Top 100 Museums in California - Complete List, Map & Guide

Written and Fact-checked by | Updated On: July 10, 2026

California is home to hundreds of museums spanning art, science, history, and pop culture, from world-class institutions like LACMA and the Getty to quirky specialty spots like the Winchester Mystery House. Whether you're exploring Los Angeles, the Bay Area, or San Diego, this guide helps you find the right museum for your visit.

California Museums Map

The California Museums Map highlights the locations of museums across the state, including art museums, history museums, science centers, children's museums, aviation museums, maritime museums, and cultural heritage institutions. Use this interactive map to explore popular museums in major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, and other destinations throughout California.

California is home to hundreds of museums covering art, science, history, aviation, automobiles, natural history, film, and cultural heritage. The table below lists some of the best museums in California, along with their locations, categories, admission details, and what each museum is best known for.

List of Museums in California

Museum Name City Category Admission Best For Official Website
The Getty CenterLos AngelesArtFree (Parking Fee)European art, architecture & gardenshttps://www.getty.edu
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)Los AngelesArtPaidLargest art museum in the western U.S.https://www.lacma.org
The Getty VillaMalibuAncient ArtFree (Reservation)Greek & Roman antiquitieshttps://www.getty.edu/visit/villa
de Young MuseumSan FranciscoArtPaidAmerican art & observation towerhttps://deyoung.famsf.org
Legion of HonorSan FranciscoArtPaidEuropean paintings & sculpturehttps://legionofhonor.famsf.org
The BroadLos AngelesContemporary ArtFreeModern & contemporary arthttps://www.thebroad.org
California Science CenterLos AngelesScienceFreeSpace Shuttle Endeavourhttps://californiasciencecenter.org
ExploratoriumSan FranciscoSciencePaidInteractive science exhibitshttps://www.exploratorium.edu
Academy Museum of Motion PicturesLos AngelesFilmPaidHollywood historyhttps://www.academymuseum.org
Bowers MuseumSanta AnaHistoryPaidWorld cultureshttps://www.bowers.org
Norton Simon MuseumPasadenaArtPaidEuropean masterpieceshttps://www.nortonsimon.org
The Huntington Library, Art Museum & Botanical GardensSan MarinoArt & GardensPaidRare books & botanical gardenshttps://huntington.org
Autry Museum of the American WestLos AngelesHistoryPaidAmerican West heritagehttps://theautry.org
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesNatural HistoryPaidDinosaurs & gemstoneshttps://nhm.org
La Brea Tar PitsLos AngelesNatural HistoryPaidIce Age fossilshttps://tarpits.org
California African American MuseumLos AngelesHistoryFreeAfrican American historyhttps://caamuseum.org
GRAMMY MuseumLos AngelesMusicPaidMusic historyhttps://grammymuseum.org
Petersen Automotive MuseumLos AngelesAutomobilePaidClassic & luxury automobileshttps://www.petersen.org
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)Los AngelesContemporary ArtPaidModern art collectionshttps://www.moca.org
Craft ContemporaryLos AngelesCraft ArtPaidContemporary craft exhibitionshttps://www.craftcontemporary.org
USS Midway MuseumSan DiegoMilitaryPaidHistoric aircraft carrierhttps://www.midway.org
San Diego Air & Space MuseumSan DiegoAviationPaidAviation historyhttps://sandiegoairandspace.org
Fleet Science CenterSan DiegoSciencePaidInteractive science exhibitshttps://www.fleetscience.org
San Diego Natural History MuseumSan DiegoNatural HistoryPaidRegional fossils & wildlifehttps://www.sdnhm.org
Museum of UsSan DiegoAnthropologyPaidHuman history & culturehttps://museumofus.org
Birch AquariumLa JollaMarine SciencePaidMarine life exhibitshttps://aquarium.ucsd.edu
Maritime Museum of San DiegoSan DiegoMaritimePaidHistoric sailing shipshttps://sdmaritime.org
Museum of Making MusicCarlsbadMusicPaidMusical instrumentshttps://www.museumofmakingmusic.org
The New Children's MuseumSan DiegoChildrenPaidCreative learninghttps://thinkplaycreate.org
Mingei International MuseumSan DiegoArtPaidFolk art & designhttps://mingei.org
Oakland Museum of CaliforniaOaklandHistory & ArtPaidCalifornia culturehttps://museumca.org
Chabot Space & Science CenterOaklandSciencePaidAstronomy & spacehttps://chabotspace.org
Computer History MuseumMountain ViewTechnologyPaidHistory of computinghttps://computerhistory.org
The Tech InteractiveSan JoseTechnologyPaidInnovation & roboticshttps://www.thetech.org
Rosicrucian Egyptian MuseumSan JoseHistoryPaidAncient Egypt artifactshttps://egyptianmuseum.org
Cantor Arts CenterStanfordArtFreeRodin sculpture collectionhttps://museum.stanford.edu
Winchester Mystery HouseSan JoseHistoric HousePaidVictorian architecturehttps://winchestermysteryhouse.com
Monterey Bay AquariumMontereyAquariumPaidMarine ecosystemshttps://www.montereybayaquarium.org
Monterey Museum of ArtMontereyArtPaidCalifornia artistshttps://montereyart.org
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural HistoryPacific GroveNatural HistoryPaidCentral Coast wildlifehttps://pgmuseum.org
Crocker Art MuseumSacramentoArtPaidCalifornia art collectionshttps://www.crockerart.org
California State Railroad MuseumSacramentoRailroadPaidHistoric locomotiveshttps://www.californiarailroad.museum
California State Capitol MuseumSacramentoHistoryFreeCalifornia government historyhttps://capitolmuseum.ca.gov
