getty garden tour

Guide To The Getty Center In Los Angeles: What To See + Tips

Planning a visit to the Getty Center in Los Angeles? This is the ultimate guide to visiting the Getty, which is one of the best art museums in the United States. I identify 20 must see masterpieces and give you must know tips for visiting.

The Getty Center showcases the best art that money can buy. LA’s hilltop acropolis houses the magnificent collection of billionaire oil magnate J. Paul Getty.

Getty wasn’t just wealthy. He was a true connoisseur, a lifelong history buff and art lover. He built a fantastic art collection rich in Greco-Roman works and old master paintings.

Today, 2 million tourists a year visit the Getty Center, housed in a fabulous Richard Meier designed museum space. They come for the fabulous art, gorgeous city views, water features, and lush gardens.

Overview Of The Getty Center

Who was j. paul getty.

J. Paul Getty was an oil tycoon and art enthusiast. He came from money and power. With a loan from his father, he invested in oil wells in the Middle East and became “the richest man in the history of the world.”

But Getty didn’t just have oil fever. Getty started seriously collecting art in the 1930s and was a passionate and lifelong collector. 

Trips to Italy left him with a taste for bronze and marble sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome. He then developed a taste for old masters from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Getty believed that art should be displayed in a place of “equal quality.” In 1954, he added a museum wing to his 64 acre Malibu ranch.

But that wasn’t enough space either. So, in 1974, Getty built a replica of an Italian villa from Herculaneum, known today as the Getty Villa , and moved his collection there.

Getty never saw his audacious villa-museum. In 1951, he moved to England for good. Getty didn’t return to the US because of a fear of flying. But he approved every Getty acquisition until his death in 1976.

Overview & History Of The Getty Center

Creation of the getty center.

In his will, Getty left the bulk of his fortune ($700 million) to the J. Paul Getty Trust. Overnight, the Getty became the most richly endowed museum in the world.

In 1984, the trust decided they needed more room to house the ever-burgeoning collection. It commissioned Richard Meier to build a billion dollar campus.

In 1996, the bulk of the museum’s collection was relocated there and the museum opened in 1997. The pieces from antiquity remained at the Getty Villa.

Perched on a hilltop, the Getty Center is a beguiling modern day temple made of rough surfaced travertine stone, aluminum panels, and glass. It’s a place where undulating lines follow the natural terrain of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Terraces offer beautiful views of the city and ocean. In the late afternoon, the buildings looks almost golden.

The Getty Center, moreover, is more than a museum. It’s an art institution and urban laboratory. It houses research and administrative centers, conservations programs, and a grant institution. The original collection that Getty amassed has also been expanded to include photographs, drawings, and sculptures.

Layout Of The Getty Center

You enter the museum up a flight of stairs to reach the large Museum Entrance Hall. There you can pick up a map of the museum and other brochures. You can also sign up for one of the Getty’s free tours.

The permanent collection is housed in four pavilions — North Pavilion, East Pavilion, South Pavilion, and West Pavilion. The galleries are minimalist, with skylights and coved ceilings that show off the art with natural light instead of electric light.

The Getty’s most famous painting, Van Gogh’s ( Irises ), is in the West Pavilion. Adjacent to that pavilion is the Fran and Ray Stark Sculpture Terrace.

In the center of the complex is a museum courtyard and Exhibition Pavilion. When I was there, the Getty had mounted a fascinating Cy Twombly exhibit exploring the artist’s fascination with Greco-Roman art and poetry.

The Central Garden and Lower Terrace Sculpture Garden are to the Far East of the complex.

The separate pavilions and garden complexes allow you to catch your breath and relax in indoor/outdoor spaces as you proceed from pavilion to pavilion. It makes for a better museum experience than endlessly walking through the typical white or gray corridors.

You can check out this online map to help plan your visit.

Guide To The Getty Center: What To See

The Getty collection covers the period from the Middle Age to the early 20th century. There is no modern art save for the outdoor sculptures.

Here are the top 20 masterpieces and things to see on a visit to the Getty.

1. Van Gogh, Irises

The absolute star of the Getty Center is Vincent Van Gogh’s Irises. In fact, it’s so sought after that the museum employees may point you right to the West pavilion where it’s housed.

Van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionism artist now considered one of the greatest and most influential painters in art history.

Van Gogh’s work is notable for its swirling line, emotional honesty, and bold vivid color. His radical landscapes were like nothing anyone had painted before. 

Irises has Van Gogh’s trademark exuberance. It’s a swirling mass of green and blue flowers with powerful brush strokes. You can almost feel the paintings strong colors and rhythmic vitality.

Van Gogh painted the scene after slicing off his own ear and landing in an insane asylum. The irises were in the asylum garden, and provided a therapeutic outlet for the tortured artist.

2. Edouard Manet, Spring

Manet is known as the “Father of Impressionism,” though he really preceded and overlapped with the movement.

Manet had a huge impact on the development of modernism. He led a bohemian life and scandalized the official Salon with his utter disregard for academic conventions and his strikingly modern images of urban life.

This late Manet portrait depicts a young actress as the embodiment of spring. The actress wears a floral ensemble and is set against a lush background of rhododendrons.

The painting is one of Manet’s most vibrant works. His color palette was typically darker. It was exhibited at the 1882 Paris Salon to rave reviews.

3. Claude Monet Works

The Getty has a trio of significant paintings by the ever-popular Impressionist artist Claude Monet.

Sunrise is a painting that kicked off the Impressionism movement. Along with its companion piece Impression Sunrise at Paris’ Musee Marmottan Monet , it exemplifies Monet’s “plein air” (outdoor) approach to painting and his signature informal and spontaneous brushstrokes.

The painting shocked critics. They denigrated it as an unskilled “impression,” rather than a polished art work. That term gave rise to the movement’s name.

Wheatstacks  was Monet’s first series and the first in which he concentrated on a single subject. In each canvas, the light is different depending on the time of day he painted. The painting reveals Monet’s signature ability to capture form and light with small dabs of paint.

Rouen Cathedral was Monet’s third series, after the poplars and haystacks. Monet loved to paint the lacy western facade of Rouen cathedral in  Normandy . 

Monet painted 30 versions of Rouen Cathedral in Normandy in 1892-93. The Getty’s version was painted with morning light.

The cathedral series was a watershed moment in Monet’s career. The paintings were well-received by critics and found a ready commercial market.

READ : The Impressionism Trail In Normandy

4. Cezanne, Still Life With Apples

Cezanne was a hugely influential painter of the late 19th century. Monet called Cezanne “the greatest of us all.” For Picasso, he was the father of modern art.

Cezanne threw away the long prevailing convention of single point perspective. He used multiple perspectives in a single canvas, portraying objects as sets of abstract shapes.

Still lifes were an obsessive motif for Cezanne. During the last 30 years of his life, he painted the objects in this painting –the green vase, the rum bottle, the ginger pot, and the apples — over and over again. His interest was not in the objects themselves, but in using them to experiment with shape, color, and lighting. 

