Always a beautiful space. I love coming here! So many different community events to enjoy on the…read moreweekend and the exhibits are always pristine. I love how you lounge on the lawn or one of their many seating areas to make a day out of it!

Went on a rainy day so we didn't get to see the gardens and some exhibits were closed. Without the…read moregardens to disperse people it felt very packed.. the few exhibits that were opened felt so cramped with people, not my favorite. The exhibits were lovely though, great art and design. Parking is also TIGHT good luck to any big cars! Grateful it's free minus $25 for parking, you do need a reservation though! Food though was crazy, $25 for a tiny salad. We did not stay for lunch and since the gardens and some exhibits were closed we stayed just for about 1.5 hours

Jazz at LACMA is a weekly summer must!…read more There's nothing like enjoying the cool evening air with smooth jazz at LACMA. Every Friday from May through September, live jazz fills the Smidt Welcome Plaza, with a new performer each week (check the website for upcoming acts and food truck/vendor lineups). We felt lucky to visit when Betty "Cool Miss B" Brown received the L.A. Jazz Treasure Award from the Los Angeles Jazz Society. Performances start at 6pm, but I highly recommend arriving at least an hour early, Bring your own food and drinks for a perfect picnic. The earlier you get there, the better chance of snagging a seat in the plaza; otherwise, there's plenty of lawn space and additional tables nearby. Food trucks and vendors are set up just behind the plaza. It was so much fun to see everyone relaxing, dancing, and simply enjoying the music. My son and I were vibing the whole time. Seeing him feel the music was a special memory that took me back to when I first discovered jazz. Definitely core memories unlocked. We can't wait for next week's event! (Just be aware parking is $24, but otherwise, we loved every moment of Jazz at LACMA.)

This is a limited review...first visit to LACMA since the opening of Zumthor's building, 5 months…read moreafter opening. We were there for the Fashioning Chinese Women exhibit @ BCAM, so did not enter the Geffen galleries. But we did want to get a drink at Erewhon on this 100+ degree day, visit the store, and also use the restrooms, all on the ground floor. I will defer a more thoughtful judgement on the merits of Zumthor's design, but it appears to me that, sadly, someone or possibly more than someone has ignored the Miesian dictum "God is in the details." There are several specific shortcomings in the new LACMA design and resulting experience, in no particular order: 1. Inadequate wayfinding signage and legible cues. Firstly, the site orientation map handed out at the ticket booth looks like it was drawn by an 8-year old (my apologies to 8-year olds) and is lacking in scale and specificity to be able to find the most direct route to ground floor destinations. There is not enough directional signage, and what there is, is too subtle to be obvious and thus useful. Unlike the pre-Zumthor LACMA, there are several staff stationed around the building to help direct people (not very helpfully), as well as freestanding signs, that are clearly afterthoughts. 2. While the plazas facing Wilshire are better than I expected, the other outdoor spaces are utterly bleak and soulless. They need to hurry up and figure out how to humanize those spaces. 3. Someone was not paying attention to workmanship in the restroom construction. Poorly masked painting, peeling paint at the restroom sink, toilet grab bars coming off the walls, and wobbly coat hook on the door, only 5 months after opening do not bode well for longevity. Was someone cutting corners for budget and or schedule? I can foresee excessive maintenance costs to keep things in a condition that befits such an important civic institution. Does this portend a higher rate of membership fee increases to fund necessary upkeep? Who is accountable to the membership and the taxpayers for such lack of oversight?

We were there last night for a private performance of Antigone. The performance was amazing. I…read morehadn't been to Malibu since before the fires of January 2025, so we were due a visit. The Cafe had a special event menu for the show. The Hearts of Palm Ceviche with Yuca was delicious. We also had a Citrus Grilled Flank Steak wrap, and the Chorizo Molotes with Tomatillo Avocado Sauce (vegan). I enjoyed a special cocktail for the event, El Cosmico, which was Agave Wine, Pineapple Juice, Fresh Orange Juice, Mint, Cucumber, Tajin Rim (also Available without alcohol), and a nice cold beer. My hunny had some Rose'. We finished off with some fresh Mexican Wedding cookies! Again, this was a special event menu for the performance, however, you can't go wrong with the Villa Salad with chicken and the lemon yogurt dressing which is on the regular daily menu and is my go to meal at the Villa. You can't go wrong with Art, performance, and good eats! We love the Getty Villa and parking was free for the event, which was a nice surprise. We had a great evening!

