MUSEUMS
Banning Residence Museum
The Banning Residence is a 23-room Greek Revival home once occupied by Phineas Banning, a businessman who founded the city of Wilmington. The home was built in 1864 and was then acquired by the City of Los Angeles in 1927. After years of neglect, the home was restored and now serves as a living history museum where guests can learn what life was like in the late 1800s. Admission is free, though there is a $5 suggested donation for adults or a $1 suggested donation for children. Events held at the residence include murder mystery dinners, lunches, and teas.
Natural History Museum
While the Natural History Museum has numerous galleries and an extensive permanent collection that covers a range of topics, it is best known for its collection of dinosaurs. The 14,000-square-foot Dinosaur Hall has an awesome display of dinosaur skeletons, including a series of Tyrannosaurus rex fossils, known as the growth series, featuring three full skeletons that range from baby to adult. Also on display are a Triceratops and a Stegosaurus.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art lays claim to being the largest art museum in the western United States, with almost 130,000 pieces spanning from antiquity through to modern times. Of particular note are the outstanding collections of Asian, Latin American, and Islamic Art. The huge complex consists of a number of separate buildings that have been acquired and renovated over the years.The most recent expansion, known as the Transformation, saw the opening of several new buildings on the western half of the campus, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits
In Hancock Park, La Brea Tar Pits were formed 40,000 years ago, when oil seeped through the rock. The Tar Pits would entrap passing animals, which would get stuck in the substance. The tar then preserved the fossils throughout the ages, leaving behind an incredible glimpse into another age. The Page Museum shows reconstructed fossils of prehistoric animals found in the giant tar-craters of La Brea, as well as the process of fossil recovery. You can see bones being worked on and learn what takes place behind the scenes, before bones and skeletons are able to be displayed. The museum displays fully reconstructed fossils of a variety of mammals including mammoths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and others, all dating from between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago. An outdoor area in Hancock Park displays replicas of extinct animals.
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
The Museum of Contemporary Art consists of three separate facilities and is dedicated to works from the 1940s onwards. Pieces from the permanent collection are on display, and regularly changing exhibits feature new works and emerging media. The MOCA Grand, on Grand Avenue, is the museum’s primary facility, with the main galleries as well as the largest museum store and a café. The MOCA Geffen is in Little Tokyo, in what was formerly a police car warehouse. The MOCA Pacific Design Center is in West Hollywood and features rotating exhibits.
The Broad
Though visitors do need to reserve a ticket to The Broad in advance, general admission is free. Opened in 2015, this contemporary art museum contains some 2,000 pieces, including Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog and the wildly popular Infinity Mirrored Room by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Food and cocktails are available via the adjacent Otium.
California African American Museum
The California African American Museum launched in the early ’80s and has been in its current building, designed by architects Jack Haywood and Vince Proby, since 1984. The museum seeks to collect and preserve African American culture, with a focus on California and the western United States. Within, guests will find a massive research library, a permanent collection of over 6,000 pieces of art and historical items, and a rotating selection of exhibits among three gallery spaces.
California Science Center
Just a brief walk from the California African American Museum is the California Science Center. This family-friendly museum features a variety of interactive exhibits exploring life sciences and technology. You can even check out the Space Shuttle Endeavor, which has been onsite since 2012.
Fowler Museum
The Fowler Museum focuses on art and culture predominantly outside of Europe. Exhibitions have included jewelry from India’s Thar Desert, fashion and dance from Johannesburg, modern Cuban posters, and a collection of over 250 silver objects from around the world.
The La Brea Tar Pits
While access to the nearby George C. Page Museum will cost adults $12 and children $5, visiting the La Brea Tar Pits is as simple as arriving and walking around. The pits are thousands of years old and consist of natural asphalt that seeps up from the ground below. Scientists have excavated over one million bones from the pits since 1906 and are still excavating in the area today.
Hollywood Bowl Museum
This museum, first opened in 1984 and rebuilt in 1996, celebrates its namesake: the amphitheater known as the Hollywood Bowl, opened in 1922. This free museum features exhibits on the Bowl’s history, architecture and past performances.