5. J.M.W. Turner, Modern Rome

Turner is Britain’s most famous and important Romantic era artist. In the mid 19th century, Turner shocked his colleagues with his loose brush strokes and fiery palette, presaging the later Impressionist movement. 

In this Getty painting, Turner captures the Eternal City of Rome . The city’s ancient ruins are seen through a shimmering veil of paint and light. Amid these monuments, you see citizens carrying on with their day’s work.

The Getty acquired the painting in 2010 at a Sotheby’s auction in London for $44.9 million. Because the painting has always been behind glass, it’s in pristine condition, unusual for a Turner painting.

6. Goya, Bullfight

In the 19th century, Goya was the most famous painter in Spain, with no rival during his lifetime. He was the official court painter for Charles IV and Ferdinand VII, specializing in portraits and religious paintings.

Goya was known for capturing not only his subjects’ likenesses, but their personal expressiveness and individuality.

Bullfights were a lifelong theme for Goya. In this Getty painting, he depicts the fraught confrontation between a passionate picador, his terrified horse, and the besieged bull.

Goya painted this romantic scene at the end of his career. He had begun experimenting with different techniques and more ominous themes, as seen in the terrifying Black Paintings in the Prado Museum .

7. Jacques-Louis David, The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharist

French artist Jacques-Louis David was a master of the grand Neo-Classical style of painting. It was a style and subject matter derived from antiquity. His painting are characterized by firm linear contours, pure colors, polished forms, and frieze-like compositions.

This painting is the very image of ideal love. It was inspired by characters from Homer’s Odyssey .

The son of Odysseus, Telemachus, falls in love with the nymph Eucharist. But he’s forced to end the romance to go off in search of his missing father. The painting conveys their sorrow.

8. Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Fountain of Love

Fragonard was an 18th century French painter whose reputation rests on his light-hearted Rococo love scenes. He was renowned for his use of light, color and expressive brushstrokes.

Fragonard’s most famous painting is the iconic Swing in London’s Wallace Collection .

Like that one, this Getty Center painting, Fountain of Love , is set in a verdant and shadowy forest. Two young lovers rush to an ancient fountain to sip its magical waters. One sip and they will fall in love. It’s a dreamy and luminous moonlit image.

The Getty acquired the painting in 1999. X-ray analysis suggests that it was Fragonard’s primary version of the subject, and that a better known and more highly finished painting,  The Fountain of Love in the Wallace Collection, London , was painted afterward. 

9. Andrea Mantegna, The Adoration of the Magi

Italian artist  Andrea Mantegna  bridged the Early and High Renaissance periods of art history. He was a pioneer of spatial illusionism.

Mantegna used visual distortions to create uncanny effects of 2D and 3D images on flat surfaces. His works reflect a perfectionist love of detail. 

This painting is a close up composition of half length figures set against a neutral background. It was inspired by ancient Roman reliefs. This private devotional piece was likely created for Mantegna’s patron, the Gonzaga family of Mantua .

10. Gentle de Fabriano, The Coronation of the Virgin

This beautiful painting is an early Renaissance work by Italian artist Gentile da Fabriano. In a formal ceremony, Christ crowns his mother, the Virgin Mary.

The painting was once a processional standard.Typical of Fabriano’s worth painting has richly saturated colors ad decorative gold leaf.

The other side of our panel once bore another painting, also by Gentile:  St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata . No one knows why the two pieces were separated.

11. Bronzino, Virgin and Child

Bronzino was a Mannerist (late Renaissance) painter in the Medici Court in Florence . He’s know as an elegant master of portraiture.

This is an arrestingly beautiful and deeply saturated composition of this common grouping. The gleaming figures are crisply outlined with luminous skin. They almost appear as marble statues.

The painting was only rediscovered. It went on view at the Getty in 2019 for the first time.

The painting shows Bronzino at the height of his career. Characteristic of his style are the enamel-like surface and the lavish use of expensive pigments.

12. Titian, Penitent Magdalene

The Italian artist Titian was to Venice what Michelangelo was to Florence — a hugely important and defining artist. More than other Renaissance artist, the Venetians celebrated the sensual in art and often used courtesans as models.

Titian painted six versions of the Mary Magdalene, a famous penitent sinner. She’s a woman with a dissolute past who asks Jesus for forgiveness.

Titian portrays Mary with long, almost sensuous, copper brown hair. She tries to cover her breasts with it. She gazes upward at heaven, with a look of love and awe in her eyes.

13. Artemisia Gentileschi, Lucretia

The Getty owns a rare and striking painting by the Baroque master Artemisia Gentileschi , Lucretia . It’s flanked by paintings by her artist-father Orazio Gentileschi.

In  Lucretia , Gentileschi depicts a female figure on the brink of suicide. Lucretia was a Roman noblewoman. After being raped by the son of an Etruscan king, she killed herself rather than be dishonored as unchaste.

Many other painters have tackled Lucretia’s story. But none in the same way as Artemisia.

Artemisia shows the moment before the suicide, when Lucretia aims a dagger at her chest. She portrays a determined Lucretia, secure in her decision to end her life.

In the Baroque style, Lucretia’s skin and pearls are translucent and contrast with the horror of suicide.

14. Jan Steen, The Drawing Lesson

Jan Steen was the humorist among Dutch Golden Age painters. He created nearly 800 paintings, most with a moral beneath the wit. In fact, moral ambiguity was a central concern of many 17th century Dutch artists.

But in The Drawing Lesson , Steen celebrates the status of the artist’s profession, a rare subject of the time. In it, a painter tutors a young boy and girl who are tasked with drawing a plaster cast of a male nude.

The studio is littered with objects that were the frequent subject of Dutch still lifes. Steen’s technique is especially refined.

15. Masaccio, Saint Andrew

The artist  Masaccio  was a Renaissance wunderkind. Though his life went by in a flash (he died at 27), he was a hugely innovative painter. He was the first painter in art history to experiment with linear point perspective. 

His radical ideas about what could be done on a flat surface helped shape the history of Western art. Some art historians call Masaccio the first truly Renaissance artist.

The Getty owns Masaccio’s painting of Saint Andrew . It’s a panel that was formerly in a private chapel in Pisa Italy .

The saint is shown with his usual attributes, a cross and a book. His features are careworn. His haunted gaze is one of the first steps toward the naturalism that would dominate Italian Renaissance art.

READ : Guide To Masaccio’s Brancacci Chapel In Florence

16. Workshop of Leonardo, Madonna and Child with Saint Anne

If you can’t get to the Louvre to see Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin and Child With Saint Anne , you can see a faithful copy of it at the Getty Center. It was created by Leonardo’s worship in Milan , possibly by his lover and pupil Salai.

In the painting, the infant Chris turns toward his mother as he mischievously tugs the ears of a lamb. It has the classic background landscape invented by Leonardo — a misty vista of mountains.

