getty villa audio tour

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Audio that illuminates art, j. paul getty trust.

• 4.3 • 35 Ratings

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Try Mood Journeys, a new offering that allows you to experience hand-picked destinations and activities based on a mood you’d like to explore. Now at both Getty sites! With Getty’s official app, you’ll discover unique perspectives on art and enjoy an immersive experience of exhibitions and outdoor spaces. Let GettyGuide® be your personal tour guide during your visit. Listen to original, thematic audio tours that offer intimate experiences of the Getty’s two locations, and of the can’t-miss art, with commentary from diverse voices. At the Getty Center, stroll the one-of-a-kind Central Garden while hearing from a museum curator, landscape architect, mindfulness expert, and gardeners about this ever-changing space. Or try Mood Journeys, a feature that allows visitors to navigate hand-picked destinations and activities, according to a feeling you’d like to explore. At the Getty Villa, be transported 2,000 years into the past to experience the sounds and stories of life in an ancient Roman country house. You’ll find all the information you need to plan your day at the Getty Center or Getty Villa, including events and exhibitions currently on view, and where to eat and shop. App features include: • Audio tours and playlists of exhibitions, art, architecture, and gardens • “Explore on your own” feature for on-demand audio about hundreds of works of art • “Mood Journeys” feature, to inspire visitors to experience Getty locations and works of art in a unique way, with short activities designed to explore moods or feelings • Exhibitions and events happening today • Location-aware map to navigate Getty sites • Dining and shopping information • List and map of where to eat and shop • 10 language options for key content in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese

Version 3.3.4

Updates in version 3.3.4: • We fixed replay of audio embedded in “Mood Journeys” points of interest content that accompanies the map view • Better performance and bug housekeeping Thanks for using GettyGuide!

Ratings and Reviews

Helps me a lot at getty

Not useful for me

I didn’t end up using this at all. I assumed it would have an interactive map that could guide me to particular artists or types of art. It is really just designed for people who want to take tours or want to put in the audio codes of a particular piece they have already found. The paper map at the information desk was much more useful.

Next to useless

You have to manually enter the number of every single piece of art, no option to just play the gallery you are in. You also can’t search for specific works, figure out where you are or where you are trying to go, and the app never seemed to know where I was even with precise location enabled. For the best funded museum in the country it’s a really useless waste of battery life

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Making the Getty Villa’s New Audio Guide

Bringing the stories of ancient art to life in your ears.

Chloe Medghalchi | April 5, 2018 | 8 min read

How do you make the old feel new? This was the initial question I asked myself when producer Tim Halbur and I were tasked with developing the Getty Villa’s new interpretive audio guide. The next two questions I asked were: How can we inspire a vital connection to objects that are more than 2,000 years old? And, how can we innovate the museum audio tour?

The reinstallation of the Getty Villa’s permanent collection provided the perfect opportunity to rethink and freshen up related audio guide content. We created more than 130 new stops (two-minute audio bites) that accompany 60% of objects on display. We also produced a Highlights Tour, which features 12 select objects translated into nine languages.

With my original question in mind, here are six things I think about while writing an audio tour, as well some specific insights into how we developed the new Villa audio guide.

1. Tell a Great Story

Although the primary objective of an audio tour is to educate, it is equally imperative to surprise, delight, and engage audiences. Instead of presenting facts and figures, we go beyond what can be read on labels, which are often limited by space and word count, to share stories that visitors can connect with both intellectually and emotionally.

We collaborate with curators to select objects that have engaging stories to tell, and identify experts to interview who can tell those stories through unique perspectives. Narratives begin to unfold as I research the subject matter and conduct interviews. The audio stop is a tapestry of hand-picked soundbites woven into a story that I write, which is then performed by a narrator and enhanced by music and sound effects for a dynamic listening experience.

2. Create a More Conversational Tone

To me, podcasts provide one of the best examples of audible storytelling, often striking a balance of being informative and inviting through a conversational tone. Tim and I are big fans of Radiolab. A hallmark of the program is the seamless back-and-forth between the narrator and interviewee: they finish one another’s sentences, interject, and sometimes talk over one another. We’ve adopted the same approach.

The narrator’s voice (performed from my script) provides the glue that connects select soundbites as well as drives the story from a perspective of curiosity. Writing audio tours, I don’t have the pleasure of interacting with museum guests, yet I want to address questions that a visitor might ask. The narrator therefore asks these questions, makes observations, and sets up ideas that are then answered or elaborated on by experts. The narrator also interjects to “translate” expertise; for example, defining art historical terms such as “repoussé” or ancient words like “maenad,” which might be unfamiliar to listeners. This approach invites the listener in on the conversation.

3. Diversify Voices

We recognize that our audience is diverse and multicultural, so we want to reflect diversity in our cast of voices. For the new audio tour, we worked with five narrators of which three are female and half are people of color. In keeping with our conversational approach, we leaned away from narrators who sounded “actory” and instead sought voices that sound natural and informal.

To further diversify our voices, we brought in experts beyond the Getty who provide unique and unexpected ways of seeing, including a classics professor from UCLA, a glass artist from the Corning Museum of Glass, an author on Greek love and homosexuality, and a Los Angeles–based contemporary artist and illustrator.

Green Fish-Shaped Flask with Pinched Decoration, AD 200s, Roman. Glass, 3 1/8 x 8 1/16 x 7/8 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003.439. Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program

FEMALE NARRATOR: This whimsical glass fish was both decorative and practical. Fish sauce, called “garum,” was a popular condiment in ancient Rome, and it was likely that the shape of this vessel reflected what was inside.

(soft ambient string music)

ERIC MEEK: The fish flask that we see here has wonderful additions of glass along the sides to form stripes, along the back to form the pinched dorsal fin, eyes, and also a gill.

NARRATOR: Erik Meek is a glass artist and studio manager at the Corning Museum of Glass.

MEEK: One of the wonderful things about being a glassmaker and looking at these objects that were created 2,000 years ago is to have the thought in your mind that the technique and the process has changed very little. Even today, the toolkit that glassmakers use is very small. We have a series of shears and pinchers and tweezers and things that allow us to shape a great variety of different types of works. And it was the same in Roman times.

NARRATOR: To free-blow glass, an artist uses his or her own breath to inflate molten glass from the end of a blowpipe. The basic shape created is either a tube or a bubble.

MEEK: And I think it’s great having that bubble as your initial format, and then being able to play with it, add additions and to create form. If you press it flat, add some decorations, you’ll wind up with something that looks like a fish.

NARRATOR: Free-blowing glass revolutionized glassmaking. Vessels were thinner, they cooled faster, and they required less material, making glass objects more affordable and widely available. It also invited craftsmen to create unique shapes and forms, such as this fish.

