The Getty Center and Getty Villa

I love visiting museums. Whenever I travel to a new city, it's one of the first things I scramble to see; I think so much can be discovered about a city through its art and architecture that I feel it's a good place to start. I particularly love the Museu Picasso in Barcelona and when I lived in London, I paid frequent visits to the National Portrait Gallery. Living in Los Angeles, I have my share of cool museums to check out, and I've had the good fortune of visiting both the Getty Villa in Malibu and the Getty Center in Brentwood in recent months. Both offer stunning works of art and consistently feature interesting exhibits--the Getty Center's Bernini exhibit is just exquisite.

Equally impressive as the artwork are the grounds of both museums. The Villa's classic proportions, as seen in the photos directly above and below, are something out of a Henry James novel.


Meanwhile, the Getty Center's modern white architecture provides a wonderfully dramatic backdrop against the Western art that lives within its walls (as seen below).