Los Angeles is an epicenter of art museums and exhibitions. There are museums and exhibitions designed to represent the full rainbow of communities that reside in L.A. along with a plethora of museums displaying traditional and commercial art, automobiles and aircraft, and science and outer space paraphernalia. You could easily visit a museum a week for an entire year and have more to see next year.
Which museums are most important to see? With the expansive choice of available options, the answer to that question depends on what is most important to you. Many of the museums have days and times of the day of free entrance; therefore, your choices could involve the requirements of your schedule or the costs of your adventures.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA, is one of the most popular and well-established art museums in Los Angeles along with the La Brea Tar Pits as a part of its permanent offerings next door. LACMA exhibits historical and contemporary art, film presentations, and an array of artistic activities including live music in their park on Sundays.
While featured exhibitions require purchased tickets for all patrons except members and kids 17 and under, LACMA offers free general admission to the public on the second Tuesday of every month; after 3:00 p.m. from Monday - Friday for L.A. county residents; and on select federal holidays.
Kids under 17 years of age are granted free admission at all times, and one accompanying adult is granted free admission to the museum, but must pay to see featured exhibitions. Tickets for featured exhibitions are generally around $20 to $25.
The Griffith Observatory
The Griffith Observatory is an awesome museum and exhibition space that is extremely popular for its live shows that offer in-depth views into outer space, an outer space themed laser light show set to music, and inspiring and continually evolving permanent displays and exhibitions. Observation telescopes surround the exterior of the building that are available for free use anytime that the observatory is open. The observatory is open Tuesday - Friday from noon until 10:00 p.m. and weekends from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
The Griffith Observatory is perched at the top of a mountain in the beautiful and extremely popular Griffith Park. Though parking and admission to the Observatory building are free, it is easiest to find parking during the week rather than on weekends. Tickets to the shows are sold on a first-come-first-serve basis, and can easily sell out on weekends. The traffic is much less congested during the week as there are concerts at the Greek Theater on weekends just down the road.
Children under five are only admitted to the first show of the day. Tickets for each show are sold until 10 minutes before the start of the show, unless that show is sold out, and there are no late admissions to the shows because of the nature of the material being covered. Ticket prices are under $10 and include discounts for children, students, and seniors. Friends of the Observatory members may make advance reservations for shows.
