Why You Should Go: If there are two things that Americans love, it's speed and machines. Nowhere does this manifest itself better than in our cultural obsession with automobiles. Petersen Automotive Museum is one of the country's best curators of this obsession, with four floors of exhibitions, trucks, motorcycles, and of course, cars, from turn-of-the-century classics to modern-day supercars.

What You Should See: It wouldn't be Los Angeles without the Holywood Gallery, a permanent collection of cars owned and driven by celebrities in movies and television, including Elvis Presley's De Tomaso Pantera, and the 1963 VW Beetle from The Love Bug and Herbie: Fully Loaded. Also don't miss the current exhibitions "Sculpture in Motion: Masterpieces of Italian Design" and "Aerodynamics: From Art to Science."