The best transportation museums to visit in the U.S.

Sure, you may find inspiration by gazing at the Mona Lisa, Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and other notable works. But transportation museums? Let’s just say they have the power to move you, too.

Whether you have a penchant for rail travel and vintage automobiles or sports cars and motorcycles are more your speed, there’s museums to suit your curiosities. From private collections-turned-public to sprawling campuses with impressive exhibits, you’ll find hundreds of transportation museums across the United States.

Here’s 10 of the most interesting transportation museums that are worth taking a detour to see.

Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Set on a 20-acre, park-like campus, the Harley-Davidson Museum is home to an unrivaled collection of motorcycles. One of the most interesting? The remains of a 2004 Dream Train that drifted 4,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to British Columbia after being washed away in a storage container during the 2011 tsunami that hit Japan.

Tourists can see custom bikes and iconic tanks and engines as well as learn the history of the company. For instance, did you know Harley Davidson made Tomahawk Boats in the 1960s?

The museum also has a new “Experience Gallery” where you can throw your leg over the new Harley-Davidson Dream Machine. Come on a Friday; that’s when the on-site Motor restaurant does its all-you-can eat fish fry.

National Transportation Museum in St. Louis, Missouri

Set aside a day (better yet, a couple) for the National Transportation Museum. The rail and transit collections include 190 major exhibits, making it the largest collection of transportation vehicles in the world. Not too shabby for a museum that got its start in 1944 when historically minded citizens acquired a mule-drawn streetcar known as the “Bellefontaine,” right?

Some of the museum’s most popular residents include Union Pacific #4006, aka “Big Boy,” which is the largest, successful steam locomotive ever built and the only operational Chrylster turbine on display. The twin-engine 1943 Douglas Aircraft believed to have been used in the World War II D-Day invasion of Normandy also rests here. A nice surprise: The museum has gardens on all three of its floors.

Academy of Art University Automobile Museum in San Francisco, California

Find the intersection of art and classic cars at the Academy of Art University of Automobile Museum, which has a collection that includes Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Jaguar, Duesenberg, Packard and more.

The former university president had a love for cars, and the museum started as a way to offer automotive design at the university which has an industrial design school and automotive restoration programs. Students, as well as the public, can get an up-close look at exquisite design and automobile craftsmanship. Those interested in seeing the cars do need to schedule a visit in advance.

Hollywood Cars Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada

Film buffs and auto lovers alike will enjoy the 30,000 square-foot Hollywood Cars Museum in Las Vegas, which is where some of the most iconic vehicles from movies and TV shows are stashed. The collection includes legendary cars from “RoboCop,” “Back to the Future,” and “The Flintstones” as well as Batman’s Batmobile.

You can also spot the 1965 Mercedes Benz 220SE at the museum—it’s the convertible that was used in the 2009 comedy “The Hangover” that was set in Sin City. Another spectacle is a bubblegum pink 40-foot-long convertible limo outfitted with a heart-shaped hot tub.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana

Auto lovers, delight: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is situated inside the 2.5-mile oval track. Museum-goers can book the narrated “Kiss the Bricks,” which includes a stop to do just that at the 1909 track surface that’s at the start/finish line.

The museum itself is stocked with open wheel racing history, with more than 300 vehicles, plus 150 helmets, 80 fire suits, lots of engine and automotive parts as well as historic posters and race programs. The museum is also the keeper of United States Auto Club records.

Two rotating exhibits that are open through June 2026 include “Setting the Pace,” which showcases eight different pace cars from 1915 through 2011 and “Now Stay Tuned” that dives into how broadcasting the Indy 500 helped put the race on a global stage.

Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee

One of the few museums in the country that specializes in European cars, the Lane Motor Museum’s collection numbers 550 vehicles, though there’s only room for 150 on the museum floor so they rotate. Exhibits pay homage to the Fiat as well as custom-made curiosities. The museum also has an “open and shut” display of cars and another curation with the hoods up.

As for some fun facts: The smallest car in the collection is a Peel P50, which is listed in Guinness World Records as the “Smallest Street-Legal Car.” The fastest car is probably a 1994 Dodge Viper RT/10 that has a top speed of 197 miles per hour. And the most unique is the Helicron, which was made in France in 1932. The engine drives a propeller, which pulls the vehicle down the road.

Maritime Museum of San Diego in San Diego, California

As if year-round sunshine, great craft beer and a fantastic collection of museums at Balboa Park weren’t enough, San Diego is home to one of the world’s finest collections of historic ships and visitors can walk their decks. The Maritime Museum of San Diego is also home to the world’s oldest active ship, Star of India.

The museum also offers on-the-water adventures, like the “San Salvador Sailing Adventure” that’s aboard the replica of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s ship that in 1542 arrived at the port that’s now called San Diego.

The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan

While the “Driving America” exhibit at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn has more than 100 vehicles on display, it’s not focused on automobiles as much as the evolution of how cars have changed to fit our needs. That’s to say museum-goers will learn about how the first hybrid car was introduced in 1901, but the concept didn’t take off for a century later when Toyota introduced the Prius.

The exhibit also features cultural icons that came about because of the rise of automobiles, including roadside signs to White Castle and McDonald’s, a 1977 radar detector and a motel’s Gideon Bible. thehenryford.org

National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio

With more than 350 aerospace vehicles and missiles on display, the National Museum of the United States Air Force is the world’s largest and oldest military aviation museum. Visitors can see the B-17F “Memphis Belle” which has inspired movies. The heavy bomber returned to the U.S. after 25 missions over Europe and then crew flew the aircraft across the country to more than 30 stops on a morale boosting tour. It went on display in 2018, 75 years after its crew finished their last mission in the war against Nazi Germany.

Other headlining attractions include a B-2 stealth bomber, Air Force One used by eight U.S. presidents, the B-29 Bockscar that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan during World War II, sections of the Berlin wall and more.

Forney Museum of Transportation in Denver, Colorado

Museum-goers will find a little bit of everything at the Forney Museum of Transportation, which has automobiles as well as buggies, motorcycles, steam locomotives, aircraft, carriages, rail equipment, sleighs and more.

Among the highlights is American aviator Amelia Earhart’s 1923 Kissel Gold Bug that, in 1924, she and her mother drove from Los Angeles to Boston, with stops in Yosemite National Park, as well as Lake Louise and Banff. The adventurous pair covered the canary yellow car with tourist stickers.