Petersen Automotive Museum Review: 10 Tips to Enjoying A Trip to One of the Largest Car Museums

On our most recent trip to Disneyland, we visited one of the world’s largest automotive museums and we’re not sad about it…Today we’re sharing a Petersen Automotive Museum review. This museum is a stop car enthusiasts will thoroughly enjoy, but so will people who love to check out history, design, and the movies.

Where is the Petersen Automotive Museum Located?

Petersen Automotive Museum
6060 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: Petersen.org

The Petersen Museum is housed in a 100,000 square-foot building, originally built as a department store on L.A.’s Miracle Mile (now commonly referred to as “Museum Row”). Inside you will view cars of every make and model. The Petersen Automotive Museum focuses on classics, with historical significance, as opposed to futuristic or concept cars.

Walking into the Museum, you’re immediately greeted with a collection of super-sleek cars in the lobby that will draw you in before you even start the real visit. On our visit, we enjoyed both the regular show floor, as well as the vault.

Petersen Automotive Museum Lobby — ^{The Apollo IE “Orange Dragon” goes 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds and has a top speed of 208 mph.} ^{Built in 2017, it’s valued at $3 million.}

Let’s jump into our full Petersen Automotive Museum review.

Plan Enough Time for Your Petersen Automotive Visit

Plan to spend three to five hours at the Peterson Automotive Museum.

The Museum’s regular features take up three floors. Staff encourage guests to start on the third floor and work down to the first floor. The visit to the standard three floors took us about two and a half hours. Our teenager is quite the car nerd and could have spent longer wandering the floors of the building, but two to three hours should suffice for most groups.

Petersen Automotive Museum: First Floor Historic Vehicles

Petersen Automotive Museum 1886 Benz — ^{This one of a kind 1886 Benz is regarded as the first practical self-propelled vehicle.}

The third floor contains the Museum’s historical collections. The showcase includes an array of vehicles from an 1886 Mercedes Benz, designed by Karl Benz, to a 1948 Tucker and an early model Corvette, Jaguar and Bugatti.

^{This 1961 Jaguar XKE Coupe debuted at the Geneva Motor Show. It’s widely considered one of the most beautiful cars ever built.}

Petersen Automotive Museum 1939 Bugatti — ^{This 1939 Bugatti is one of 17 Type 57C Atalante models built over a three year period. It’s the first of Bugatti’s supercharged vehicles and has a top speed of 112 mph.}

Petersen Automotive Museum Bugatti Interior

Our favorite pieces in this display included a tiny 1969 Subaru Sambar Pickup Truck and a 1949 Jeep Willys that we’d love to drive today.

Petersen Automotive Museum Suburu Truck — ^{The 1969 Subaru Sambar Pickup was introduced in 1966 has a top speed of 60 mph. It was priced at $1325.}

Petersen Automotive Museum Jeep — ^{This 1949 Willys Jeep Station Wagon, complete with four wheel drive (and a portable toilet in the back!) is largely regarded as the world’s first sport utility vehicle.}

Petersen Automotive Museum Jeep Sideview

Petersen Automotive Museum: Movie and Hypercars

The Petersen’s second floor is home to some of the most “movie famous” cars of all time, including Back to the Future’s DeLorean, the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, a Lexus from Black Panther and the Bat Mobile.

Petersen Automotive Museum Movie Cars — ^{These famous cars all appeared in movies. In the photo you can see a 1931 Mercedes 770 Replica driven in Red Notice, the 2018 Lexus 500 featured in Black Panther, and the 1976 Ford Gran Torino driven in Starsky and Hutch}

Petersen Automotive Museum Ghostbusters — ^{This 1959 Miller-Meteor Future Duplex, played “Ecto-1,” beginning in 1984’s Ghostbusters.}

^{This 1981 Delorean was driven in Back to the Future (1985), Back to the Future II (1989) and Back to the Future III (1990).}

Petersen Automotive Museum Batmobile — ^{The Batmobile, driven by Michael Keaton in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), is based on a 1967 Chevrolet Impala.}

This is also where little ones can get a glimpse of Lightening McQueen and enjoy a super-cool, hands-on area for kids.

