The Getty Center.

Perched on a Brentwood hilltop, the Getty Center is as much an architectural statement as it is a museum. Architect Richard Meier’s postmodern campus is clad in 1.2 million square feet of honey-colored Italian travertine, designed to glow against the California sun. A hovertrain whisks visitors from the base of the Santa Monica Mountains to a complex where European masterworks—including pieces by Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Monet—are housed across four distinct pavilions. Beyond the galleries, the experience is defined by Robert Irwin’s Central Garden, a 134,000-square-foot living sculpture of flora and water. While the world-class photography and decorative arts collections are the primary draw, the panoramic views stretching from the Pacific to downtown L.A. make the campus a popular site for wandering. Admission is free, reinforcing its role as a democratic, multi-use cultural park.