Visiting the Getty Center in LA: Art, Gardens, and Kids

2024-02-20 · Original (Korean)

After a quick coffee, my first sightseeing stop in the US was the Getty Center (or The Getty). It's a free art museum if you make a reservation, which my friend booked in advance.

Getty Center Reservation Link (might not open due to website updates)

If you aren't great with English, you can easily find guides on other blogs to help you book. It's easier than you'd think. I mentioned it's free, but they do charge for parking. It's currently $25, and drops to $15 after 3 PM. It's $10 for evening events or after 6 PM on Saturdays, but that probably doesn't mean much for tourists. If you plan to visit both the Getty Center and the Getty Villa on the same day, make sure to get a coupon at your first stop. That makes parking at your second destination free.

I thought about writing an explanation of the Getty family here, but since it's covered in more detail over at the Getty Villa, I'll skip it for now.

After parking and heading to the entrance, you have to go through a bag and body search that rivals an airport before you can go in. Pregnant women and anyone with a pacemaker should be careful.

Once you pass the entrance, you can hop right on the tram, but you can also choose to walk up instead. I heard it takes about 15 to 20 minutes, so we decided to walk to get a little stroll in, but the incline makes it a bit tough. Maybe that's why no one else was walking up. Still, the gardens are so beautifully maintained that walking up with just my friend made it feel like our own private garden.

Some of the famous artists with works on display at the Getty Center include Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, Rembrandt, Cézanne, Millet, Monet, and Munch. I was so excited to actually see works by artists I vaguely remembered from middle and high school exams. But I was also a bit worried: "Will I really be able to look at these with my friend's kids?" Going to an art museum with a 2-year-old and a 7-year-old... I figured I'd barely get to see anything.

Walking up to the Getty Center, the panoramic view of downtown LA comes into sight. It was a cloudy day, but I was overwhelmed to take in the city of Los Angeles—the backdrop of so many movies and TV shows—with my own two eyes. I was finally in LA.

Once inside the Getty Center, there were surprisingly a lot of kids and strollers. Naturally, there are guards in every room who will immediately stop you if you get even a little too close to the artwork. Even so, seeing way more infants and toddlers than I expected made it seem a bit risky, but no one really seemed to mind. There were kids crying, throwing tantrums, and screaming, so parents worrying about whether they can take their kids to an art museum can rest easy and bring them along.

One thing you need to bring: earphones. The Getty has its own app. Unlike other museums that charge for audio guides, they provide a free app so everyone can listen on their own. They even have it in Korean, so I highly recommend listening. There are so many pieces, and since I don't know much about art, the Getty app was incredibly helpful.

Apple GettyGuide App

Android GettyGuide App

Below are some of the pieces I photographed at the Getty Center. Since I'm an art novice, I mostly captured things I had heard of or found unique. I probably missed some must-see masterpieces, and I might have taken pictures of things that aren't that important. Keep that in mind and just casually scroll through without overthinking it. You can find much more detailed images on The Getty's website, which I recommend checking out yourself. To make them easy to find, I wrote the titles and artists exactly as they appear on the Getty website. If there's no info, it means I got home and had absolutely no memory of what it was.

The Getty Collection Search

Rembrandt

Monet

Manet

Cézanne

Van Gogh

Since this is a blog for my travel records, these are just quick snapshots. Seeing them in person brings up so many emotions with each piece, making you think, "I'm finally seeing a work like this." It's a place I highly recommend you must visit if you go to LA.

The Getty Center also has beautiful gardens. While the indoors feature art made by humans, the outdoors are beautifully landscaped like an exhibition of art made by nature. The sculptures you spot here and there outside are also famous works, so I recommend taking a quiet stroll and enjoying the gardens. Time flies when you spend it like this, so I don't recommend trying to see both the Getty Center and the Villa in a single day. It's best to take your time and slowly explore both places. Unless you're on a super rushed trip where you just snap photos and run, I recommend dedicating a full day to it.