(music ends)

4. Contemporize

When I first began my job as an interpretive content writer, the sage advice I received was to write for the ear and imagine how a friend—albeit a very knowledgeable friend—would share their favorite aspects of the art on view as you experience the museum together. A friend speaks warmly and casually; they use contemporary language.

This way of speaking not only bridges the gap between the language of the expert and that of the novice or enthusiast but is key to making the ancient world feel relatable to a modern audience. In the narration, I integrate pop-culture references (such as Michael Jordan), comparisons to timeless entertainment (like drinking games), and even use colloquialisms and slang, such as the word “bling” to describe the ancient jewelry worn by a woman in her mummy portrait . Modern references can convey an idea more vividly—and often more clearly—than formal explanations.

5. Immerse with Authentic Sounds

It’s not enough to tell visitors about the ancient world; it’s important to immerse them in it. Tim worked with musician and ethnomusicologist Robert Catalano to record and mix 40 pieces of ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian music, using authentic instruments including a lyre, aulos, and krotala. A master at audio editing, Tim also employed sound effects to create an immersive sonic ecosphere, recreating ancient battles, chariot races, banquets, and a sculptor’s workshop.

The richness of the sound production was especially important for our Highlights Tour, which could only feature one voice to make it easy to translate into many languages. With the absence of multiple voices, we relied exclusively on the narrator’s storytelling power and Tim’s wondrous soundscapes to provide an exciting, affecting experience.

Head of Julia Titi, about A.D. 90, Roman. Marble with polychromy, 13 × 8 7/8 × 9 5/8 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 58.AA.1. Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program

FEMALE NARRATOR: Imagine that you are a sculptor in an ancient Roman workshop in the first century A.D. Before you is a slab of white marble, and it is your job to transform this block of stone into a portrait. The subject? The daughter of the Roman emperor Titus, Julia Titi.

(sound effect: chipping sound of metal on stone)

Using your hammer and chisel, you begin to chip away at the marble. Slowly, a head begins to take shape. You carve a pair of large, wide eyes, thin arched brows, and a set of lips that curl up ever so slightly at the corners. ( sound effect: gritty sanding of marble)  Using abrasive materials, you smooth the marble into soft cheeks and a rounded chin.

Julia’s smooth skin is offset by a high mound of corkscrew curls that are carved using a hand drill. ( sound effect: hand drill spinning into stone)  Much like starting a fire, you spin a large spindle with a drill point back and forth into the marble. The pressure and friction allow for deep, shadowy channels, creating the illusion of real voluminous hair.

(rhythmic lyre music)

Women of the imperial court, like Julia Titi, wore elaborate hairdos, which set the trend for the women of Rome. The more complicated, the better, as it was a sign of wealth and sophistication. But people weren’t just talking about her hair. Julia Titi was the subject of many rumors, most of them salacious.

(music ends, sound effect of whispering)

After her father and husband died, Julia became the mistress to her uncle, Domitian––her father’s successor and a married man. This liaison was condemned by her contemporaries, and was even documented by historians and poets. [lyre music and sound effects end, sympathetic string music ] Rumor even had it that she was pregnant with Domitian’s child, but was forced to terminate the pregnancy.

This juicy gossip is the kind of thing that could ruin someone’s image. But you, the sculptor, must ignore it because this is an official, imperial portrait, meant to reflect her best qualities. As a finishing touch, you hollow out squares and circles on her diadem, and fit the settings with gemstones. Carefully, you drill tiny holes in her ears and neck to attach earrings and a necklace. The final effect is a portrait that is radiant, refined, and pristine, unlike Julia Titi’s reputation.

(music fades)

6. Have Fun!

The joy of writing these audio stops is getting to share stories that are surprising, sentimental, humorous, shocking, and maybe even a little gross. Here’s one of my favorite stops, discussing an oil jar shaped like a boxer’s head and the unexpected contents it might have held.

Oil Jar in the Form of a Boxer’s Head, A.D. 1–100, Greco-Roman. Lead, 3 3/8 × 5 5/16 × 1 1/4 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007.14. Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program

(sound effect: ding of boxing bell, cheering crowd)

FEMALE NARRATOR: This guy looks like he’s been in a few fights.

(sound effect ends, lyre music)

CARRIE TOVAR: He is grimacing; he is missing teeth; his nose has been broken.

NARRATOR: This boxer’s right cheek is bulbous and swollen. You can imagine exactly where he’s been hit. Antiquities scholar Carrie Tovar:

TOVAR: He is wearing a leather cap, and leather caps were sometimes worn by athletes as protective wear. The tuft of hair in the back of the head or sometimes worn on the crown of the head is called a cyrus , and a cyrus is an identifier of a professional athlete. The two little tufts of hair on the sides form loops that would’ve held a handle, and it would have had a lid, and so it would have been easily carried.

NARRATOR: Though highly sculptural, this bronze container was equally functional. This jar likely contained oil, a commodity in Ancient Rome, but what type of oil? Curator of Antiquities Kenneth Lapatin: (music ends) KENNETH LAPATIN: One thing that’s interesting and also kind of gross is in the ancient world, after athletic events, athletes would cleanse themselves by scraping off the sweat, and dirt, and dust of the arena with oil. And this would be some form of goop, which to us sounds pretty disgusting. But the goop from the victors was highly valuable–it was their essence–and that could be sold for very high prices to aspiring athletes. So, you could buy the essence of the equivalent of Michael Jordan or Muhammed Ali , and smear this on yourself to gain some of their great proficiency. And something like that could have been held in this vessel, and so the boxer’s face is almost like a label of sorts. We don’t know for sure.

If you’re planning a visit to the Getty Villa , you can pick up a multimedia player free of charge at the GettyGuide Desk just inside the main entrance to the museum.

My hope is that through these refreshed audio tours we have reawakened the ancient world through sound and story, and that through an exploration of the old, the visitor walks away having experienced something new and unexpected.

• Ancient Art
• Getty Museum collection
• Getty Villa
• Getty Villa reinstallation
• J. Paul Getty Museum

About The Author

Chloe medghalchi.

I’m an interpretive content writer for the Getty, specializing in audio guides. I’m always ready to share a good story or a fun fact!

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• May 15, 2023

The Getty Villa, located near California’s Malibu coast, offers visitors a rare glimpse of the ancient world once found in parts of southern Europe. The museum is modeled after a grand, first-century Roman villa, Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum, which was buried by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It holds one of the world’s most prominent collections of antiquities dedicated to the arts and cultures of Greece, Rome and Etruria. With 64 acres situated on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the museum’s location is ideal for enjoying its beautifully manicured gardens and charming outdoor spaces. From architecture to art, the Getty Villa provides an immersive museum-going experience and is a must-see spot while visiting Los Angeles. When travel isn’t possible, check out the Getty Villa online with access to free images, publications, audio tours, videos, podcasts and more.