The Getty Villa is one of the two Getty Museums in Los Angeles County and this location is the…read moreoriginal Getty Museum. The museum started as a small museum gallery in 1954. Later the museum went through new construction with an architectural design inspired by the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum and opened to the public in 1974. The Getty Villa moved a portion of its collection to the Getty Center when the center opened in 1997 and the villa focused only on Greek, Roman, and Etruscan art thereafter. The villa underwent a major renovation from 1997 to 2006 and eventually reopened to the public in 2006 as what you see now. The villa was shut down for 6 months to clean up the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in January 2025. [Admission]: Free admission, but visitors are required to purchase tickets online, pick time slots on the website, and show their online tickets upon driving into the villa. [Parking]: Parking is $25 per car or motorcycle and $15 after 3 PM. For evening events, parking is $10 after 6 PM. [What to see - outdoor]: The Outer Peristyle is the main attraction that everyone comes to see with a 220-foot-long reflecting pool. There is also the Herb Garden, the East Garden, and the Inner Peristyle with a small reflecting pool and laurel trees. [What to see - indoor]: The art collection is only two floors and it is all in one building. Greek Art / Etruscan Art are located on the 1st floor and Roman Art is located on the 2nd floor. Some of the highlights include The Lansdowne Hercules (Gallery 108), Victorious Athlete / Youth (Gallery 111), Caeretan Hydria (not currently on display), Mummy Portrait of Isidora (Gallery 210), Sarcophagus with Scenes from the Life of Achilles (Gallery 213), etc. [Guided tour]: The villa offers various free guided tours and the staff recommended that visitors arrive 15 minutes before the tour time. All tours start right across from the gift shop and they are first come first served (capped at 20 people for our tours). The staff gave us one portable Bluetooth audio device per person so everyone was able to hear the guide clearly even from a distance. Our party did the "Exploring the Villa's Architecture & Gardens Tour" at 11:15 AM and the "Art & Site Tour" at 1:30 PM. Unfortunately, I didn't realize there was some overlap between the two tours and our party ended up seeing the Herb Garden twice during our visit. [Cafe]: Can't exactly say I was impressed with the selection. Our party got chickpea hummus & pita for $11.60 and it tasted alright. [Garden Tea Service]: Reservations required - Thursday and Saturday only. Inquire at the information desk. Visitors can book a reservation on OpenTable and the price is $66.95 per person (not including sales tax and an 18% service charge). [Conclusion]: In the end, our party stayed for approximately 5 hours. Overall the Getty Villa is not as good as the Getty Center due to (1) its smaller footprint, (2) its focus only on Greek, Roman, and Etruscan art which I am not as interested in, and (3) too much redundancy in the guided tours. This is a great museum to visit for any first time visitors, but it is hard to see myself revisiting the villa unless there are new exhibits in the future that fit my interests. P.S. - There is a small pamphlet with a self-guided tour highlighting scenes from the Odyssey through various artworks.

1130 am, Thursday, September 3, 2026…read more The construction fencing is up. The heavy equipment is on site. Demolition is underway at the Tar Pits for the two year refresh of the museum.

La Brea Tar Pits is home to one of LA's most iconic museums, the George C. Page Museum, along with…read morethe surrounding tar pit areas which are free to explore. The area this museum is in, Hancock Park, also houses two other famous museums - LACMA and the Academy Museum, so it'd be fruitful to try to visit all of them while you're in the area (I missed out on LACMA as I was on a tight schedule, so don't underestimate your time - plan to arrive at opening if you want to conquer all three); La Brea Tar Pits is the smallest of these three experiences. They have their own lot, which is both slightly cheaper but above ground compared to the general LACMA underground parking. The various tar pits around the park encompass a majority of Hancock Park. You can take some cute photos with some giant sloth statues while you smell the gasoline fumes from the pits as you make your way towards the actual museum. If you're lucky, sometimes there'll be live excavations. Many people will say it's better to just do the free outdoor experience instead of paying to see the stuff indoors. I will admit that for the price, it's expensive for how small the museum is. You can more or less complete the museum in half an hour even when you're not rushing. If you read everything, I estimate it'd take under an hour, tops. There are some cute experiences and a ton of extinct animal fossils and reconstructions. There's a tar pull where you literally experience the resistance of tar while pulling a bar. You can also observe fossil sorting and cleaning at the fossil lab (I'd personally get nervous if people stared at me if I did this). Most known is an impressive display of 400 dire wolf skulls, and a comparison demonstration. As well, there are a ton of mammoth and mastodon fossils on display, along with other collections and statues. On your way out, there's a Magic Memories photo-op that's pretty easy to take on a timer, using a QR code ticket. Their gift shop was pretty good, with some cute branded knickknacks and fossil-themed souvenirs, as well as snacks and drinks. Outside of the museum entrance, there's stairs leading to the top of the museum where you can take a peek at the outdoor walkway. I did not get to experience the 3d theater, outdoor walkway in the middle of the museum (which seemed to have mini tar pits), Pleistocene Garden with Ice Age plants, or the Lake Pit, which is the biggest photogenic tar pit in front of the museum. Unfortunately there wasn't a handy map or enough signage, so I just didn't know some things were there. They are currently undergoing a huge renovation, so I hope to return to check out the new changes in 2028!

