Fodor's Expert Review California Historical Society

If you're not a history buff, the CHS might seem like an obvious skip—who wants to look at fading old photographs and musty artifacts?—but these airy galleries are worth a stop. The thoughtful and relevant shows here draw from the society's vast repository of Californiana—hundreds of thousands of photographs, publications, paintings, and gold-rush paraphernalia. From out front, take a look across the street: this is the best view of the Museum of the African Diaspora's three-story photo mosaic.