Los Angeles Area Museums
My Favorite Stops for Cars, Culture & Dinosaurs
From Vintage Cars And Fossils To Music Legends And Dinosaurs — The LA Museums That Made My Trip Unforgettable.
Los Angeles has a wealth of great museums to explore. I love discovering new places, so here’s a list of the museums I visited during my trip. While there are many other well-known museums in LA, these are some favorites.
1) Petersen Automotive Museum
6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Grease Lightning from the movie Grease
Delahaye
The exterior of the museum
The Petersen Automotive Museum is a paradise for car enthusiasts and one of my favorite museums in the Los Angeles area. It features an extensive collection that includes Delahayes, gassers, race cars, supercars, and, of course, iconic movie cars. They even have a section dedicated to Waymo cars! This museum truly celebrates everything related to automobiles.
The building itself is impressive and enhances the experience of viewing the remarkable cars inside. Make sure to get a ticket for The Vault, where you can see even more extraordinary vehicles. You can truly spend hours in this Los Angeles area museum.
2) La Brea Tar Pits
5801 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036
A display inside the museum- A lab inside the museum
La Brea Tar Pits
If you’re interested in the Ice Age and want to witness ancient fossils being discovered on-site, the La Brea Tar Pits is the perfect museum for you! This historic site is where archaeologists are still actively working today. You can visit the museum to see exhibits featuring saber-toothed cats, mammoths, and dire wolves—all excavated on-site. It’s fascinating to think that this area was once inhabited by animals and plants from so long ago, right in the middle of this bustling city of today.
3) GRAMMY Museum
800 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015
If you love music, you should definitely visit the GRAMMY Museum. Head to the fourth floor, where you can marvel at a continuous reel of Grammy Award performances. Take a look at the awards and discover who won what. Learn about the history of the Grammys, their origins, and how the trophy design has evolved over the years, featuring a wall showcasing the trophies in chronological order. You’ll also find artifacts such as costumes and photographs of all our favorite artists from throughout the years.
4) California Science Center
700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90037
Who doesn’t love science? The California Science Center is such a cool place for both kids and adults. Right now, they have a temporary exhibit called Mummies of the World, which I’m a bit biased about because I helped with the printing of the graphics for it! Want to see Mummies? Get there from now until September 7, 2026. There are also some other awesome exhibits, like Fire! Safety and Science, Air and Space, and Ecosystems. When I visited, they had another traveling exhibit called Dogs! A Science Tail, which the museum created, and was super fun and informative.
You can walk through the garden to check out the Blackbirds on display, and don’t miss the lobby where they have fighter jets hanging from the ceiling.
Oh!! And they’re expanding the museum to create a special area for the space shuttle Endeavour! The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center will feature a multi-level exhibit dedicated to the shuttle, and it’s definitely worth a visit when it opens! I was at Cape Canaveral in April 2011, watching the astronauts walk to the shuttle for the historic second-to-last flight. I was there with my young son and father. The excitement was intense! Moments later, it was all over. It was scuttled due to a mechanical problem! We never saw that liftoff in person, but it was such a memorable experience! I can’t wait for this exhibit to open.
5) Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007
- A diorama
If you want to see dinosaurs, this might be the perfect museum for you! When you step into the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, the giant dinosaur skeletons on display immediately grab your attention. They even have a dedicated Dinosaur Hall, featuring more than twenty mounted dinosaur skeletons, along with numerous fossils!
In addition to the dinosaur exhibits, this museum is renowned for its dioramas—lifelike scenes created with full-size animals in their natural environments. They are truly remarkable to see.
Final Thought
There’s so much to see and do in Los Angeles. From checking out classic and unique cars at the Petersen Automotive Museum to seeing giant dinosaur skeletons at the Natural History Museum, these Los Angeles area museums have something unique to offer. Whether you like science, music, history, or hands-on exhibits, there are plenty of museums to visit in LA. These are just my picks, ones I choose to see, but there are many more to explore, which gives me another reason to plan a return trip.
Looking for a place to sleep while in Los Angeles? Try A Boutique Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles: My Stay at The Delphi, Staying at a Haunted LA Hotel: The Biltmore Los Angeles, or AC Hotel Brand by Marriott.
