Looking for something different and entertaining? Go on a journey back in time, a nostalgic trip through history. This is the feeling that most of these vintage and classic car museums will give you. For the most part, wherever you happen to be in Florida, you should be two hours or less from a car museum of some sort. Scroll down for a map of these 12 best car museums in Florida.
Wherever you are in Florida, there is likely a neat automobile museum within a couple hours drive. For easy locating, here’s a map of everything on this list.
Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park Orlando
- Location: Dezerland Park – 5250 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819
- Hours: Mon-Fri 1PM to 9PM; Sat-Sun 11AM-10PM
- Admission Fee: $20-30
Located inside Outdoor World, this automobile experience will allow you to see cars that you’ve only read about in history books or seen in the movies! Check out the James Bond experience – the largest collection of James Bond movie cars, aircraft, and memorabilia in the world.
Other experiences include:
- Duesenberg Lounge – Home to America’s Rolls Royce
- Cars of Israel, France and Europe
- Buckingham Palace – Some of the classic cars from the UK
- Cars of the Stars – The things you’ve seen on TV, including Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, Spiderman and Harry Potter!
- Gatsby Lounge – Gatsby era cars including the Buick, Cadillac and Oldsmobile models
- Chrysler Lounge
- Bat Cave or Batman experience – Batmobiles and a Batboat
- Cuba Libre & Main Street USA
- And many more including Military vehicles, Harley collection and Vespa collection
With automobiles from every era, style, and region of the world, this is an impressive and extensive collection, and even more so for pop culture fanatics or history buffs!
American Muscle Car Museum
- Location: 3500 Sarno Rd, Melbourne, FL 32934
- Hours: See events page
- Admission Fee: Varies
Located in Melbourne, the American Muscle Car Museum is not open to the public, but you can check out their events page for upcoming opportunities to visit. They generally host charity events and other activities.
Their 123,000 square foot complex houses the collection of Mark Pieloch, a car enthusiast for over 40 years with 325+ cars that range from classic 1950s to 1970’s American muscle cars, to modern “sophisticated” muscle like a 2019 Ford GT. Additionally, you’ll find vintage balloon tire bicycles, auto-related neon signs, antique gas pumps, jukeboxes, pedal cars, vintage soda coolers, motorcycles, and more. You’ll get up close with more than 50 Indianapolis 500 pace cars and trucks, several Shelbys and Porsches, and 29 Yenkos. You could spend hours browsing this place, and what’s more, the staff are friendly and engaged.
Living Legends of Auto Racing
- Location: 2400 S. Ridgewood Avenue (US 1), South Daytona, FL 32119
- Hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10AM to 3PM
- Admission: Free
Located in South Daytona, Living Legends really sums up the history of racing and of the area! This is a must-see for car enthusiasts, Nascar fans, and Daytona history buffs. They offer lots of vintage photos, posters and other artifacts emblematic of the early racing days. Also for your enjoyment is a changing selection of historic race cars. Staff are personable and friendly, and some even have a personal history to tell about with the drivers and cars of the day. Stop in during speed weeks and you may even encounter special guests and former racers!
Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing
- Location: 13700 SW 16th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34473
- Hours: Monday – Sunday, 9am – 5pm; closed Thanksgiving & Christmas
- Admission Fee: $10-20
Don Garlits is a long-running museum housing an extensive collection of vintage hot rods and drag racing cars. This pet-friendly museum exists to preserve the history of drag racing and present it to drag racing enthusiasts and the general public in an accurate and informative format. The museum consists of two buildings – one dedicated to drag racing and the other an Antique Car Museum. Enjoy the vintage cars with informational signage and a gift shop – it’s easy to spend hours here, even if you’re not a drag racing fan! Hundreds of exhibits including trophies, newspaper articles, magazine covers, framed photographs, helmets, and even an entire room for engines! If you hadn’t planned on stopping in Ocala, Don Garlits makes it worth a visit.
Classic Car Museum of St. Augustine
- Location: 4730 Dixie HWY St. Augustine, FL 32086
- Hours: Tues-Sat 10AM to 6PM
- Admission Fee: $15 + tax/per adult, kids under 12 yrs are free!
The Classic Car Museum is a massive special events space, museum and classic car storage facility. The venue is versatile and accommodates all types of events. Fan of the 50s and 60s? This is certainly your vibe. Come prepared to spend a few hours, to take it all in, and learn some history too. Enjoy a coffee in their diner-style cafe nook. Or enjoy a Cars and Coffee event, which are generally free, but you can verify by checking out their events calendar.
Tampa Bay Automobile Museum
- Location: 3301 Gateway Centre Blvd, Pinellas Park, FL 33782
- Hours: 10AM to 4:30PM most days. Closed Tuesday.
- Admission Fee: $10-14; Free for children 8 & under
The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum is an expansive museum housing a collection of vintage vehicles and cars, with a focus on the 1920s & 1930s. They showcase vintage cars and vehicles that demonstrate special creativity and imagination in their history and engineering. Examples of what you’ll encounter in their gallery space:
- Tracta, Citroën, Panhard and Voisin (France);
- Tatra and Aero (Czechoslovakia);
- DKW, Audi, Auto Union and Mercedes (Germany);
- Alvis, Allard and BSA (England);
- DeLorean (Ireland);
- Stearns-Knight, Willys-Knight, Cord and Ruxton (USA).
