The Getty Center was just named one of the best museums in the U.S., and it’s in good company
Six months after it reopened following a brief closure due to the Palisades Fire, one of Angelenos’ most cherished L.A. landmarks has bounced back higher than its Brentwood hilltop. WorldAtlas has just named the Getty Center one of the 12 best museums in the country, joining the ranks of NYC’s the Met, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Citing its status as not only a world-class research institute and museum, but a free, immaculately designed destination offering dazzling views of Los Angeles, this outpost of the J. Paul Getty Museum—Pacific Palisades’ Getty Villa being the other branch—rightfully gets the national recognition it deserves.
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Not only does it house an unmatched collection—spanning media from medieval to modern by Van Gogh, Manet and Monet, Gentileschi, Renoir, Munch, Rembrandt, Stieglitz, Caillebotte, Degas, Fragonard, Turner and Blake—but it can only be accessed by a few-minute tram ride that affords the Center’s million-plus yearly visitors a chance to take in views of Los Angeles, and the deer frolicking below.
There are also five gorgeous gardens: a sculpture garden with works by modern masters Elisabeth Frink and Isamu Noguchi; two sky-high grounds with sculptures by Magritte, Calder, Miró and Hepworth; a cactus garden with panoramic views; and the Robert Irwin-designed Central Garden, bursting with manicured hedges, streams and over 500 varieties