Virtual Tour of the Getty Villa

About the Getty Villa In 1968, businessman and philanthropist J. Paul Getty (1892–1976) began plans to build a Roman-style villa near Malibu to serve as a museum. Six years later, the new museum opened to the public and quickly became a cultural landmark. The Getty Villa houses the J. Paul Getty Museum’s extensive collection of antiquities, including 44,000+ objects of which roughly 1,300 are on view. The museum has 27 galleries organized by time period from the Neolithic Era to the late Roman Empire (ca. 6,500 BC to 400 AD).

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Tablinum at the Getty Villa Photo: Elon Schoenholz © 2018 J. Paul Getty Trust

© 2018 J. Paul Getty Trust

Highlights from the permanent collection include Neolithic clay figurines dating back to the sixth millennium BC, marble vessels and figurines from the Cycladic Islands and Cyprus dating back to the Bronze Age and a group of frescoes from the Villa of Numerius Popidius Florus at Boscoreale near Pompeii dating back to the first century AD. Two galleries are devoted to Roman sculpture and feature a number of life-size and larger Roman works, including the  Statue of a Female Figure , a life-size bronze eagle, several portrait busts and three cornice blocks from a first-century BC building in Rome.

The Etruscan gallery features sculptures, vases, bronze statuettes and carved amber. Additional galleries are devoted to Athenian pottery, a special strength of the collection, and Greek works from southern Italy and Sicily, including a remarkable terracotta group from 350–300 BC. The Getty’s collection of Roman gold and silver vessels, figurines and jewelry are displayed in the Roman Treasury, along with engraved gems and Roman gold coins on loan from private collections.

The Getty Villa underwent a major upgrade and reinstallation of its antiquities collection in 2017/18. The gallery space was increased by 3,000 square feet to accommodate a number of large objects previously kept in storage. The reinstallation featured a newly renovated gallery on the first floor dedicated to the age of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World (336–30 BC). The centerpiece of this installation is the  Victorious Youth , also known as the  Getty Bronze . Other notable objects of the same period and style accompany the statue, including a marble head of Alexander the Great.

The museum’s grounds offer four gardens that blend together 300+ plant varieties, Roman architecture and open-air spaces. The largest garden, Outer Peristyle, is a replica of the one at the Villa dei Papiri with a long pool at the center. The landscaping features plants typically found near the Mediterranean, such as apricot trees, grapevines and lavender. Visitors can stroll around the fragrant gardens while enjoying mosaic floors and colorful trompe l’oeil walls. The grounds also include a dramatic 450-seat outdoor classical theater perfect for hosting open-air performances.

Photo by Tahnee L. Cracchiola © 2018 J. Paul Getty Trust

Photo: Elon Schoenholz © 2018 J. Paul Getty Trust

Outer Peristyle at the Getty Villa Photo: Elon Schoenholz © 2018 J. Paul Getty Trust

Outdoor Theater at the Getty Villa Photo: Elon Schoenholz © 2018 J. Paul Getty Trust

Virtual Visit From publications to audio tours, the Getty Center and Getty Villa offer plenty of online learning opportunities. Check out the museums’ highlights webpage  for learning guides and the  online library catalog for art history resources, including thousands of digitized works with detailed descriptions. The museums’ online offerings also include 350+ Getty Publications and 165,000+ art history books from libraries around the world. Many of the Getty Library’s rare books are accessible online featuring nearly 200 titles on alchemy and dozens of examples of some of the earliest photo books ever printed.

For more interactive programs, check out the Getty’s  YouTube channels  for access to hundreds of art history lectures, art-making activities and artist interviews. Popular videos include tutorials on how illuminated manuscripts are made, how tapestries are woven, how ancient Egyptians were mummified and how ancient sculptures are restored. The Getty’s  two podcasts ,  Art & Ideas  and  Recording Artists: Radical Women , provide even more opportunities to learn about art and culture.

Contact Information Address: 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 Website:  http://www.getty.edu Email:  [email protected] Phone: (310) 440-7300

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The Getty Villa’s Top Ten Things to See and Do

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The Getty Villa lies halfway to Malibu atop a cliff, with magnificent views of the Pacific. The recreation of a Roman villa is filled with Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities. Parking should be reserved before a visit; be sure to allow yourselves time to explore the grounds and enjoy a delicious meal at the cafe.  Visit the website  for directions on parking reservations (easy to secure) and to time your visit in time for tours you might want to join. The Family Room has wonderful  art activities for children  and, like the Getty Center, the Art Detective Cards and audio tours are geared for kids.

1. Audio Tours:  One of the best ways to get the most out of your visit to the Getty Villa is by renting out a free audio guide. They include in-depth information about the majority of art housed at the Villa, as well as a map of the grounds and history of the museum. Thematic Family Audio Tours are also available, with a focus on topics like gods, heroes, and athletes that cater to kids’ interests.  Pick up your audio guide just beyond the information desk; you’ll see it after you make a right before the impulvium , or pool in the middle of the atrium.

2. Temple of Herakles:  Keep heading clockwise through the rooms around the atrium until you reach the Temple of Herakles, known as the most important area to J. Paul Getty himself. The story of young Herakles is quite an impressive one, and is told in part by the marble sculpture itself. The victorious Herakles holds a lion skin in his right hand, as a trophy he acquired after killing the Lion of Nimea, which had been terrorizing a village. To get a more involved story of Herakles, continue in to the next room and read the panels on the far right hand wall.

3. Family Forum:  As you continue to make your way around the atrium, be sure to stop in the “Foro Familiar”. It’s the perfect spot for kids to apply the kinds of designs they find around the Villa. Your children can become part of a vase decoration themselves by donning some of the costume pieces provided and striking a pose behind a screen that dominates the room. If they prefer the fine arts to the performing arts, have them decorate a plastic vase with a dry-erase marker. Or, they can have fun making rubbings by placing a piece of paper over the designs etched into one of the tables, and (as the name suggests) rubbing a crayon over it.

4. Reflecting Pool:  Just beyond the Family Forum, this iconic pool dominates the Outer Peristyle and may be the highlight of your entire visit. The scene could have been taken directly from a painting, complete with sparkling blue water, blooming trees and flowers, and picturesque bronze sculptures dotting the landscape. Take your time—especially in this section of the museum—to walk around the entire perimeter and through the center to take in all the garden has to offer. If you’re feeling particularly relaxed, grab a bench and spend as much time as you please just taking in the scenery.The garden makes it wonderfully easy to forget about anything else you may have on your mind.

