Things to do in Santa Monica
Top sights and attractions to build your days around once you know when to go.
Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, US, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997, and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles. The center sits atop a hill connected to a visitors' parking garage at the bottom of the hill by a three-car, cable-pulled hovertrain people mover.
J. Paul Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an American art museum in Los Angeles, California, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthiest art institution.
Getty Villa
The Getty Villa is an educational center and an art museum located at the easterly end of the Malibu coast in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. One of two campuses of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Villa, is dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. The collection has 44,000 Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities dating from 6,500 BC to 400 AD, including the Lansdowne Heracles and the Victorious Youth. The UCLA/Getty Master's Program in Archaeological and Ethnographic Conservation is housed on this campus.
Santa Monica Pier
The Santa Monica Pier is a large pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. The pier is part of the greater Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
Hammer Museum
The Hammer Museum is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. It is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur-industrialist Armand Hammer to house his personal art collection, the museum has since expanded its scope. The Hammer Museum hosts over 300 programs throughout the year, from lectures, symposia, and readings to concerts and film screenings. As of June 2025, the museum's collections, exhibitions, and programs are free to all visitors.
Museum of Tolerance
The Museum of Tolerance (MOT), also known as Beit HaShoah, is a multimedia museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, designed to examine racism and prejudice around the world with a strong focus on the history of the Holocaust. The museum was established in 1993, as the educational arm of human rights organization, the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The museum also deals with atrocities in Cambodia and Latin America, along with issues like bullying and hate crimes. The museum has an associated museum and professional development multi-media training facility in New York City.
Los Angeles California Temple
The Los Angeles California Temple, the tenth operating and the second-largest temple operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is on Santa Monica Boulevard in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California, United States.
Hillside Memorial Park
Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery in Culver City, California, United States. Many Jews from the entertainment industry are buried there. The cemetery is known for Al Jolson's elaborate tomb, a 75-foot-high pergola and monument atop a hill above a water cascade, all visible from the adjacent San Diego Freeway.
Theme Building
The Theme Building is a structure at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), considered an architectural example of the Space Age design style. Influenced by "Populuxe" architecture, it is an example of the Mid-century modern design movement, later to become known as "Googie". In 1993, the city designated the exterior and interior of the Theme Building as a historic-cultural monument.
Muscle Beach
Muscle Beach is the birthplace of the United States physical fitness boom, which started in 1934 with predominantly gymnastics activities on the south side of the Santa Monica Pier. Muscle Beach Venice is the contemporary title of the outdoor weightlifting platform constructed in Venice, California, a distinct neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, 18 years after Muscle Beach was established.
Santa Monica State Beach
Santa Monica State Beach is a California State Park operated by the city of Santa Monica.
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