- Hours: Closed Mondays and January 1, July 4, Thanksgiving and December 25, open late Friday and Saturday
- Reservations: Not required
- Cost: No entry fee but there is a parking charge
- Location: West Los Angeles off I-405, directions below
- How Long: Allow two hours to half a day or more
- Best Time to Visit: Any time, but especially beautiful on a clear evening
- See It Now: Photo Tour
The J. Paul Getty Museum started from the oil millionaire's private collection and was housed for many years in a a Roman-style villa in Malibu, which is now the Getty Villa.
Today's Getty Museum, designed by architect Richard Meier, 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 just to show part of it, and the complex includes nine buildings in total.
Lear More About the: Architecture | Collection | Gardens
Getty Museum Tips
- If you have limited time to see the Getty Museum, pick up the brochure "What to See" at the information desk.
- 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 large face-shaped sculpture in the center of the entry plaza is a good spot.
- Dining options include a full service dining room (reservations suggested), cafeteria-style dining room and an outdoor cafe serving coffee and snacks. There's also a picnic area at the lower tram station.
- We like to pick up something to drink from a courtyard refreshment cart and take it to the gardens, but just in case the policy has changed, ask before you try it.
- 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 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. Wheelchairs and strollers are available at the lower tram entrance. Assistive listening devices are provided, but arrange ahead for sign language interpreters. Braille brochures are also available.
Getty Museum With Kids
You'll find this place very family-friendly, with a special Family Room, Gallery Games, storytelling and weekend family workshops. The GettyGuide also features special stops for children, and one-hour children's tours are given daily in summer and weekends the rest of the year.
Pick up a Family Fun brochure at the Family cart in the Courtyard. It's full of ideas.
No food is allowed in galleries, but there's an exception for baby bottles.
Getty Museum Review
For me and my friends, the architecture here is a work of art so entrancing that, in more than a dozen visits, we've have 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.
Others may disagree. You can see what other people just like you think about it, then bookmark this page and after you've been there, come back and tell us what you think.
What do you think of the Getty Museum???
- 0 = Yuck! Just say no to this flea-bitten hole of a tourist trap
- 1 = So-So More fun than a night in jail, but you might enjoy a good nap more
- 2 = OK Some people find it interesting, but I didn't
- 3 = Good Go if you have time, but it's not a big deal if you miss it
- 4 = Great I really liked it, and I think you will, too
- 5 = Awesome! It's a must-see sight that I recommend to everyone
Getting to the Getty Museum
J. Paul Getty Museum
1200 Getty Center Drive
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 440-7330
Getty Museum website
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 motorcycles and bicycles park for free. Vehicles up to 12'6" can fit in the parking structure and the nearby parking lot can accommodate any size.
By public transportation, take Metro Bus 761 stops at the center's main gate on Sepulveda Boulevard.
More: Getty Museum Architecture | Collection | Gardens
