The Getty Villa is located in Malibu, California, on Pacific Coast Highway. It was modeled after Villa dei Papiri, which was a Roman country-house in Herculaneum. It was destroyed in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted, and to this day, remains mostly un-excavated. Getty wanted his Malibu villa to give guests a sense of what living in a villa during Roman times was truly like. Many of the plants and vegetation on the property today are those found in ancient Rome, which further adds to the ambiance.
In all, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the villa. The grounds are tranquil and relaxing, and there are over 1,200 works of art available to view. You can easily spend an entire day touring the gardens and the antiquities. There's also a gift shop and cafe on the grounds. Admission to the villa is free, but parking is $15 per car and must be reserved prior to arriving. More information on planning a visit can be found here.
Things to Do:
1. Getty Guides: Self-guided tour with ipods & headphones that can be checked out upon arrival. I did this and loved it-- it was so easy. You simply input the number of the work of art you are viewing on the ipod and it will give you an audio summary of what you are viewing.
2. Exhibitions: A list of the current ones can be found here.
3. Gardens: There are four gardens to explore.
4. Tours: Tours are free and there are many to choose from (e.g. Garden tour, Architecture tour, Collections Highlights, etc). A list of current tours can be found here.
Below are some of the pictures I took of the gardens, galleries, works of art, and structures. Enjoy!
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