READ : Guide To the Paintings of Leonardo da Vinci

17. Rembrant, Rembrandt Laughing

Rembrandt is considered the greatest painter of the Dutch Golden Age.He was renowned for his ability both to depict very realistic human figures and portray deep human emotion.

His extensive self-portraits (over 80) form a unique visual biography of the artist. He always portrayed himself without vanity and with a vulnerable sincerity.

In 2012, the Getty acquired one of Rembrandt’s self portraits, Rembrandt Laughing . It’s an early self-portrait, depicting the 22 year old artist as a soldier. His features are animated as if captured in a spontaneous moment.

18. Parmigianino, Virgin and Child With Saint John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene , 1535-40

With the possible exception of his nemesis Correggio, Parmigianino was the leading painter of Palma Italy. He was technically adept virtuoso who also worked in Rome and Bologna. 

Like Bronzino, he was brilliant exponent of the Mannerist style. The Getty painting has a polished and enamel-like surface, with a lush landscape.

The original function of this painting is unknown, but its scale and subject matter imply that it was perhaps independently commissioned for a private chapel. The unconventional iconography of this painting typifies Parmigianino’s innovative work. 

READ : Best Renaissance Paintings in the United States

19. Modern Outdoor Sculpture

The Getty Center has an impressive collection of outdoor sculpture, consisting mostly of works bequeathed by the late legendary film producer Ray Stark and his wife, Fran.

Most of the sculptures can be found in The Fran and Ray Stark Sculpture Garden (near the tram) and The Fran and Ray Stark Sculpture Terrace (adjacent to the Museum’s West Pavilion).

I’ll just highlight a few pieces.

Aristide Maillol’s  Air is located on the Museum’s grand staircase, You’ll see it as you enter the complex.

Maillol was a French sculptor who specialized in monumental sculptures of nude women. His sculptures were both objects and allegorical.

With a grayish-blue surface, Air seems to float in space. She’s idealized, a personification of air. You’ll also find his Torso of Dina and Torso of Summer on the museum grounds.

Marino Marini is known for his equestrian sculptures. Angel of the Citadel depicts a man astride his horse, excited by the pure joy of living. Every part of his body is alert and stretched, even, intentionally, his manhood.

Seated Cardinal is a work by Italian artist Giacomo Manzu on the south terrace. Manzu created sculptures that were not simply representational, but were also symbols of universal meaning. This simplified form was inspired by the stiff looking cardinals he encountered at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City .

The Getty also owns some bronze sculptures by British artist Henry Moore. He was a radical and experimental artist who became the leading sculptor of his generation and a pioneer of modern sculpture.

You can see his intentionally distorted Seated Woman , Draped Reclining Mother and Baby , and his Bronze Form (more than 14 feet high!). The reclining pose was one of Moore’s favorite, as was the mother and child theme.

A couple other modern sculptures to looks for are Roy Lichtenstein’s Three Brushstrokes , Alberto Giacometti’s Standing Woman I , and Rene Magritte’s Delusion of Grandeur .

20. Getty Gardens

From its inception, outdoor gardens were pivotal to the Getty’s mission of building a beautiful space to experience art.

Architects wanted the landscape and architecture to interact and reflect the changing seasons, with brilliant pink and red blooms contrasting with the pale travertine. 32 full time gardeners work at the Getty to achieve this sublime effect.

The most beloved space is the Central Garden. Designed by Robert Irwin, you access the garden by a zig zagging path, a stream coursing underneath. The garden culminates in a reflecting pool in which a maze of colorful azaleas seem to float.

Five water gardens also enliven the space at the Getty. The Museum Courtyard has a long reflecting pool with jets and a secluded pool with rocks and a fountain.

Practical Guide & Tips For Visiting The Getty Center

1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049

The Getty Center is open Tuesday through Friday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. Saturday hours are 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. Closed Mondays.

The Getty Center is completely free, which is amazing for a museum of this caliber. To visit, you just have to book a timed entry ticket online (no fee). You’ll be turned away without a reservation.

Print your ticket out to show the attendants. But they can also look up your ticket by name, if you’re traveling and don’t have access to a printer.

If you’re visiting in the high season (summer), you should book several weeks in advance. Otherwise, it’s probably fine to book several days or a week in advance.

The Getty offers many free tour. They leave from the Information Desk and include:

• Architecture Tour : 45 minute outdoor tour at 11:00 am, 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm, and 2:00 pm
• Garden Tour : 45 minute outdoor tour focusing on the Central Garden at 11:00 am, 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm, and 2:00 pm
• Spotlight Tour : Quick 20 minute tour of the special exhibition at the Getty at 11:15 am, 12:15 pm, 1:15 pm, and 2:15 pm
• Collections Tour : 45 minute tour featuring select masterpieces at 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm, and 2:30 pm

For a more extensive tour, you may want to book this 90 minute guided tour , which focuses on either the highlights or a particular period of art history.

Parking & Shuttle :

You’ll need to park in the designated parking lot, which costs $20. You get a ticket and pay at the pay station machine on your way out.

From the parking lot, you will need to check in and give your ticket to the attendant. Then, you board a tram that takes you to the Getty Center in 5 minutes or so. On the brief ride, you’ll see the unfolding vistas of the museum.

How Long To Visit The Getty Center?

I think the Getty Center deserves at least 3 hours for a first time visitor. It’s a large complex. There are many pavilions, special exhibitions, the gardens, the outdoor sculptures, etc.

If you are an art lover, you may want to dedicate the better part of the day to the Getty.

For example, you could arrive around 10:00-10:30 am, break for lunch at the Garden Terrace Cafe, and then spend a couple more hours admiring the art. You’ll need to make a reservation on Open Table for the restaurant.

Food at the Getty Center :

There are four food options at the Getty Center.

The Restaurant on the Plaza level is a sit down space with majestic views. You’ll need to make reservations in advance on Open Table to ensure a a spot, it’s poplar. You can also book afternoon tea on Friday and Saturday from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.

There’s also the Garden Terrace Cafe overlooking the Central Arden and a self service cafe on the lower level with sandwiches, soups, etc.

There’s also a coffee art with food and beverages in the Museum Courtyard. This honestly wasn’t bad. I missed my reservation at the restaurant beccause there is just so much to see, but had a tasty chicken curry wrap instead.

Is The Getty Center Worth Visiting?

100% yes. The Getty Center is one of the top museums in the United States and it’s magnificent.

Even if you’re not an art lover, it will delight. The buildings and gardens are beautiful and you have stunning views of LA from every terrace.

If you’re an art lover that admires Old Masters, the Getty is a must visit US bucket list destination. Plus, it has one of the most famous Van Gogh paintings in the US.

What To Visit Near The Getty Center

The best place to visit in conjunction with the Getty Center is the Getty Villa, just 15-25 minutes down the road.