The Petersen Automotive Museum was amazing. There's an incredible mix of rare classics and iconic…read morecars I've seen in movies and magazines, and every exhibit had something worth stopping for. My favorites were the DeLorean from Back to the Future, the Mustang fastback from Bullitt, and the beautiful classics from every era. The movie cars were a real highlight, but those older straight-eights were equally impressive. The design and craftsmanship that went into them are remarkable. I loved being able to appreciate everything up close, from the bodywork and proportions to the interiors and smaller details. You notice so much that doesn't come across in photographs, and it's easy to lose track of time looking at everything. I could have spent hours here and I did but I'll be back because I wasn't done. If you love cars, give yourself plenty of time to enjoy it. A must-visit in Los Angeles, easily worth five stars, and somewhere I'd happily return to.

We went for the Fast and Furious exhibit and loved it. So nostalgic since I've watched all the…read morememories. We got there early before it got packed so we got some really good photos. They have three floors with different exhibits. We spent about an hour and a half there and had a great time. Took lots of photos and loved the different variety of cars. We bought tickets online before we got there and the check-in was seamless. We got our parking validated when we purchased something from the store.

Needed a last minute outing to keep the kids busy so naturally, I googled my options. This…read morelocation was pretty convenient so off we went. Tickets were pretty easy to purchase online. I thought it was a timed entry but it is not...or it wasn't when we went. I followed the parking sign on the wall which led me to a lot just a little north of the museum. It was $20 to park there. Had I had more time to plan, I may have parked somewhere else as I felt that was a bit steep. I'm assuming metered parking would be hard to find in that location as it is in the heart of Hollywood. I thought it would be similar to the Museum of Illusions in New York, but rather than a museum feel, this was purely just photo ops. You can rent tripods at the front for $10. They also provide free lockers for your bags and stuff- which I would highly recommend. I didn't take up the offer in the beginning but soon realized that was a better option. I would also like to highly recommend and thank Tim! He showed us the ropes of how to take photos and he took some photos for us. He was friendly, professional and patient with my two young kids. He definitely knows his way around an iPhone camera and showed me some tricks I didn't even know. Tim's photos came out a lot better than mine as you need to find the perfect angle for the pictures to have that illusion effect. The tickets I purchased online also allowed us to go to the giant house next door and the upside down house. Tim came to the rescue again and took some amazing photos for us in the upside down house. It was a fun experience for all of us and I would definitely recommend visiting this location. If you see Tim, ask him for some pointers! Thank you, Tim!

This was just a fun little stop we made while walking Hollywood Blvd…read more The museum of illusions tickets cost $35, and a tripod rental is $10. They also offer many other packages. A good time was had by all!

Basically, it's a little museum spoofing on small, specialized (and pompous) museums, including the…read moresensory experience: designing it to be stale, musty, hot, dark and some of the signage and displays deteriorating. Some of the content is even made up. Unless snark is really your thing, it's best to make reservations on a low-traffic day, in cool weather, enjoy the joke, and cross it off your bucket list.

Before I visited The Museum of Jurassic Technology last week, I had almost no idea what to expect…read more Friends who had visited it said that it was quirky and hard to describe. They were right on both counts, but I'll try to do better for you. It's very dark inside, with small, maze-like rooms. In fact, it's so dark that some of the exhibit descriptions are hard to read. I wish I'd taken the guy at the front desk up on his offer to borrow a penlight. Some of the audio exhibits didn't work, but that didn't matter a lot, since most of the exhibits were meant to be read. Here are some of the exhibits that stood out to me: - I loved learning about the geometry of Islamic architecture. - The dioramas depicting trailers and RV's were pretty cool, as were the historical description. - Those poor but heroic Soviet space dogs! - Historical superstitions. Perhaps that's why I have a picture of my grandfather as a toddler in a dress! - The bell wheel. Wow. I told my husband we need to make one. - Too bad no photos are allowed in the museum. I would have loved to take some pics of the doves in the tea room so I could paint them at home. - Look through the microscopes and try to figure out how they did that! It's a unique place and I look forward to taking some of my nerdier relatives there sometime.

