Last updated November 27, 2025 by Brady Goodman-Williams
Did you know that you can experience art, culture, and history at LA's storied museums without spending a dime?
Every month, museums across the city open their doors for free on specific days so everyone can enjoy the rich tapestry of human experience, from ancient artifacts to contemporary masterpieces. Explore the city's cultural gems and embrace the spirit of art and knowledge, unburdened by admission fees.
The Lummis Home
Los Angeles, Pasadena, South Pasadena
For one glorious afternoon Sunday, May 4, six of the Arroyo Seco’s quirkiest, most historic museums – including Heritage Square, the Gamble House, the Lummis Home, and more – throw open their doors and let you wander in for free (yes, really) between 12-4PM. Expect Victorian mansions, secret gardens, vintage cop cars, and enough local lore to make you the most interesting person at your next dinner party. Free shuttles will whisk you between museums, so you can hop from one slice of history to the next without breaking a sweat.
5905 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection of nearly 152,000 objects that illuminate 6,000 years of artistic expression across the globe. Committed to showcasing a multitude of art histories, LACMA exhibits and interprets works of art from new and unexpected points of view that are informed by the region’s rich cultural heritage and diverse population. It's also home to the iconic "Urban Light" sculpture!
Free on the second Tuesday of each month:
- Tuesday, January 14, 2025
- Tuesday, February 11, 2025
- Tuesday, March 11, 2025
- Tuesday, April 8, 2025
- Tuesday, May 13, 2025
- Tuesday, June 10, 2025
- Tuesday, July 8, 2025
- Tuesday, August 12, 2025
- Tuesday, September 9, 2025
- Tuesday, October 14, 2025
- Tuesday, November 11, 2025
- Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Also free for L.A. County residents with valid I.D. after 3 PM on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays all month long.
411 W Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91105
Over a 30-year period, industrialist Norton Simon amassed an astonishing collection of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The Norton Simon Museum continues to hold true to its namesake’s vision while organizing exhibits that demonstrate the richness and history of the collections. They also have an amazing Sculpture Garden filled with meandering paths and a serene water lily pond.
Free every first Friday of the month from 4 to 7PM:
- Friday, January 3, 2025
- Friday, February 7, 2025
- Friday, March 7, 2025
- Friday, April 4, 2025
- Friday, May 2, 2025
- Friday, June 6, 2025
- Friday, July 4, 2025
- Friday, August 1, 2025
- Friday, September 5, 2025
- Friday, October 3, 2025
- Friday, November 7, 2025
- Friday, December 5, 2025
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Located in Griffith Park, the Autry Museum features world-class galleries filled with Native American art and cultural materials, film memorabilia, historic firearms, paintings, interactive areas, and more. Throughout the year, the Autry presents a wide range of public events and programs — including lectures, film, theater, festivals, family activities, and music — and performs scholarship, research, and educational outreach. The Autry’s collection of more than 500,000 pieces of art and artifacts, including one of the largest and most significant collections of Native American materials in the United States.
Free day on the second Tuesday of the month:
- Tuesday, January 14, 2025
- Tuesday, February 11, 2025
- Tuesday, March 11, 2025
- Tuesday, April 8, 2025
- Tuesday, May 13, 2025
- Tuesday, June 10, 2025
- Tuesday, July 8, 2025
- Tuesday, August 12, 2025
- Tuesday, September 9, 2025
- Tuesday, October 14, 2025
- Tuesday, November 11, 2025
- Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Also free every Tuesday and Wednesday from 1-4PM
Photo: Elon Schoenholz, courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
250 South Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
AND
152 North Central Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles offers a unique opportunity to explore a vast collection of American and European contemporary art created after 1940, housed in an architecturally significant building designed by the renowned Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. As the only artist-founded museum in Los Angeles, MOCA stands out for its dedication to presenting, collecting, preserving, and interpreting the art of our time, making it a must-visit for art enthusiasts and those looking to engage with contemporary expression and the changing definitions of art.
Admission at MOCA is free every day.
Free entry at MOCA Geffen from 5–8pm on the first Friday of every month.
- Friday, January 3, 2025
- Friday, February 7, 2025
- Friday, March 7, 2025
- Friday, April 4, 2025
- Friday, May 2, 2025
- Friday, June 6, 2025
- Friday, July 4, 2025
- Friday, August 1, 2025
- Friday, September 5, 2025
- Friday, October 3, 2025
- Friday, November 7, 2025
- Friday, December 5, 2025
1200 Getty Center Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
The J. Paul Getty Museum seeks to inspire curiosity about, and enjoyment and understanding of, the visual arts by collecting, conserving, exhibiting, and interpreting works of art of outstanding quality and historical importance. To fulfill this mission, the Museum continues to build its collections through purchase and gifts, and develops programs of exhibitions, publications, scholarly research, public education, and the performing arts that engage our diverse local and international audiences. All of these activities are enhanced by the uniquely evocative architectural and garden settings provided by the Museum's two renowned venues: the Getty Villa and the Getty Center.
