Washington D.C.
D.C. is the museum mecca of the East Coast. If you are from the east cost and have the opportunity to live in the DC Metro area for a couple of years, I highly suggest it just for the museums and monuments. The best part is most of them are FREE. Art museum-wise, my favorite is The Hirshhorn, which I've been to several times. I did not enjoy Artechouse-immersive art experiences are not for me-or Planet Word and The International Spy Museum, both of which are more catered towards children. Every other museum is a must-go. If you can time travel 10 years into the past, go to the Newseum.
New York City, New York
Because I have seen historical art from the many specialized museums in DC and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art did not offer anything new to me. I have not been to MoMA or the Guggenheim, but if you are into fashion and design, I highly recommend the Museum at FIT and the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum. NYC is the fashion capital of America after all. The Met Gala is the whole reason I wanted to go to the Met, but I got lost in the vastness of the museum and never found the Met Gala exhibit.
Los Angeles, California
After my fourth trip to LA, I have now visited all of the city's major art museums. My favorite would have to be the Getty Center, which has a good mix of modern and historical art inside and a beautiful garden and view of the city outside. The Huntington is my other favorite. While their gardens are more famous, I didn't go for the gardens, which I have at home in Maymont. I went for the library and art museum, which I did not expect to be so good. The iconic lamps at LACMA are cool, but I can't remember anything else I saw there. The Broad is a misnomer because they actually have a very small collection. I loved the Jeff Koons exhibit, but I've seen Yayoi Kusama in DC and a big chair in my hometown, so the rest of the museum didn't impress me much. The Museum of Contemporary Art across the street was more interesting. Lastly, while the Norton Simon Museum had some iconic pieces, it was one of the worst art museums I have ever visited: the art was only organized by time period and not curated so I did not learn anything new or deepen my understanding of the world, which is how I derive enjoyment from museums.
San Francisco, California
While I do shit on San Francisco, I did enjoy my time in the city in large part to SF MOMA and the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. SF MOMA is good, but the de Young museum was even better because it had more and more diverse collections. It was gold I did not expect in a haystack: it wasn't even on my radar when researching the city or park. I stumbled upon free admission on the first Tuesday of the month, and it might be the best art museum I've ever visited.
