All of the best free things to do in L.A.

Tucked between the chaotic Venice Boardwalk and the posh Abbot Kinney, the Venice Canals offer a completely different side of the famed beachfront neighborhood. I’ll be the first to admit that Venice is far from my favorite neighborhood in L.A.—but I absolutely love the canals. Take a stroll through these three channelized blocks—hence the name, Venice—and you’ll discover an idyllic scene: arching pedestrian bridges, charming beach houses, bunches of ducklings and the occasional paddle boarder (including a bulldog that I once spotted balancing with its human).

Free timed tickets recommended. Infinity Mirrored Room offers reservations, too.

Three words: Infinity Mirror Rooms. Downtown’s persistently popular contemporary art museum has two of Yayoi Kusama’s immersive, mirror-laden rooms (and sometimes the standy queue to prove it). Elsewhere in the free museum, Eli and Edythe Broad’s collection of 2,000 post-war works includes artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Barbara Kruger and Jeff Koons.

The iconic amphitheater doubles as a semi-secret county park. As long as the venue isn’t holding a performance (an admittedly rare occurrence from July to September), you’re welcome to park for free and stroll about the grounds as you please. Hike all the way up the hilly environs to admire the views or walk into the seating area where, chances are, you’ll see people working out on the stairs or, if you’re lucky, an open L.A. Phil rehearsal on summer mornings (classical shows tend to fall on Tuesdays and Thursdays but the schedule varies, so it’s best to call 323-850-2000 to find out for sure).

This 160-acre park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains has one main loop, plus a bevy of dirt hiking trails. The sea of buff trainers and their sleek, sweaty clients can get to be too much during the busy morning and weekend workout traffic, but you’ll be rewarded with some of the best views of the city (and, if you’re lucky, a chance to gawk at power-walking celebs). When I’m only after the views and not hiking, I head to the northern entrance on Mulholland Drive, which is just a short walk from the summit.

From the ocean to the mountains northeast of Downtown L.A., the panoramic views from this artopolis more than compensate for its relative inaccessibility (you need to ride a tram to the museum). You’ll find proper picnic tables down the hill at the tram station, but I highly suggest sitting on the sloping lawn adjacent to the Central Garden instead. While the museum is free with a timed ticket, you’ll have to pay $25 for parking, with discounts available after 3pm. The good news is that you can skip the parking fees at the Getty Villa if you decide to visit the Center’s sister institution the same day.

The Getty and the Broad are two of my favorites, but almost every other museum in L.A. offers free admission, either on select days or all the time. You can always visit the Hammer Museum, MOCA Grand, California Science Center and CAAM for free, while LACMA and the Natural History Museum have free opportunities for locals on weekday afternoons. Botanical gardens tend to be a bit harder to book; spots like the Huntington offer a once-a-month free day that you’ll need to be quick to book.

The vista here is stunning, particularly at night when Los Angeles twinkles below. Inside (except for Mondays, when the museum is closed) you’ll find a bevy of exhibits, including a Foucault pendulum and a Tesla coil, plus—for a fee—a planetarium show. Give yourself plenty of time before the 10pm closing to gaze through the 12-inch refracting telescope on the roof, otherwise I actually prefer looking through the far less crowded modern, reflecting telescopes that often set up on the front lawn. Just a heads up that parking now costs $10 per hour—though you can catch a DASH bus up there for only 35 cents or park lower down for free and hike up.

The grand, white concrete tower has stood tall as a city icon since 1928, and today it’s one of the easiest ways to take in an elevated view of Downtown and beyond. If you’re ever passing through the Civic Center during public hours (weekdays 9am–5pm, enter on Main Street) then you owe yourself a visit to the 27th floor observation deck. Make sure to look for the 1984 Olympic torch near the Spring Street exit. It’s certainly not the only tall vantage point in DTLA—the InterContinental’s lobby sits on the 70th floor while the Conrad Los Angeles has its own scenic 10th-floor views of Grand Avenue—but it’s the only one where you won’t feel like you’re loitering.

This appropriately titled Japanese garden sits just across from the Sepulveda Basin on the border of Van Nuys. The stony bridges and footpaths wind along a central pond, flanked by rockwork, manicured trees and tea houses. Believe it or not, all of that flora provides cover for a bit of an industrial edge: The garden is irrigated by the adjacent Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. Unlike most other Japanese gardens—aside from one in Long Beach—admission here is free.

Perched over the Pacific in San Pedro sits one of the most idyllic spots in all of L.A.: the Korean Bell of Friendship. The mighty metallic bell’s rusty green finish complements the ornately painted hipped roof—its paint job is sometimes in need of a refresh, but that doesn’t detract from the beauty of the 1976 goodwill gift from South Korea. I’ve always found the exposed, grassy bluff to be an ideal spot to fly a kite—or just lounge in the grass of Angels Gate Park.

Get lost in your thoughts at one of L.A.’s best kept secrets: the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. Set on a 10-acre site that was used as a film set during the silent era, its lovely gardens offer some increasingly rare assets today: peace and tranquility. You’ll need a reservation to visit the meditation gardens, which are open for free from Wednesday through Sunday.

No matter how much some Malibu spots may try to gatekeep their exclusive shores, know this: Any expanse of sand below the high tide line is open to the public. Parking, on the other hand, is an entirely separate beast. That’s why Westward Beach is my go-to; you can skip the paid lots at Zuma and Point Dume and search for free all-day street parking on this small stretch between the two. Parking can be tight on this coveted, spacious expanse of sand, so if you need to head elsewhere, you’ll find plenty of spots available among the ritzy neighborhoods farther north as well as along the Pacific Coast Highway (a helpful free option for the dog beach at Leo Carrillo State Park).