Free admission every day (reservation required). The Getty Center is closed on Mondays. Parking is $20, or $15 after 3PM.
10899 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
The Hammer Museum champions the art and artists who challenge us to see the world in a new light, to experience the unexpected, to ignite our imaginations, and to inspire change. The Hammer understands that art not only has the power to transport us through aesthetic experience but can also provide significant insight into some of the most pressing cultural, political, and social questions of our time. A vibrant intellectual and creative nexus, the Hammer is fueled by dynamic exhibitions and programs — including lectures, symposia, film series, readings, and musical performances — that spark meaningful encounters with art and ideas.
Free admission every day
900 Exposition Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
It's more than just dinosaur bones! The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. There's a butterfly pavilion, gems & minerals exhibit, an electron microscope lab, and more fun for the whole family. Conveniently located in Mid-Wilshire, consider taking advantage of their free afternoon hours when you feel like playing hooky from work.
L.A. County Residents get free admission from 3-5 pm Monday through Friday
2701 N Sepulveda Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90049
The Skirball Cultural Center welcomes people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society. Open to the public since 1996, the Skirball is one of the world's most dynamic Jewish cultural institutions and among the leading cultural venues in Los Angeles.
Free on Thursdays, noon to 5PM
221 S Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
The Broad was founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, the museum offers free general admission and presents an active program of rotating temporary exhibitions and innovative audience engagement. The Broad is home to nearly 2,000 works of art in the Broad collection, which is one of the world’s leading collections of postwar and contemporary art.
Admission is free every day
1151 Oxford Rd.
San Marino, CA 91108
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens are world-renowned for their beauty and breadth. The Huntington is a research and cultural center surrounded by 130 acres spread across 16 specialized gardens. Originally the private estate of railroad magnate Henry Huntington, it is one of Southern California's must-see cultural destinations with magnificent collections of rare books, manuscripts, and famous works of art including Gainsborough's "The Blue Boy," Mary Cassatt's "Breakfast in Bed," a Gutenberg Bible, an illuminated manuscript of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, and a First Folio edition of Shakespeare.
Free every first Thursday of the month.
- Thursday, January 2, 2025
- Thursday, February 6, 2025
- Thursday, March 6, 2025
- Thursday, April 3, 2025
- Thursday, May 1, 2025
- Thursday, June 5, 2025
- Thursday, July 3, 2025
- Thursday, August 7, 2025
- Thursday, September 4, 2025
- Thursday, October 2, 2025
- Thursday, November 6, 2025
- Thursday, December 4, 2025
100 The Grove Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Holocaust Museum LA continues its mission to commemorate those who perished, honor those who survived, educate about the Holocaust, and inspire a more dignified and humane world. Holocaust Museum LA is the first survivor-founded and oldest Holocaust museum in the United States. A group of survivors met in the 1960s and discovered that each of them had a photograph, document, or personal item from before the war. They wanted a place to memorialize their loved ones who perished and help to educate the public so that no one would ever forget.
Free every Sunday
CLOSED FOR RENOVATION UNTIL LATE 2026
As the national repository of Japanese American history, JANM creates groundbreaking historical and art exhibitions, educational public programs, award-winning documentaries, and innovative curricula that illuminate the stories and the rich cultural heritage of people of Japanese ancestry in the United States.
Free from 5PM to 8PM on Thursdays
1418 Descanso Dr.
La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
Descanso Gardens is a story of plants and the people who loved them for their life-giving utility and their great natural beauty. While the tale unfolds over centuries, the connecting thread — from the indigenous people who relied on the plentiful oaks for food and their way of life to the 20th-century entrepreneur who sowed the seeds of a cultural institution — is a deep-seated love for this evocative and distinctive place. Descanso’s evolution into a botanic garden, open to the public and nationally accredited as a “museum of living collections,” is the most recent chapter in the rich history of this landscape.
Free on the third Tuesday of each month
- Tuesday, January 21, 2025
- Tuesday, February 18, 2025
- Tuesday, March 18, 2025
- Tuesday, April 15, 2025
- Tuesday, May 20, 2025
- Tuesday, June 17, 2025
- Tuesday, July 15, 2025
- Tuesday, August 19, 2025
- Tuesday, September 16, 2025
- Tuesday, October 21, 2025
- Tuesday, November 18, 2025
- Tuesday, December 16, 2025
600 State Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90037
The California African American Museum (CAAM) explores the art, history, and culture of African Americans, with an emphasis on California and the West. In addition to presenting a dynamic slate of exhibitions and public programs, CAAM houses a permanent collection of more than five thousand works of art, artifacts, and historical documents, and a research library.
Admission is free every day
628 Alamitos Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90802
The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) is the pioneering museum in the United States dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American and Latino art. Founded in 1996 by Robert Gumbiner, MOLAA houses a collection of more than 1,600 works of art including paintings, sculptures, drawings, mixed-media, photographs, and video art.