L A M P Many lamps…read moreand different styles. It can get crowded here and it's just a bunch of lamps next to a busy street but it's a LA destination staple and place for some fun photos. Not much else to say since it's a public display. There was one security guard there when I visited so that's nice but aside from that, what you see is what you get. Just remember to be respectful to the work and others. It's for the public

Urban Light at LACMA is one of those iconic LA tourist spots that's worth checking out at least…read moreonce, especially if you're on a date with your partner. I took my wife, and overall it was... okay. The biggest downside? The crowds. It was packed, making it almost impossible to get a clean photo without strangers walking through the frame or ending up in the background. Thank goodness for Samsung's AI photo editing--it saved a lot of our pictures. Parking was another headache. It took us a while to find a spot, and then we still had to walk over to Urban Light. After taking a few photos and spending a little time looking around, we were pretty much done and headed out for dessert. Overall, it's a nice place to visit once, but I probably wouldn't go back. And maybe it's just me, but I couldn't help thinking it's kind of a waste of electricity to keep all those lights on throughout the entire night.

Since Halloween is around the corner and the museum's new attraction is "the horror show" I knew I…read morehad to visit. Of course, exercising my student discount rights, I got my ticket for an inexpensive price. Also, if you have EBT you can get in for free! Amazing! I arrived via public transportation and it was literally 2-3 minute walk to get to the museum. Once entering, my ticket got scanned and I was on my way to explore all the exhibits at my own pace. The exhibits that I spent time at were the horror show and the Marilyn Monroe. Both were soo good! I don't want to spoil it but you'll see some of my photos! I'm a horror fan and this was a great way to get me excited for Halloween! I enjoyed seeing all of Marilyn Monroe's outfits, makeup, shoes, etc. I love her she's such an icon! There are five floors so I started from the top and worked my way down. Clean restrooms available in each floor and a cafe on the first floor should you want a drink or eat. Come visit and spend some time at your local museum. Totally recommend it!!

The special screenings are the real draw here. Getting to watch a film and then hear directly from…read morethe talent afterward is very cool and absolutely worth experiencing. The actual screening setup is a little chaotic. It's open seating, first come first served, so expect a long line and bring a buddy if you plan on escaping for the bathroom or a snack. We sat four rows back, which was PERFECT for the Q&A and deeply unfortunate for the movie. The screen is way up high, the seats don't recline, and my neck was filing a complaint by the end. They're also very serious about everyone being seated 15 minutes before showtime. Bathrooms are a bit of a trek, and there's no food or drinks inside besides water, so plan accordingly. My friends tried Fanny's beforehand and sadly hated the mushroom Wellington special. I'd definitely come back for another screening because the programming is the standout. Next time, I'd also actually explore the museum.

Consistently one of the most impressive museums in the city, with engaging exhibitions coming…read moreseemingly every 3 months. This one's a favorite of mine, so it's tough not to be biased. My most recent visit was in early June, and I loved the several eternities in a day exhibit. How tactile and fascinating! This place has a killer permanent exhibition and even the exhibitions I haven't been as in love with have something interesting to say, so I will keep coming back. The service is always helpful, and there are some nice spots to sit and enjoy the vibe (including the fun top-shaped chairs). I miss the ping pong tables they used to have...but no complaints found here! Go visit asap.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into the Hammer Museum, but I ended up…read moreabsolutely loving it. The museum is beautiful, peaceful, and incredibly well organized. I also loved that there are a few dining options inside, making it easy to spend a couple of hours exploring without feeling rushed. One of the best things about the Hammer Museum is that admission is free, and they offer generous hours, which makes it a great activity whether you're a local or just visiting Los Angeles. The exhibitions were stunning. I loved the mix of contemporary and modern art, along with works from iconic artists such as Van Gogh and Monet. Every gallery felt thoughtfully curated, and there was always something interesting to discover around the next corner. And the museum store? Absolutely beautiful. I honestly wanted to buy everything. From art books to unique gifts and home items, it's worth visiting on its own. If you're in Los Angeles and looking for a relaxing and inspiring way to spend an afternoon, I highly recommend the Hammer Museum. I'll definitely be back! Note: While the museum has featured works by artists such as Van Gogh and Monet in certain exhibitions or collections, the exhibits rotate, so what's on display may vary during your visit.