The villa is a pristine recreation of a seaside Roman estate housing billionaire oilman J. Paul Getty’s collection of Greco-Roman antiquities. It’s wonderful and the perfect way to see all of the Getty’s treasures in one day!

Here’s my compete guide to the Getty Villa .

I hope you’ve enjoyed my guide to the Getty Center. You may enjoy these other US travel guides and resources:

• 1 day itinerary for Portland Maine
• 2 day itinerary for Philadelphia
• 3 day itinerary for Boston
• 1 day itinerary for Denver
• 2 day itinerary for Cleveland Ohio
• 10 day itinerary for New Hampshire
• 10 day itinerary for coastal Maine
• 7-10 day itinerary for Vermont
• One week itinerary for southern New England
• Fall foliage road trip in New England
• 25 most beautiful towns in New England
• 45 amazing destinations in the United States

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Last Updated on August 31, 2023 by Leslie Livingston

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5. Central Garden

Give your nose something to smell, your eyes something to admire, and your feet something to explore when you soak in the glorious ever-changing work of art that is the Central Garden at the heart of the Getty Center. Created by artist Robert Irwin, the 134,000 square-foot Central Garden is the perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon, with tree-lined paths, peaceful sanctuaries and more than 500 varieties of plants to enjoy. Whether cactuses, fountains or shaded spots are your favorite, the lush Central Garden offers visitors an escape from the city’s bustle and a banquet for the eyes.

6. Cactus Garden

The Center’s succulent cactus garden at the South Promontory is the perfect blend of elegance and structure, weaving in the prickliness of the cacti against the garden’s angular city silhouettes. Visitors that scope out this hidden gem are rewarded with a serene ambiance to take in the panoramic city views. There are 32 full-time gardeners maintaining the grounds of the Getty Center, providing the essential care these rare plants require.

7. Family Room

Learn and play with your kids in the Getty Center's Family Room . Featuring five activity coves and treasure-hunt walls that surround the room, it's bursting with cool things to see and do. The Family Room is free and no reservations are needed.

8. Public Programs

Throughout the year, the Getty Center presents a wide range of public programs , including talks, family workshops, and special film screenings. Live performances include Ever Present , an ongoing experimental series that brings contemporary performance into the Getty's architecture and gardens. The Getty Center also hosts free daily tours of the museum’s architecture and major works. Tours are first-come, first-served - sign up 15 minutes before the tour at the Information Desk.

9. GettyGuide

Amplify your museum experience with GettyGuide , a free mobile app with audio tours that tell fascinating stories about the works of art on view and the Central Garden. Get immersed in atmospheric soundscapes and hear insights from curators, artists, scientists, and others. The GettyGuide app is available at the App Store and Google Play in English and numerous languages.

10. Picnic on the Lawn

During a full day of viewing exhibits, exploring the gardens and participating in workshops, your hunger can be soothed at one the Getty Center’s many dining options , from an elegant, full-service restaurant to a self-service or garden terrace café, coffee and pizza carts, and boxed lunches. It’s bound to be your toughest decision of the day. We suggest picking up a gourmet to-go lunch outside the restaurant on the Plaza Level and then grabbing a grassy spot for a leisurely picnic .

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J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum started from the oil millionaire's private collection and was housed for many years in a Roman-style villa in Malibu, which is now the  Getty Villa .

How to See the Getty Museum

TripSavvy / Christian Hundley 

Today's Getty Museum occupies 750 acres of land in the Santa Monica Mountain foothills. The Getty Center includes an art collection so large it takes four exhibit pavilions to show just part of it, and the complex includes nine buildings in total.

Getty Museum With Kids

You'll find this place very family-friendly, with a Family Room, Gallery Games, storytelling and weekend family workshops. The GettyGuide also features stops just for children. One-hour children's tours are given daily in the summer and on weekends the rest of the year.

Forget that boring shop in the main building. The Children's Bookstore is on the plaza level of the South Pavilion.

No food is allowed in galleries, but there's an exception for baby bottles.

Getty Museum Review

For my friends and me, the architecture here is a work of art so entrancing that, in more than a dozen visits, we've spent less than an hour inside the galleries. Don't be misled. The collections are impressive and include some fine pieces of art. However, for this architecture-loving writer, the buildings are more interesting than their contents.

We rate the Getty Museum 5 stars out of 5 for Richard Meier's awesome architecture, creating what we think is one of California's greatest outdoor spaces. It's one of our favorite Los Angeles places. We've heard their collections are good, too, but it's so nice outside that we're not sure we'll ever make it inside to find out.

Getty Museum Tips

By artist Martin Puryear, this sculpture looks like a fishnet to some, a face to others. 

If you have limited time to see the Getty Museum, go straight to the information desk in the main lobby for advice.

Start your visit with the orientation film.

Check the daily schedule for tour times to plan your day.

If you plan to spend time inside the galleries, rent a GettyGuide audio tour. It's like having your own personal entourage of art experts along to explain things.

The complex is large enough that it can be difficult to find others, even if you use cell phones to communicate. Pick up a map when you arrive. If your group splits up, pick a meeting place. The entry plaza near the tram stop is a good spot.

Dining options include a full-service dining room (reservations suggested), a cafeteria-style dining room, and an outdoor cafe serving coffee and snacks. There's also a picnic area at the lower tram station.

Leave umbrellas at home. If it's raining, or the sun is too intense, you'll find umbrellas bins at the tram station and outside each building. Pick them up and leave them as you need to, with no worry about losing anything.

Leave big stuff somewhere else. If it's larger than 11 x 17 x 8 inches, you'll have to check it at the entry pavilion.

When the Getty Museum is open late on a clear day, the sunsets are beautiful. Free evening concerts, performances, and lectures are also available.

If you have questions, look for someone wearing a blue vest. They're there to help you.

The facility is fully accessible, and assistive animals are welcome. Wheelchairs are available at the lower tram entrance. Assistive listening devices are provided but arrange ahead for sign language interpreters for public programs.

Getty Museum Architecture

The building at the top of the stairs is the Entrance Hall. The sculpture on the steps is called Air, designed by artist Aristide Maillol.

The fact is that the Getty Center's architect Richard Meier did such an outstanding job of creating a public space that people get surprised. They go to the Getty thinking they're going to a museum with works of art on the inside. What they find instead is a work of art with a museum inside.

It's an interesting concept, the idea that an outdoor space can be a thoroughly satisfying artistic experience. The only way you'll know who's right is to go there yourself. If you want to see the architecture, this is what you need to know.

Designing the Getty Center

Getty Center architect Richard Meier has been called "the ultimate voice of twentieth-century modernism." Meier took a few basic materials: metal, stone, and glass. Working with a billion-dollar budget that has been called “the commission of the century,” he combined them to create a work of architecture that can excite visitors as much as the art collection inside does.

