The Basilica of San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission (Carmel Mission) was founded by Fr. Junipero Serra in 1770, making it the second oldest of the 21 California missions. The museum at the Carmel Mission Basilica gives the visitor a glimpse into California mission life with displays of church vestments and other artifacts from the past.
The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History is dedicated to interpreting the natural history of Monterey County with its permanent exhibits that display local plants, animals, geology, and native human populations, as well as a temporary exhibit that changes every few months. Children can often be found playing on the life-sized whale sculpture located outside its doors.
The National Steinbeck Center has an interactive exhibit that explores The Grapes of Wrath and the journey of poverty-stricken families to California's Central Valley during the Great Depression.
Dubbed the "best small town museum in the United States," the Monterey Museum of Art is home to works by famed artists Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso and fêted photographer Ansel Adams.
