museum Santa Ana
Bowers Museum
Orange County's most substantive museum — Pacific Rim, pre-Columbian, and California art in a landmark Spanish Colonial building in Santa Ana.
Things to Do in OC
Museums, family activities, historic sites, and day-trip destinations — beyond the beach.
Museums & Arts
Orange County’s cultural institutions punch above their weight. From a world-class anthropology collection in Santa Ana to a purpose-built contemporary art museum in Costa Mesa, there’s serious art and history here — most of it within 20 minutes of the coast.
museum Santa Ana
Discovery Cube OC
OC's flagship hands-on science museum — exhibits on physics, weather, earth science, and engineering inside a building recognizable from the 5 Freeway.
museum Laguna Beach
Laguna Art Museum
The oldest museum in Southern California holds the definitive California plein air collection — steps from the beach in downtown Laguna.
museum Costa Mesa
Orange County Museum of Art
OCMA's Morphosis-designed building at Segerstrom Center is one of OC's most striking cultural spaces, focused on modern and California art.
museum Laguna Beach
Pageant of the Masters
A nightly outdoor production since 1933 — live performers recreate famous artworks as living pictures with full orchestra. Nothing else in California does this.
museum Laguna Beach
Sawdust Art Festival
A Laguna Beach summer tradition since 1967 — 200 working artists sell their own work directly from booths in a shaded outdoor canyon venue.
Family & Kids
Beyond the theme parks, OC has a range of lower-key family destinations — from a walk-through children's museum where kids run a pretend city to a century-old regional park with a narrow-gauge railroad and pony rides.
family Anaheim
Adventure City
A small Anaheim theme park with rides for ages two through ten — less cost and stress than the big parks, built for the youngest riders.
family Newport Beach
Balboa Island
A charming pedestrian island in Newport Harbor — rent a bike, grab a frozen banana, and walk the waterfront. Classic OC local experience.
family Irvine
Great Park Balloon & Carousel
The iconic tethered balloon at the former El Toro base rises 400 feet for a distinctive view across OC — paired with a hand-painted historic carousel.
family Orange
Irvine Regional Park
California's oldest county park — a canopied canyon with a miniature railroad, pony rides, pedal boats, and the OC Zoo all in one setting.
family Corona del Mar
Little Corona del Mar Tide Pools
The best family tide pooling in OC — a protected cove with dense intertidal life, calm summer swimming, and a rocky reef that rewards a well-timed visit.
family Irvine
OC Great Park
Free tethered balloon rides, a carousel, and open lawns at OC's massive park built on the former El Toro Marine base. Perfect for a weekend afternoon.
family Orange
OC Zoo at Irvine Regional Park
A small accredited zoo focused on native California animals — mountain lions, black bears, raptors, and more inside the county's oldest regional park.
family Irvine
Pretend City Children's Museum
A miniature city scaled for young children — grocery store, fire station, hospital, and more — where kids two to eight inhabit adult roles with real props.