A small, well-curated city museum on the edge of Old Town, the Temecula Valley Museum covers the area's pre-Columbian Luiseño history, the Spanish ranchos, the Butterfield Overland Mail, and the more recent wine and agriculture story. The second-floor hands-on area is popular with families.
Admission is by donation. Allow an hour. It is the easiest way to understand why Old Town looks the way it does and why the valley filled up with vines.