Each year, we ask Orange County Register readers to choose their favorite places to shop, dine, play and do business in OC.
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Here are the top picks for Best museum:
1. Bowers Museum
2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana; 714-567-3601; bowers.org
Bowers Museum has consistently been voted “Best Museum” in Orange County for the past 30-plus years, and this year is no different.
“This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Bowers Museum, and we are proud to continue offering our community meaningful opportunities to connect with — and learn from — the arts and cultures of the world. Our work is made possible through the kindness and generosity of supporters who believe in the power of education, cultural exchange, and shared discovery. We are deeply grateful for their commitment,” said Bowers Museum CEO and President Dr. Sean O’Harrow.
O’Harrow continued, “As we look ahead, we are excited to welcome even more families to our free monthly family festivals and the many other programs that invite visitors of all ages to explore, create, and celebrate together. These gatherings reflect the heart of our mission: to serve as a welcoming educational space for people from every part of our community and beyond.”
The Bowers maintains extensive collections in the areas of African, Asian, Native American and pre-Columbian art, and California plein air paintings, and the museum has featured major exhibits including Egyptian mummies and China’s famed Terracotta Warriors.
Bowers Museum holds in its collection over 100,000 works of art. Bowers opened its 11,000-square foot children’s museum, Kidseum, in 1994.
Among the current, ongoing exhibits is “Miao: Masters of Silver,” featuring more than 250 intricate works of silver jewelry and textiles primarily made in China’s Guizhou Province.
2. UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art
Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa; 714-780-2130; langson.uci.edu
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Kathryn Kanjo became the museum’s new director in January, following UC Irvine’s acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art in late 2025. The new museum is now home to 9,000 works of modern and contemporary art acquired by OCMA — previously the Newport Harbor Art Museum — and works acquired by and donated to the Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art.
The collection is housed in a 53,000-square-foot structure designed by architect Thom Mayne that opened in 2022 under the auspices of OCMA. With a curving white-paneled facade, a giant staircase and a light-filled atrium on the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus, the museum is a highlight of Orange County’s arts scene.
“Architecturally, it’s a fantastic building with visual interest and intrigue — one that’s welcoming and inviting to the public. Admission is free — and we’re happy to have this be someone’s first museum experience,” Kanjo said in a news release from the museum.
3. Lyon Air Museum
19300 Ike Jones Road, Santa Ana; 714-210-4585; lyonairmuseum.org
Founded by Major General William Lyon, the Lyon Air Museum is located on the west side of John Wayne Airport. Exhibits include authentic aircraft, rare vehicles and related memorabilia, with an emphasis on World War II.
The Lyon Air Museum’s goal is to offer a venue that inspires people with the stories of aviation’s past through educational exhibits, authentic historical aircraft and related memorabilia. Among the exhibits are a B-17 “Flying Fortress bomber, a North American B-25 “Mitchell” bomber, a Douglas A-26 “Invader” attack bomber, a vintage DC-3 airliner, and other military airplanes plus vintage Jeeps, trucks and motorcycles from the late 1930s and 1940s. On display also is an unusual 1943 German tracked motorcycle used to lay communication cables, pull heavy loads, carry soldiers through deep mud and tow aircraft.
Lyon, a retired Air Force general who died in 2020 at the age of 97, was a successful real estate developer, a decorated member of the military and an active community supporter.