1. Museum-hop along Miracle Mile


The collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA, are housed in a cluster of buildings, with a modern and contemporary-art-filled west campus that opened 2008 and a single-building redesign due to open in 2026 on the eastern half. The focal point is its grand entrance, which includes Chris Burden’s photogenic installation Urban Light. LACMA shares a park with the La Brea Tar Pits and sits just across the street from the Petersen Automotive Museum and Craft Contemporary, and next to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (an excellent celebration of cinema from the folks who hand out the Oscars).
Time Out tip: In addition to its collections, the Academy Museum is also home to two movie theaters—including the 1,000-seat Geffen Theater in that giant glassy sphere you drive by on Fairfax. Screenings are often supplemented by Q&As with famous filmmakers. The best part? Tickets are only $10, way less than you’d pay at your run-of-the-mill AMC.
Make sure to check out all of the free museum days before you visit.