Free every Sunday, 11AM to 5PM
1250 N. Bellflower Blvd
Long Beach, CA 90840
Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum is a community of people who examine, critique, and create contemporary art and culture. Recently expanded to 11,000 square feet, the arts complex located on the beautiful campus of California State University, Long Beach, Kleefeld Contemporary is the only museum in Long Beach that is always free.
Free admission every day
301 N Baldwin Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91007
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden is a unique 127-acre botanical garden and historical site located in what was the heart of the historic Rancho Santa Anita in the city of Arcadia. Their mission is to cultivate their natural, horticultural, and historic resources for learning, enjoyment, and inspiration.
Free on the third Tuesday of each month
- Tuesday, January 21, 2025
- Tuesday, February 18, 2025
- Tuesday, March 18, 2025
- Tuesday, April 15, 2025
- Tuesday, May 20, 2025
- Tuesday, June 17, 2025
- Tuesday, July 15, 2025
- Tuesday, August 19, 2025
- Tuesday, September 16, 2025
- Tuesday, October 21, 2025
- Tuesday, November 18, 2025
- Tuesday, December 16, 2025
5814 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Founded as a museum in 1973, Craft Contemporary reveals the potential of craft to educate, captivate, provoke, and empower. With a focus on contemporary art made from craft media and processes, Craft Contemporary presents dynamic exhibitions by established and emerging artists and designers who are often underrepresented in larger art institutions. Craft Contemporary complements these exhibitions with a creative line-up of educational programs, including hands-on workshops led by professional artists.
Pay what you can every Sunday. Youth under 12 can always visit Craft Contemporary for free.
399 N. Garey Ave.
Pomona, CA 91767
Exhibitions and programming at AMOCA embrace a wide range of topics – all relating to clay. Within this broadly diverse community, it is our goal to increase the aesthetic appreciation of clay as an art form and to assist our audience in unraveling the creative thinking behind the making of ceramic objects. At the same time, AMOCA provides confirmed clay enthusiasts with encouragement, camaraderie, and exhibition opportunities.
The first Friday of every month admission prices are pay what you can:
- Friday, January 3, 2025
- Friday, February 7, 2025
- Friday, March 7, 2025
- Friday, April 4, 2025
- Friday, May 2, 2025
- Friday, June 6, 2025
- Friday, July 4, 2025
- Friday, August 1, 2025
- Friday, September 5, 2025
- Friday, October 3, 2025
- Friday, November 7, 2025
- Friday, December 5, 2025
Youth under 12 can always visit AMOCA for free.
Photo: Andrew Cullen
1401 S. Central Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90021
The African American Firefighter Museum aims to acquire, preserve, and disseminate the rich heritage associated with African-American firefighters, emphasizing collaboration and educational initiatives. Notably, the AAFFM holds the distinction as the inaugural and sole museum exclusively committed to showcasing the contributions of African Americans in the US fire service. On the second floor, the museum gallery showcases an array of photographs, artifacts, and memorabilia that highlight the experiences of African-American firefighters from across the nation.
The Museum is open on Sundays from 1:00pm – 4:00pm. There is no cost to tour the Museum; however, donations are always welcome. Free street parking available.
PHOTO: LAGUNA ART MUSEUM
307 Cliff Dr.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Laguna Art Museum exists to engage and enlighten people of all ages through art that embodies and preserves the California experience. This OC institution presents exhibitions relevant to California art and artists throughout the year and is home to the annual Art & Nature Festival celebrating the museum's unique relationship to the environment.
Free on the first Thursday of each month from 6 - 9PM
- Thursday, January 2, 2025
- Thursday, February 6, 2025
- Thursday, March 6, 2025
- Thursday, April 3, 2025
- Thursday, May 1, 2025
- Thursday, June 5, 2025
- Thursday, July 3, 2025
- Thursday, August 7, 2025
- Thursday, September 4, 2025
- Thursday, October 2, 2025
- Thursday, November 6, 2025
- Thursday, December 4, 2025
Photo: Taso Papadakis
644 N Main Street
Los Angeles 90012
The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA) explores the Italian American experience in the context of the nation’s multicultural mosaic. The 6,000 square-foot museum is located in downtown Los Angeles and features an award-winning permanent exhibition, which is also accessible online, as well as temporary exhibitions, cultural-educational programming, and more.
Admission is free every day
Photo: California Science Center
700 Exposition Park Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90037
The California Science Center is home to over 150 interactive exhibits, including live animals, a 188,000 gallon kelp tank, and the Space Shuttle Endeavour. If you’re looking to expand your scientific adventure, check out one of their many special showings on their 7-story IMAX screen.
Admission is free every day (IMAX screenings not included)
Photo: The Getty Villa
17985 Pacific Coast Hwy
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
The Getty Villa was designed to evoke an ancient Roman villa. Its architecture and lush gardens provide a serene backdrop for a world-class collection of antiquities. Visitors can explore a vast array of artifacts, from intricate sculptures to delicate jewelry, and enjoy engaging exhibitions and educational programs.
Admission is free every day (closed Tuesdays)
