Mordern, Free, Best Art Museums in Sail Bay

"An almost overwhelming medley of Spanish Renaissance and Baroque painting awaits at this museum in Balboa Park. El Greco, Murillo, Goya and Zurbarán are all here, together with Italian and Dutch Masters like Veronese, Canaletto, van Dyck, Rubens and Frans Hals. In the last few years, the museum was donated a raft of paintings from the Symbolist, Expressionist and New Objectivity movements, by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Robert Delaunay, Otto Dix and Alexej von Jawlensky."

"Considered one of the great small museums in the world, the Timken houses a wonderful collection of European old master paintings, American paintings, and Russian icons. Artists represented include Rembrandt, Rubens, Fragonard, Bierstadt, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, John Singleton Copley, and Eastman Johnson. Admission is always free."

"Within Balboa Park stands the intricate facade of the San Diego Museum of Art, the region’s oldest and largest art museum visited by half a million people every year."

"The Children’s Museum is an environmentally sustainable building that provides a dynamic, playful public space and community center for children and families – a place to experience exciting art exhibitions, hands-on studio projects, performances, birthday parties, in-depth classes, camps and educational programs. Across the street from the new building is a beautiful park, extending the museum visit outdoors with space for running, climbing, family picnics and a view of the trains and trolleys going by."

"New Children's Museum is an interactive museum in San Diego that is a not-for-profit organization. It is a novel model of the Children's Museum that operates with a mission to pique creativity, imagination, and critical thinking in children and families via inventive and captivating experiences with modern art. The museum encourages children to think, play, and create through engrossing exhibitions, art-oriented activities, artistic performances, and educational opportunities."

"The New Children's Museum in San Diego is a great museum for families with children to visit. The museum's state of the art center is focused on creating a space where children can think, play and create through hands-on exhibitions, art creation, and educational opportunities. It has something for children of every age and parents will enjoy the learning nature of it as well."

"See the world through the lens of a trained eye at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA), home to over 9,000 images from the 19th century to today. The MOPA is dedicated to collecting, conserving, and exhibiting the entire spectrum of the photographic medium. The museum’s diverse exhibits explore cultural, historical, and social issues through photography."

"This world-class museum features extensive collections of still photographs, videos and films. The history of the medium is illustrated, from the earliest Daguerreotypes and albumen prints to modern laser holograms. A variety of artists are represented, including Alfred Stieglitz, Ben Shahn, Alberto Korda, Ansel Adams and Margaret Bourke-White."

"The Museum of Photographic Arts, also known as (MOPA) is also located in Balboa Park. Founded in 1974, this museum represents one of the three museums in the US whose main focus is only the preservation and collection of photography. The main mission of this museum is to educate and inspire its visitors."

"Art is a powerful voice for people and helps us connect and express ourselves beyond language barriers. The Mingei International Museum showcases the “art of the people” across time and cultures. The exhibits are constantly changing to highlight new historical, contemporary folk art, crafts, and design and discover the finest examples of creative expression from underappreciated artists."

"The Mingei International museum in San Diego is a not-for-profit public art museum that collects, conserves, and manifests folk art, designs, and crafts. It is situated in the House of Charm, Balboa Park in San Diego, California. The word Mingei means 'Art of the people'."

"In 2011, Joshua Pavlick decided to turn a part of his home into an art exhibition space. And while that sounds like a wild idea, it’s paid off big time for Pavlick, local artists, and the community as a whole. Helmuth Projects was designed with the idea of helping lesser-known artists display their work to the masses."

"Even if you’re broke, the Timken Museum of Art is always free, and if you have a Bank of America card, the San Diego Museum of Art and the Museum of Photogenic Arts are free on certain days. If you love art, check out the Spanish village. These are historic buildings turned art galleries and stores which have a lot of their work for sale. Even just walking through this area is a fun experience."

"San Diego Art Institute is a not-for-profit institution in San Diego, California, that is an experimental bi-national modern art center. It is situated in the historic building House of Charm in Balboa Park, El Prado. SDAI is the only contemporary culture association in Balboa Park that supports the creation of innovative art by providing exclusive space for artistic competencies of Southern California and Northern Baja to fraternize, exhibit, and bloom."

"When founded in 1941, the San Diego Art Institute was called the San Diego Business Men’s Art Club, only permitting male members. By the 1950s, women were allowed in and the name had been changed. The cultural institution now showcases experimental art from a diverse array of artists from the Southern California/Baja Norte region."

"A new exhibition of works by San Diego artists opens every four to six weeks in this 10,000-square-foot gallery, dedicated to the advancement of the visual arts through outreach, education, and exhibition."

"Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is an art museum that is engaged in the collection, preservation, exhibitions, evaluations of artworks from the 1950s to today so far. It is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1941. MCASD offers access to the finest art at two exemplary locations in San Diego, i.e., the La Jolla and downtown location of Santa Fe Depot."

"The region's largest fine arts museum attracts more than 250,000 visitors a year to its diverse cultural exhibits. The museum's collection is astoundingly comprehensive, with artwork ranging in date from 5,000 BC to the present. The San Diego Museum of Art is most famous for its South Asian paintings from the Edwin Binney 3rd collection."

"The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is spread out over two venues, one downtown and one in La Jolla. The museum is dedicated to serving their diverse audience through exhibits of art created since 1950. The downtown location features site-specific...[Learn more]"

"Glorietta Bay Park is a city park with a small north-facing beach on the San Diego Bay side of Coronado Island. The park is located in a protected spot on […]"

"There are places offering Chinese delivery until 0am in San Diego. One late-night option is PB Oriental in Pacific Beach. However late it is, enter your delivery address to find out what’s open and available near you."

"Mai Marche and consulting chef Spencer Hue create the fabulous flavors at this lovely ice cream parlor in Golden Hill. Their menu rotates monthly, but current summertime offerings include Fancy French Flavor (creme fraiche with lemon curd) and toasted oats with lemon blackberry jam."