Free & Cheap Things to Do in Los Angeles

Iconic Landmarks

Perched 1,134 feet above LA on the south slope of Mount Hollywood, the Griffith Observatory is the rare world-class science museum that's free to everyone, every day it's open. Free planetarium-grade exhibits, the Foucault pendulum, and terraces with the city's best free views — including the Hollywood Sign.

Address: 2800 E Observatory Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Tip: Closed Mondays. The 4-mile round-trip Mount Hollywood Trail from the parking lot delivers even better Hollywood Sign views for free. Parking fills by 11am weekends; arrive early or take the DASH Observatory shuttle from the Vermont/Sunset Metro station.

Arts & Culture

The Broad's free admission policy puts one of the world's best contemporary art collections — Basquiat, Warhol, Koons, Kruger, Murakami, Lichtenstein — in plain reach. The honeycomb "veil" building by Diller Scofidio + Renfro is itself worth the visit, and Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room is the museum's most-photographed corner.

Address: 221 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Tip: Same-day standby line moves fastest in early afternoon; advance tickets are gone weeks out. Closed Mondays. The Infinity Room requires a separate same-day reservation grabbed at the welcome desk on arrival.

Arts & Culture

The Getty Center is one of the great art museums of the world — Van Gogh's Irises, Renaissance through Impressionist masters, the Robert Irwin Central Garden, and Richard Meier's travertine architecture — all completely free. The hilltop campus above the 405 also delivers panoramic views from downtown to the Pacific.

Address: 1200 Getty Center Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90049

Tip: Take the Metro Expo Line to Westwood/Rancho Park and Big Blue Bus 1 to avoid the parking fee. Closed Mondays. The tram from the parking structure to the museum is free and runs continuously.

Iconic Landmarks

Chris Burden's 2008 installation Urban Light — 202 restored 1920s and 30s cast-iron street lamps arranged in a grid on Wilshire Boulevard — is the most-photographed free landmark in LA. The lamps are solar-powered and lit every night until 10pm. Open and accessible 24 hours a day.

Address: 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Tip: Best photos right after sunset when the lamps are lit and the sky still has color. Free street parking on side streets after 6pm. The LACMA Building (David Geffen Galleries, opened April 2026) inside requires paid admission separately.

Arts & Architecture

Frank Gehry's billowing stainless-steel concert hall is one of the most striking pieces of architecture in America. The free self-guided audio tour, narrated by John Lithgow, takes you through the public spaces, Founders Room, and rooftop Blue Ribbon Garden — accessible to anyone weekday mornings without a ticket to a show.

Address: 111 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Tip: Audio tours run daily 10am-3pm with the last entry at 2pm; no reservations needed. Use your own smartphone for the tour, or borrow a podcatcher at the lobby check-in table. The free Blue Ribbon rooftop Garden is open even when tours aren't.

Arts & Culture

CAAM in Exposition Park has been free since opening in 1981 — the only African American museum in the country dedicated to art, history, and culture with free admission every day. Rotating exhibitions cover Charles Alston, Faith Ringgold, contemporary photography, and the Black West, in a neighborhood with three other free venues.

Address: 600 State Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037

Tip: Closed Mondays. Plan a half day in Exposition Park — CAAM, the California Science Center, NHM LA County (paid), and the Rose Garden are all within a 10-minute walk. Park free at the State Drive curb or in Expo Park Lot 6 with validation.

Iconic Landmarks

The 1.3-mile Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street holds more than 2,800 brass-and-terrazzo stars honoring entertainment legends from Charlie Chaplin to Beyoncé. Free to wander any hour, and one of the most-visited free attractions in California. The TCL Chinese Theatre forecourt with celebrity handprints sits in the middle.

Address: Hollywood Blvd between Gower St & La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Tip: Quietest right after sunrise. The Hollywood/Highland Metro station drops you in the middle of the Walk and onto Hollywood Boulevard. Skip costumed characters who ask for tips for photos. Park free on side streets like Sycamore and walk in.

Iconic Landmarks

The Santa Monica Pier has been the western terminus of Route 66 since 1936 — a free wooden pier with a small amusement park (Pacific Park), a vintage hippodrome carousel, anglers along the south rail, and dolphin and pelican sightings off the end. The pier itself is free to walk; rides and arcade are individually priced.

Address: 200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Tip: Free 2-hour street parking on neighborhood streets; the lot under the pier runs $20+. The Big Blue Bus 1 from Westwood is $1.25. Pier closes at 2am; the boardwalk south to Venice (2 mi) is a free flat walk along the sand.

History & Museums

Sticky asphalt seeps in the middle of Wilshire Boulevard have trapped Ice Age animals for 50,000 years — saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, mammoths, giant sloths. The museum and outdoor tar pits sit on a 12-acre Hancock Park campus; you can watch active fossil excavation through the lab windows for free even without a museum ticket.

Address: 5801 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Tip: Closed first Tuesday of each month. The outdoor pits including the Lake Pit and Pit 91 are free to walk anytime the park is open. Pair with NHM LA County (same family of museums) for a half day in Hancock Park / Miracle Mile.

