Best Museums in Honolulu

Hawai’i’s big, vibrant, beautiful capital of Honolulu comes packed to the gills with attractions and not all of them center on the world-famous beachfront of Waikiki. The city also lays claim to an excellent roster of museums, running the gamut from internationally renowned art exhibits to sites of truly momentous history. These are some of Honolulu's best museums to visit on your Oahu getaway.

Hawaiian Tourism Authority / Tor Johnson

Boasting the greatest collection of Hawai’ian and Polynesian cultural artifacts and natural-history specimens—better than 25 million items strong—the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum ranks as the biggest museum in Hawai’i and without question one of Honolulu’s top attractions. Charles Reed Bishop, husband of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop—the last royal of the Kamehameha dynasty—established the museum back in 1889 and named it for her.

Highlights include the Hawaiian and Pacific halls, a grand life-sized model of a sperm whale and the J. Watumull Planetarium. The Bishop Museum also encompasses the Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center and the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.

Hawaiian Tourism Authority / Daeja Fallas

Another of the top Honolulu museums, the Honolulu Museum of Art is the largest institution of its kind in the state. It houses more than 60,000 works of art spanning the globe, with particularly outstanding holdings of Asian art (including one of the largest collections of traditional Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints in the U.S.) as well as notable pieces from Hawai’i and Polynesia more broadly. The museum also screens films in its Doris Duke Theater.

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The Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture and Design showcases the impressive collection of ceramics, textiles, paintings and other works from the Islamic world amassed by the heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke, whose former home at the foot of Diamond Head the museum now occupies. Pieces hail from a broad geography, from Spain and Morocco to India and Southeast Asia and represent many centuries of artistic tradition. Along with the permanent collection, the museum hosts a steady lineup of exhibitions as well as special events. The gardened grounds offer impressive views of Diamond Head and the Pacific Ocean.

Tours of the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture and Design—which must be reserved in advance and are self-guided—begin at the Honolulu Museum of Art, which since the early 21st century has partnered with the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.

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The U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii, another of the great museums of Honolulu, comes housed within the Fort DeRussy Military Reservation’s Battery Randolph, built in 1911 as part of Oahu’s “Ring of Steel” coastal defense system. The museum’s exhibits focus on everything from traditional Hawai’ian warfare to World War II, the Vietnam War and other more modern conflicts, while the Gallery of Heroes commemorates the state’s recipients of the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross and Air Force Cross.

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Among the top Honolulu museums for families, the Hawai’ian Children’s Discovery Center delights with its well-thought-out, interactive exhibits and event programming. The children’s museum includes such permanent exhibits as Fantastic You (focused on how the human body works), Hawai’ian Rainbows (an overview of Hawai’i’s history) and Rainforest Adventures (illuminating the importance of tropical rainforests in the Hawaiian Islands and beyond).

Hawaiian Tourism Authority / Tor Johnson

Hanaiakamalama served as the summer mountain home of Hawai’ian Queen Emma and King Kamekameha IV from 1857 to 1885. Since 1915, the non-profit Daughters of Hawai’i has preserved and cared for the Queen Emma Summer Palace, open to the general public as a museum and holds many royal artifacts and antiques.

Hawaiian Tourism Authority / Tor Johnson

The Japanese surprise attack on Honolulu’s Pearl Harbor, which took place on December 7, 1941, claimed more than 2,400 American lives and destroyed eight U.S. Naval vessels and close to 100 aircraft and ushered in the United States of America’s entry into World War II. The Pearl Harbor National Memorial Visitor Center—certainly one of the top museums in Honolulu and also the springboard for the USS Arizona Memorial—explores the event and its aftermath via the “Road to War” and “Attack” exhibit galleries as well as a 23-minute film shown throughout the day in its theater.

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Delve into the world-shaking Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and eyeball generations of military airplanes and helicopters at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. Here you can tour World War II-era hangars and admire dozens of vintage flying machines, from the Curtiss P-40E Warhawk to the Lockheed F-104A Starfighter. Other museum highlights include flight simulators and the Top of the Tower Tour, which affords an overview of the Pearl Harbor battlefield from the historic Ford Island Control Tower.

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Climb aboard the USS Bowfin (SS 287)—the Balao-class U.S. Navy submarine launched exactly a year after the Pearl Harbor attack and nicknamed “The Pearl Harbor Avenger”—and experience the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum, a must-see for any and all history, military and naval buffs. The institution includes three museum galleries devoted to the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Force, focusing on World War II, the Cold War and the present day.

Hawaiian Tourism Authority / Tor Johnson

The final battleship to be commissioned by the U.S., the Iowa-class USS Missouri now operates as a museum ship in Pearl Harbor. Serving in World War II (where she engaged in the Battles of Iwa Jima and Okinawa), the Korean War and the Gulf War, Missouri is best known as the site of Japan’s formal surrender, bringing the Second World War to a close. Your General Admission ticket lands you a fascinated guided tour of the battleship.

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More than two centuries of judicial history await your exploration at the small but quite fascinating King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, the designated history museum of the Hawai’i State Supreme Court. It’s found on the first floor of the Court’s magnificent home, the Alioolani Hale, built as the government center of the Kingdom of Hawai’i and known for its ornate architecture and the iconic statue of Kamehameha I (Kamehameha the Great) out front.

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Among the more unique museums in Honolulu, this one lies within the city’s main police station and tells the story of Hawai’ian law enforcement, from the days of the Kingdom of Hawai’i (including the famous “Law of the Splintered Paddle”) to the modern era. Housing 10,000-plus pieces in its collection, the Honolulu Police Department Museum is open by reservation for roughly hourlong tours.

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