Los Angeles, CA

GRAMMY Museum
DESCRIPTION: A magnificent 30,000-square foot venue of films, memorabilia and interactive multimedia exhibits that celebrate the power of music in all its genres; the 1ST FLOOR introduces you to a small sample of what's to come, then take the elevator up to the 4th floor, then casually glide back to 1st floor; 4TH FLOOR - keystone exhbits are the interactive touch-table and headphones that lets you sample of every genre of American music and the Michael Jackson Tribute; then you see a broad, colorful gallery of exhibits describing the chronology, geography and major recording artists throughout the decades; casually walk to the Inspiration and Influence Theatre to enjoy the priceless perspectives of recording artists describing their great influences; 3RD FLOOR - a behind the scenes look into the art and technology of the recording process as told by musicians, producers and engineers; you also disciver that Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder have won 2 of the top 3 most GRAMMYs; 2ND FLOOR - witness The Making of a GRAMMY Moment shot backstage during the 50th Annual GRAMMY telecast with Tina Turner and Beyonce' up close in the 200-seat GRAMMY Sound Stage; also see the priceless collection of GRAMMY artist photos and videos by artists like Marvin Gaye and touring exhibits; the well-stocked gift shop has plenty of momentos to take home; you can spend 3+ hours at the museum for a complete experience on all floors
ADMISSION: Adults $15, Students w/ID and Age 65+ $12, Ages 6-17 and active military $11, ages 5 and under enter free
DAYS & HOURS: 10a-6p; extended hours for some special events and holidays
ADDRESS: 800 West Olympic Blvd  MAP
PARKING: on the premises for $15-20; 20,000 parking spots are within a 10-minute walk
TRANSIT: Metro Blue line at 12th & Flower Streets Station, only 1.5 blocks away
PHONE: box office 213-765-6803
WEBSITE: http://www.grammymuseum.org

Japanese American National Museum
DESCRIPTION: This informative and evocative museum and library will broaden your horizons about Japanese Americans contributions to our nation in both good and bad; it also shows the housing linkage between Japanese Americans and African Americans in LA; the museum's showcase exhibit covers World War II when 120,000 Japanese Americans were interned in U.S. prison camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor; rather than remain interred, many men chose to prove their American loyalty by enlisting in the U.S. Army, where they were assigned to fight the Germans in Europe; their regiment became the most highly decorated unit during WWII
ADMISSION: Adults $3, students and ages 6 to 17
DAYS & HOURS: Tue-Sun 10a-5p, Thu until 8p
ADDRESS: 369 First Street  MAP
PARKING: paid parking on the premises
TRANSIT: Civic Center Metro Station on the Red Line
PHONE: 800-461-5266
WEBSITE: http://www.janm.org

Museum of Contemporary Art
DESCRIPTION: Founded in 1979, MOCA LA is committed to the collection, presentation, and interpretation of art work produced since 1940 in all media and now has over 5,000 works in one of the nation's most renowned permanent contemporary art collections, including works by Franz Kline, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenberg, Mark Rothko, Robert Therrien, Roy Thurston and many others; what an eye-catching venue to house those works -- Arata Isozaki’s wondrous pyramid and barrel-vaulted design draws you in from many angles; the gift store is a bounty of innovative objects and art books
ADMISSION: Adults $8, Students with ID $5, Age 65+ $5, Children under 12 FREE
DAYS & HOURS: Mon, Fri 11a–5p, Thu 11a–8p is FREE, Sat-Sun 11a–6p 
ADDRESS: 250 South Grand Ave  MAP
PARKING: paid parking on the premises
TRANSIT: Civic Center Metro Station on the Red Line
PHONE: 213-621-2766
WEBSITE: http://www.moca-la.org

Museum of Neon Art
DESCRIPTION: A fabulous collection of historic neon signs and art; you can artfully meander for one or more hours between convention meetings or before games; walking distance from the LA Convention Center and Staples Center
DAYS & HOURS: Wed-Sat 11a-5p, Sun 12a-5p, FREE 2nd Thursday of month 11a-8p
ADMISSION: $5 adults, Students with ID and Seniors 65+ $3.50, Age 12 & under FREE
ADDRESS: 501 West Olympic Blvd  MAP
PARKING: paid parking on the premises
TRANSIT: 7th Street Metro Station at the Red Line & Blue Line
PHONE: 213-489-9918
WEBSITE: http://www.neonmona.org