The Discovery Center is filled with hands on activities. Kids can build their own car, learn more about care design and mechanics and play with interactive displays.

Petersen Automotive Museum Discovery Childrens Center

They even have a fun photo op!

There is a large feature gallery on the second floor. On our visit, we got to see some of the world’s fastest supercars.

These multi-million-dollar, high-speed sports cars were the highlight of the visit for our teenager.

Petersen Automotive Museum 2015 Bugatti — ^{This 2017 Aria FXE is hybrid supercar, designed and built in Irvine, California. It’s meant to be a modern reimagining of the Chevrolet’s 1970’s Corvette concepts.}

Petersen Automotive Museum hennesy — ^{Built to break the 300-miles-per-hour production-car speed record and compete with the Bugatti, this Venom F5 is the first car designed and constructed by Hennessey Special Vehicles.}

^{Considered the first hypercar, the Bugatti Veyron was the fastest car in the world when it was first released in 2005. This 2015 roadster Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grade Sport Vitesse became the fastest open-top production sports car in 2013, when it reached a speed of just over 254.}

Petersen Automotive Museum Mclaren — ^{This $2.24 million McLaren Speedtail can go from 0 to 60 in three seconds. It has a top speed of 250 mph. There are 106 Speedtails in existence.}

^{This 2021 Koenigsegg Regera Honey features a clear-coat finish mixed with crushed diamonds. It is one of the fist cars to be sold with an Non-Fungible Token attached that links to the song that inspired it.}

Petersen Automotive Museum: First Floor Special Exhibits

The first-floor features two smaller galleries. We enjoyed a special James Bond showcase, called “Bond in Motion,” featuring vehicles from an array of films, like a 2006 Aston Martin DBS that was used (and abused) in the film Casino Royale and a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 used in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Skyfall, Spectre and No Time to Die.

^{This 2015 ASton Martin DB10 was developed for the James Bond film, Spectre.}

We spent about an hour on the second and third floor and about 45 minutes on the first floor (including 15 minutes in the gift shop). We spent and additional two hours on a guided tour of the Vault, which we highly recommend in this Petersen Automotive Museum review.

Visit the Petersen Automotive Museum Vault

A visit to the Petersen Automotive Museum Vault is a MUST in our opinion. There are more than 300 cars housed in the vault at any given time, including some of the Museum’s rarest pieces. Visiting the Vault does require a separate (more expensive) entrance fee, but does provide guests with a discount in the gift shop and on parking fees.

Pay for the Vault’s Guided Tour

You can visit the Vault on a self-guided tour or a guided tour. We recommend the guided tour, which is not much more expensive. Our tour guide, Steven (with a “V” not a “PH”) was excellent. Not only was he engaging, but he was able to answer every question asked on the tour and there were some super-geeks in our small tour group, including our son, Owen. Guided tours take two hours and are offered at the end of the day.

^{This 1964 Chevrolet Impala, called “Gypsy Rose” is the world’s most famous “low rider” and is listed in the National Historic Vehicle Register at the Library of Congress.}

We were overwhelmed with the large number of priceless automobiles in the collection. Highlights of the vault tour include:

Eddie Van Halen’s Hot for Teacher Hot Rod
Million-Dollar Popemobile
1966 Batmobile (one of two Batmobile’s in the Museum’s collection)
1947 Ferrari 125S (the very first Ferrari ever made)
Duke of Windsor’s 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I
1939 Bugatti Shah 57C (gift from France to the Prince of Persia and Shah of Iran)
Steve McQueen’s 1956 Jaguar XKSS
Gold-Leafed DeLorean (one of three made)
First Honda Produced
Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) Cadzilla Hot Rod
1964 Chevrolet Impala Gypsy Rose Low Rider (Archived by Library of Congress)
Knight Rider’s Kitt Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

In addition, the Vault holds an array of political vehicles, Hollywood legends and very early historical cars.

Photos and video are not allowed in the Vault.

Pay Attention to the Petersen’s Operating Hours

The Petersen Automotive Museum closes on-time. When we finished our vault tour at 5 p.m. (closing time at writing), the Petersen was largely empty of guests, the gift shop was closed, and we were among the last out the door.

