Getty Center

The Getty Center is a hilltop museum above the 405, free to enter, with a tram ride up from the garage and views from the Pacific to the San Gabriel Mountains. Timing matters right now. The whole campus closes on March 15, 2027 for renovations, with reopening planned for spring 2028, and parts of it are already shut.

What's Worth Seeing

Start outside. Robert Irwin's Central Garden covers 134,000 square feet, with a walkway that crosses a stream and winds down to a pool holding a maze of azaleas. It's planted to change with the seasons, and his line "Always changing, never twice the same" is carved into a stepping stone, so look for it. There's a cactus garden with city views between the East and West Pavilions, and sculpture on the terraces by Calder, Miro, Hepworth and Magritte.

Look down, too. The campus uses 1.2 million square feet of travertine from Bagni di Tivoli near Rome, and fossilized leaves, feathers and branches show up in the tiles where the stone was split along its grain.

Inside, plan around the work. The North Pavilion, the South Pavilion and the plaza level of the East Pavilion are closed for renovation, which takes out the French decorative arts and paneled rooms for now. The Getty lists Van Gogh's Irises in the West Pavilion and Rembrandt Laughing in the East. Check the art on view page before you go, since displays change.

How to Get There

Admission is free, but you need a timed-entry reservation. Have it saved on your phone before you park, because there's no cell reception or Wi-Fi in the garage.

Some GPS devices give wrong directions. The only public entrance is at N Sepulveda Blvd and Getty Center Dr, so use that intersection. Lane work on the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass can slow the trip. There's a parking fee and the garage takes cards only. A tram takes you from the garage to the top of the hill.

Metro bus line 761 stops at the entrance, and bikes park free. The parking and transportation page has the rates and details.

Nearby

• The Getty Villa is about 13 miles west in Pacific Palisades, with Greek and Roman antiquities. It's also free with a timed reservation, and Getty says it will keep offering programs there during the Center's closure.
• The Hammer Museum is free too, at Westwood and Wilshire boulevards, three blocks east of the 405's Wilshire exit.