California's largest cities also offer the richest opportunities for enjoying the arts, but you'll find some gems off the beaten path, too including the house where Eugene O'Neill wrote his most famous plays. We'll tell you where to see Tony Award-winning drama, internationally-renowned music festivals, Shakespeare under the stars, and outstanding art collections.
Los Angeles
If you love film, the theater and museums, you can't go wrong in Los Angeles, home to more museums than almost any other American city, where there are plenty of actors, both famous and excellent-but-undiscovered. If architecture is your passion, Los Angeles is also the place for you. Creations by Frank O. Gehry, Frank Lloyd Wright and Richard Meier's Getty Center lead the lineup, but don't miss Pasadena's Arts and Crafts-style homes and the area's numerous architectural museums.
- Itinerary for a Los Angeles Culture Weekend
- Best Los Angeles Museums
- Los Angeles Art Museums
- Los Angeles Theater
- Pageant of the Masters, Newport Beach one of our favorites
San Francisco
If you're a Rodin fan, head for San Francisco and Palo Alto, where you'll find many of the master's works at the Palace of the Legion of Honor and at Stanford University's Iris and Gerald B. Cantor Center for the Arts. San Francisco is also home to highly-acclaimed theatres and performing arts companies.
- Berkeley Rep (Tony Award-Winner for Regional Theatre, 1997) one of our favorites
- San Francisco Art Museums
- San Francisco Performing Arts
- Tix Discount Ticket Booth
Other Locations
- Eugene O'Neill's Tao House, Danville one of our favorites
- La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla (Tony Award-Winner for Regional Theatre, 1993)
- California Outdoor Theatre Our top picks for drama under the stars
History
Use our California historical sights guide to find the most authentic of California's 21 Spanish missions, a couple of presidential libraries and the Ellis Island of the West.
Gardens
My garden often looks like the day after Armageddon, but I like to see what the pros can do. Our guide will show you some of the best blooming attractions in the state.
