Griffith Observatory is an astronomical facility that promises mighty views of the Hollywood Sign and the Pacific Ocean along with numerous science and space-based exhibitions. Visit the place to witness The Big Picture- a detailed and immensely accurate image of bands of galaxies. A popular cultural attraction among the residents as well as for the tourists, the place with its symbolic architecture is thematically designed with a solar system lawn model and a gorgeous Astronomer’s monument.

Time Required :  2 to 3 hours
Admission : Free
Timings : Tuesday to Friday: 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Saturdays and Sundays: 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Prohibitions : No Drones

Sited on Grand Avenue in Downtown, The Broad is a contemporary art Museum in Los Angeles which houses more than 2000 collections from various artists across the globe. The three-story museum is designed on a concept of ‘Veil and Vault’ which shrouds the treasury of the museum’s core from the daylight, allowing it to feature and maintain an elegant ambiance for the artworks. The structure is in itself a piece of art exhibiting the art lovers with majestic pieces and displays.

Admission : Free
Time Required :  2 -3 hours
Timings : Tuesdays to Fridays: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Weekends: 10: AM to 6:00 PM
Closed on Mondays
Parking : $ 17 for 3 hours ($ 5 additional charge for each 15 minutes)
Nearest Transit hub : Grand Park Station Metro
Amenities : Shopping, Contemporary restaurant

Standing exquisitely in the 160 acres Exposition Park of Los Angeles, California Science Centre is a paradise for all the curious minds. With the mission to stimulate curiosity and inspire science learning, the museum remains one of the most visited sites in the park attracting the groups of kids and adults. This very famous museum has found numerous references in pop culture because of its ability to provide visitors with advanced engagement with the world of science.

Admission : Free
Working Days : Open seven days
Timing : 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Parking : Car parking and Yellow School bus $ 12 until 5:00 PM and $ 15 after 5:00 PM
Charter Bus and oversize vehicle for $ 30
Bicycle parking available

Located in the Exposition park of Los Angeles, the Natural History Museum is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. With nature gardens and 3D theatres both encompassed into a neoclassical architecture spread across 6 acres, the museum is also associated with La Brea Tar pits in Hancock Park. The pollinator meadow and the Urban Waterfall and Creek are the two famous spots for the visitors to engage in sightseeing of beautiful flowers and flowing creek.

Time Required : More than 3 hours
Timings : Sunday to Saturday: 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Admission : $ 6 to $ 14
Free admission on first Tuesday of every month except July and August
Free admission on every Tuesday of September
Parking :  $ 6 for non-members
Nearest Transit Hub : Exposition Boulevard
Amenities : Shopping corner

Sited amid the bustling streets of urban Los Angeles, La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Hancock Park is one of the very few excavation sites open to exploring for the history buffs. A site with multiple fenced lakes of black slush called the asphalt, this fossil collection has preserved bones and remains of numerous ancient creatures like mammoth and Saber-tooth cats. Apart from the tar sites which offers multiple opportunities for paleontologists and archaeologists, the museum part of this place showcases the history of tar pits and exhibits best fossils excavated from there like the Huge Colombian Mammoth exhibition and wall of dire wolf skulls, all of them found in the tar pits around the museum.

Time Required : 2 to 3 hours
Timings : 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM Every Day
Admission : Adults: $ 15
Senior Citizen and Students: $ 12
Children (3-12): $ 7
Parking :  $ 15 at the corner of Curson Avenue and 6th street
Nearest Transit Hub : 5801, Wilshire Boulevard and next to Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Amenities : Shopping Corner, Dining