Our day started by taking the Metro Red and Blue lines from near our hotel at Pershing Square to Downtown Santa Monica. After a quick coffee stop we then boarded Bus 134 from Santa Monica Pier to The Getty Villa. Conveniently, there is a bus stop just outside the villa entrance at Pacific Coast Highway / Coastline Drive.
We followed signs to the entrance kiosk where our tickets were inspected and then just had to wait a couple of minutes for a complimentary shuttle car to take us up the steep hill to the villa. Visitors arriving on foot must use the shuttle service for safety as there isn’t a footpath along the driveway.
Perched on a hilltop above the Pacific Ocean just west of Los Angeles, The Getty Villa is one of the most beautiful museums in the United States and is free to visit. Timed entrance tickets need to be booked in advance and I would suggest doing this early especially if visiting at weekends.
The Getty Villa is just as much about its setting as the artwork it contains. When the billionaire oil tycoon J. Paul Getty decided to open a museum to house his impressive art collection of antiquities he modelled it after an ancient Roman villa.
The 64 acre estate’s buildings have exquisite painted ceilings, Roman columns and mosaic floors whilst the manicured gardens surrounding the villa comprise statues, colonnades, fountains and reflecting pools making the entire setting enchanting.
Leading off from the Inner Peristyle are a series of small rooms filled with exhibits containing Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities. Bronze doors open up to the Outer Peristyle, an open air extravaganza of bronze statues surrounding a central narrow pool.
A more recent addition is the amphitheatre where concerts and talks take place during the summer months.
Before leaving, we called into the cafe/ restaurant and gift shop and then returned down the long drive to the exit in one of the museum’s shuttle vehicles.
We were very fortunate as it had kept fine whilst we were exploring the villa but just as we arrived at the bus stop to return to Santa Monica it poured down. We got absolutely soaked as there wasn’t any cover with the heavy rain lashing down on us whilst waiting what seemed like ages for a bus to arrive.
Finally on board, we travelled along the Pacific Highway back to Santa Monica Pier (entrance free). This iconic pier juts out into the Pacific Ocean and being sunny southern California it usually offers breathtaking views. Sadly during our visit it was quite a different story as we almost got blown off our feet in the driving rain.
The pier was constructed in 1909 and is now a National Historical Landmark with its nostalgia of bygone days. Unusually for a pier, parking is available on its deck as the shore end of the structure is extremely wide.
The pier boasts an amusement park comprising twelve rides including a historic merry-go-round and Ferris wheel. Alongside the rides there are the usual seaside kiosks offering beach goods, ice cream and hot dogs etc.
We were absolutely freezing and when we spotted a board outside The Albright Cafe offering bowls of clam chowder, we were in there in a flash and soon warming up with bread bowls filled with steaming hot soup.
Thankfully, by the time we were ready to leave the storm had passed through so we walked back along the pier to take better photos and then set off along the beachfront to Venice Beach which took us about 45 minutes.
Venice Beach differs from Santa Monica’s art-deco atmosphere with its rows of typical seaside cafes and souvenir shops along its boardwalk selling T shirts and beach apparel alongside a selection of arts and crafts. It was very quiet during our visit but I can imagine it to be packed with sun worshippers and street entertainers in high season.
A few blocks inland from the beach lie the Venice canals which were developed to emulate those in Venice, Italy complete with gondolas and gondoliers. However, the Venice of California never really materialised but the canals still exist with their attractive small humped back bridges crossing over them.
We very much enjoyed our canal side stroll which offered a totally different vibe to the more gaudy beachfront with its desirable canal side properties.
Leaving Venice behind, we caught a bus back to Santa Monica where we stopped for a cup of coffee whilst waiting for a bus to take us to the affluent city suburb of Beverly Hills which lies 12 miles west of Downtown Los Angeles.
Here we walked along the famous Rodeo Drive with its many designer stores and parked cars to match. In one short block we spotted a yellow Rolls-Royce, a blue Maserati and a bright red Ferrari. The city is home to many celebrities as it has been an enclave for the rich and famous since the 1920’s.
The city turned 100 in 2014 and to celebrate this momentous occasion the lily pond in front of the iconic Beverly Hills sign in Beverly Gardens Park was restored to its former glory.
It’s easy to find as it’s located one block east of Rodeo Drive at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard. After viewing the sign we called into the Whole Foods supermarket for a few bits and pieces before returning to Downtown LA on Bus 720 taking 45 minutes.
If you have enjoyed reading this post you may also like:
Visiting Liberty and Ellis Islands, New York City
Riding the Roosevelt Tramway and walking the High Line, New York City
Love Travelling Blog 
Leave a comment