Best Museums in Los Angeles 2026
Los Angeles has a museum landscape that belies the city's reputation as purely an entertainment industry town — the Getty Center is one of the world's great art museums, LACMA has been dramatically expanded and will reopen in its new building in the late 2020s, and the concentration of contemporary art collections in Culver City, Hollywood, and Downtown LA make Los Angeles one of the world's most significant contemporary art cities. Here is a guide to Los Angeles' best museums in 2026.
Getty Center
The Getty Center (1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, open Tuesday-Friday and Sunday 10am-5:30pm, Saturday 10am-9pm) is one of the world's greatest art museums — built with the endowment of oil magnate J. Paul Getty (the world's richest man at his 1976 death) and designed by Richard Meier (1997) on a hilltop with panoramic views of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean, the collection spans European paintings (Van Gogh's Irises, Rembrandt, Rubens, Monet), illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, sculpture, photography, and drawings. Admission: free (parking USD 20/AUD 30.63). The architecture and hilltop gardens are as much the experience as the art.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
LACMA (5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Mid-Wilshire, open Monday-Tuesday and Thursday 11am-6pm, Friday 11am-8pm, Saturday-Sunday 10am-7pm) is the largest art museum in the western United States — the encyclopaedic collection of 150,000 objects spans 6,000 years and every world culture, with particular strength in South and Southeast Asian art, pre-Columbian art, ancient Egypt and the ancient Near East, and California art. Note: the Zumthor building that will replace the current structures is under construction; some galleries may be in temporary locations. Admission: USD 25 (AUD 38.29) adults; free for LA County residents on select days.
The Broad
The Broad (221 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown LA, open Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday 11am-5pm, Thursday 11am-8pm, Saturday-Sunday 10am-6pm) is one of the world's great private collections of post-1950s art — the Jeff Dachis-designed building (2015) houses the collection of Eli and Edythe Broad: Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Prince, Takashi Murakami, Ed Ruscha, Christopher Wool. The Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirror Rooms have a separate reservation system (book weeks in advance). Admission: free (timed entry tickets required; reserve in advance).
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
MOCA Los Angeles (250 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown LA, open Wednesday and Friday 11am-5pm, Thursday 11am-8pm, Saturday-Sunday 11am-6pm) is LA's leading institution for contemporary art — the collection of over 7,000 works focuses exclusively on art created after 1940, with particular strength in Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, and Los Angeles-based artists. The Grand Avenue building (Arata Isozaki, 1986) is an architectural landmark. Admission: free on Thursday evenings; USD 18 (AUD 27.57) other times.
Tips for Los Angeles Museums in 2026
- The Getty Center is free but parking is USD 20 (AUD 30.63); alternatively take the Expo Line to Expo/Bundy and the free Getty shuttle — budget significant travel time in LA traffic
- The Grand Avenue Arts District (Downtown LA) clusters The Broad, MOCA, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Museum of Contemporary Art within 200 metres of each other — an excellent half-day walkable museum circuit
- Los Angeles's museum free days vary widely — check each museum's website before visiting; free Thursday evenings at MOCA are an excellent option
- The Getty Villa (Malibu, Pacific Coast Highway, separate from the Getty Center) houses one of the world's finest collections of ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan art in a spectacular Malibu canyon setting — an essential half-day visit on a separate trip from the Getty Center
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