5. ArtQuest:  The ArtQuest program at the Getty Villa provides a range of fun, educational, kid-friendly activities for you and your family to enjoy together. Activities differ per session, but always involve a craft table set up for hands-on learning. ArtQuest activities are held on Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

6. The Café:  If your tummy starts growling during your visit, head to the café located on the entrance level. It’s the perfect casual spot to satisfy your stomach with delicious Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, which complement the Villa’s architecture perfectly. Menu items are seasonal, and use plenty of fresh local ingredients. Offerings include dishes like a generous Mediterranean platter, salads, sandwiches, some pastas, special options for the bambini , and alcoholic beverages for parents. No reservations are required, but if you feel like having “Tea by the Sea” on a Thursday or Saturday at 1:00 p.m., making reservations is recommended.

7. Art Odyssey : On Saturdays from 11-11:30 a.m., the Villa gives you and your family the opportunity to explore the monsters, gods and goddesses, and famous heroes of antiquity in a more interactive fashion than your traditional museum tour. Led by a Villa educator, the Art Odyssey program incorporates fun family teamwork to create a very informative and educational museum experience. Be sure to sign up 15 minutes before the tour starts, and meet your group at the Tour Meeting Place.

8. Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theatre:  Outdoor views from the café look out on to the Villa’s gorgeous outdoor amphitheater. Classical dramas are performed here during the summer, and it is an excellent location to soak up some sunshine even when performances aren’t in progress.

9. Auditorium:  Just across from the store lies the Getty Villa’s indoor auditorium. Upon entering, you’ll be met by an impressive Roman mosaic floor portraying Medusa, which has now been mounted on the wall. The auditorium is the site for a variety of performances and lectures throughout the year, so be sure to check out the Villa’s event calendar before your trip to find out if there’s a performance in particular that might be of interest to your family.

10. Museum Store:  At the bottom of the amphitheater and to the right is the merchandise hub of the Villa. Items include everything from fun postcards to fine jewelry and how-to children’s books. We were particularly fond of the “Build Your Own Kaleidoscope” handbook. If you don’t feel like splurging on some of the pricier publications, in-depth information on classical antiquity can also be found in the Reading Room, located on the upper level of the museum among the changing exhibitions.

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Guide To The Getty Villa In Los Angeles, What To See + Tips

Looking for a guide to the Getty Villa? Look no further! The Getty Villa is a fantastic one-of-a-kind museum that brings ancient art and architecture to life. I loved my experience.

The villa is a pristine recreation of a seaside Roman estate housing billionaire oilman J. Paul Getty’s collection of Greco-Roman antiquities.

Through the museum’s exhibits, you can track the history of the ancient world from 3,000 B.C. to the late Roman Empire in 400 A.D.

It seems a half mad idea to recreate an ancient villa to house your art. But Getty, with his obsession for antiquity and a Caesarian attitude, must have enjoyed the challenge of creating something so unique.

In this Getty Villa guide, you’ll find a history and overview of the collection, a list of must see masterpieces, and tips for visiting.

History Of The Getty Villa

J. Paul Getty was an American billionaire, oil tycoon, and art enthusiast. He came from money and power.

With a loan from his father, he invested in oil wells in the Middle East and became “the richest man in the history of the world.”

But Getty didn’t just have oil fever. He started seriously collecting art in the 1930s.

He was a passionate and lifelong collector who though collecting art was “one of the most exhilarating and satisfying of all human endeavors.”

Getty traveled widely throughout his life and made a habit of visiting archaeological sites. Trips to Italy left him with a taste for bronze and marble sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome.

But Getty didn’t want to just admire them in private.

He wanted to share his art with the world and let others travel back in time. By doing so, he hoped to “further the diffusion of artistic and general knowledge.”

In the early 1970s, Getty set about building a museum to house his collection on his 64 acre Malibu ranch. He modeled it on a luxury Roman villa from 40 B.C., the Villa dei Papiri excavated near Herculaneum and Pompeii.

READ : Ultimate Guide To Pompeii

The villa was owned by the wealthy Roman consul Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonius. He was the father-in-law of Julius Caesar, a Roman whom Getty greatly admired.

The villa’s inhabitants lived surrounded by sculpture. It was a way to demonstrate their wealth and culture and earn an air of prestige.

In 79 A.D., the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroyed the villa and it was only re-discovered in 1750. Archaeologists uncovered underground tunnels, sculptures, frescos, stone pavements, and other artifacts.

In particular, 1,100 charred papyrus scrolls were discovered in the villa’s library, giving the villa its nickname the “Villa of Paper.”

The scrolls including the writings of Philodemos of Gadara, a philospher who was the patron of Caesonius. This links the villa to Caesonius.

Modern excavations of the villa have uncovered frescos on walls and geometric patterned mosaic and terrazzo floors. But the vast majority of it remains buried.

The team that Getty hired to recreate the ancient villa included architects, artisans, and archaeologists.

Getty reimagined the villa as an archeological site. Walls and a concrete courtyard below the villa create the sense of looking down into the dig pit.

Much of the Villa dei Papiri remains un-excavated and its elevations are mostly still a mystery. Therefore, architects based many of the Getty Villa’s architectural and landscaping details on other ancient Roman houses in the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae.

After a 9 year $275 million renovation, the Getty Villa opened to the public in 2006, becoming the home of the Getty Center’s Antiquities Collection. In 2015-18, further renovations were completed. The result is simply stunning.

Getty famously said: “Go to Pompeii and Herculaneum and see Roman villas the way they are now [in ruins] — then go to Malibu and see the way they were in ancient times.”

The Getty Villa can draw mixed reactions. Some art critics deride it for blurring the line between actual antiquities and a faux reproduced villa-environment.

This seems a silly criticism to me, as the difference between the two is readily apparent. The “atmosphere” of being in a reimagined Roman villa doesn’t detract from the academic quality of the art in any way. If anything, it enlivens the experience, just as Getty intended.

Overview Of The Getty Villa

The Getty Center is an immersive experience. It’s as much about architecture as art. Even if the museum didn’t have any art, it would be worth the price of admission just to see the reimagined Roman villa.

But the art is spectacular. You’ll almost feel like you’re in Rome or Pompeii.

There are 33 galleries on two levels that are organized thematically. 5 galleries are dedicated to temporary exhibits.

There are 1,000 antiquities on display, including sculpture, busts, pottery, paintings, jewelry, mosaics, and frescos. If you’re a history buff, you could spend hours perusing these galleries. 