You can catch a glimpse of their collection online. This unique and amazing collection of cars makes it a perfect place for car enthusiasts. It’s great to see such informative and enthusiastic staff – they clearly put effort into maintaining this museum. Best of all, the cars have been refurbished to make them road-ready.
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
- Location: Daytona International Speedway
- Hours: 10AM until 5PM, 7 days a week except for major holidays
- Admission Fee: $25 for adults, $20 for kids ages 5 to 12, free for ages 4 and under, and $12 for museum-only
The Motorsports Hall of Fame is located in the Ticket & Tours Building at Daytona International Speedway. All Daytona International Speedway tours include the MSHFA Museum, and you’re encouraged to call 1-800-PIT-SHOP for tickets. The Hall of Fame is filled with historic vehicles and artifacts related to its inductees. Exhibits rotate frequently, so there’s always something new and interesting to see. Examples of exhibits include a Don Garlits “Swamp Rat” Top Fuel dragster, a Dale Earnhardt No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Petty’s 1972 NASCAR champion Charger, and much more! You’ll also get to enjoy racing videos, get your picture taken in an actual Toyota NASCAR Cup Series car, and witness the 31-degree banked turns in real life! You’ll come across permanent exhibits, temporary exhibits and even new exhibits. This is a must-see for any NASCAR, Indy or even motorcycle racing fans!
The Collection On Palmetto Foundation
- Location: 2116 Palmetto Street Clearwater FL 33765
- Hours: Tues – Thurs, 10AM to 3PM
- Admission Fee: $10-12
The Collection on Palmetto is a museum of antique automobiles and engines, where beauty and innovation are realized. Special attention is paid to the Brass Era (1896-1915) while their collection as a whole dates from 1886 to 1952. Gas and steam engines are there to demonstrate the variety of engine types and manufacturers as early as the 1800s. Life-size murals tell stories of field and factory, and the viewer is transported to a vastly different place and time. Check out their different programs, where you can get involved and take a deeper dive on particular subject matter! To add to the amazement, the grounds are landscaped beautifully – so it wouldn’t hurt to prepare a picnic as well.
The Brumos Collection
- Location: 5159 SAN PABLO ROAD S. JACKSONVILLE, FL 32224
- Hours: THURS: 9AM – 2PM FRI & SAT: 9AM – 3PM
- Admission Fee: $21-30
The Brumos Collection is named by some as the best museum in the area. Vehicles span three centuries, with early automotive innovations as early as 1894! The museum is designed as two unique experiences, the forerunners and the frontrunners. Forerunners include the ideas of Peugeot, Miller, Duesenberg and Bugatti. Frontrunners chronicles Porsche development from 1953 to present. Digital kiosks allow for a more interactive educational experience. This museum is enjoyable for just about everyone, certainly not just for race fans! In addition to cars, you’ll see other racing equipment and gear, engines, vintage photos and race trophies. Private tours and group bookings are available, as well as event space. You can buy tickets online and start planning your visit right away!
Tallahassee Automobile Museum
- Location: 6800 Mahan Dr, Tallahassee, FL 32308
- Hours: Monday to Friday 8am-5pm; Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 11am-5pm
- Admission Fee: $8 for children to $20 for adults
The Tallahassee Automobile Museum is a car-themed journey through history, housing Abraham Lincoln’s carriage and Batmobiles, plus Steinway pianos. There’s an Antique Car Museum inside the museum – one of the nation’s largest collections! In addition to autos, the museum showcases a variety of collectibles including motorcycles, farm machinery, dolls, knives, canoes, and much more. Additionally, you can book your next event here, and have a vintage themed party!
Ragtops Motorcars
- Location: 701 N Dixie Hwy Lake Worth Beach, Florida 33460
- Hours: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday: By Appointment
- Wednesday thru Saturday: 10am – 5pm
- Admission Fee: Free
Ragtops is a vintage automotive museum, a dealership and special events facility. They’re not only a museum but also have cars for sale. Their facility doubles as an events venue – a unique option for your next wedding or photo shoot! The vintage cars and memorabilia have the tendency to take you back in time, a bit like time travel. It’s a great place to visit for any car enthusiast, as well as an excellent venue for a themed party. You are encouraged to return again and again, as they are a “selling museum” and the inventory shifts frequently. You are also encouraged to take photos and make memories, for this same reason. Make sure to visit the Gift Garage, you never know what treasures you might find in there!
Elliott Museum
- Location: 825 NE Ocean Blvd, Stuart, FL 34996
- Hours: 10AM to 5PM daily
- Admission Fee: $8 for children to $16 for adults
The Elliott Modern features art exhibits and interactive displays chronicling Florida’s cultural history. Offering local history exhibits, temporary exhibits and a variety of collections to include vintage cars, baseball, artwork, Americana, and more, this one is worth a visit if you’re in the Stuart area. This museum is becoming a cultural hub in the community offering a variety of opportunities to discover, experience, and engage. Harmon Elliott (1887 – 1969), son of prolific inventor Sterling Elliott, provided initial funds to open the museum in 1961, to celebrate his father’s work and bring an educational and cultural resource to the region. The Historical Society of Martin County oversees the Elliott Museum and the House of Refuge, which was nearly demolished back in the day. One of the best museums on the treasure coast, they showcase vintage cars and even some of the first electric cars ever made. Check out their calendar of rotating and permanent exhibitions
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