The new Getty museum is simply stunning. On my most recent trip to asia, a friend and I were laid over in LA for fourteen hours, and took advantage of the opportunity to visit the new Getty museum. I'm extremely glad we did. Moreover, admittance to the museum is FREE.

The Getty is fairly accessible from the airport; it's a matter of taking a bus from LAX to Santa Monica, and then changing to a bus that goes almost directly to the Getty. As an added bonus, this gives you the opportunity to stop briefly in Santa Monica. For explicit directions from LAX, use one of the Transit Kiosks available down in the Taxi areas -- the computers in the kiosks will print out very effective directions. I had no idea where I was going, but the directions the computer gave me turned out to be completely accurate and very useful.

Parking at the Getty is restricted -- I strongly recommend that you consider using public transit, or a tour. Parking costs $5 per car (reasonable).

The Getty is on a hill, with all parking down at the base. To get to the top, you ride an automated train that takes about two minutes or so to get to the top. The ride itself is actually nice, and when you reach the top and step outside, you'll feel like you've walked into the future. I'm serious -- the first thing I said was "This is what people will be like in the future".

The Getty collection is quite large, so here are a few highlights of the "items" on permanent display:

1) a great selection of antique european furniture, arranged in entire authentic rooms. Creating an entire room of the same period really helps you get a grip on the overall aesthetic. If you're a sucker for parquet flooring and gilt, you'll love this.

2) the outdoor garden. This was great -- it's a weird interlocking spiral pattern that sweeps down to a water garden, with a stream running down from the top. This whole area is very pleasant, with a wide array of interesting plants.

3) the piazza. OK, so it's part of the Getty architecture itself. But the central area is very nice, with running water, shaded areas, and a reasonable cafe cart. It's nice to just sit here admiring the raw unpolished marble blocks that make up most of the Getty.

4) the views. OK, so I'm cheating again, but the views are great (if the pollution doesn't get in the way). The major "viewpoints" have small etched maps on the guardrails, so that you can understand what you're looking at. This is handy for figuring out where Bel Air is, relative to Brentwood, etc.

5) ancient sculpture. Apparently JP Getty was something of a sculpture nut, because this collection is amazing. There's a remarkably wide array of Chaldean works, which I've normally only seen in ones and twos -- here there's a room full of it.

Well, I've gone on a bit long here. But the upshot is this: the Getty is a world-class museum, it's got world-class architecture and landscaping, it's got heroic views, and the whole thing is FREE! If you're in LA, you must go. For additional information, maps, timetables and the like, the museum has a web site at www.getty.edu and it's worth a look.



Recommended: Yes