All of the best free things to do in L.A.

The iconic amphitheater doubles as a semi-secret county park. As long as the venue isn’t holding a performance (an admittedly rare occurrence from mid-June to September), you’re welcome to park for free and stroll about the grounds as you please. Hike all the way up the hilly environs to admire the views or walk into the seating area where, chances are, you’ll see people working out on the stairs. If you’re lucky, you can catch an open L.A. Phil rehearsal on summer mornings—classical shows tend to fall on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but the schedule varies, so it’s best to call 323-850-2000 to find out for sure.

Free timed tickets recommended. Infinity Mirrored Room offers reservations, too.

Three words: Infinity Mirror Rooms. Downtown’s persistently popular contemporary art museum has two of Yayoi Kusama’s immersive, mirror-laden rooms (and sometimes a lengthy standby queue to prove it). Elsewhere in the free museum, Eli and Edythe Broad’s collection of 2,000 post-war works includes artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Barbara Kruger and Jeff Koons. And even ticketed special exhibitions are typically free on Thursday nights.

The vista at the Griffith Observatory—currently celebrating its 90th birthday—is stunning, particularly at night when Los Angeles twinkles below. Inside (except for on Mondays, when the museum is closed) you’ll find a bevy of exhibits, including a Foucault pendulum and a Tesla coil, plus—for a fee—a planetarium show. Give yourself plenty of time before the 10pm closing to gaze through the 12-inch refracting telescope on the roof, otherwise I actually prefer looking through the far less crowded modern, reflecting telescopes that are often set up on the front lawn. Just a heads-up that parking now costs $10 per hour—though you can catch a DASH bus up there for only 50 cents (or 35 cents with a Metro TAP card) or park lower down the mountain for free and hike up.

Tucked between the chaotic Venice Boardwalk and the posh Abbot Kinney, the Venice Canals offer a completely different side of the famed beachfront neighborhood. I’ll be the first to admit that Venice is far from my favorite neighborhood in L.A.—but I absolutely love the canals. Take a stroll through these three channelized blocks—hence the name, Venice—and you’ll discover an idyllic scene: arching pedestrian bridges, charming beach houses, bunches of ducklings and the occasional paddle boarder (including a bulldog that I once spotted balancing with its human).

Note: The Getty Center is open, but the Getty Villa, while thankfully unharmed by the Palisades Fire, remains closed until further notice. 

From the ocean to the mountains northeast of Downtown L.A., the panoramic views from this artopolis more than compensate for its relative inaccessibility (you need to ride a tram up to the museum). You’ll find proper picnic tables down the hill at the tram station, but I highly suggest sitting on the sloping lawn adjacent to the Central Garden instead. On select Saturdays in the summer, you can even catch a free DJ set and concert during the Getty’s Off the 405 series. While the museum is free with a timed ticket, you’ll have to pay $25 for parking, with discounts available after 3pm. The good news is that you can skip the parking fees at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades if you decide to visit the Center’s sister institution the same day.

The Getty and the Broad are two of my favorites, but almost every other museum in L.A. offers free admission either on select days or all the time. You can always visit the Hammer Museum, MOCA Grand Avenue, the California Science Center and CAAM for free, while LACMA, the Natural History Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum have free opportunities for locals on weekday afternoons. Free botanical gardens are a bit harder to come by, but spots like the Huntington offer a once-a-month free day that you’ll need to be quick to book.

The grand, white concrete tower has stood tall as a city icon since 1928, and today it’s one of the easiest ways to take in an elevated view of Downtown and beyond. If you’re ever passing through the Civic Center during public hours (weekdays 9am–5pm, enter on Main Street) then you owe yourself a visit to the 27th-floor observation deck. Make sure to look for the 1984 Olympic torch near the Spring Street exit. It’s certainly not the only tall vantage point in DTLA—the InterContinental’s lobby sits on the 70th floor, while the Conrad Los Angeles has its own scenic 10th-floor views of Grand Avenue—but it’s the only one where you won’t feel like you’re loitering.

This surprising urban oasis sits just across from the Sepulveda Basin on the border of Van Nuys. The stony bridges and footpaths wind along a central pond, flanked by rockwork, manicured trees and tea houses and graced by all manner of waterfowl. Believe it or not, all of that flora provides cover for a bit of an industrial edge: The garden is irrigated by the adjacent Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. Unlike most other Japanese gardens—aside from one in Long Beach—admission here is free, but its hours are admittedly limited (Mon–Thu 9:30am–noon and 1–3:30pm).

Perched over the Pacific in San Pedro sits one of the most idyllic spots in all of L.A.: the Korean Bell of Friendship. The mighty metallic bell’s rusty green finish complements the ornately painted hipped roof—its paint job is sometimes in need of a refresh, but that doesn’t detract from the beauty of the 1976 goodwill gift from South Korea. I’ve always found the exposed, grassy bluff to be an ideal spot to fly a kite—or just lounge in the grass of Angels Gate Park.

Note: Pacific Coast Highway still has full or partial closures from the McClure Tunnel in Santa Monica to Sweetwater Canyon Drive in Malibu due to wildfire cleanup. It’s scheduled to reopen by the end of May 2025.

No matter how much some Malibu spots may try to gatekeep their exclusive shores, know this: Any expanse of sand below the high tide line is open to the public. Parking, on the other hand, is an entirely separate beast. That’s why Westward Beach is my go-to; you can skip the paid lots at Zuma and Point Dume and search for free all-day street parking on this small stretch between the two. Parking can be tight on this coveted, spacious expanse of sand, so if you need to head elsewhere, you’ll find plenty of spots available among the ritzy neighborhoods farther north, as well as along the Pacific Coast Highway (a helpful free option for the dog beach at Leo Carrillo State Park).

And we’re not just talking about books. You can stream classic films, download e-books and audiobooks, take language-learning courses, follow software tutorials and even nab free parking at a state park with your library card. If you don’t feel like going to a physical library (though you should), you can apply for a library e-card on the Los Angeles Public Library website, which will grant you access to the aforementioned online resources. If you have an L.A. County Library card, you can also reserve free tickets to a handful of local museums.

Note: The Runyon Canyon West Trail remains closed due to wildfire cleanup, but all other areas of the canyon are open.

This 160-acre park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains has one main loop, plus a bevy of dirt hiking trails. The sea of buff trainers and their sleek, sweaty clients can get to be too much during the busy morning and weekend workout traffic, but you’ll be rewarded with some of the best views of the city (and, if you’re lucky, a chance to gawk at power-walking celebs). When I’m only after the views and not hiking, I head to the northern entrance on Mulholland Drive, which is just a short walk from the summit.

Note: The Lake Shrine remains closed until further notice. due to the Palisades Fire.

Get lost in your thoughts at one of L.A.’s best kept secrets: the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. Set on a 10-acre site that was used as a film set during the silent era, its lovely gardens offer some increasingly rare assets today: peace and tranquility. You’ll need a reservation to visit the meditation gardens, which are open for free from Wednesday through Sunday.