Los Angeles Museums and Galleries

Sculptural works from the likes of Alexander Calder, Barbara Hepworth, Henri Mattisse, Isamu Noguchi, and others, sprawl across five acres of UCLA’s campus. You can wander around yourself, or arrange a tour though they book up far in advance.

There’s always something excellent on display at this UCLA museum—it’s also nicely manageable, making it the perfect way to spend a few idle hours. The adjacent museum store is one of the best in the city: The bookstore is gigantic, and they have some great gifts from L.A.-based designers, but they win the biggest points for their kids room in the back, where you’ll find art and design-specific tomes for little ones, along with a handful of well-conceived toys.

Before the Broad, MOCA was LA's only museum wholly dedicated to contemporary art. As always, there's something great exhibiting at their downtown location, outpost in the Pacific Design Center, and the super rad Geffen Contemporary, housed in a former police car warehouse in Little Tokyo.

R.M. Schindler’s 1920’s home is the headquarters for this Art & Architecture Center. There are exhibitions and events throughout the year, but the main pull is visiting the house that Schindler designed as a communal live/work space. It’s an icon of modern design.

While it will cost you (a lot) to take a tour of the inside of Charles and Ray Eames’ house/studio, it’s pretty incredible to see how warmly this husband and wife team lived, as well as their iconic, modern furniture in situ. While indoor tours range from $275-$400 (depending on group size), it’s only $10 to walk the grounds and see its iconic, Mondrian-esque exterior. Reservations for both are required.

Modeled after a first-century Roman country house, J. Paul Getty originally built the Getty Villa to house an art collection that was quickly outgrowing his house. Now, beyond touring the exquisite home and gardens, you can see his collection of 44,000 antiquities, with treasures that range from 6,500 B.C. to A.D. 400.

Undeniably, LACMA pulls LA's biggest art exhibits—and many of them. The campus is huge, the permanent exhibits are great, and it's all kid-friendly, too. If you have little ones in tow, definitely head to the Boone Gallery. There, you'll find a space where little ones can actually put brush to paper and make art. While on-site, sign them up for a free LACMA youth membership—they can visit the museum for free whenever they want (and bring one adult guest along).

Though it's an equal draw for car-obsessed adults, this museum—immediately across the street from LACMA—has huge kid appeal. For one, in the third floor Discovery Center they can climb aboard a California Highway Patrol Motorcycle, a Ford Model T, and a racecar. They can also race Hot Wheels and pick up a few tidbits about what makes a car tick.

Until the opening of the Broad across the street, MOCA was LA's only museum wholly dedicated to contemporary art. As always, there's something great to see at their downtown location, their outpost in the Pacific Design Center, and the super rad Geffen Contemporary, housed in a former police car warehouse in Little Tokyo.

A view of the Century Plaza Towers from below (the duo were designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect who designed The World Trade Center, and the visual similarities are eery), and free admission are just bonuses: The photo exhibits here are both excellent and manageable.