Take a close look at sea otters, sharks, and thousands of other sea creatures.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of those destinations that charms everyone who walks through its great glass doors. Here you can watch rescued sea otters swim, play, and groom in their naturalized exhibit. See and learn about the worlds of countless fish species, as well as amphibians, birds, invertebrates, octopi, and reptiles. Watch aquarium staff feed penguins and sea otters, and experience other creatures as they interact in extraordinarily realistic underwater environments that simulate the adjacent Monterey Bay and beyond. Kids love the interactive touch pool filled with starfish, sea cucumbers, and other ocean creatures. The bat ray exhibit, where you can feel the velvety softness of a bat ray as it flys by, is always a hit.

The aquarium also offers a variety of special tours, including a behind-the-scenes look at how the aquarium's remarkable filtration systems work to keep all the resident creatures alive and well. Another fun tour lets you follow a staff member on morning rounds, which may include feeding and interacting with some of the animals on site. Hungry? There's an exceptional self-service cafeteria, as well as a sit-down restaurant focusing on fresh ingredients and sustainable seafood.

The Monterey Museum of Art presents Monterey Modernism, featuring paintings and works on paper by California artists illuminating a revolutionary movement away from the popularity of Impressionism to an exploration of intense color and simplified form that emerged in art between World War I and World War II. Modernism took root in the United States when, in 1913, the International Exposition of Modern Art in New York, (commonly known as the Armory Show) offered the first wide exposure to avant-garde European art. Under its influence, American artists turned away from the light-dominated feathery brushstrokes of Impressionism to adopt the use of vibrant, even violent color and simplified form.