Top 10 Honolulu Museums

What is it?
A quaint art museum in downtown Honolulu that holds a near-encyclopedic sampling of some 50,000 diverse artworks ranging significantly in cultures and media.

Why should you go?
To take in an impressive collection of Asian art from around the Pacific, and the Museum's famous Arts of Hawaii installation, with pieces from indigenous to contemporary. On top of all, there are big names, European and American, including Gauguin and Cézanne (and onwards) and Georgia O'Keefe, who had a nine-week Hawaiian period in 1939. Do justice to the curators' effort to elevate contemporary art, venture beyond the ubiquitous Hawaiian-themed watercolors, and check out modern art exhibitions. The HoMA itself is about a paradisal space displaying the exhibits around its airy courtyards. The open-air HoMA Café, popular with both locals and visitors, is tucked away in one of them.

Perfect for
Art lovers, foodies, couples, families

What is it?
A natural and cultural history museum named after the last descendant of Kamehameha the Great, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, with the world's largest collection of Polynesian artifacts.

Why should you go?
TTo embrace the history and indigenous culture of pre-contact Hawaii and the Pacific area. The building on its own is an homage to the local nature: the walls were built of lava blocks and doors carved from the native koa tree, the highest one in the Hawaiian Islands, in 1889. Get an architectural insight into the Native Hawaiians' life and see the real-life grass house and the model of a sacrificial temple. The intricate feathered capes and bark-cloth pieces that belonged to the Kamehameha were bequeathed by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. On his arrival in Hawaii in 1778, awe-struck James Cook called the likes 'elegant' in his diary. Speaking of costumes, you can try on the iconic grass skirt yourself. As for the small-scale exhibits, browse the statuary, including the disputed $7.5-million wooden war god figure gifted by the tech billionaire Marc Benioff in 2018.

Perfect for
History buffs, art lovers, families, children, couples

What is it?
A historic palace that was an opulent residence of King Kalakaua and the final Hawaiian queen, Liliuokalani, his successor, a museum since 1978.

Why should you go?
To marvel at the exceptional amenities and decor, original pieces of furniture and replicas, reassembled according to the period Hawaiian newspapers and photos. Get a glimpse of the Palace's dramatic history, which unfurled after the forced abdication of Liliuokalani in 1898, when the United States annexed Hawaii. As you stroll the rooms painstakingly re-furnished to how they looked in the late 1800s, poke into the throne rooms and an upstairs bedroom where Queen Liliuokalani spent eight months in isolation, taken over by the American officials. Spot antiques of royal provenance and get to know touching stories about how they made it back to the celebrated rooms.

Perfect for
History buffs, art lovers, families, couples

What is it?
A beachfront villa of a museum inspired by the tobacco heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke's honeymoon travels across the Islamic world, open to the public in 2002.

Why should you go?
To celebrate Islamic art, architecture, and design beyond the traditional and religious. Doris Duke had custom-made interiors delivered from artisans of India and the Middle East to assemble this stunning showplace for her eclectic collection in 1937. As you explore the refined house and gardens, savor the architectural feats and pay special attention to contemporary art by celebrated artists like Hayv Kahraman and Bahia Shehab. There are 4,500 objects created by or for Muslims and non-Muslims that would otherwise never be seen together. Among them, spot the all-time favorite mihrab and a star tile from the famous 13th-century Imamzadeh Yahya tomb in Iran.

Perfect for
History buffs, art lovers, families, couples

What is it?
A floating museum atop the wreck of the U.S.S. Arizona battleship, bombed and nearly submerged at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the most visited of all the Honolulu museums.

Why should you go?
To get up close with the sunken battleship, which was the biggest single casualty in the surprise attack on Oahu, performed by 353 Japanese aircraft. One thousand one hundred seventy-seven crewmen died aboard the Arizona; most of them were entombed under the ship's steel hull and officially declared buried at sea. Inside the memorial, in the white marble-clad shrine room, commemorate those who lost their lives in the naval tragedy of the Pearl Harbor naval base. See a model of the U.S.S. Arizona and its bell, and contemplate the ship itself, resting 8 feet under the water's surface. Explore the symbolism of the stark concrete memorial and see how they embodied the 'initial defeat and ultimate victory' of the United States architecturally.

