Monterey Bay Aquarium

886 Cannery Row, Monterey CA 93940

Tel. 831-648-4888

From rocky tide pools to the open sea, the permanent exhibits at the renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey's top attraction, showcase the staggering abundance of marine life in Monterey Bay, the largest national marine sanctuary in the country and home to the submerged Monterey Canyon, an underwater breach twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. Furry-faced sea otters, nimble jellyfish and a million-gallon indoor ocean showcase the mysteries of Monterey Bay with a three-story kelp forest, tide pools, penguins and a panorama of open sea creatures.

Dennis the Menace Playground

Lake El Estero Park

Monterey, CA

831-646-3866

Daily 10AM-dusk.  Free.

Hank Ketchum, creator of Dennis the Menace, aided in the park’s development.  It contains climbing structures, slides, a balancing bridge, a maze, a railroad switch engine, and a lion-shaped drinking fountain.           

My Museum

601 Wave Street

Monterey, CA

831-649-6444

Tues.-Thurs. 10-5; Sun. noon-5. 

Admission charged.

This hands-on children’s museum offers interactive exhibits in which a child can pretend to be fisherman on cannery row; a puppeteer; a weaver (the finished product can be taken home); or a house builder.   

The Presidio of Monterey Museum

Lower Presidio Historic Park

Corporal Ewing Road

Monterey, CA

831-636-3456

The museum traces the history of this site from the time of the Native American settlements through its military history beginning with the mission and presidio established by Spanish missionary Junipero Serra and Captain Gaspar de Portola.  Exhibits include the Spanish and Mexican periods and the facility’s development as a cavalry post.