The first floor showcases the Greek, Etruscan, and Persian collections.  In addition, there’s an area explaining Getty’s love for collecting artifacts from antiquity as well as his life and legacy. The second floor is exclusively dedicated to Roman art.

You can check out this online map to get oriented before your visit.

Guide To The Getty Villa: What To See

Here are 15+ of the top masterpieces and spaces you’ll see on a tour of the Getty Villa, in roughly the order you’ll encounter them on a visit.

You first enter into the atrium through a colonnaded facade and a floor paved in white marble.

Entry squares like this were common in the 2nd century B.C. They were the heart of a Roman house and designed for strolling and conversation.

Ionic half columns support a coffered ceiling with an open skylight, set over a square pool. The skylight has a coral frieze with lion’s head drain spouts. The geometric floor is copied from the House of the Faun in Pompeii.

2. Inner Peristyle

The inner peristyle is a pleasing and intimate green space, and was also common in villas from the 2nd century B.C. Inspired by the House of the Silver Wedding in Pompeii, the space is defined by 36 Ionic columns surrounding a garden. At each corner is a white marble fountain.

The colonnade is surrounded by walls decorated in the First Pompeian Style. The columns were modeled after the House of Colored Capitals in Pompeii. The ceiling was imitates the Street of Tombs in Pompeii

The peristyle is home to some of the Chiurazzi Bronzes . The originals are in the Archeological Museum of Naples and reproductions are on display at the villa.

The bronze statues are of mythological women who seem to be drawing water from a stream. They’re set in marble bases around the pool.

Legend holds that the King of Argos ordered his 50 daughters to kill their Egyptian husbands on their wedding night. One daughter defied her father’s mandate. Her grateful father-in-law exempted her from her sisters’ agonizing fate — eternal water haulage.

3. Athenian Vases

The Getty Villa houses a large collection of Athenian vases, which in ancient times were used for drinking, serving, and storage.

They were initially made with fired clay and the “black figure technique.” That technique depicted figures in glossy black, with finely incised details. Sometimes red and white colors were added.

By 500 B.C., new techniques had developed. Artisans used red figures, gilding, and further refinements of shape.

They decorated the vases with deeds of the gods and heroes, scenes from domestic life, or sporting events like chariot races. Artists signed some of the vases, so we know their identities.

4. Hall of Colored Marbles & Crouching Venus

This “status symbol” gallery is a luxurious space. The hall gets its name from the 14 different varieties of marble used.

It showcases the types of marble that would have adorned the houses of wealthy Romans in antiquity. Marble was used for floors, walls, and fountains.

The marbles in this room were inspired by homes in Pompeii and Herculaneum. The hall’s floor is cut from ancient salvaged pieces.

In the center of the room is the Crouching Venus sculpture. It’s the first major sculpture you’ll see at the villa and one of Getty’s earliest acquisitions. It’s a larger-than-life-size statue of the goddess, kneeling down to bathe with her son Cupid.

In the 18th century, a well known restorer added arms to Venus and arms and legs to Cupid. These were all removed before Getty bought the statue.

5. Basilica & Venus Statue

Right next door is the Basilica, another gorgeous room clad in marble. In ancient Rome, a “basilica” was a large public hall. But sometimes they were added to private homes and used as shrines.

The basilica is lined with 8 white marble Corinthian columns, topped with elaborate multi-colored capitals. It has a vaulted and coffered ceiling, with stucco work derived from Pompeii.

The intricate marble floors were made with ancient stone fragments in a design copied from the ancient Villa dei Papiri. Statues stand in bays in front of recessed honey colored onyx windows on the side walls.

Under a half dome in the apse is a marble statue of Venus with some modern restorations. It’s a variant of the famous Venus de Milo sculpture in the Louvre . Venus is accompanied by a dolphin, alluding to her birth from the sea.

6. Temple Of Hercules & Landsdowne Hercules

The Temple of Hercules is another glittering marble room. The elaborate marble floor is a work of art itself, composed of 4 million pieces of stone.

It reproduces a 1st century pavement from the Villa dei Papiri. Yellow and gray triangles form a geometric pattern of 22 concentric circles.

In the center is an illusionistic polychrome marble circle. The original circle was one of the first things to be excavated at the ancient villa, marking the official discovery of the Villa dei Papiri. The original is in the National Museum of Naples.

The centerpiece of the room is the famous Landsdowne Hercules . It’s one of the Getty’s prize possessions and the piece that inspired Getty to recreate the Villa dei Papri. He purchased it in 1951 from the Marquess of Landsdowne.

The statue stands in a niche in front of green marble and red porphyry. This kind of room wouldn’t have existed in a typical Roman villa. It was created specifically to house the statue.

The Landsdowne Hercules was discovered in 1790 near Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli . Getty acquired it in 1951. Hercules looks buff and carries his trademark club and lion skin.

In this room, you’ll also find a Portrait Head of Tiberius and a statue of Leda and the Swan . Leda was acquired at the same time as the Hercules .

Getty purchased Tiberius , also known as the Landsdowne Tiberius , in 1971. For over a century, the head was attached to the wrong body. It depicts Tiberius with his recognizable thin lips and eyebrows.

7. East Garden

Two bronze doors then lead to the East Garden, which is planted with mulberry trees, laurels, boxwood, ivy, and ferns. It’s one of the quietest and most tranquil spaces in the villa.

A fountain in the center was copied from the Villa dei Papiri. Water cascades from life size bronze animal heads, include civets.

The spectacular fountain on the wall is an exact copy of the Great Fountain of Pompeii. It’s made of colorful mosaics and shells and adorned with theater masks.

8. Getty Bronze

The 2,000 year old Getty Bronze is the most priceless and famous piece in the Getty Villa collection. It’s also known as the Statue of a Victorious Youth . The sculpture may remind you of Michelangelo’s David in Florence’s Accademia Gallery .

Kept in a climate controlled room, it’s a high caliber bronze Greek statue of a handsome male athlete with good hair. He’s about to remove his wreath and dedicate it to the gods.

Ancient bronze sculptures from Greece are exceedingly rare. Only a handful survive today.

Bronze is an extremely precious and expensive material. Most often, the bronze was melted down for metal.

The statue was preserved by a cosmic accident. It was submerged and preserved in a shipwreck in the Adriatic Sea, and only discovered in the early 1960s. As a result, the body, once golden, is now a mottled green and brown.

Italy has asked for the return of the sculpture. But the Getty maintains that the statue was bought in good faith (for $4 million), after it had been retrieved in international waters. And, in fact, they have an extemely good case against forfeiting the rare statue.