The Getty Center site sits more than 800 feet above sea level, towering above the city of Los Angeles. A 0.75-mile-long tramway whisks visitors to the top of the hill, elevating them from everyday experience. The museum includes four exhibit pavilions and a visitor center, which form the hub of an eleven-building complex.

The entire complex is based on a 30-inch-square whose horizontal lines span every structure and unify them. On some buildings, those shapes bend around curves, and an occasional rectangle or other geometric element mixes in. It all forms a public space that's one of Southern California's most inviting.

The building stone is travertine, imported from Bagni di Tivoli, Italy, the same source as the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, and St. Peter's Basilica colonnade. A guillotine-like cutting process exposed fossils long buried inside the stone, their delicacy a stark contrast to the violence of the process that revealed them. The best 24 of these are set as "feature" stones scattered about the site, waiting to delight those who find them. One of the most fantastic ones is on the arrival plaza wall, across from the tram station.

You can  learn more about the Getty Center's design on their website . You may also enjoy  reading more about it on Richard Meier & Partners website , where you can see architectural drawings and photographs.

Learning More About the Getty Center Architecture

Docents lead daily architecture tours which make it easy to learn more about Meier's architecture. They also offer tours of the gardens, which are an integral part of the outdoor experience. These tours are a must for anyone who is even remotely interested in architecture, to learn more about the architect's techniques and ideas.

If you miss the tour or want to explore on your own, you can pick up the Architecture and Gardens map and brochure at the information desk.

You may also enjoy the book The Getty Center (Architecture in Detail) written by Michale Brawne and published by Phaidon Press.

Getty Museum Collection

The Getty Museum Los Angeles displays mostly pre-twentieth century works of art by artists such as Rembrandt and Van Gogh. The Getty holdings also include an impressive collection of antiquities, displayed at the  Getty Villa  in Malibu. The most famous holding at the Getty Museum Los Angeles may be Van Gogh's  Irises , which the museum purchased in 1990.

Each gallery has computer-controlled louvers near the ceiling that limit the amount of natural light that comes into the gallery. Coupled with a system of cool and warm artificial light, the system facilitates viewing the paintings in the same natural light in which they were painted.

Seeing the Getty Museum Los Angeles Collections

The extensive collection of the Getty Museum Los Angeles is housed in five separate buildings, named simply by their location (east, west, etc.) and organized chronologically. In each building, the ground floor is dedicated to sculpture, decorative arts and the like, with paintings upstairs.

• North Building: Items from before 1600 including illuminated manuscripts
• East and South Buildings: 1600 to 1800
• West Building: After 1800, including the Van Gogh  Irises  and photography collection
• Research Institute: Changing exhibitions

To learn more about what you're seeing, check the daily schedule when you arrive for gallery talks and docent tours, or rent a GettyGuide audio tour (highly recommended). In the sculpture garden, you can use your cell phone to get a free audio tour, or just pick up an explanatory brochure at the information desk.

More About the Getty Museum Los Angeles Collections

To read more about the Getty Museum Los Angeles collections, you may want to browse the  online GettyGuide  or buy The J. Paul Getty Museum Handbook of the Collections

Sculpture Terrace

Featuring pieces donated by Fran and Ray Stark, a collection so big that this one space can't hold it all.

Stairwell at Night

Betsy Malloy Photography

Some say the East and North Buildings have open, airy qualities similar to those created by the Bauhaus movement in 1920s. This simple stairwell becomes a work of modern art when lit up at night.

Ancient Urn, Modern Form

The water starts flowing on the plaza above, runs down a long trough and trickles into this recessed area before running down the hill. 

The Gardens

These entwined curves of azaleas are made of 400 individual plants. They form the centerpiece of the Central Garden.

The Getty Center buildings and gardens cover 24 acres and require a crew of full-time gardeners to keep them looking beautiful. Besides the usual landscaping, trees, blooming flowers and the like, the Getty Center also includes a central garden that's almost as much a work of art as it is a garden in the traditional sense.

Getty Museum Landscape Gardens

The formal landscaping, designed by Laurie Olin, complements and enhances Richard Meier's architectural design, providing a balance between human-made and the natural. Its color scheme is primarily lavender and white, perhaps not coincidentally the colors of the museum's prized painting, Van Gogh's  Irises . The purple-flowering jacaranda trees in the small courtyard in front of the auditorium are especially pretty when they bloom in June.

The Getty Center site sits more than 800 feet above the surrounding city, providing panoramic views. To the east are city landscapes; to the south, the cactus garden's architectural shapes and stark silhouettes punctuate the city views of the South Bay and Palos Verdes Peninsula. To the west is the Pacific Ocean, which needs little adornment. At the north promontory, the landscaping blends into the hillside surroundings and the resident herd of mule deer sometimes appear if visitors are quiet enough.

Getty Museum Central Garden

The  piece de resistance  of the Getty Museum's gardens is the 134,000-square-foot Central Garden, conceived by artist Robert Irwin, who calls it "a sculpture in the form of a garden aspiring to be art."

Gardeners work year-round to tend more than 300 plants in Irwin's ever-changing creation. The garden's design is precise in every detail. Rocks are placed to change water's sound as you walk down the zigzagging path. Colors blend so subtly that red and orange transform into white and pink within a few steps, leaving no memory of the transition.

Touring the Getty Museum Gardens

Docents lead daily  tours  of the gardens.

If you want to tour on your own, pick up the Architecture and Gardens brochure in the visitor center. The suggested route for a self-guided tour of the Central Garden starts to the right as you approach the main building and proceeds along its side, down the zigzag path to the Central Garden and up the hill toward the West Pavilion.

Resting on the Lawn

Resting on the lawns is common sight in the gardens - and the grass doesn't seem to mind.

View from South Promontory

From here, you can see what displaced all the original native plants. While you can sometimes see downtown Los Angeles from here, the more prominent area of taller buildings is Century City.

What You Need to Know About Visiting the Getty Museum

Everyone arrives at the Getty Center on the tram, from the parking structure at the bottom of the hill.

The museum is open most days, except some holidays. It's also sometimes open late, and concerts and other events may be held in the evening.  Check current hours .

There is no entry fee, but there is a parking charge, which is lower for evening events.

Allow two hours to half a day - or more for a visit. Anytime is fine to go, but it's especially beautiful on a clear evening.

Where Is the Getty Museum Located?

J. Paul Getty Museum 1200 Getty Center Drive Los Angeles, CA Getty Museum website

The Getty Museum is located just off I-405 north of I-10 and the Sunset Boulevard exit. If you're driving, exit I-405 at the Getty Center exit and follow the signs. If the freeway is jammed (which it frequently is), Sepulveda Blvd. parallels it and it may be faster.

Automobiles pay to park but bicycles park for free. Motorcycle parking is free for individuals, but groups of more than 15 have to pay for each space they use. Vehicles up to 12'6" can fit in the parking structure, but there is no parking for RVs, motor homes or limousines.

