Los Angeles · LOS ANGELES MUSEUMS
The 15 best los angeles museum tickets & tours you can book right now, with the price, the run time and who each one suits. Start at number one and work down.
Spend a day exploring the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard. General admission covers three floors and 25 galleries of cars and motorcycles from the 1880s to today, plus family activities and a Forza racing simulator. The separate Vault, with more vehicles, is not included.
“the variety of vehicles from old to present to future”
Spend a day at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, from its T. rex growth series and fossil lab to the Becoming Los Angeles exhibit, Gem and Mineral Hall, and 3.5-acre Nature Gardens. General admission covers permanent exhibits; rotating special exhibits require a separate ticket option.
“I loved it !! It’s very fun especially if you have kids I have teens and they loved it I didn’t think they would but they did especially the butterfly pavilion I recommend!!”
At the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard, your ticket covers 25 galleries across three floors plus self-guided access to the Vault, a 90-minute exhibit of more than 250 vehicles. Scan a QR code for the Vault audio tour. Expect classic cars, movie favorites and unusual machines from 120 years of automotive culture.
“Really a great way to spend a day! Don’t miss going down to the vault.”
At the Battleship IOWA Museum in San Pedro, follow a self-guided route across the decks of a former US Navy battleship. See the 16-inch gun turret, the captain’s cabin and the armored flag bridge when access allows, and use the Vicky the Dog app to add a scavenger hunt. Bring headphones and wear closed-toe shoes.
“Fantastic exhibit, a real honour to walk the decks of this mighty ship. The Volunteers do a fantastic job and make it really enjoyable.”
Spend about two hours at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, where bubbling asphalt and active excavation sites sit in central Los Angeles. Admission includes the Excavator Tour, plus access to Pit 91, the Pleistocene Gardens and the atrium. Look for mammoth and saber-toothed cat fossils, and watch paleontologists work through glass.
“This was my first time visiting the La Brea Tar Pits and museum. My parents grew up in Southern California and often talked about it whenever we were in the area so I’ve always been curious about what it looked like and have wanted to visit. We were in the area and had a few hours to burn so we decided to check it out. We found it interesting. You can walk around outside of the museum free of charge but we chose to visit the museum as well and were glad we did. It is a smaller museum so we got through it in about an hour.”
Spend about six hours with a private local guide, visiting the Getty Center and Griffith Observatory and riding through Beverly Hills, the Sunset Strip, and Hollywood. You’ll get guided highlights at both main stops, plus time to explore. Guides such as Matt, Brian, Gregory, and Estevan have been praised for lively local stories. Lunch is not included.
“Brian was friendly and knowledgeable. This tour was the perfect amount of time to see a lot of LA. It gave a snapshot of areas I want to visit again to spend more time.”
At the La Brea Tar Pits, watch tar bubble, visit an active excavation area, and see scientists clean fossils in the Fossil Lab. General admission also covers Pit 91, the Pleistocene Gardens, and the atrium. The museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on closed holidays. Parking, the 3D film, and Ice Age Encounters cost extra.
“I didn’t realize most all of the attractions were outside and free....the museum seems more geared towards children. I would have skipped the ticket had I known.”
At Hollywood’s Medieval Torture Museum, you’ll explore exhibits on torture and execution with an audio guide in English or Spanish, then try the ghost-hunting app. Allow 45 to 90 minutes, though a brisk visit may be much shorter. The experience is best suited to adults and older teens comfortable with grim historical subject matter.
“Scary and so worth your money to know European, Asian and American torture from the centuries. Makes us feel lucky to be alive today and not back then.”
Visit the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum at your own pace with flexible admission. See nearly 70 exhibits, including a replica Oval Office, Marine One, a piece of the Berlin Wall and Nixon’s presidential limousine. Then visit his restored childhood home and nearby gravesite. Museum entry is listed at $29 per person, with free parking.
“President Nixon’s reflection on his life, especially Watergate were so honest and moving. The whole Library was amazing. It brought back so many memories, good and sad. At times I was fighting back tears.”
Spend about three hours at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, exploring dinosaur fossils, animal dioramas, the Gem and Mineral Hall, native gardens, and live local creatures. Admission includes the main exhibits. Dinosaur Encounters and the Fierce! cat exhibition require separate tickets.
“I used public transportation to go to the museum because parking is quite expensive. The museum was not too crowded and a nice cool temperature on a hot Saturday morning.!”
A pre-reserved ticket gives you one day to explore four floors of Grammy and music exhibits in Downtown Los Angeles. Try the 17 hands-on stations in Sonic Playground, compare sound formats in Mono to Immersive, and see rotating artist displays, including the current Luther Vandross exhibit. The ticket does not include a guide, food or souvenirs.
“The hip hop exhibit was interesting but too mainstream… not much more to see besides that”
Spend a day at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, exploring exhibitions on filmmakers and landmark movies, including Casablanca and Boyz n the Hood. Your ticket covers the core galleries, special and temporary exhibitions, and the Dolby Family Terrace. Food at Fanny’s, museum-shop purchases, film screenings, and The Oscars® Experience cost extra.
“They have some really great exhibits in a really well done and relaxing environment across 3 floors. It’s kinda arty and modern but done really well. Only slight down is a lot of the rooms are very dark and with such amazing screen worn and used exhibits the pictures you can get are dark or with glare from down lights. Otherwise well worth the money to wander round for a while and also take in some of the other great things to see in the area”
Explore the Getty Center with a private art historian who connects paintings, sculpture, artists’ lives and history. Choose a one-hour children’s tour, an adult highlights tour, or a longer option covering medieval manuscripts, Richard Meier’s architecture, the Getty family and current art debates. Guides include Sasha, Ellen and Emily.
“The tour we booked was perfectly tailored to us as a family. The different eras were explained with appropriate examples so that we got a good overview in a one-hour tour. Particularly interesting and entertaining were the explanations of techniques or peculiarities of the respective eras or artists”
Spend about two to three hours at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Your mobile ticket includes admission to its galleries, temporary exhibitions and public spaces. Expect film displays, videos, two theaters, a museum store, places to eat and the Dolby Family Terrace, with views toward the Hollywood Hills.
“This is a place to take your time. Many videos to watch, displays to see, and plenty of photo ops. Wish we had set aside more time to enjoy it all.”
At the 7,000-square-foot Medieval Torture Museum in Los Angeles, you explore at your own pace with an English or Spanish audio guide. See wax figures and historic torture and execution devices, then use the ghost-hunting app on your charged phone. Admission is $31 per person, with ticket validity of 365 days.
“The .Museum had a lot of interesting things to look at. However for the price the bathrooms were disgusting! No toilet paper and filthy.”
Pick a hillside, a beach or a backlot.