In the same room, you’ll also see the Head of a Man from 150 B.C. The bust is of exceptional quality and very expressive, indicating that he was an important man.

9. Tablinum

A tablinum was an important room in a Roman household. It was the main reception room where the host entertained guests. It stands between the inner and outer peristyles.

The tablinum is ornate and richly decorated, with colorful marble inlaid in geometric patterns on the floors and walls. Dating from late 1st century, the designs are replicated from different villas in Herculaneum.

The ceiling has recessed arched panels. There’s an illusionistic vine motif, which incorporates floors, birds, cupids, and fruit. The floral elements were intended to “link” the inner and outer gardens.

10. Outer Peristyle

Two bronze doors open from the Tablinum onto the Outer Peristyle. This is the heart of the Getty Villa and its largest garden space.

It has a central reflecting pool running its length, 1,000 Mediterranean plants, sculptures, and sybaritic bronze statues. It’s framed on each side by porticos, with columns copied from the basilica at Pompeii.

You can walk in the arcaded pathways. They are decorated with tromp l’oeil frescos in the Second Pompeian Style and blood red porphyry marble floors.

The north wall features frescos of landscapes and architecture copied from the Villa dei Papiri and another villa in Oplontis. Frescoes with theatrical masks on garlands are copies of those from the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor.

There are two square arbors covered with grape vines. There are myriad plantings, but I loved the pomegranate trees best.

In and around the pool are copies of bronze statues, including half-man half- goat satyrs. You’ll also find semicircular benches to rest, copied from ones in Pompeii.

11. Herb Garden

Immediately to the west of the outer peristyle is the Herb Garden. Like nearly everything at the villa, the garden was based on the original herb garden at the Villa dei Papiri. It’s often missed by visitors because it can’t be seen from many villa locations.

Most wealthy Romans had herb gardens, which were used for medicinal and culinary purposes. You can inhale the sweet ascent of lavender, mint, basil, and thyme. You’ll also see a lovely lily pond, with a whimsical waterspout depicting Silenos, a friend of Dionysis.

12. Funerary Relief of Hadirat Kathina

Acquired by the Getty Villa in 2019, this is a limestone funeral relief renowned for its intricate carving. Dating from around 200 A.D., it depicts a bejeweled woman with an Eastern headdress.

It was once adorned with golden paint. You can still see flicks of its original colors, though time has stripped much away.

13. Roman Floor Mosaics

On the second floor, you’ll see walls mounted with large Roman mosaics. Mosaics were popularized in the late 2nd century B.C.

Elaborate mosaics were used to decorate luxurious domestic and public buildings across the broad expanse of the Roman Empire. The mosaics transformed entire rooms into spectacular settings of vibrant color, figural imagery, and abstract design. 

The floor mosaics often depicted violent and combative scenes of hunting and savagery. For example, in the mosaic above, a lion viciously chomps on the back of a wild ass.

On a calmer note, you’ll also see a lovely mosaic of a peacock with a long multi-colored tail. Peacocks had special significance and were associated with immortality.

READ : Guide To Sicily’s Villa Romana del Casale

14. Boscoreale Frescos

In another room, you can admire frescos from the black and white rooms of the Villa of Numerous Popidius Florus at Boscoreale. The villa dates from the early 1st century B.C. and was excavated in 1905-06.

In contrast to the fancy seaside villas of Pompeii, Boscoreale was a working farm. Despite being more modest, the country residence had some of the finest wall paintings of that era.

Indeed, the frescoes are among the most important to be found anywhere in the Roman world. They identify the original owner as a rich man with exquisite taste.

The frescos exemplify the late Second Pompeian Style, the most renowned style in Roman wall painting. They depict illusionistic vistas, fanciful architectural elements, and scenes from daily life — all set against red, yellow, white, and black bands of color.

15. Galleries Of Early And Late Roman Sculpture

This Gallery of Early Roman Sculpture room features statues and busts from early Roman sculpture, including busts of the emperors. The greatest innovation over Greek sculpture was in portraiture.

Unlike the Greeks, Romans adopted a highly naturalistic style that didn’t idealize the sitter. They would show the subject’s age and rugged features. The sculptures were displayed in public places and used as propaganda.

In the center of the room is an elaborate Torso of a Man in Armor , who may be Emperor Tiberius. These type of statues honored victorious generals or members of the imperial family.

There’s also a statue is a 7 foot tall women draped in flowing drapery. It likely dates from 160-190 A.D.

When the Getty Villa acquired the work in 1972, she was missing a head. But a senior curator of the Getty recognized the matching head on view in the Royal-Athena Gallery in New York and acquired it for the museum.

Another gallery on the second floor is dedicated to later Roman sculpture. There, you can inspect the Getty Commodus , a bust of Emperor Commodus.

The Getty acquired the bust in 1992 believing it was a late 16th century copy mimicking the Roman style. But today, most experts think it’s an ancient carving, dating from 180-185 A.D.

The bust is the fifth “type” of Commodus portrait and was likely created when Commodus became sole ruler after the death of his father Marcus Aurelius.

Guide To The Getty Villa: Tips For Visiting

Here are some must know tips for visiting the Getty Villa.

17985 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades CA 90272.

You cannot make a left turn into the villa driveway, so try to approach from the south and keep your eye out for the sign and driveway.

2. Getting To The Getty Villa: Tickets & Parking

Tickets are free, except that you have to pay $20 for parking (or $15 after 3:00 pm). You can’t visit on a walk in basis and no street parking is available. Parking in the neighborhood is only by permit.

You can also take a taxi in. The attendant will direct you to the drop off center.

To visit, you need to make a timed entry reservation online . If you miss your reserved time, you may still be able to enter, if it’s off season or not busy.

Once you’re parked, walk up hill to the museum entrance.

If you are visiting both the Getty Villa and the nearby Getty Center on the same day, you only have to pay for parking once. Stop by the visitor center to get a parking pass for the Getty Center before leaving the Getty Villa. 

3. Collection Information & Tours

There is plenty of informational signage explaining the exhibits .You can also pick up an audio guide or download the Getty App .

You’ll need to leave your driver’s license or ID to pick up the audio guide. Punch in the number of the artifact you’re admiring to get information on it.

In addition, the Getty Villa offers quite a few themed tours that range from 20 to 45 minutes. The “highlights” tour is a free 50 minute tour of the museum’s greatest hits, which I recommend.

Click here to check out the tours. You need to sign up 15 minutes in advance and tours are limited to 10 per group.

4. Museum Hours

The Getty Villa is open Wednesday through Monday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. It’s closed Tuesdays and on January 1, July 4, Thanksgiving, and December 25.

