PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS

The OC’s artistic bastion is the Orange County Museum of Art, which moved into its new home at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in October 2022. Founded more than 60 years ago by a group of female visionaries, the institution’s permanent collection of contemporary art is one of the most prominent and important in the region, with more than 4,500 works from artists with ties to California. And thanks to a generous $2.5 million grant by an anonymous donor, admission to the museum is free to the public until 2032. Boasting about 25,000 square feet of exhibition space, there is also a plant-focused restaurant called Verdant that o ers a menu of California cuisine with a full bar named after Sweet James, the billboard attorney. 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa; 714-780-2130; ocma.art

Worth the Journey

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Laguna Beach is a mecca for art fairs and festivals, including the Sawdust Art & Craft Festival (sawdustartfestival.org), Laguna Art A Fair (art-a-fair.com), and Festival of Arts Pageant of the Masters (www.foapom. com). There’s also Laguna Art Museum (lagunaartmuseum.org), which showcases important California artists, First Thursday Art Walk (visitlagunabeach.com), and you can always walk the boutique galleries along Pacific Coast Highway and intersecting side streets, which comes with a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean.

You could devote a full week to seeing art in Los Angeles, but start by focusing on three neighborhoods. Take a train from Anaheim to downtown L.A., where The Broad Museum (thebroad.org) and Museum of Contemporary Art (moca.org) are within walking distance. Next, head to Museum Row on central Wilshire Boulevard, where Los Angeles County Museum of Art (lacma.org) houses international art from ancient times to the present; La Brea Tar Pits and Museum (tarpits.org) displays specimens from ancient animal fossils; and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (academymuseum.org) dedicates its halls to celebrating film. Finish your day on the westside, where The Getty (getty.edu) combines European art, incredible architecture, and breathtaking views of the city.