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust (LAMOTH) was founded by Holocaust survivors in 1961. The survivors met in an English as a second language class at Hollywood High School and, through conversation, discovered that each of them had at least one item, be it a photograph or uniform, from that time period.
Forest Lawn Museum
This museum can be found within sprawling, 300-acre Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale. Dr. Hubert Eaton, who took over management of the cemetery in 1917, believed that Forest Lawn should be aesthetically pleasing as opposed to grim, like other graveyards. As such, the cemetery itself features fountains and gorgeous landscaping, while the museum offers art, history, and religious exhibits, as well as a permanent collection of stained glass windows and statues.
Hammer Museum
The Hammer Museum at ULCA, designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, opened in 1990. Exhibits include work from artists of all mediums, and programming consists of lectures, film screenings, concerts, readings, and more. Permanent collections include European and American paintings donated by Hammer Museum founder Armand Hammer; the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden; and the Grunwald Center Collection of 45,000 prints, drawings, and photographs dating back as early as the Renaissance.
Center for Land Use and Interpretation
Founded in 1994, the Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI) is a research organization that aims to explore how humans use and interact with land. CLUI can be elusive in scope and purposefully vague, yet their work can also be a fascinating rabbit hole to explore. Entering their nondescript building will allow guests to peruse their multimedia exhibits which, in the past, have documented things like underground storage facilities and monuments memorializing U.S. presidents.
Travel Town Museum
Travel Town Museum can be found in the northwest edge of Los Angeles’ massive public park, Griffith Park. Established in 1952, Travel Town is dedicated to the history of transit and boasts a large collection of trains and vehicles. The museum’s very first piece was provided by Southern Pacific Company president D.W. Russell, who donated a 115-ton locomotive at the request of Parks department employee Charles Atkins.
FIDM Museum and Galleries
You can find this free museum at the FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising), where students learn the ins and outs of the fashion business. The collections include various pieces of significant clothing and accessories, high-fashion couture, patterns, photos, textiles, swatch books, and embroidery samples. Rotating exhibits have explored California fashion and costume design in film.
The Annenberg Space for Photography
The Annenberg Space for Photography was the first cultural venue to showcase exclusively photographic works in Los Angeles. Visitors can view both print and digital images from photographers all over the world. The digital gallery alone contains thousands of images, while a reading room allows guests to page through numerous books on photography.
The Paley Center for Media
The Paley Center for Media documents television and radio programming throughout the past century. Their New York location has been around since the 1970s, while Los Angeles’ opened in 1996. Visitors can browse their massive digital collection of over 160,000 TV and radio programs then watch or listen to them in individual or four-person family consoles.
Wells Fargo History Museum
Wells Fargo has numerous history museums across the United States; their Los Angeles museum contains both an original Concord Stagecoach as well as a replica that guests may enter, in addition to old maps of Los Angeles and an operational telegraph. This museum is typically only open during traditional banking hours on weekdays, yet they do open one Saturday every three months.
Getty Center
The Getty Center, designed by architect Richard Meier, opened in 1997. It’s located high on a hill in the Santa Monica Mountains, allowing breathtaking views of the city below. Visitors take a tram up the hill and have the option of traversing the gorgeous gardens, browsing the exhibits, or enjoying a meal in the restaurant and café.
Los Angeles Maritime Museum
From 1941 until 1963, a ferry system transported passengers to the various industries and military bases on the now mostly abandoned Terminal Island. The Municipal Ferry Terminal now serves as the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, where guests can learn about the history of the L.A. Harbor and the fishing and canning industries. The museum houses model ships, artwork made by sailors, and a functioning ham radio station.
Wende Museum
Founded in 2002 by Justinian Jampol, the Wende Museum focuses on the Cold War and offers a collection of over 100,000 artworks, films, writings, and other artifacts from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe between 1945 to 1991. In German, “wende” means turning point and is used to describe the period of time surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Oran Z’s Pan African Black Facts and Wax Museum
At Oran Z’s, guests will find wax figures of black historical icons and celebrities including Barack and Michelle Obama, Michael Jackson, Malcolm X, and Frederick Douglass. The figures are complement a large collection of artifacts from African American and African art and culture: postcards, dolls, photographs, and masks. The collection also boldly documents the history of racism in America and features artifacts dating back to slavery and items affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan.