Hollywood Museum
DESCRIPTION: Hosted in the Max Factor Building, the museum features an astonishing collection of Hollywood memorabilia;  the exterior and lobby are nicely renovated Art Deco gem with marble, crystal chandeliers, and pastel hues suggestive of cinematic glitter; four floors of exhibits and thousands of artifacts from the earliest days to the latest blockbusters; for those unborn or too young to remember decades ago, Max Factor was the premier make-up man of Hollywood stars
ADMISSION: Adults $15, Seniors and Ages 12 and below $12
DAYS & HOURS: Wed-Sun 10a-5p
ADDRESS: 1660 North Highland Ave  MAP
PARKING: paid parking on the premises
TRANSIT: 7th Street Metro Station at the Red Line & Blue Line
PHONE: 323-464-7776
WEBSITE:

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
DESCRIPTION: A sibling of the Museum of Natural History in Exposition Park for many years, in 1965, LACMA finally opened its first separate building on this site; multi-year expansions to 212,000 square feet on 20-acres, numerous renovations and collections numbering over 100,000 artworks make LACMA the largest encyclopedic museum west of Chicago and a pacesetter for diversity, though benefactors have clearly made it strongest in works by  European master artists; in 2008, LACMA's property was finally unified via a master landscape plan hinged around the solar panel-covered BP Grand Entrance, linear palm gardens and a concourse connecting its constituent parts; the new Broad Contemporary Art Museum design by Renzo Piano, confidently struts a functional, light-filled design that engages the visitor with critically lauded, modern masterpieces; the Ahmanson Building along with the Hammer Building are home to many distinguished permanent collections: European Renaissance Classics, African, Chinese, Korean, Greek, Roman, Islamic,  Southeast Asian, Costume, Textile, Photography, Print & Drawings art; in May 2008 the renovated Art of the Americas Building will spread its wings to include as the largest collection of Latin America masterworks in the US; Pavilion for Japanese Art represents the largest specialized collection of its type in America; in 2010-2011 transformation phase of LACMA, a second pavilion specializing in changing exhibits and jaw-dropping landscape art are certain to become LA's next world-class tourist attractions; includes a gift shop, book store and two cafes
ADMISSION: Adults $12, Ages 62+ & Students with ID $8, Ages 17 and under FREE
DAYS & HOURS: Mon, Tue, Thu Noon-8p; Fri Noon-9p; Sat-Sun 11a-8p
ADDRESS: 5905 Wilshire Blvd  MAP
PARKING: on street and parking across the street
TRANSIT: bus
PHONE: 323-857-6000
WEBSITE: http://www.lacma.org

Craft and Folk Art Museum
DESCRIPTION: Founded in 1973 and originally host to the infamous ‘The Egg and the Eye’ omelet restaurant; today, one experiences folk art & craft exhibitions that range from the historical to contemporary, traditional to eclectic in this nearly 5,000 square foot building; a visit is always an enlightening because it presents slices of the artistic merger between social order and individual creativity while offering insight into global values and lifestyles by revealing similarities amongst diverse cultures; for example, in 2010, CAFAM featured The Fool's Journey - The History & Symbolism of the Tarot, a 22 poster-size card exhibit that is at once laudable and thought-provoking; craft collectors will appreciate the the many books, jewelry, pendants and baubles in the eye-catching gift shop; since exhibits change every 3-4 months, feel free to drop in whenever you visit LACMA across the street
ADMISSION: Adults $5, Seniors & Students with ID $3, Age 11 and under Free
DAYS & HOURS: Tue-Wed & Fri 11a-5p, Thu 11a-7p, Sat & Sun 12p-6p
ADDRESS: 5814 Wilshire Boulevard  MAP
PARKING: on street and parking across the street
TRANSIT: bus
PHONE: 323-937-4230
WEBSITE: http://www.cafam.org

Museum of Tolerance
DESCRIPTION: Founded in 1993, this 165,000 square foot museum complex is the educational arm of the Simon Wiesenthal Center whose mission is to challenge visitors to confront bigotry and racism, and understand the Jewish Holocaust in both its historical and contemporary contexts like Darfur; in the Tolerancenter, hands-on experiential and audio-visual exhibits focus on the dynamics of racism and prejudice in America; the Holocaust Exhibit lets you witness how events unfolded in 1920s Germany that led to the rise of Hitler's Nazi policy to exterminate all Jews during World War II; Finding Our Families Finding Ourselves is the newest multimedia exhibit showcasing American diversity through the personal histories of Billy Crystal, Maya Angelou, Carlos Santana, Joe Torre and others; Artifacts & Documents of the Holocaust include original letters of Anne Frank and artifacts from the Auschwitz death camp; the museum is named in honor of  Simon Wiesenthal (1908-2005) who's life work Nazis in hiding after the war for their crimes against humanity; the most emotionally moving part of a visit is when you hear Survivor Testimonies from death camp survivors
ADMISSION: Adults $13, Age 62+ $11, Students with ID & Ages 5-18 $10, Age 4 and under FREE
DAYS & HOURS: Mon-Thu 10a-5p, Sun 11a-5p
ADDRESS: 9786 West Pico Blvd  MAP
PARKING: on street and parking across the street
TRANSIT: bus
PHONE: 310-553-8403
WEBSITE: http://www.museumoftolerance.com

