Downtown Museums and Galleries

While the Arts District gets buzzier by the day, the arrival of Hauser & Wirth, the massive new spin-off of the Swiss gallery, has transformed the neighborhood. Here, occupying a block-wide stretch of 19th-and 20th-century buildings that previously served as a flour mill complex, the space feels anything but a traditional white-box gallery. Look for pieces by important local artists like Paul McCarthy, Mark Bradford, and Richard Jackson. Through the end of the year, catch a survey of Austrian painter Maria Lassnig. The multi-use space also includes an education center, ARTBOOK shop, and even a community garden.

Since the early 1900s, L.A.'s Natural History Museum has been playing host to millions of artifacts from the past five or so billion years—and the collection keeps growing. (In 2011, they opened Dinosaur Hall.)

Expect modern art in all forms of media, particularly photographs and videos, in this utilitarian space.

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.

The Broad 221 S. Grand St., Downtown213.232.6250See websiteNEIGHBORHOOD: DowntownOpening Hours:Tues-Wed: 11am-5pmThu: 11am-8pmFri: 11am-5pmSat-Sun: 10am-6pmAdmission: Free The Broad’s modern and contemporary art collection is vast—what you see on any particular visit represents only a smidge of…