If you want to go by public transportation,  Metro Bus 761  stops at the center's main gate on Sepulveda Boulevard.

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Private Guided Tour of Getty Villa & Visit of Getty Center

• Bottled water
• Light snacks are provided.
• Parking Fees
• Onboard phone chargers and wifi
• Getty Villa Architecture and Gardens Tour
• Entry/Admission - The Getty Center
• Entry/Admission - The Getty Villa
• Hotel or AirBNB pickup from Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Westwood, Century City, Culver City, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Downtown Los Angeles, Marina del Rey, Century City, Koreantown, Los Angeles Airport (LAX), Hollywood, West Hollywood, Universal City, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Sherman Oaks, Venice Beach, Malibu, and Woodland Hills. Please contact us if you would like pickup outside of these areas.
• Los Angeles Intl Airport, 1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045
• Not wheelchair accessible
• Service animals allowed
• Near public transportation
• Infant seats available
• Confirmation will be received at time of booking
• Most travelers can participate
• This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
• This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
• For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
• You'll get picked up See departure details
• 1 The Getty Center Stop: 3 hours - Admission included See details
• 2 The Getty Villa Stop: 3 hours - Admission included See details
• 3 Santa Monica Pier Stop: 25 minutes See details
• You'll return to the starting point

• Hanna_Grace_El 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Perfect❤️ Amazing tour! Glenn was Amazing- very knowledgeable, kind and patient. We also booked with him a tour to downtown. Very comfortable car, great stops, perfect! Highly recommended! Thank you for wonderful days😊 Read more Written March 6, 2024
• 427rachaelp 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Great day in LA Glenn was great. He was able to customise our itinerary for the day, so we got to see what we wanted to do. Got to spend a couple of hours at a beautiful winery in Malibu instead of going to Santa Monica. highly recommend. Read more Written February 26, 2024
• chrislU3415YT 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Los Angeles Private Tour Excellent Private Tour Glenn was polite, punctual and very communicative before and during the trip. We went to all the main LA tourist hotspots and we had enough time to take lots of photos and to see the sights that we wanted to see. If your wondering who to book, then go with this tour, it was great. The car was clean, in the luxury bracket and really nice. Thanks Glenn ... loved it ! Read more Written December 15, 2023
• Chris H 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Private LA tour Glenn and his vehicle were great for a private tour around LA. He came up with a custom route for us as we'd seen or been to some of the landmarks before. We had a fantastic day out and never felt rushed at all. Thanks Glenn once again! Read more Written October 19, 2023
• Seaside17951390564 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles A must do guided tour of L.A. Glen is a very friendly guide who picked us up prompt for a 9.30 start in a clean comfortable SUV. Very impressed with his knowledge of all the places which we visited of which there were many. Owing to our limited time in L.A. this trip was excellent and allowed us to experience the region in a comfortable and pleasant way. Cannot praise Glen enough, a credit to the company. Read more Written October 14, 2023
• Julie S 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Great way to see LA! Glenn was fantastic and his tour was so fun. A super comfortable ride, great sights expertly timed out, fun facts about LA and music in the car to match! A perfect way to see all the LA sights in a day! Highly recommend. Read more Written August 9, 2023
• I111XF 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Reserve with EGC today...you won't regret it ! Spent a fantastic day with Glen seeing the sights of LA . Glen was very knowledgeable about all the places we visited and tailored the tour to meet our needs perfectly. From a prompt pick up in Santa Monica we visited Venice Beach , Beverley Hills,Rodeo Drive ,Farmers Market and the Grove, Griffith Observatory, Hollywood and walk of fame. We had just the right amount of time at each place. We even drove by Oppenheim Group Office from Selling Sunset which really pleased my son's girlfriend and I. Loved the accompanying california soundtrack playing quietly in the background and really appreciated Glen's safe driving . Read more Written April 4, 2023
• Coprgeorge 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Hurry and book this amazing tour Do not know what to say that has not already been said. Before booking this tour, I read all of the reviews. There is a reason ECG has 5 stars. My wife and I had the most amazing day touring LA with Glenn. He picked us up at LAX, showed us LA and then dropped us at our hotel in Long Beach. We saw so much and Glenn was so attentive. All I can say is stop thinking about it and book it before someone else beats you to it. Read more Written March 3, 2023
• mjjh72 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Fantastic! Fantastic! We loved every minute of this tour and would do it again in a heartbeat! Everything was taken care of for us we just had to enjoy the ride. Glenn was attentive and thought of everything! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! Read more Written September 24, 2022
• L1870KGtomc 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Great experience and private tour What a great day!!! Glenn was an awesome guide. We hit every attraction on our list. He had great background on various places. Easy set up and great communication! Must do private tour if you are in LA!!! Read more Written June 16, 2022
• NitishBheekhee 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles LA full day private tour Glenn was a great tour guide and we really couldn’t have asked for a better experience. We chose this particular tour because we wanted to see all the sites of LA, but our time was limited, and we didn’t fancy taking our chances on public transport across such a vast city. Although we wondered about the price of the tour when we first booked, it really did turn out to be excellent value for money, worth every penny and made our stay in LA so much more enjoyable. Being taken to Beverley Hills or Griffith Observatory by Glenn, who is knowledgeable, but never preachy, made the whole experience unforgettable. From film locations to cultural history, he knows it all and is happy to share the highlights with you. He’s an excellent driver, his car is probably the cleanest I’ve ever been in and he’s also a fantastic listener who happily tailored the timings of the tour to our requirements. On a more personal note, Glenn was excellent with our three-year-old son, who is a bundle of mischief and probably not anyone’s ideal passenger. He was endlessly patient, professional and engaging as he answered my son’s questions and insured that he had a great time also. Thank you, Glenn, for an amazing experience, if we’re ever back in LA we’ll be sure to get in touch. Read more Written May 17, 2022
• shanlal46 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles EGC Tours My wife and I were in Los Angeles on a charter trip to see a football game at the Rose Bowl. We had a free day on Friday and decided to take a tour of LA. Our travel agent booked a trip with EGC Tours and we were picked up in the morning by Glenn Cristobal in his Tesla. We were driven around LA and were shown everything we wanted to see. He gave concise commentaries and answered our questions. He even played appropriate music on his CD player. He asked us for a food preference and when I said Ethiopian, he took us to Little Ethiopia and dropped us off at his favorite place. We loved it. He was waiting outside when we finished and continued the tour. When he dropped us off at our hotel in the evening, we were a little tired but had a wonderful time. Read more Written November 14, 2021
• 26arielleh 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Best California Tour Glenn was the best tour guide ever!!! He was not strict on our schedule of what we will see and when we will see it. Yet, he still gave us a rough estimate of how much time we should spend at one location in order to see other attractions. Even if we wanted to spend longer at one location, take away a location, or add a location, we was able to do that. He was very knowledgeable about each of the areas we toured and some popular artifacts as well. He took us to super great spots to take pics in front of some popular locations in California. He provided light snacks and water which helped out a great deal. By the end of the tour, I felt I got the best experience to see the best parts of California in a day. Would recommended to everyone looking for a multi-inclusive tour of California! Read more Written August 27, 2021
• AlysiaCTN 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Perfect way to get an overview of LA! This was a fantastic tour! Glenn did a wonderful job tailoring our itinerary to meet our interests and limitations, getting us to all the places we wanted to go, and giving us plenty of time at each. He also did a great job at finding things my not-so-interested pre-teenager was excited about, like Little Tokyo and taking us to a dog park (she loves dogs) with a great view of the Hollywood sign for our sign pictures. He modified things so my mom, who has difficulty with walking long distances, could participate as much as possible as well. Thank you so much Glenn! Read more Written June 14, 2021
• jeanettemJ4032OV 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Highly recommend! Chris was fabulous. We thought we knew LA but he introduced us to new and interesting factoids. He is a wealth of information! Read more Written November 9, 2020