Perfect for
History buffs, families, couples

What is it?
A legendary battleship that made it into Tokyo Bay for the surrender of the Japanese to be signed aboard it in 1945, now moored at Ford Island as a museum ship.

Why should you go?
To explore the WWII-era actual warship, from the top deck to the first level. Symbolically located at America's first battleground in World War II, Mighty Mo is where WWII ended, and you can see the spot where the Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, 1945. Apart from the famed Japanese surrender deck, you will stand on the navigation bridge and explore the iconic battleship from the inside. Sensible footwear is a must to cope with the numerous tight doorways and steep, narrow ladders.

Perfect for
History buffs, families, couples

What is it?
A well-preserved WWII-era submarine, now a museum ship and a part of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

Why should you go?
To board and walk the Bowfin submarine, above and below the deck, and imagine the daily life and duties of submariners who served aboard it. As you advance through the compartments, see the confined sleeping quarters and common areas almost like they looked during the war. At the Museum ashore, explore the submarine history from the diesel-powered WWII-era submarines, like Bowfin herself, to the Cold War-era nuclear ones. Expect more information on the U.S.S. Bowfin operations since it launched on December 7, 1942, and why they nicknamed her 'Pearl Harbor Avenger.'

Perfect for
History buffs, families, couples

What is it?
A nautical icon of the Chesapeake Bay that has been flashing with red light in its original location since 1875 and one of the most photographed lighthouses in the United States.

Why should you go?
To experience the historic off-shore lighthouse from inside, base to top, instead of just viewing it as a postcard or a stamp: it joined the much-loved USPS lighthouse stamp series in 2021. June to October, a 30-minute boat ride from the Annapolis Maritime Museum will take you there to explore the former keepers' lodging and the top level to see the lens. While on the interior tour, unveil service woes of keepers who were stationed on the lighthouse and how automation changed its fate in 1986. Apart from insights into Thomas Point's operations in the early days, expect to get to know other lighthouses on the Bay and Coast Guard.

Perfect for
Families, couples, history buffs

What is it?
A museum of aerospace artifacts displayed in historic WWII hangars on Ford Island.

Why should you go?
To gaze at the historic aircraft from WWII and newer. The hangars survived the infamous Pearl Harbour attack: you can even notice bullet holes in the glass left from the strafing on December 7, 1941. The collection features actual planes and helicopters from WWII and the Korean and Vietnam wars. Be surprised to see the wrecks of the Japanese Zero fighter that crash-landed on the Hawaiian island of Ni'ihau in 1941 and the Bush Stearman, to name just some. After the extensive aircraft-looking, hit the observation deck atop the Ford Island Control Tower to view the Harbour, map out flight paths of the deadly Japanese aircraft, and reimagine the attack. From above, you can spot the floating U.S.S. Arizona Memorial and, inside, see a port side section of the sunken battleship.

Perfect for
History buffs, families, couples

What is it?
The oldest botanical garden in Honolulu, a 14-acre former homesite of the Kamehameha royal family physician and a famous botanist from Germany, William Hillebrand.

Why should you go?
To feel dwarfed under the massive historic trees planted in the 1850s by Dr. William Hillebrand, who would practice medicine there and introduce plants to the Hawaiian islands for over 20 years. As you walk through the richly planted Garden, see the tropical trees and palms and view the extraordinary orchid collection. Among the exceptional trees, spot a descendant of the sacred Bodhi tree under which the Buddha received enlightenment and a quirky cannonball tree, and watch out for falling cannonballs. No wonder that together with the other gardens of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens system, they make for the largest tropical plant collection in the United States.

Perfect for
Families, couples