The troll, we found this museum as we were exploring Solvang when we saw the gigantic wooden troll…read morewas pretty cool. I had to look it up on IG to find the others. There's a few to enter. They have several art paints, loved the bright colors. There's a se one floor where the hold workshops like origami and coloring. Great for adults a d kids. On the first floor there's a small art shop. The best part of my visit was the troll. I loved learning about the many there are.

It was all so Lulu! Positively!…read more We came here specifically to meet Lulu Hyggelig Troll. She came to live here in Feb. 2025. Lulu loved the Danish Pastries so much she grew and grew. She lived in the tower and one day she couldn't fit through the tower door, so she was trapped inside here had to stay at the California Nature Art Museum. She's the first Dambo Troll to reside in CA permanently. Lulu is indeed living in the tower, the Michele Kuelbs Tower Gallery. In other pictures, there used to be a square pastry on the floor but it was gone when we visited on Jan. 17, 2026. Maybe Lulu was tempted for too long and finally ate it! The tower has huge windows and you can see Lulu from the outside. Since she's the only indoor troll in the world, you might as well go inside and pay the fee to join her up close! She's quirky! Lulu has an eyebrow ring and a super duper long tongue! Thomas Dambo singing his Lulu Hyggelig poem: https://www.facebook.com/reel/963616988684037 This is our third Dambo Troll we've seen. We went to see Isak Heartstone 2 in Breckenridge, CO and Rita the Rock Planter in Victor, CO. in 2025. This troll was created by Thomas Dambo, a Danish sculpture artist. There are over one hundred Dambo trolls in the U.S.A. and many more around the world. Lulu Hyggelig is Troll numbered 154. About this museum: The entrance fee was $7. I think they raised the price because they know that Lulu Hyggelig is quite the attraction. The museum is very small even though it is spread out on 3 floors. There wasn't a whole lot to see and part of the gallery was closed off. I think 45 minutes is ample time to see everything at a leisurely pace. The mosaic animal pictures were beautiful ... my favorites were the Otter, Wildlife (Carrizo Plain), & the Red-Eared Sliders. There's a huge Vulture filled with trash ... raising the awareness of how trash impacts wildlife. FIVE Stars for Lulu Hyggelig, the Thomas Dambo Troll and 3.5 for the art displays in the museum. Maybe if there wasn't a sectioned off portion of the museum, it would have offered more to view. *If you live in the Los Angeles, CA area or are planning to visit, there will be a temporary exhibit of 12 Thomas Dambo's Trolls at the South Coast Botanic Garden in March 2026. Buy your tickets!

A memorable experience seeing a danish home and see how Solvang was built. The family that lived…read morethere had a lot of traditional exterior and interior and items which was cool to experience for a low price of $5/person. The employee was super awesome explaining the history of the home. In the outside shed, it contained the solvang in the early days of 1920s or 1940s. Look for the little danish rubber ducky throughout the rooms. I really enjoyed the historical items in the home and architecture style

Great little museum with so much history! The Elverhøj Museum & Art Gallery offers a fascinating…read morelook into Danish immigrant history. Walking through the rooms and seeing how people lived back then was incredibly interesting and well done. We also played the Hidden Gems Garden & Patio game, which made the visit even more fun we found all the gems and even got a prize! Such a nice interactive touch, especially if you're visiting with family. Admission is only $5 per person, parking is free, and the experience is totally worth it. We learned a lot and truly enjoyed our time here. Highly recommend if you love history, culture, and charming local museums. Great customer service.

Unfortunately, we were there too late to do a tour or visit the gift shop but that was okay too. We…read morewalked around the property to make the most of our time. The garden and grounds are pretty and well maintained. Since everything was closed, we weren't able to see inside any of the buildings. We'll plan a visit the next time we're there. I look forward to seeing and learning more about the mission and it's history.

Old Mission Santa Ines (est 1804) is one of the church missions by Franciscans in California. This…read moreis located in Solvang. It has a very rich history and an important cultural landmark. During that time the land was inhabited my Chumash, natives of the area. Today, it has a museum, a gift shop and Sunday service. Overall, it's a wonderful Mission.

Tom bought me this necklace 3 years ago in Solvang on the last trip we were able to take. In all my…read morecraziness lately, I somehow lost it. I was able to find the jeweler we bought it from. I contacted them and they contacted the artist in Italy. Although this is no longer active in their line, they are going to make one for me !! Gila at ZFolio jewelers has been amazing in pulling this off. I was so upset that I lost it and am very grateful to get it replaced .