PARKS
Griffith Park
LA’s largest city park offers more than 1,000 acres filled with everything you might expect for the whole family to enjoy — and some things to surprise you. The shortlist includes the Griffith Observatory with views that eclipse the museum itself and miles of hiking trails. You can also ride a horse or the kids can ride a pony, or you can enjoy any of several train rides.
Point Dume State Beach
About a 10-minute drive north of Malibu on Pacific Coast Highway, you’ll find a state beach park that’s almost like a dream. Take the kids to play on the long, sandy shoreline or watch dolphins swimming in the surf. You might even catch a glimpse of a migrating grey whale.
Abalone Cove Shoreline Park
It’s hard to believe you’re still in LA when you visit this unexpected park in Palos Verdes, on the southern Pacific shore. From the parking area, you can walk down to two beaches, one with a black sand beach — or explore a sea cave at low tide. For a good overview of the hikes you can take, use this guide from California Through My Lens. Take the kids along to explore the tidepools and look for sea creatures that might include colorful starfish, giant slugs, periwinkles, hermit crabs, and anemones.
Echo Park Lake
This small park near downtown LA is irresistible for its swan-shaped pedal boats alone. It’s also an excellent place for a picnic. Buy food from Beacon Cafe at the boathouse, munch while you paddle and get a discount on your rental, too. You can also bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn, or use one of the picnic tables. Echo Park is popular with photographers of all levels for its downtown skyline views and a lotus garden that blooms in June and July.
Grand Park
Downtown LA’s urban park covers 12 acres, stretching from the Music Center on Grande Avenue to City Hall on Spring Street. During the day, it’s the perfect place to go to escape the downtown hustle-bustle. You can enjoy the splashing fountains, let the kids run in the Splash Pad area (or release your inner child and join them), rest on a bench under the trees, or take a lunchtime yoga class.
Palisades Park
To get a bird’s-eye view of Santa Monica Beach, go to Pacific Palisades Park. The skinny greenbelt wedged between Ocean Avenue and the clifftops looks down on Pacific Coast Highway and the beach and offers plenty of opportunities for photographs.
Point Fermin Park
It’s more than worth the long drive to LA’s southernmost point at Point Fermin in San Pedro. The ocean views from there stretch to the horizon but don’t expect to see just water and sky. Instead, you can watch ships traffic from the ports Los Angeles and Long Beach. On a clear day, you can also get a good look at Catalina Island in the distance.
When you’re done with the view, enjoy 37 acres of tree-shaded lawns and gardens. Or visit the Point Fermin Lighthouse which looks a bit like a cute cottage with a tower growing out of its roof.
Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
On a clear day, you can see almost every part of the Los Angeles metro area from the hiking trails at Kenneth Hahn park. The location, 10 miles from downtown is a bit improbable, in the middle of a producing oil field, but don’t let that keep you from going. There’s so much else to see that you probably won’t notice — and the wells do not produce unpleasant smells.
Besides taking a hike to see the view, you can also stroll beside a babbling brook and visit a Japanese garden with a lotus pond. The park is also set up for serious picnicking with more than 100 picnic tables and 50 grills.
Will Roger State Park
It won’t take you long to figure out why one of the best-known celebrities of the 1930s — singing cowboy, movie star, and homespun philosopher Will Rogers — made his home on this 186-acre tract of land in the Santa Monica Mountains. Today you can visit his ranch, which is now a California state park that bears his name.
MARKETS
Melrose Trading Post
On Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Melrose Trading Post takes the campus of Fairfax High and turns it into an open-air flea market where shoppers can find unique housewares, apparel, art, jewelry, and more. Some items are antique or vintage, while others are handmade by local artists. Various trucks and vendors provide food and soft drinks; which visitors can enjoy in front of the stage where live music lights up the event.
Filth Mart
Filth Mart first opened in New York in the late ‘90s, but it now brings its grungy charm to Los Angeles. They specialize in truly vintage rock T-shirts (not those Urban Outfitters reprint tees), leather, jeans and other clothes suitable for catching an unsigned band at the local dive. They also sell new, locally made tees and vinyl.