Plan your visit based on the amount of time you expect to spend (a minimum of two hours), as you will not be allowed to “finish up” after the doors close.

Save This Visit for 10+

While the second floor has an awesome kid’s space, this museum is best suited for kids 10 and older.

Petersen Automotive Museum Discovery Center

Though there were children at Petersen’s, the kids we saw in the exhibit space wanted to get through the galleries quicker than their parents. Younger ones didn’t have a long-enough attention span for most of the exhibits and docents had to continually remind families not to get to close to the cars (this is a hands-off museum, outside of a few exhibit pieces).

Children over the age of three are required to hold an admission ticket to visit. The Vault (which we think is a must do for guests) is restricted to guest over the age of 10.

Eat Before You Visit the Petersen Automotive Museum

Though the Petersen was home to a small restaurant prior to COVID, there is currently no where to eat on site. There are many great places to eat nearby (we visited the iconic Pink’s Hot Dogs).

Food and drinks are not allowed in the museum galleries, but you may bring sealed water bottles to drink, outside the exhibit space. In addition, there are drinking fountains available on each floor.

Petersen Automotive Museum Parking

The Petersen Automobile Museum has an attached parking structure, with plenty of spots to service the museum. Parking is available beyond regular museum hours, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., so it’s possible to us this parking spot as a central location while visiting other locations near Museum Row.

^{Car displays are not limited to what’s inside the museum. This Continental is parked in the Petersen’s parking structure.}

Parking fees are steep (to this family of out-of-state visitors) at $17 a day, with the purchase of a museum tickets. Parking exits are automated. Pay for your parking near the Petersen entrance, before trying to exit the structure.

It is an older parking structure without elevators. People with disabilities will need to park on the first level.

Though the Miracle Mile neighborhood is a relatively safe area, car break-ins do occur. Keep your car empty and free of valuables, if at all possible, prior to visiting the museum.

Pack Light for a Day Trip to the Petersen Automotive Museum

Large purses and backpacks are not allowed in Petersen Automotive Museum. The website recommends only bringing a bag large enough to hold, “necessary items.” Some larger back packs and handbags may be checked with staff.

Though this is a relatively safe part of Los Angeles, we wouldn’t recommend leaving items in your parked car.

Wear Comfortable Walking Shoes to the Petersen Museum

Three to five hours spent on your feet is a long time. Though the Petersen has some seating scattered throughout the galleries, it’s limited. Wear walking shoes with enough support to maintain comfort for the duration of your stay.

Skip the Petersen Automotive Museum Gift Shop

The Petersen Automotive Museum has a small gift shop located on the first floor. In the shop you can find loads of Hot Wheels (common and rare), larger die cast car models, posters and t-shirts.

We liked the design quality of the posters and several of the t-shirts. However, most of the items in the shop can easily be found on Amazon or elsewhere online.

We made a purchase in the shop, which supports the Petersen’s bottom line as a non-profit, but if you’re looking to save money make your purchases beforehand.

Was a Visit to the Petersen Automotive Museum Worth It?

We enjoyed our time at the Petersen Automotive Museum. The ticket prices are higher than some area-museums, but the Petersen is a non-profit that’s worth every penny, particularly if you have a car lover in the family.

Justin and Owen are already talking about our “next visit” to the Museum. Both have indicated an interest in future exhibitions, as well as a self-guided trip through the vault now that we’ve had an expert tour.

Thanks for reading our Petersen Automotive Museum Review. We’re happy to answer any questions in the comments.

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Tauni Everett

Creative Director at Tauni Everett

Tauni is a former public relations executive who spent 12+ years handling communications and events for an array of clients, from the NBA and Olympics to numerous high ranking politicians. Today, she handles social media for a local agency and hosts Snap, an annual social media conference for bloggers focused on entertaining, craft and home DIY.

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Petersen Automotive Museum Review: 10 Tips to Enjoying A Trip to One of the Largest Car Museums

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Tauni Everett

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Petersen Automotive Museum Review

Last Updated:

July 31, 2022