Very classy and top notch jewelry store and art gallery. My mom got a pretty painting of a flower…read morefor her bathroom. My sister and mom buy unique earrings from here a lot. My friend bought a bracelet today. We got a fancy metal star Xmas ornament for our tree.

What a fun little surprise while in town over the weekend visiting Solvang!…read more The Hans Christian Andersen Museum is located on top of The Book Loft in the heart of Solvang. It is free of charge to check out and I highly suggest you take a few minutes out of your visit to check it out - it is worth it! I loved learning all about the books he wrote - from The Little Mermaid to The Princess and The Pea to The Ugly Duckling to even The Emperor's New Clothes. There are so many more that I grew up reading! I really loved seeing the replica of his childhood home, learning about his life and work as well as seeing all of the different versions and editions of each of his stories. While he passed away in 1875, the city of Solvang still celebrates all of his accomplishments and spirit. They even had a Little Mermaid fountain across the street that's a must see as well! Check it out!

This is inside the Book loft on the 2.5 floor. What a great experience to learn about an author of…read morefairy tales. He used writing Along with his imagination to escape. This museum is free or by donation. Def enjoyed reading and learning about his life as an a artist and author

GETTING HERE:…read more Navigate here to the address listed on Yelp. If you're knowledgeable about DTSB, I am sure you'll have a better suggestion on where/how to park. But, I found street parking at first 90-minutes free, so I took advantage of that opportunity. Yay! #Winning. REVIEW: When I was a kid, I wanted to be an art history major. There has always been something that caught my eyes and ears when I hear the words, "Art". Now, I don't know anything about art, nor do I know which was is up. I just know that I live near an incredible venue and hadn't yet attended or reviewed! So many things I am updating in 2026. Here is the 1st one: I walked across the main drag and up the front stairs to the museum. There were a few docents (I assume) sitting at the front desk area that took my payment for entering. Thankfully, I didn't have (unrealistic) expectations on what to expect as this was my first art museum experience. It appeared there was a bit of development/construction going on as some of the areas were closed or marked off. After I paid the entrance fee, they handed me a map and I was on my way. It would have been nice to have had some interchange with any of them, as I told them I was a first-timer. Oh well. Such is life in 2026. I took a lot of pictures, and truth be told, as I said before, I don't know which was is up or what I was looking at most of the time. I just know that visually speaking, the entire visit was beautiful! Being able to look around at my own pace was very nice. Although, TBH, it would have bene nice to have bene able to ask someone a question or two, but alas, that didn't break my trip or overall experience. I was hoping they had a gift shop where I could have bought some bookmarks or some art pictures. There wasn't one, unfortunately. I cannot wait to go back! Highly, highly recommend a visit!

We enjoyed the special exhibition "impressionist revolution". We returned with visitors from out…read moreof town. On our return visit (a Monday) we were surprised and embarrassed by the rudeness we encountered. The young supervisor (?) granted us late entry, saying he "supposed he could let us"? enjoy additional galleries before we entered the special exhibition. (He was white, 30-40, with long brown hair.) The cranky volunteers working admission, on both our visits, were exasperation that we didn't have QR codes on our e-tix (because they weren't included), and grudgingly asked to examine our e-tickets and looked up the order name for admission. It wasn't hard; it wasn't our fault, and the content of our e-tix wasn't our responsibility. Why the rudeness, treating visitors like petty thieves? It's a hard job, dealing with the public, and technology-challenged volunteers might feel defensive and blame-y when hiccups occur, even if caused by the museum. So maybe they should staff lower-pressure positions, instead of being the first to greet visitors? Perhaps enlist paid staff for special exhibitions? Nice that there was one younger woman with long dark hair who was exceptionally helpful to us and her tech-challenged coworkers. I have no beef with inexpert help at a museum. It's likely accompanied with warmth & courtesy. We were polite and patient, so the leap to "No" was confounding. No, you can't enter, No your tickets aren't valid, No, you can't visit other galleries. Who needs this? I had hoped to share my local museum with pride. I recommend heading south when in the area, and visiting LA museums and the charming little Santa Paula Art Museum.

Took the kids here today and it was 100% worth the 1.5 hour drive from LA. MOXI is super hands-on…read moreand perfect for kids to just explore and play without getting bored. Every exhibit actually keeps them engaged not just looking, but doing. The interactive tables (like the spinning drum and dice games) were a hit. My kids didn't want to leave and kept going back to the same stations. It's also really clean, organized, and easy to navigate even with little ones. Pricing was reasonable for what you get abbout $25 for adults, $20 for kids, and under 2 is free, which is nice. Staff was friendly and everything felt well-maintained. You can tell they designed this place with kids in mind but adults still have fun too. Definitely a solid family day trip spot from LA. Would come back again

I literally planned a trip to Santa Barbara just because my toddler wanted to go back to the Moxi…read more We have a kids museum in our city but she kept saying no the one with the parachutes. I figured out it was the Moxi. I guess it make quite the impression on her last year. The museum had some new exhibits this time around. They added a fun ball launcher that I also enjoyed as well. The water exhibit could use some love. Some of the hydraulic levers was either not working or you had to really work at it. My toddler was not strong enough to use them. One thing I like is that we were able to leave and come back after lunch. We got to make the most if our trip. I'm sure we'll ge back next year.