More to explore in Los Angeles

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Private Guided Tour of Getty Villa & Visit of Getty Center provided by EGC Tours

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Getty Center Southern California Day Trip

June 13, 2022 by DayTrippen

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The Getty Center is a fun day trip where anyone can find something to enjoy. The museum is located in Brentwood (Los Angeles), California, and features a collection of European paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Also featured are a group of 19th and 20th-century American and European photographs.

The Center is located on a 24-acre hilltop campus that is part of a larger 110-acre site in the Santa Monica Mountains, 900 feet above the 405 freeways. The surrounding areas encompass a fantastic and breathtaking 600 acres of pristine natural woodlands.

The Los Angeles skyline is visible from many points, and on a clear day, it is possible to see the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Plans were first announced in 1983, and Richard Meier was chosen to be the architect the following year.

After years of delays, construction began in 1989, with the Center finally opening its doors in December 1997. Building estimates stand at an astounding $1.3 billion. It’s an architectural marvel and worth a trip for any student.

A modernist blend (with an homage to Neutra and Wright) of concrete and steel; 1.2 million square feet of beige-colored travertine stone from Italy was split along its natural grain, revealing the texture of fossilized leaves, feathers, and branches.

Accenting the buildings are 40,000 off-white, enamel-clad aluminum panels. Light reflects off expansive sheets of glass and creates varying effects depending on the time of day. Numerous fountains provide calming sounds, with plenty of benches to sit and admire the surroundings.

When you first arrive, you enter through the main gate. From there, you go towards what appears to be a subway stop at the rear of the garage. It’s an automated three-car, cable-pulled tram that will take you on a scenic ride to the hilltop campus.

This is where your first glimpse of what’s to come as the ride ascends the 900-foot mountain and offers a view of the freeway below. Not for the faint of heart or those who fear heights.

As you first enter the campus, you will notice five pavilions; the North, East, South, And West and the Exhibitions Pavilion. The Pavilion is for traveling art collections and various Foundation artworks.

The permanent collection is displayed chronologically throughout the other four pavilions: the north houses the oldest art while the west houses the newest. The first-floor galleries house light-sensitive art, such as illuminated manuscripts, furniture, or photography, which rotate and which cannot be on permanent display.

The second floor is connected by a series of glass-enclosed bridges and open terraces, both offering views of the surrounding hillsides and central plaza. A tree-lined walkway descends to the main garden, completed in 1997 and is 134,000-square feet.

A stream of water crosses the walkway, through the plaza, and over a stone waterfall into a round pool. More than 500 varieties of plants are used with a constantly changing selection. The Getty Research Institute is a research library containing over 900,000 volumes of rare books, manuscripts, periodicals, artists’ notebooks, auction catalogs, and two million photographs of art and architecture.

Many informational campus tours are offered; the Garden Tour is a 45-minute trip through the Getty gardens. The Architecture Tour is a daily and lasts 45 minutes. The Collection Highlights Tour provides an overview of major works.

Exhibition Tour: The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme runs daily through September 12. Gérôme ranks among the most successful artists of the nineteenth century. His spectacular pictures made him one of France’s most honored painters.

The Family Room offers a fun introduction to art study with hands-on activities like mask and sculpture making and art treasure hunts. The programs are held throughout the year and are free.

The Sketching Gallery, Located on the upper level of the East Pavilion, allows you to sketch from original paintings and casts of sculptures from the Museum’s collection.

Visitors can cultivate their appreciation of the art on display with the Getty Guide, an interactive audio player system available at the Museum Entrance Hall and at several posts in the north, east, and south pavilions.

Researchers interested in studying the collection of photographs can arrange an appointment at the Photographs Study Room. Admission to Getty Center and its exhibitions is FREE.

Where is the Getty Center

The museum opens at 10 am every day but Monday, when it is closed. The museum closes at 5:30 pm every day. Most major holidays are observed.

Group tours are encouraged. If yours has 15 or more, please call ahead to arrange parking and a guide.  The Getty Center may not be suitable for children under 12.

Parking is available at the center for a fee per car. For the eco-conscious, public transportation makes it easy to reach the Getty. Metro Rapid Line 761 stops at the main gate on Sepulveda Boulevard. Address: 1200 Getty Center Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90049 Closed on Mondays.

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Getty Villa Pacific Palisades

December 4, 2017 at

I’ll stay from Dec12 till Dec17,2017 in Anaheim Marriott• I’m intrested in art and want to visit the valuable art museums in LA like Getty Center, Getty Villa , LACMA, MOCA , Broad Museum and in Pasadena PMCA and Norton Simon Museum• I don’t like rent a Car • How can I manage it? Could you help me by planning my vacation in Southern California• I say thanks in advance •

Southern California without a car is not an easy task. We have hundreds of things to do in SoCal on our site but unless you stick to the major attractions public transportation is limited.

You can send us an email at [email protected] for itinerary suggestions.

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• PERFORMANCES

Garden Tour

GETTY CENTER

Museum Entrance Hall

This is a past event

Designed and conceived by artist Robert Irwin, the Central Garden is the focus of this 45-minute tour. Tours are first come, first served. Please sign up 15 minutes before the tour at the Information Desk. Meet the docent outside at the bench near the Museum's front entrance.

Contact us!

9 am–5 pm, 7 days a week

(310) 440-7300

VisitorServices @getty.edu

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Getty Villa

Exploring the Herb Garden at the Getty Villa

Based upon the original garden at the villa dei papiri in herculaneum, the garden grows many varieties of herbs.

Kim Sadler | June 2, 2010 | 1 min read

A beautiful day and the blooming of spring brought me out of my stuffy cubicle and into the Herb Garden at the Getty Villa. As the sun streamed onto my shoulders, I inhaled the fresh sent of mixed herbs and flowers—basil and thyme, a hint of lavender, a sweet note of chamomile.

