Top rated Museums in San Diego, United States to elevate your visit (Updated March, 2024)

Top rated Museums in San Diego

Experience the best that San Diego has to offer with our curated list of top-rated places. Sorted by average review scores from venues boasting over 30 reviews, these establishments promise exceptional quality and experiences to elevate your visit in the city. This list contains 39 places from Museum category.

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Within San Diego

Cabrillo National Monument Visitor Center

Visitor center

👍👍 There's plenty of parking. There's clean restrooms here. There's a snack vending machine area. There's a gift shop, a museum of artifacts, and an auditorium. There are park rangers on site to assist. All points of interest are within walking distance from the visitor's center. Tho, it is easier just...

4.80 (2.8K reviews)

Old Point Loma Lighthouse

Museum

Among the West Coast's first lighthouses, with interactive exhibits & views of the San Diego bay.

4.80 (2.4K reviews)

Star of India

Museum

Built in 1863, this restored iron-hulled windjammer is now a history musuem that occasionally sails.

4.80 (1.3K reviews)

MCRD San Diego Command Museum

History museum

Museum focusing on Marine Corps history from the 19th century to today is also a research library.

4.80 (268 reviews)

Casa Del Rey Moro African Latin Museum

Museum

👍👍 It's an African Museum in San Diego that is operated by one if the Black Studies professors at San Diego State University. A lot historical things there from Africa, Black America, black Europeans if you want a real deal history this is a great place to come.

4.80 (98 reviews)

The Berkeley

Museum

👍👍 The 1898 Berkeley was one of two steam ferry boats that operated on San Francisco Bay for 60 years. During the big 1906 earthquake, it rescued thousands of people and took them to safety. -- The ferry arrived at San Diego in 1973, and now is the headquarters for the Maritime Museum and holds its res...

4.80 (65 reviews)

San Diego Mineral & Gem Society

Non-profit organization

😐 The stones are shiny, colourful and beautiful but the variety and quantity of the stones are too small to make this a 'museum'. Very little information is provided on the name, origin, dating etc of the stones. Unless you are knowledgable and interested in stones, it will not be a memorable visit fo...

4.80 (43 reviews)

Old Town San Diego State Park

State park

Open-air museum about local life in the 1800s, with adobe buildings & interpretive performances.

$$ $$

4.70 (28.6K reviews)

Maritime Museum of San Diego

Museum

Waterfront venue showcasing many types of restored vintage ships & historical exhibits.

4.70 (4K reviews)

San Diego Model Railroad Museum

Museum

Kid-friendly museum featuring many working scale models of California rail lines & landscapes.

4.70 (1K reviews)

The San Diego Veterans Museum

Museum

Center dedicated to increasing public awareness of the contributions made by U.S. veterans.

4.70 (268 reviews)

Marston House

Museum

This 1905 house exemplifies the Arts & Crafts movement, plus features period furniture & pottery.

4.70 (177 reviews)

San Diego Firehouse Museum

Museum

Antique fire engines, alarms, hats & hydrant molds are displayed in the city's oldest firehouse.

4.70 (162 reviews)

Visions Museum of Textile Art

Museum

👍👍 If you haven't stopped by here yet, It's time you do. There are always a variety of textile arts to enjoy. If you are lucky the piece you like most might be for sale. Check their website for info on current shows and upcoming opening nights.

4.70 (60 reviews)

La Casa de Estudillo

Museum

👍👍 The building has a historical charm. I could well imagine the life of the family.

4.70 (58 reviews)

J. A. Cooley Museum

Museum

👍 2023: hidden in plain sight on Park Blvd in Universiry Hts. Lots of vintage cars, maybe 30, and I mean really vintage. $10 entry. They also have collections of trains, cameras, clocks as well as other things. The lighting could have been better they tend to store extraneous stuff in the back seats i...

4.70 (54 reviews)

HMS Surprise

Maritime museum

👍👍 If you want to visit a piece of history and movie history, this is the ship to visit. This ship was used as the main character of the movie Master and Commander.

4.70 (46 reviews)

San Diego Air & Space Museum

Museum

Popular place with historical aircraft/spacecraft & interactive exhibits, plus a gift shop & grill.

4.60 (4.8K reviews)

San Diego Natural History Museum

Natural history museum

Large natural history museum with rotating displays on animals, dinosaurs & earth science.

4.60 (2.8K reviews)

Timken Museum of Art

Art museum

This 5-room museum is a host to European paintings, bronze sculptures & 17th-century tapestries.

4.60 (908 reviews)

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Top rated Museums in San Diego, United States