Getty Inspired

One of Los Angeles’s most famous landmarks is home to a floating garden that’s ahhh-mazeing. Head to the Getty Center, take the complimentary tram, and walk straight up the sculpture-lined stairs of the arrival plaza. Just don’t follow the crowds into the entrance hall. Instead, head to Inspiration Point, an incredible vantage of the Getty’s lush gardens, backed by Santa Monica and the Pacific Ocean. This is the epitome of beauty, especially at sunset. Next, head down the stairs, a set of Getty-style switchbacks traversing a natural ravine through a variety of trees, including rare London plane trees.

This descends into a plaza dominated by bougainvillea arbors where the stream evolves into a cascading stone waterfall, the gorgeous centerpiece of the 134,000-square-foot garden. And it’s here you’ll witness the floating Kurume azalea hedge maze. Don’t wade in (only the ducks get to use this maze). Take the time to circle the pool, where specialty gardens offer hundreds of different native and exotic plants, including roses, colorful crape myrtles, and heliotropes. Before you leave, take a traditional tumble down the Central Garden’s lawn hill or find the cactus garden at the southernmost tip, with views of downtown’s skyscrapers.

To get to the Getty parking lot and tram station, take the Getty Center Dr. exit off the I-405. Follow the signs onto Sepulveda Blvd., then take a right onto Getty Center Dr., leading you to the lot ($25 parking, $15 after 3:00 p.m., $10 after 6 p.m. on Saturdays and for evening events). The Getty is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., closing late on Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. No dogs.