Aerospace Museum of CaliforniaMcClellan ParkAviationPaidAircraft exhibitshttps://aerospaceca.org
California Automobile MuseumSacramentoAutomobilePaidVintage automobileshttps://www.calautomuseum.org
Charles M. Schulz MuseumSanta RosaComicsPaidPeanuts historyhttps://schulzmuseum.org
Luther Burbank Home & GardensSanta RosaHistoric HouseFreeBotanical heritagehttps://lutherburbank.org
Palm Springs Art MuseumPalm SpringsArtPaidModern & contemporary arthttps://www.psmuseum.org
Palm Springs Air MuseumPalm SpringsAviationPaidWorld War II aircrafthttps://palmspringsairmuseum.org
Cabot's Pueblo MuseumDesert Hot SpringsHistoric HousePaidSouthwest architecturehttps://www.cabotsmuseum.org
Museum of ToleranceLos AngelesHistoryPaidHuman rights & Holocaust educationhttps://www.museumoftolerance.com
Japanese American National MuseumLos AngelesHistoryPaidJapanese American heritagehttps://www.janm.org
Skirball Cultural CenterLos AngelesCulturePaidJewish heritage & family exhibitshttps://www.skirball.org
Hammer MuseumLos AngelesContemporary ArtFreeEmerging artistshttps://hammer.ucla.edu
Wende MuseumCulver CityHistoryFreeCold War collectionshttps://wendemuseum.org
Discovery Cube Orange CountySanta AnaSciencePaidKids & familieshttps://www.discoverycube.org
Lyon Air MuseumSanta AnaAviationPaidMilitary aircrafthttps://lyonairmuseum.org
Mission San Juan Capistrano MuseumSan Juan CapistranoHistoryPaidCalifornia mission historyhttps://www.missionsjc.com
Orange County Museum of ArtCosta MesaContemporary ArtFreeModern arthttps://ocma.art
Bowers KidseumSanta AnaChildrenPaidInteractive cultural exhibitshttps://www.bowers.org
Museum of Photographic ArtsSan DiegoPhotographyPaidPhotography exhibitionshttps://mopa.org
Timken Museum of ArtSan DiegoArtFreeEuropean masterpieceshttps://timkenmuseum.org
San Diego Model Railroad MuseumSan DiegoRailroadPaidModel railwayshttps://www.sdmrm.org
Museum of Contemporary Art San DiegoLa JollaContemporary ArtPaidModern exhibitionshttps://mcasd.org
Living Coast Discovery CenterChula VistaNaturePaidWildlife conservationhttps://thelivingcoast.org
Yosemite MuseumYosemite ValleyHistoryFreeNative American culturehttps://www.nps.gov/yose
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor CenterBorrego SpringsNatural HistoryFreeDesert ecologyhttps://www.parks.ca.gov
Santa Barbara Museum of ArtSanta BarbaraArtPaidEuropean & Asian arthttps://www.sbma.net
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural HistorySanta BarbaraNatural HistoryPaidRegional wildlifehttps://www.sbnature.org
MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + InnovationSanta BarbaraSciencePaidInteractive STEM exhibitshttps://moxi.org
Ventura County MuseumVenturaHistoryPaidLocal historyhttps://venturamuseum.org
Channel Islands Maritime MuseumOxnardMaritimePaidMaritime historyhttps://www.cimmvc.org
Santa Cruz Museum of Art & HistorySanta CruzArt & HistoryPaidCommunity exhibitionshttps://santacruzmah.org
Seymour Marine Discovery CenterSanta CruzMarine SciencePaidOcean researchhttps://seymourcenter.ucsc.edu
Santa Cruz Children's Museum of DiscoverySanta CruzChildrenPaidInteractive learninghttps://sccmod.org
Fresno Art MuseumFresnoArtPaidCalifornia artistshttps://fresnoartmuseum.org
Meux Home MuseumFresnoHistoric HousePaidVictorian homehttps://meuxhomemuseum.org
Kearney Mansion MuseumFresnoHistoric HousePaidHistoric estatehttps://valleyhistory.org
Turtle Bay Exploration ParkReddingSciencePaidNature & wildlifehttps://www.turtlebay.org
Shasta State Historic Park MuseumShastaHistoryPaidGold Rush historyhttps://www.parks.ca.gov
Sutter's Fort State Historic ParkSacramentoHistoryPaidCalifornia pioneer historyhttps://www.parks.ca.gov
California MuseumSacramentoHistoryPaidCalifornia Hall of Famehttps://www.californiamuseum.org
Wells Fargo MuseumSacramentoHistoryFreeGold Rush bankinghttps://history.wf.com
Loomis MuseumLassen Volcanic National ParkNatural HistoryFreeVolcano geologyhttps://www.nps.gov/lavo
California Citrus State Historic ParkRiversideHistoryFreeCitrus industryhttps://www.parks.ca.gov
March Field Air MuseumRiversideAviationPaidMilitary aircrafthttps://www.marchfield.org
Riverside Art MuseumRiversideArtPaidContemporary arthttps://www.riversideartmuseum.org
Mission Inn MuseumRiversideHistoryPaidHistoric hotelhttps://missioninnmuseum.org
Palm Springs Cultural CenterPalm SpringsCulturePaidFilm & artshttps://psculturalcenter.org
Cabazon Dinosaurs MuseumCabazonNatural HistoryPaidDinosaurshttps://cabazondinosaurs.com
Western Science CenterHemetNatural HistoryPaidIce Age fossilshttps://www.westernsciencecenter.org
Antelope Valley Indian MuseumLancasterHistoryPaidNative American heritagehttps://www.parks.ca.gov
Kern County MuseumBakersfieldHistoryPaidPioneer historyhttps://kerncountymuseum.org
Buena Vista Museum of Natural HistoryBakersfieldNatural HistoryPaidDinosaurs & fossilshttps://www.sharktoothhill.org
San Luis Obispo Museum of ArtSan Luis ObispoArtFreeContemporary arthttps://sloma.org
History Center of San Luis Obispo CountySan Luis ObispoHistoryFreeLocal heritagehttps://historycenterslo.org
Morro Bay Maritime MuseumMorro BayMaritimeFreeMaritime artifactshttps://morrobaymaritimemuseum.org
Museum of Ventura County Agriculture MuseumSanta PaulaAgricultureFreeCalifornia farminghttps://venturamuseum.org
Petaluma Historical Library & MuseumPetalumaHistoryFreeLocal historyhttps://cityofpetaluma.org
Lemoore Naval Air Station Heritage MuseumLemooreAviationFreeNaval aviation historyhttps://www.cnic.navy.mil

