Los Angeles highlight
The Getty Center
A hilltop museum campus in Brentwood with free admission, Robert Irwin's ever-changing Central Garden, and extensive art collections spanning multiple centuries and cultures.
The Getty Center opened to the public in December 1997 on a Brentwood hilltop following a design by architect Richard Meier. The museum was constructed as the centerpiece of The J. Paul Getty Trust, with the site purchased in 1982 and construction beginning in 1989. The campus features travertine-clad modernist architecture, sky-lit galleries, and commanding views across Los Angeles toward the ocean.
At the heart of the campus is the 134,000-square-foot Central Garden created by California artist Robert Irwin. A meandering walkway crosses a stream and descends to a plaza where bougainvillea climbs through umbrella-like trellises; the stream cascades over a stone waterfall into a reflecting pool holding a maze of azaleas. Irwin's line 'Always changing, never twice the same' is carved into a stepping stone. Admission to the museum and gardens is free with a timed-entry reservation, though parking requires a fee.
The Getty represents a destination families return to at different life stages: a first visit as children, a school field trip, a weekend with visiting relatives, an adult returning to see newly acquired works. Each life stage brings different insurance needs, and revisiting coverage options at key transitions keeps protection aligned with what matters most to your household.