The vibes: All over the map! There are museums as far east as Pasadena to as far west as Malibu, covering every subject matter from the SoCal tattoo scene to cars, the Holocaust, contemporary art and the artistic contributions of various ethnic groups
Good for: Anyone curious about LA’s richly diverse museum landscape
When-to-Go: Monday, Oct. 1st – Sunday, Nov. 11th
With-Whom-to-Go: This Arts Admission pass is good for two adult admissions
The $ Factor: A $450 value
The 4-1-1: The arts pass doesn’t only offer free museum admission; it also offers 10% - 50% discounts at museum stores.
When I imagine why tourists might visit LA, often times, the more blatantly obvious reasons surface: to see Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, the beach…to experience our marvelous weather, our laid-back vibes, the beautiful people.
But there is another great reason to visit the City of Angels,
one that is often overshadowed by the glitz and glam:
and that’s for LA’s museums.
one that is often overshadowed by the glitz and glam:
and that’s for LA’s museums.
This city’s museums have truly enriched my life in so many ways. I mean, who would I be without my youth science classes at the California Science Center? Or without the sultry summer concert series at the Getty Center? Or without my education about the Holocaust at the Museum of Tolerance, through its sobering, interactive exhibits?
So as a huge museum enthusiast myself, when I was informed me about LA Tourism’s latest “Museums LA” program, I excitedly jumped on board to learn more about it.
In a nutshell, anyone who books a hotel stay through the LA Tourism website for the month of October and beginning November gets a complimentary Arts Admissions pass to visit 30 museums. You can visit as many as you’d like, so long as you're only visiting each place one time.
Where you end up might depend on where your hotel is, but I took the liberty to list a few museums that I personally thought might be of interest:
Museum Row: Located on a stretch of Wilshire Blvd. known as “Miracle Mile,” four museums are within walking distance of one another. LACMA (the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art) has 100,000+ pieces of art, including the very awesome “Levitated Mass” exhibit (pictured down below), which I first saw while on a Bikes and Hikes LA Tour, another #WilsonsGuide pick. There’s also the Craft and Folk Art Museum, which has a very cool exhibit that debuted this past Saturday. It’s entitled L.A. Skin & Ink and provides an in-depth look into the SoCal tattoo scene.
The Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits and the Petersen Automotive Museum are also located in Museum Row.
Side note: Fun fact #534 - close to these museums on Wilshire Blvd. is the longest piece of the Berlin Wall outside of Berlin. Make sure to check that out!
Exposition Park: Adjacently south of the USC campus (fight on!) is this stretch of land, home to three exceptional museums: the California African American Museum, the Natural History Museum and the California Science Center, which will be home to the NASA Endeavour space shuttle, starting October 30th!!!
Getty Center: Sitting high above in the mountains of Brentwood, aside from having extensive collections of European art, the Getty also has unparalleled sweeping views of the city. Take a stroll in its gardens, snap a few scenic shots, stay for one of its “Saturdays Off the 405” concerts or eat at one of its restaurants.
Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens: Don’t be fooled by the word “library;” this Pasadena gem is so much more than books and old, stuffy librarians. With 14 diverse gardens on 200+ acres of land and a quaint tea room, you can easily spend a whole day here.
So if you’re planning to take a vacay – or a “stay”-cay – in the very near future, I highly recommend booking your hotel stay through the LA Tourism website so that you can also explore museums at no additional cost. Whether it’s visiting one museum or making a day of frequenting many, I guarantee your life will be enriched afterwards. See you at a museum soon!
The museums at a glance:
Downtown: GRAMMY Museum, Heritage Square Museum, Japanese American National Museum, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, Museum of Contemporary Art
Exposition Park: California African American Museum, California Science Center, Natural History Museum
Miracle Mile (and nearby): Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits (pictured below), Petersen Automotive Museum
The Westside: Fowler Museum at UCLA, Getty Center, Getty Villa, Hammer Museum, Museum of Tolerance, Paley Center for Media, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Skirball Cultural Center & Museum Pasadena: Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena Museum of California Art
Other areas: Autry National Center, Hollywood Museum, El Pueblo Firehouse Museum, Museum of Latin American Art
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