UCLA Hammer Museum
DESCRIPTION: The former Getty Oil baron bequeath this treasure chest for art lovers with historical and contemporary art exhibitions, music, dance, poetry, symposiums and gallery tours
ADMISSION: $5 Adults, $3 Age 65+ and UCLA Alumni with ID, Thursdays Free
DAYS & HOURS: Tue, Sat, Sun 12a-7p; Wed-Fri 12a-9p
ADDRESS: 10899 Wilshire Blvd  MAP
PARKING: paid parking on premises $2.75
TRANSIT: bus
PHONE: 310-443-7000
WEBSITE: http://www.hammer.ucla.edu

Getty Center
DESCRIPTION: What does a modern $Billion museum, gardens and education complex hosting world-class art collections ranging from Greek and Roman antiquities to postmodernist Western art look like – opulent and bombastic; the scope is so grand you could spend a week seeing every exhibit at a leisure pace and if you did so, one or more art collections would captivate and stir the soul; so that you do not rush to find what’s appealing to you in a 3, 4 or 5-hour visit, please review the Getty website to carefully pre-select exhibits; an excellent café and restaurant are on the premises; guests of this very popular museum are required to park at a designated lot just off the 405 Freeway, then catch the Automated People Mover up a winding path to the museum – even the ride is a treat of landscape views
DAYS & HOURS: Tue-Thu 10a-6p, Fri-Sat 10a-9p, Sun 10a-6p
ADMISSION: free
ADDRESS: 1200 Getty Center Drive  MAP
PARKING: $7 per car, cash only
TRANSIT: bus
PHONE: 310-440-7300
WEBSITE: http://www.getty.edu/museum

Skirball Museum & Cultural Center
DESCRIPTION: Dedicated to exploring the connections between 4,000 years of Jewish history and other American groups and democratic ideals; has frequently hosted events important to the relationship and progress between African Americans and Jewish Americans
ADMISSION: $8, free on Thursday
DAYS & HOURS: Tue-Wed, Fri-Sat 12a–5p,
 Thu 12a–9p,
 Sun 11a–5p
ADDRESS: 2701 North Sepulveda Blvd  MAP
PARKING: free on premises
TRANSIT: none
PHONE: 310-440-4500
WEBSITE: http://www.skirball.org

Beverly Hills, CA

Museum of Television & Radio – Los Angeles
DESCRIPTION: Look inside a moving time capsule; choose from hundreds of classic variety shows, commercials, historic newscasts, and music programs from a personal display monitor; relive old memories and younger times
ADMISSION: FREE, suggested contribution $10
DAYS & HOURS: Wed-Sun 12a-5p
ADDRESS: 465 North Beverly Drive  MAP
PARKING: parking nearby
TRANSIT: bus
PHONE: 310-786-1000
WEBSITE: http://www.mtr.org

Pacific Palisades, CA

Getty Villa
DESCRIPTION: It is no exaggeration to say this is one of America’s most beautiful museums; reopened in 2006 after a 12 years of loving renovation – no detail was left untouched in this hilltop villa overlooking the Pacific Ocean; modeled after the Villa dei Papiri, a first-century Roman country house near Pompeii, the museum houses 1200 pieces in its permanent collection of priceless Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities; all pieces are originals, with one exception being debated for its authenticity; the most remarkable antiquities are the statue of Hercules, Orpheus, a sarcophagus depicting the life of Achilles, and various pieces in the Women of Antiquity gallery; a close examination of the marble floors also reveals multi-patterned artwork by some the world’s best marble craftsmen; a dramatic a 450-seat outdoor theater puts a cherry on top with occasional performances – word is they will soon host ancient Greek plays
ADMISSION: free
DAYS & HOURS: Thu–Mon
 10a–5p
ADDRESS: 17985 Pacific Coast Highway  MAP
PARKING: $7, cash only
TRANSIT: bus
PHONE: 310-440-7300
WEBSITE: http://www.getty.edu/visit