The best time to visit is around 3:00 pm. You’ll get the reduction in parking and have the museum largely to yourself.

5. How Long To Spend At The Getty Villa

The Getty Villa recommends you spend 60-90 minutes visiting. I was there 90 minutes and could definitely have stayed longer. So, if you’re iterested in Greco-Roman history, budget more time.

6. Cafes & Facilities

There’s also an onsite cafe, museum store, and outdoor Roman-style theater. You should hike up the steps of the theater for views down over the villa.

The cafe offers Mediterranean style food with indoor and outdoor seating. Near the cafe is the Espresso Cart for caffeinated beverages and pastries.

You can also have afternoon tea at the villa. The “Garden Tea” features a menu of sweet and savory flavors inspired by the villa’s Herb Garden. Reservations are required and you can make one on Open Table .

7. Getty Villa Theater

The villa has a Roman-style classical amphitheater near the entrance. The villa hosts concerts and versions of classic Greek and Roman dramas. Click here to check the schedule or purchase tickets.

8. Places To Visit Nearby

You can combine a visit to the Getty Villa with a visit to the Getty Center , Santa Monica, and Venice Beach.

The Getty Center is just 15-25 minutes away (depending on traffic) and makes a nice pairing with the villa. The center is a beautiful modern building designed by world famous architect Richard Meier.

It houses the rest of the Getty Collection. You can see Van Gogh’s Irises and a plethora of old masters from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

The beach town of Santa Monica is just 15 minutes from the Getty Villa. You can relax on the golden sand beach, sample the pier attractions, and stroll the Third Street Promenade.

Venice Beach is on the south side of Santa Monica. You can walk the iconic boardwalk and enjoy the street performers.

For more information, check out my one day in Santa Monica itinerary .

I hope you’ve enjoyed my guide to visiting the Getty Villa. You may enjoy these other United States travel guides and resources:

• 2 days in Santa Barbara itinerary
• 1 day in La Jolla itinerary
• 2 days in San Diego Itinerary
• 3 day itinerary for Boston
• 1 day itinerary for Denver
• 2 day itinerary for Cleveland Ohio
• 10 day itinerary for New Hampshire
• 10 day itinerary for coastal Maine
• 7-10 day itinerary for Vermont
• 25 most beautiful towns in New England
• 45 amazing destinations in the United States

If you need a guide to the Getty Villa, pin it for later.

2 thoughts on “Guide To The Getty Villa In Los Angeles, What To See + Tips”

Absolutely amazing place. I was so intrigued. Leslie, your writing is an art in itself.interesting, colorful, informative and well done

Thank you so much!

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Last Updated on August 31, 2023 by Leslie Livingston

The Getty Villa Museum: Antiquities on Display

 TripSavvy / Christian Hundley

The Getty Villa

If you visit Los Angeles, you might be surprised to find that there are two Getty Museums in LA: the Getty Villa and the Getty Center.

Before you start planning, you should know what's where. If you're looking for the big museum with white buildings, sitting on top of a hill and designed by architect Richard Meier, that's the somewhere else. Use the Getty Center guide to find out how to visit it .

The Getty Villa in Malibu is the original museum started by J Paul Getty, filled with antiquities from Greece and Rome. It's very enjoyable if you like those things. If you aren't interested in the Roman architecture or the ancient art, it may not be the place for you.

 TripSavvy / Christian Hundley

Things to Do at the Getty Villa

The museum complex includes a 450-seat outdoor classical theater, the villa, and a cafe.

You can go to the Getty Villa just to see their building. It's like stepping back a couple of thousand years into a Roman-style villa. To be precise, it's a reproduction of the Villa dei Papiri; a first-century Roman country house unearthed at Herculaneum which was buried when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79.

You can also go to see the villa's collection which is one of America's finest holdings of ancient Greek, Roman and Etruscan art. You'll see objects created over 7,000 years between the end of the Stone Age and the fall of the Roman Empire.

Besides the artwork, the Getty Villa stages performances that include re-imagined versions of classic Greek and Roman dramas, as well as new and adapted works inspired by the museum's holdings or the ancient world.

How to Plan Your Getty Villa Visit

Admission is free, but you need an advance, timed-entry ticket and they charge for parking.

The Villa is magically quiet shortly before the official opening time. Reserve the earliest entry time of the day, arrive a half hour or so before that to enjoy the grounds.

If you wait too late to reserve, you may find they are filled up. To avoid that, get your parking reservation as far ahead as you can on their website . At the last minute, you might get lucky. They sometimes release a few same-day tickets at 9:00 a.m. Check for them online or call 310-440-7300.

Tips for Visiting the Getty Villa

Take the orientation tours and weekend gallery tours to learn more about what you're seeing. Before plunging into the museum itself, look over the daily schedule of tours, gallery talks, and events, and plan your visit around them. Then sign up for them right away. Some tours will only take a limited number of people, and on others, they can run out of audio headsets.

Get more out of the museum with a GettyGuide. It's like getting a private tour with the museum's curators and conservators. You can pick up a multimedia player free of charge at the GettyGuide Desk just inside the main entrance.

Don't take big bags or packages. You'll just have to check them at the entrance. You'll also have to leave your umbrella in the cloakroom, but the museum provides plenty of them for you to use if you need them. And don't carry anything embarrassing. Your bags may be searched.

Got questions? Look for the people in white shirts and vests. They have answers.

The Cafe serves casual Mediterranean fare, which is quite tasty.

You can take photographs for personal use only, but no tripods or flashes are allowed. You can use your selfie stick, but only in public outdoor spaces. Child-carrying backpacks can't go into the galleries.

You can get their hours and more information on the Getty Villa website .

Driving to the Getty Villa

Most visitors arrive in a private vehicle. Vehicles over 6'10" high and standard car length/width aren't allowed, and there is no oversized vehicle lot.

The Getty Villa address is 17985 Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, California. It's easy enough to put that address into your GPS, but if you overshoot the driveway entrance, you'll end up frustrated. So pay attention.

The only entrance is from the right lane of southbound Pacific Coast Highway. If you are driving north on PCH, you can't make a left turn into the entrance and will have to drive to Sunset Boulevard and make a u-turn.

The Getty Villa is less than a mile north of the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset Boulevard. It's worth it to pay extreme attention for that entire mile. If you miss your turn, here's what to do but it will take a while: Continue south to Topanga Canyon Boulevard, turn back north there. Go all the way north to Sunset to make another u-turn.

On your way to the parking garage, you may wonder why the driveway is so rough. This place is so authentic that the road is paved with large stones similar to the ones found in the streets of ancient Herculaneum and Pompeii.