I had the pleasure of visiting both the Hermitage Museum and the botanical sculpture gardens…read more It's unbelievable that all of this is on one man's property in the hills of Santa Barbara. The museum is filled with fun pieces of art, some of it interactive. The giant sculptures on the property are remarkable, with the sheer quantity of them amazing. I loved the themed areas like the zoo. The vegetation is also a wonder, especially seeing rare specimens, some of them hundreds of years old. I can't wait to go back and spend more time appreciating all the detail that went into the place!

One of the most interesting and numerous place to visit. Vigorous walking up and down the hillside.read more

History Machine A…read moremuseum that traces its origins back to 1916 when a group of people got together to try and preserve some of the history of the area. They've been in their current location since 1923, and the location itself, to me anyway, is part of the draw. Not only is it a museum, but it's also a nature preserve, rescue aviary, and dinosaur theme park. :) The Good: * Fairly inexpensive to visit at $20/adult and $15/child * If you buy a membership ($115-450) to the museum, it also includes a membership to their sister aquarium (also in Santa Barbara), the Sea Center. * Wonderful little area in the back with some short trails, a creek, and dinosaurs for kids to explore. * If you love geology, then you'll love their geology exhibit; they have so many amazing rocks and gems on display. * Aviary with injured and rehabbing raptors * Nature art gallery was beautiful * Friendly staff * Tours available * Lots of info on animals and insects of the area The Meh: * Some of the exhibit rooms are a bit cramped, so they can get full fast even without many visitors. The Ugly: * They have a butterfly garden, but it's closed during the winter months, which just happened to coincide with our visit. :( Conclusion: Terrific museum for both young and old.

We love visiting here since it's so close to the Mission also. The entire museum is beautiful with…read moreSpanish tile, arches, with a Prehistoric Forest for big and little kids to enjoy. The Prehistoric Forest is a must-see- the life-sized, animatronic dinosaurs are hidden in the woods and were a massive hit with the kids. It feels like a mini Jurassic Park but perfectly toddler-friendly. The Best Parts: - Chad the Whale: The massive skeleton at the entrance is breathtaking. - Nature Backyard: Great hands-on outdoor play area for kids to explore. - Atmosphere: Beautiful, shaded grounds that are easy to navigate with or without a stroller. Don't really need a stroller here :) - Membership here gets you reciprocal membership to La Habra Children's Museum if you live in LA. There's a reciprocity list with the ASTC Travel Passport Program. Free parking and a great mix of science and outdoor fun. If you're in SB with a family, don't skip the dino trail.

Yikes, this is an expensive tour but it is a rarity to see a period house with most of the original…read moreoccupants furnishings etc. The tours are docent led and very informative. If you like these types of tours, this one is quite worth it.

I came here for an event today so really my review is tailored more towards the events that Casa is…read moreholding but also to acknowledge the fabulous grounds and building though I admit I don't have full context for the history or background. I would definitely come back here to learn about the house and to take the guided tour. This wasn't the purpose for me coming today but the gentleman who works here noted that it's a great tour and I know friends who have enjoyed learning about the family and the history of the house, getting a deeper dive of information. I came here with some friends for their first hosted event Sound Bath. A wellness day if you will. From start to finish everything was very organized and thoughtful. The staff hosting the event and the spiritual wellness guide and sound healer was wonderful. Everyone was nice and you felt welcomed. Not pretentious and just very positive and good vibes. We had a nice group and everyone was respectful and on time for the sound bath so it went off without issue. It was a relaxing experience and the grounds were very nice to hold this outdoor event. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, we found an area with shade, very nice. Very faint sounds of cars in the distance here and there which wasn't ideal but out of their control and once things settled in you really couldn't hear much external noise. After the relaxing sound bath we were offered tea and light pastry snacks. I opted for a water and began exploring the grounds instead of partaking in the refreshments. The grounds are lush and lovely, very zen. Loved the beautiful trees and walkways with small fountains and running water. It was green and pretty all around from the recent rains. Definitely a great location for events and to learn a little SB history. I will definitely do my research and come back again soon.