Wasteland
Wasteland is where shoppers go when they want to find a cool dress to wear to their friend’s summer wedding, or they’re looking for that perfect, worn-in leather jacket. While not the cheapest thrift store in L.A., it does have a well-curated selection of unique and upscale designer pieces at prices that are pretty good for their labels. They also have lots of shoes to peruse. Though their Melrose location is the favorite of their L.A. outposts, their Studio City and Santa Monica shops are worth a look around too.
Rose Bowl Flea Market
This very large flea market sets up at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena on the second Sunday of each month and has been going on for over 45 years. There are some 2,500 vendors, and the selection can vary wildly, from budget furniture, housewares, clothes and vinyl to pricier handmade, antique or luxury items. Food vendors are also on-site, so come early and make a day of it. Vendors start packing up at about 3 p.m., but you can stay for last-minute deals until 4:30 p.m.
SquaresVille
SquaresVille, open since 1996, offers “vintage, unusual, classic and inspired” men’s and women’s fashions. Casual and elegant clothes share the two-story space, generally ranging in date from the ‘30s through the mid-‘90s. Customers may also sell their clothes to SquaresVille, assuming the items are clean and in good condition. Check their website to see what kind of clothes they’re interested in buying, as their needs change from season to season.
MADE by DWC
MADE by DWC benefits the Downtown Women’s Center with a café and gift shop as well as a resale boutique in a separate location. The latter is a charming shop where affordable women’s clothing and accessories, as well as handmade candles and bath items, can be found. The secondhand finds here are in good condition and at great prices, plus you can feel good about your purchases funding the DWC’s many programs.
The Left Bank
The Left Bank is a well-organized and pleasant shop that sells vintage and contemporary women’s clothing and accessories, as well as gifts and housewares. One room sells designer pieces for about $11 and up; another room sells vintage pieces for $9 and up, while a contemporary room sells more modern, middle-of-the-road clothes for around $2–15. The rack in front of the store features their discount sales items. Cute ensembles are easy to piece together here, from shoes to accessories, and the shop donates a portion of the proceeds to various local charities.
Calabasas
There is a little something for everyone at the Old Town Calabasas Farmers’ Market. This market is a community within itself and an integral part of the small, famous, celebrity-ridden town. Located directly across the Sagebrush Cantina, this Saturday morning market is open come rain or shine. A favorite weekend spot for locals, the market offers an intimate open-air shopping experience and classic small-town charm.
Hollywood
Located in the heart of Hollywood, just minutes away from the Melrose flea market, this popular L.A. hotspot features 160 vendors selling a great assortment of fresh fruit, flowers and the most delicious on-site food stands. One of the oldest and largest farmers’ markets in LA, the Hollywood Farmers’ Market continues to spread smiles with fresh cut lavender, sourdough bagels and home-grown goodies. The diversity of the products, as well as the entertainment value alongside the glamour of Hollywood, makes this market one of the best in LA.
Santa Monica
A favorite of Los Angeles’s best known chefs and restaurants, the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market is also the go-to place for the best quality and greatest collection of locally-grown fruits and vegetables in Southern California. Free yourself from the stress of the week by grabbing a basket of the sweetest organic strawberries and taking a stroll through the Third Street Promenade.
The Original Farmers Market
The Original Farmers’ Market has become an everyday morning ritual for many Angelenos. Located adjacent to the Grove on the corner of 3rd & Fairfax, this historic Los Angeles landmark is the crown jewel of farmers’ markets, dating back to the Great Depression. The Original Farmers’ Market hosts activities and events such as free Friday night concerts, intimate food tastings with local vendors and the annual fall festival. Check out the hugely successful original market restaurant, Magee’s Kitchen.
Brentwood
Venture out to this L.A. treasure for some good old-fashioned family fun. Located alongside the Brentwood Golf Course, the Brentwood Farmers’ Market is famous for its kid-friendly atmosphere with a moonbounce and petting zoo. This market serves hot chocolate, authentic Thai cuisine and the finest kettle corn Los Angeles has to offer.
