Museum Mayhem

So if you've been keeping up with my Instagram, it's no secret that I spent five days living my best life in L.A. for Spring Break. Honestly it was so much fun, and I loved exploring La La Land with my best friend. Unfortunately, we did so many things that it's borderline impossible to cram it all into a blog post without making it 20 pages long. Lucky for you, everything can be split up into different parts. So today, we'll be focusing on museums! (A.K.A one of my favorite things to visit in almost any city that I am in). 

The Broad

221 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Tuesday-Wednesday 11am - 5pm | Thursday-Friday 11am - 8pm

Saturday 10am - 8pm | Sunday 10am - 6pm

The first stop is The Broad, a contemporary art museum located in DTLA an founded in 2015, known for it's visually captivating and thought provoking pieces. It's a dream for anyone who has a love for contemporary art. I like contemporary art...to a point, sometimes I'm like "Yes this is amazing! I love it" and other times I'm just like "Um, I guess it's art?" But in all honestly I definetely enjoyed The Broad, and thought the size of its general collection was perfect. 

So if you decide to venture on over to The Broad, here are some tips to have a smooth experience:

1. Try and get a ticket in advance: All tickets to The Broad are free unless you are viewing one of their special collections, so no need to worry about pricing. But you'll save yourself a huge headache, and a wait in line, if you just grab them online. There system is a little wacky, as in if you are going to The Broad in May, tickets for that month won't be available until the 1st of April, so a month before you'll go. 

2. Pick an early time: So you also will reserve a time to go into The Broad, this doesn't mean you have A set Amount of time to view the art, I think it's honestly so that they don't have crazy amounts of visitors at one time. So my suggestion is to reserve a time at around like 12 or 1. This will come in handy...trust me.

3. Ask about reserving a time for the Infinity Mirrors: The Yayoi Kusama exhibit is by far the most popular and instagrammable place within The Broad, but if you want to get into it, you have to go and reserve a time. Usually, the sign in line will be right to your left once you get inside, but if you want to make sure, feel free to ask one of the workers in line. Also don't be turned off if it is a long wait time, or if there are "no more" spots because odds are people will defs not show up for their time slot, and you can go right in. It's completely worth the wait! (BUt this is why you should schedule an early time)

The Getty Center

1200 Getty Center Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90049

Tuesday - Saturday | 10am - 5:30pm 

The Getty Center, is a completely different experience than The Broad. So if you aren't a huge fan of modern or contemporary art, then this is the place for you. It's filled with artwork ranging from furniture from the Palace of Versailles to Greek statues to famous paintings from artists such as Van Gogh, Degas, and Goya. With it's multiple sections, it's definetely a museum where you will need to take your time and take some breaks in between gazing at the beautiful works.

So if The Getty seems like you're thing, here are some things that may help with your trip:

1. Try to go after 3:00: This way you will not only by-pass any school trips that may be taking place that day, but you will also be able to pay $10 instead of $15 to park in their parking garage (which always has spots). After that just head over to the tram that will take you up to The Getty.

2. Get a map: The Getty can be overwhelming (not as much as the Louvre, but still overwhelming) so get a map, and kind of figure out where you want to go. It also has some of their recommendations on what you should see. 

3. Take breaks: Museums are a marathon, not a sprint. Don't try to just walk through everything in an hour, especially at The Getty. So take some time to sit down, get a coffee, and chill.

4. Take a walk in the garden: The gardens at The Getty are beautiful! So don't forget to check them out when your done exploring the art. Also maybe pack a blanket, and go sit on the grass for a little while. And don't forget to check out the Cactus Garden as well! 

The Griffith Observatory

2800 E Observatory Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Tuesday - Friday 12pm - 10pm | Saturday - Sunday 10am - 10pm

Though the Griffith Observatory, isn't exactly a museum, they do have exhibits inside that show you not only the inner workinsg of some of the telescopes at the Griffith, but you can also learn about different astronomical facts as well. Also you can get a look at their sundial and pendulum. When you're done roaming around the inside, make sure that you take the time to roam around outside and climb the different levels of Griffith to get some pretty amazing views of L.A. (Also, a great way to see the Hollywood sign).

So if The Griffith Observatory peaks your interest, here are some things to know:

1. It can be a hike: Depending on where you park, it can be a bit of a hike to get the Griffith, I personally think it's worth it, but that's just me. If you don;t want to make the hike, there is parking at The Griffith, the only problem is that sometimes there is miscommunication in terms of parking availability. So drive around a little bit just to make sure you can get parking as close as possible. (we didn't do this...hence the hike)

2. Try to go closer to night time: We went during the day, which is totally fine, but if you go at night, you'll be able to go use the telescope that is completely available to the public for free from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm, and you'll get to see L.A. all lit up.

3. Wear comfy shoes: There is a lot of walking, a lot of stairs, a lot of climbing on things (see my last insta post) so yeah, wear some comfy shoes on this day. 

4. Check the weather: Cloudy days can affect whether certain telescopes will be able to work that day, so make sure you see how he weather will be. 

5. Check for special events: There are Free public star parties that are held monthly at Griffith Observatory from 2:00 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. so if you are in town for those, I would say defs go, and make sure to check the schedule on Griffith's website to see other events happening. 

There are definetely even more museums to visit within L.A. but I think the fact that we were able to hit these in five days is pretty impressive! So if you are making a trip to La La Land, make sure that you check them out because I personally loved them. Also comment and let me know your favorite museums to visit in L.A. and your tips and tricks for it!