Photo: Wikimedia Commons — see author and license on the file page.

Getty Villa

Museum
In Los Angeles, California
4.6 mi from Route 66

The Getty Villa is an art museum and educational center in Pacific Palisades, CA, at the eastern end of the Malibu coast, about 4.6 miles off the old road. It belongs to the J. Paul Getty Museum and is given over to the art and cultures of ancient Etruria, Greece and Rome, and it is free to visit. Route 66 ends at the ocean, and this makes a fitting stop along that shore.

What is Getty Villa?

The Villa stands on the Pacific Coast Highway, California State Route 1, and its buildings follow a neo-Pompeian style that suits the ancient art inside. Its collection counts some 44,000 Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities, reaching from about 6500 BC up to AD 400. Two of the best-known pieces are the Victorious Youth and the Lansdowne Heracles, and the sheer range of the rest means a visit can move across thousands of years in a few rooms.

The Villa is also a place of study. It is home to a joint UCLA and Getty graduate program that trains conservators of archaeological and ethnographic objects, the same kinds of pieces shown in the galleries.

History of Getty Villa

The Villa's story begins in 1954, and it carries the name of J. Paul Getty. Today it is one of the Getty museum's two campuses, and the property is owned by the J. Paul Getty Trust.

Visiting Getty Villa: tips

The Villa is about 4.6 miles from the old road, right on the coast highway. It is free to visit, with restrooms, parking and wheelchair access on site, and it is suitable for children. Allow two hours or more to see the galleries and grounds. A coffee kiosk is on the grounds.

Temescal Canyon is about 1.8 miles away, and Topanga State Park is about 3.6 miles off, so a morning of ancient art can be followed by an afternoon in the canyons and hills behind the coast.

Practical info

Address: 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Phone: +1 310-440-7300
Website: getty.edu/visit/villa
Hours: Mon, Wed–Sun 10–5
On site & nearby

Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix

Where to eat near Getty Villa

All diners →

Diner & restaurant
Barney's Beanery
West Hollywood, CA · 11.3 mi from Getty Villa
A West Hollywood roadhouse on Santa Monica Boulevard since 1927, its walls covered in old license plates.
Diner & restaurant
Carney's
West Hollywood, CA · 11.6 mi from Getty Villa
Hot dogs and burgers served from yellow Union Pacific rail cars above the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.
Diner & restaurant
Formosa Cafe
West Hollywood, CA · 12.9 mi from Getty Villa
A West Hollywood restaurant and bar from 1925, long a hangout for film stars from the studio lot nearby.

On the map

Full map

Getty Villa with the 6 closest stops and places to eat (fork and knife). Tap a marker for details.

Tap a dot to see that stop here.

Stops near Getty Villa

All of California

Topanga Ranch Motel

Malibu, California · 5.4 mi from Route 66

Site of a 1929 bungalow motel at Topanga Beach, built by William Randolph Hearst and burned in 2025.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

1.1 mi from Getty Villa

Temescal Canyon, Los Angeles County

Los Angeles, California · 2.7 mi from Route 66

A canyon in Pacific Palisades that climbs into the Santa Monica Mountains from near the coast.

Nature & parksPhoto credit

1.8 mi from Getty Villa

Topanga State Park

Los Angeles, California · 6.0 mi from Route 66

An 11,000-acre Santa Monica Mountains state park with 36 miles of trails, all inside Los Angeles.

Nature & parksPhoto credit

3.6 mi from Getty Villa

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica, California · 0.8 mi from Route 66

Santa Monica's 1909 pier on the Pacific, where the End of the Trail sign marks Route 66's symbolic finish.

Art & landmarksPhoto credit

4.6 mi from Getty Villa

Heal the Bay Aquarium

Santa Monica, California · 0.6 mi from Route 66

A marine aquarium tucked beneath the Santa Monica Pier, at the symbolic end of Route 66.

Nature & parksPhoto credit

4.6 mi from Getty Villa

Edgemar

Santa Monica, California · 0.8 mi from Route 66

A Frank Gehry shopping complex on Santa Monica's Main Street, built from old warehouses and new forms.

MuseumPhoto credit

5.4 mi from Getty Villa

Questions about Getty Villa

What kind of art is at the Getty Villa?

Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities, about 44,000 of them, dating from roughly 6500 BC to AD 400.

Is the Getty Villa free?

Yes, the Getty Villa is free to visit.

Is the Getty Villa the same as the Getty Center?

No. They are separate campuses that both belong to the J. Paul Getty Museum; of the two, the Villa in Pacific Palisades is the one devoted to ancient Etruscan, Greek and Roman art.

Own or run Getty Villa? Send us a photo or a correction.

See it on the map