DAY TRIP J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM

A product of the largest known arts endowment in history, the J. Paul Getty Museum opened to the public in 1997. The museum sits atop a hill in Brentwood and on a clear day offers great views of Los Angeles and beyond. Despite the enormous collection of fine art inside of the buildings, the main attraction lies outside of its walls. Visitors can spend hours walking through the museum’s gardens admiring the stunning architecture.

Admission

No reservations are required for the free visits. Parking is $8 in the structure; street parking is restricted. A tram takes people up the scenic hill to the museum. The structure and the tram are wheelchair-accessible.

Hours

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Jan. 1, July 4, Thanksgiving and Christmas

Getting there

Take the 405 North 12 miles north of downtown Los Angeles and get off at the Getty Center Drive exit. Signs will lead you from there to the parking structure. From Costa Mesa, the drive is about an hour without traffic.

Art Collection

With five exhibition pavilions housing an overwhelming amount of art, a first-time visitor would be wise to pick up a map at the front desk and prioritize. The museum’s permanent collection contains pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture and decorative arts as well as 19th- and 20th-century American and European photos. Temporary exhibits come through the galleries. Visitors wanting some guidance are welcomed to take the free, one-hour Collection Highlights Tour offered 11 a.m. daily starting at the Museum Information Desk. The tour is offered in English and Spanish on weekends.

Architecture

The Getty Museum is well-known equally for its incredible architecture and its prolific art collection. From selected points on the grounds, visitors can see the streets of Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

The buildings are made from travertine, a beige-colored, textured stone quarried just outside of Rome, which catches sunlight and illuminates the courtyards with a warm, honeyed light. Large glass walls on the buildings’ exteriors allow sunlight to illuminate many of the galleries, and paintings on the upper level are lit with only filtered sunlight.

As with the art exhibits, the incredible architecture of the complex can be enjoyed with or without the help of a tour guide. Architectural tours of the center are at 10:15 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, meeting in front of the Museum Entrance Hall. The tours take 30-45 minutes.

The Gardens

Colorful plants and trees line the outdoor sections, but the centerpiece is the 134,000-square-foot garden designed by artist Robert Irwin. The central garden surrounds a pool of water with sculpted hedges of azaleas floating in a maze-like pattern. Seasonal gardens border the pool and showcase foliage from various locales. New plants are added frequently, and the designer’s motto is “always changing, never twice the same.”

Pamphlets at the information desk give visitors information on the gardens, and free guided tours meet in the central garden at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. every day. With more than 500 varieties of flowers and plants represented, the garden could be its own museum.

— Alan Blank