California Museums Facts

Fact Details
StateCalifornia
Approximate Number of MuseumsMore than 1,000 museums
Largest Art MuseumLos Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Most Visited MuseumThe Getty Center, Los Angeles
Largest Science MuseumCalifornia Science Center, Los Angeles
Most Popular AquariumMonterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey
Largest Natural History MuseumNatural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Oldest Public Art MuseumCrocker Art Museum, Sacramento (Founded 1885)
Largest Modern Art MuseumSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
Popular Free MuseumsThe Getty Center, Griffith Observatory, Cable Car Museum, Timken Museum of Art, California Science Center
Largest Museum CampusThe Getty Center, Los Angeles
Major Museum CitiesLos Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose
Popular Museum CategoriesArt, Science, History, Natural History, Aviation, Maritime, Film, Technology, Children's Museums
Historic Landmark MuseumHearst Castle, San Simeon
Best Time to VisitSpring and fall offer pleasant weather and lighter crowds.
Top Family MuseumsCalifornia Science Center, Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences, Monterey Bay Aquarium, The Tech Interactive
Presidential MuseumsRonald Reagan Presidential Library and Richard Nixon Presidential Library
Specialty MuseumsPetersen Automotive Museum, Computer History Museum, Cable Car Museum, California State Railroad Museum
Annual Museum VisitorsTens of millions of people visit California museums every year.
Top Museum RegionsSouthern California, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento Valley, Central Coast, and San Diego County
US Museums by State

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