Overview of Balboa Park Free Admission
As a public service to San Diego, many museums and galleries in the Balboa Park area offer free admission on Tuesdays every month. This offer is available to residents and active military personnel and their families.
The free admission policy rotates among the museums, so specific museums are free on select Tuesdays of each month. Typically, this offer only applies to the venue’s permanent collections and does not include any special events, attractions, or temporary exhibits that may be taking place during your visit.
History of Balboa Park
In 1868, San Diego’s civic leaders allocated land for what was then called City Park. Botanist and landscape architect Kate Sessions significantly contributed to the park’s beautification by planting hundreds of trees, some of which endure today. Over time, the city of San Diego continued to enhance the park, constructing roads and water systems. In 1910, the park was renamed after the Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa.
Initially, the San Diego Natural History Museum and the Marston House were the first two museums established in Balboa Park. The park has grown to include a total of 17 museums today.
Notably, the Timken Museum of Art, which opened in 1965 and was designed by Frank Hope and Associates, has free admission year-round. Its permanent collection features notable works by artists such as Rembrandt, Jacques-Louis David, and John Singleton Copley.
Below is the schedule of free Tuesday admissions for other Balboa Park museums.
First Tuesday Free Admission
- Reuben H. Fleet Science Center: Recognized for being the first science center to utilize an IMAX dome in its planetarium exhibits, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center has been part of San Diego since 1973, named after the founder of the U.S. Air Mail service.
- Centro Cultural de la Raza: Founded in 1970, this museum focuses on Chicano, Latino, Mexican, and Native American cultures.
- San Diego Model Railroad Museum: This museum boasts the title of the world’s largest operating model railroad museum, encompassing 28,000 square feet filled with scale and model trains.
- San Diego Natural History Museum: Known locally as “The Nat,” this museum was established in 1874 and moved to its Balboa Park location in 1917 (note: free admission does not apply to 3-D films).
Second Tuesday Free Admission
- Museum of Photographic Arts: This “pay-what-you-wish” museum began in 1972 as a museum without walls before relocating into a custom-designed facility in Balboa Park in 1983.
- San Diego History Center: Founded in 1928 by philanthropist George Marston, this museum is among the oldest of its kind on the West Coast, transitioning from its original location on Presidio Hill to Balboa Park in 1982.
- Veterans’ Museum and Memorial Center: Established in 1989, this museum honors military veterans through various exhibits.
- San Diego Air & Space Museum
Third Tuesday Free Museum Admission
- San Diego Art Institute: Initially the San Diego Business Men’s Art Club, this museum, founded in 1941, exhibits a variety of works by artists from Southern California.
- San Diego Museum of Art: Opened in 1926, it aimed to create a permanent art installation following the Panama-California International Exposition of 1915. This museum resulted from a merger between the San Diego Art Guild and the Friends of Art. Its collection includes masterpieces by El Greco, Goya, Monet, Matisse, Dali, and O’Keeffe.
- San Diego Museum of Man
- Japanese Friendship Garden
Fourth Tuesday Free Admission
- San Diego Automotive Museum
- San Diego Hall of Champions
- House of Pacific Relations International Cottages
If a month has a fifth Tuesday, Balboa Park museums will revert to regular admission prices.