Like nearly everything at the Villa, this herb garden was based upon the original garden at the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum. The herb garden, or kitchen garden, was typical of wealthy households in ancient Rome. Plants grown in this garden were used for medicinal, culinary, aromatic, and religious purposes. The Villa’s Herb Garden today contains many varieties of the herbs we all know and love: mint, basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram, and sage. But it also showcases plants that were used in ancient times for surprising purposes.

For example, costmary is available today, but rarely used. In ancient Roman times, the leaf of this plant was often used as a sedative tea. Later on in the Middle Ages, the leaf of this plant was typically used as a bookmark. (Side fact: this botanical bookmark was primarily used in the Bible, the most widely distributed book at the time, thereby earning it the nickname “Bible Leaf”). It was especially useful for this not only because of its long, flat leaf, but also because of  its properties as a silverfish repellent and an instant “pick-me-up” when its minty smell was inhaled—so you wouldn’t fall asleep during those long sermons.

Another plant used in ancient times was lamb’s ear . This plant produces unbelievably soft leaves (hence the name), which ancient Mediterranean peoples used as a bandage for wounds.

The Herb Garden also boasts a number of fruit trees, including apple, pomegranate, apricot, fig, quince, and pear, along with several grape vines that are sure to be plentiful in years to come (right now they are still young and small).

The next time you’re at the Villa, make sure to stop by the Herb Garden, located immediately west of the large Outer Peristyle. Often missed because it can’t be seen from many Villa locations, this garden is a wonderfully peaceful stop on your tour.

• Getty Villa

About The Author

I'm the marketing project coordinator for the Getty. What does that mean? Well, I help develop strategies that aim to encourage people to visit the Getty Center and the Getty Villa. We're trying to wash away the "castle-on-the-hill" image that comes with being a huge museum—on a hill! The Getty is a great place to come spend the morning, the afternoon, or the whole day! When I'm not up here on this hill, I enjoy hiking all different hills, listening to music, going to concerts, and watching the final season of LOST .

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21 Comments

Can you tell me what cultivar of lavander is planted under the white arbor in the sculpture garden near the tram.

Thank you, Vickie Long

There is a patch of green-onion like plants at the Getty herb garden. But unlike other green onion plants with flower like seed pods, the plants grow several small bulbs at the tips of the leaves. I’ve always thought bulbs divide slightly below ground. Never have I seen leaves sprout bulbs at their tips. Can sometime please tell me what kind of plant/herb this is? It would make a addition to my own herb garden.

Thanks, Lee

They are Egyptian Walking onions. When the bulbs mature on the stem tops, they dry out and bend over with the weight of the bulbs. The news bulbs sprout and so, the common name, walking onions. They grow year after year and the green stems can be harvested and used like green onions all year long.

Hi Kim, I really appreciate your post and love the Herb garden! I was there again this past weekend and asked an employee if the herbs, fruits or other produce were being used for cooking at all. I was extremely surprised to learn they are not. Would the getty be interested at all to start a program like this? I know plenty of food banks, restaurants that use local produce, or even public schools that could really use the amazing stuff grown at the villa!

Best, Roanne

The lavender is from a seed packet from a Santa Barbara nursery/florist. Except for the garden with the succulents I planted all the plants at the Getty and the Getty Villa in the early 1960s. My idea for the tram and the parking garages at the Getty and the Getty Villa. Also, the areas for offices and other non-vistor areas at both were added on to the design by me, me feeding the architect about those items, plus the research/education building in back at the Getty. After getting to get to know me Mr. Getty pretty much let me add on what I wanted, including much of the glass doors and separation panels. When the the original floor marble started to arrive at the Getty cracked I choose replacements from local Los Angeles area stock wherever I could find some. Not quite as good a color scheme as originally planned but good considering the alternative. I chose the original marble at the Los Angeles County Museum Of Art and the Santa Barbara Museum Of Art and much of the Norton-Simon and some other California museums, myself raising the money to pay for the work-no charge by myself on any museum work.

Hi—I joyfully attending a plein air drawing opportunity at the Villa & was sketching in the herbal garden. I was fascinated by the artichoke-like plant and wondered if someone might be able to identify it. Can’t wait to attempt to plant my own….thank you so much, Kim

Thank you for this informative site! Do you happen to know the varieties of ornamental oreganos and their sources?

Thank you in advance.

Hi Diane, The three varieties of oregano in the garden are: Dittany of Crete ( Origanum dictamnus ) from Crete, Sweet marjoram ( Origanum majoran a) from southwestern Europe and Turkey, and classic oregano ( Origanum vulgare ) from the eastern Mediterranean.

We took a garden tour. It was wonderful. I have a question: What is the name of the plant that the docent referred to, several times, as the longevity plant on the outer gardens? Thank you, Diana

I spoke with Michael DeHart, our expert on all things garden, and he let me know that the longevity plant is also known as Acanthus mollis. The common name is bear’s breeches. Great plant!

What are the palm trees in the Herb garden – the garden is wonderful even in the winter and we loved the palms – would like to know their name

The palm trees are date palms. The botanical name is Phoenix dactylifera. Glad you enjoyed the Herb Garden!

As we entered the beautiful herb garden I noticed two small trees across from one another with gorgeous orange/red flowers. Were they fruit trees? Were they pomegranate trees? Can you give me their name and would it be possible to purchase one from a nursery you might suggest.

I again consulted our Grounds Supervisor Michael Dehart to find out the answer to your question, and great job on identifying the tree yourself:

The trees described is, indeed, a pomegranate. It is the common one that was available 40 years ago when it was planted in the Herb Garden. It is, however, a double flowering type. Most Southern California nurseries would be able to find this tree.

Hi, Can you please tell me what the Lavender plants are called that are planted in the Herb Garden of the Villa? I love how the flowers are on the ends of long stems and appear to be floating above the plant. I would love to get some of these and plant them in my garden at home.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge Sincerely KaCee

Thanks for answering so many questions!

I believe several years ago I saw a creeping thyme in the herb gardens there and took a picture of the varietal name… unfortunately I was just looking for the photo and can’t find it. could you help me?

thanks, Theo

Michael DeHart, our grounds and gardens supervisory, always has the answers – I am a mere conduit. At any rate, you are looking for: Thymus serpyllum. Hope it can work for you in your garden!

Recently had a tour of the herb garden! thank you so much. It was really a wonderful experience and I am now going to plant some of these herbs!

I absolutely love the Getty’s garden in summer. I recently started cultivating fig trees because aside of all their ornamental leaves they have a delicious food. I was wondering that it would be a great to ask if when the the museum’s fig tree is prune if it’s possible to get some of the cutting to have a small piece of the museum growing in my backyard.

Sorry, we cannot offer a cutting! But we are so happy you enjoyed the garden. Fig trees are available in many different fruit types, harvest seasons, and heights, and you may wish to consider your specific location and what would be best. Figs can be black, brown, dwarf, or very tall! Fortunately, in Southern California they are strong growers and can be rewarding trees for many years.

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