Museums

NHM LA County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western US — dinosaur halls including a T. rex growth series, the Becoming Los Angeles exhibit, the Nature Gardens, the Butterfly Pavilion seasonally, and the new NHM Commons. Across Exposition Park from the Coliseum and the California Science Center.

Address: 900 W Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Tip: California PreK-12 teachers, EBT cardholders, and active military free daily with ID. Free Homeschool Days 4x/year (see our companion homeschool guide). Free parking on Vermont Avenue after 6pm; on-site Lot 1 is $15.

Museums

The California Science Center's permanent exhibit halls — including the Ecosystems gallery, the World of Life, and the Air & Space displays — are completely free, no reservation required. The marquee Endeavour Experience is a ticketed add-on featuring the space shuttle Endeavour newly mounted upright in launch configuration.

Address: 700 Exposition Park Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037

Tip: Open daily 10am-5pm. Endeavour Experience timed entries should be reserved a few weeks ahead. Free street parking on Bill Robertson Lane after 5pm; the lot is $20. Bring a picnic for the Rose Garden across the path.

History & Culture

LA was founded here in 1781, and El Pueblo de Los Angeles preserves the original 44-acre pueblo with 27 historic buildings, the 1818 Avila Adobe (the city's oldest house, free to enter), Olvera Street's brick-paved Mexican marketplace, and several free museums. The Plaza fronts the original Old Plaza Church (1822).

Address: 125 Paseo de la Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Tip: Free walking tours from the El Pueblo Visitors Center Tuesday-Saturday at 10am, 11am, and noon. Best entry is the Olvera Street arch off Cesar E. Chavez Avenue. The Metro Union Station stop is across the street — combine with Union Station for a half day.

History & Architecture

LA's 1939 Union Station is the last of the great American train terminals — Spanish Colonial Revival meets Art Deco meets Mission Moderne, with leather-and-tile waiting rooms, a Streamline Moderne ticket concourse, and two patio courtyards. Still Amtrak's western hub. Free to wander every day.

Address: 800 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Tip: Free 90-minute Union Station Historical Society walking tours run the second Sunday of each month at 10:30am — pre-register on unionstationla.com. The Imperial Western Beer Co. inside the old waiting room serves $9 beers in 1939 banquettes.

Markets & Food

Grand Central Market has been operating on Broadway since 1917 — a 30-stall food hall under high vaulted ceilings serving Eggslut breakfast sandwiches, McConnell's ice cream, Wexler's Deli pastrami, Sticky Rice Thai, Tacos Tumbras, and more. Free to wander; most stalls run $8-15 a plate. Open every day.

Address: 317 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Tip: Open 8am-9pm daily. The Eggslut line moves fastest before 10am; Howlin' Ray's Hot Chicken on the south side has the longest queue. Across Broadway is the free Bradbury Building (1893) — a five-minute architectural detour.

Markets & Food

The Original Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax has been operating since 1934 — a permanent open-air market with about 100 food stalls, produce vendors, and small shops under a green-and-white awning. The 1852 Gilmore Adobe (oldest building in the area) sits in the courtyard. Free to browse; most plates run $10-15.

Address: 6333 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Tip: Open Mon-Fri 9am-9pm, Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-7pm. The 1934 trolley to The Grove next door is free. Loteria Grill, Magee's House of Nuts (since 1917), and Charlie's Coffee Shop are the institutions. Free 90-min validated parking.

Shopping & Strolling

The 2-mile Venice Beach Boardwalk — officially Ocean Front Walk — is one of LA's defining free experiences: street performers, henna stalls, vintage shops, bodybuilders at Muscle Beach, the Venice Skate Park (the most-photographed concrete bowl in America), and the Sunday drum circle at sunset. Free to walk anytime.

Address: 1800 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291

Tip: Beach metered parking runs $5-15/day depending on the lot; free street parking is on residential streets four-plus blocks inland. The Venice Canals — 1905 Abbot Kinney development of arched bridges and paddleboats — sit four blocks south of the boardwalk and stay quiet.

Quirky Landmarks

California's largest independent bookstore inhabits a 1915 former bank in downtown LA — 22,000 square feet of new and used books across two floors, a book tunnel arch, a sculpture of books in flight, a horror vault in the old bank vault, and the Labyrinth $1 used-book mezzanine. Free to wander.

Address: 453 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Tip: Open daily 10am-8pm. The book tunnel and flying-books sculpture on the second floor are the Instagram money shots — no purchase required. Pair with Grand Central Market (3 blocks north) and the Bradbury Building (2 blocks north) for a downtown walking loop.

Arts & Culture

Italian immigrant Simon Rodia spent 33 years (1921-1954) building these 17 sculptural towers from rebar, mortar, and embedded glass, tile, and shells in his Watts backyard — a National Historic Landmark and one of the most extraordinary works of folk art in America. The towers reach 99 feet; visible free from the surrounding fence anytime.

Address: 1727 E 107th St, Los Angeles, CA 90002

Tip: Guided tours Thursdays and Fridays only at the Watts Towers Arts Center next door; cash or checks only (no cards). No reservations — first-come, first-served. 30-minute tours capped at 20 guests. Closed on rainy days; call 213-847-4646 first.