If someone is dropping you off, the entrance gate staff will direct you to the drop-off area. If you are using a ridesharing service, don't let the driver drop you off outside the entrance. If you walk in from there, they won't let you enter. They're not snooty, but just following the conditions of their permits.

Pay attention to where you park. After a few hours of museum-browsing, it's easy to forget where you started. Write the location down or take a photo.

Don't be lazy. Walk up the hill from the parking garage to the museum entrance if you can, to enjoy the gardens and views.

Other Ways to Get to the Getty Villa

No matter how hard you try to get around this, you can't walk into the Villa. The museum's permits forbid that.

The one exception is if you take Metro bus line 534, which stops at Pacific Coast Highway and Coastline Drive, directly across from the Getty Villa entrance. You will still need an advance, timed ticket and you will have to show your bus receipt or transfer at the gate.

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How the Creative Use of Museum Audio Tours is Attracting New Audiences

They say an image can convey a thousand words. But what about the context behind that image? Here’s how audio tours are helping to deepen museum-goers’ appreciation of exhibits and installations.

Audio guides certainly aren’t new to the museum scene. In fact, the idea of providing pre-recorded commentary on exhibits has been used for as long as portable devices have been available, providing visitors with supplementary information and context.

Originally introduced in the form of cassette players – where listeners had to periodically flip the tape to gain all the necessary information – audio guides are now more compact, easy to use and customisable than ever. Whether it’s via an app on one’s phone or a dedicated mp3 device rented out by the museum for the length of a visit, it’s never been easier to tap into essential knowledge.

Audio guides are used by thousands of museum visitors every year but, with a new wave of innovative technologies making their way into museums, should we be asking whether audio is becoming old news? Does the advent of the smart phone and handheld device present an existential crisis for the humble audiotape.

Well, perhaps we have said goodbye to the tape format for good but certainly not the audio experience. Whether it be breaking down language barriers or helping people to learn without resorting to reading signs and information boards, audio guides are as popular as ever – perhaps even more so, given that we now live in the age of the podcast .

However, institutions are adding further value to the traditional audio guide to create enhanced audio or “creative audio guides”.

Creativity in Museum Audio Guides

By using storytelling, creative audio guides give the listener a unique and engaging narrative to follow. This narrative is unique to a certain museum, or perhaps even a certain exhibition, ensuring a clear focus and message.

Graham Davies, Digital Programmes Manager at the Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum of Wales , describes how their museum doesn’t “currently supply traditional audio tours”, instead opting for “more dynamic and agile” audio methods to “complement its art installations.”

The best examples of museum audio guides are crafted by experienced production teams, who bring together a range of factors like professional voice actors, translators, sound editors and archivists to ensure a memorable and engrossing product for the target audience . By taking the time to identify and tailor content towards the appropriate audience, guide creators can meet the demands of children to history lovers; foreign visitors to art experts.

Percy Jackson: Bringing History to Modern Ears

A recent example of a successful creative museum audio guide is The Demigods, A Villa Audio Tour from the World of Percy Jackson , an exhibition at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California.

Inspired by the immensely popular Percy Jackson book series – in which a dyslexic twelve year old boy discovers his father is the Greek sea god Poseidon, and is sent to a training camp for demigods – the audio tour allowed fans of the books to embark on their own personal quest around the Getty Villa: a museum dedicated to the arts and cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world.

The museum contains 44,000 Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities, and the guide enabled listeners to meet heroes, avoid unfriendly gods and monsters, and of course learn about and interact with their surroundings.

This creative audio guide was successful because its story was perfectly paired both to its source material and its environment. By linking historical artefacts with an exciting fictional narrative and quest element, visitors (particularly children, of course) were able to learn about the exhibits in a fun and engaging context.

The choices they made and the answers they gave within the exhibition affected the conclusion of the guide’s story (which god or goddess is their parent), providing them with a unique, tailored museum experience that celebrated what they most enjoy.

How Have Creative Museum Audio Guides Been Implemented?

Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre in the Scottish Highlands, managed by the National Trust for Scotland, is a museum dedicated to one of the bloodiest and most significant battles in British history. It is the site where, in April 1746, the Jacobites fought the Duke of Cumberland’s government troops. In the resulting bloodbath, 1600 men died – 1500 of which were Jacobites.

The visitor centre lies beside the battlefield, and houses artefacts from both armies, as well as interactive displays, to keep the memory of the battle alive. It also has a creative audio guide to match, one that uses a mixture of professional voice actors, folk songs of the time, and scripts developed by expert military historians to guide visitors through the field and monuments, giving an emotional (not to mention factual) context to the site.

The team behind the exhibition explain that their audio guide has a significant role to play in “engaging better with families and international visitors” as well as creating a “strong narrative”. In order to do this, they “developed scripts for both Adult and Family tours, which were also produced in a number of foreign languages. Over 300 devices are provided fully serviced and maintained.”

Similarly, in 2014, the British Museum sought to redesign its existing audio guide in order to appeal to a broader range of visitors. Available in ten languages and enjoyed by nearly 160,000 people each year, the new guide is designed to be highly customisable, taking into account how much time the listener has to spend in the museum, and how they would like to explore the exhibits.

Visitors can therefore choose to take a quick hour-long tour of the institution’s most popular collections, or embark on a themed tour based on their interests. The guide keeps track of what the visitor sees and creates a digital souvenir from the 220 objects displayed in the museum’s galleries. They can then send themselves this souvenir once the tour is over – an extra little touch that enables visitors to not only make memories but also revisit them.

What Makes a Successful Museum Audio Guide?

Before they began to redesign their audio guide, the British Museum set about researching the habits of its visitors, not just its audio guide users, to see why some people opted for audio guides, and others did not. The results were very interesting.

The main insight their research provided was that people want the freedom to explore a museum in their own way and in their own time. This means that any successful creative audio guide needs to be customisable, something both the British Museum and the Percy Jackson guide accomplish. Even if an audio guide provides more structure to the visitor experience, it should be a structure that allows for freedom of choice. A user cannot feel like they are playing a significant role in a story if they cannot affect the story’s outcome.

Several prototypes and 250 test visitors later and the results have proven to be incredibly popular at the British Museum.

One of the key takeaways at the British Museum – and one that is echoed in institutions around the world – is that entertaining visitors should be seen as being as valuable an objective as educating them. Acquiring knowledge for knowledge’s sake is made all the more interesting by appealing to a person’s emotions. In fact, in many cases learning and memory consolidation takes place more effectively when delivered through entertainment.

Interested in the latest thinking from Museums? Explore our MuseumNext event series here .

About the author – Rebecca Carlsson

Rebecca Carlsson is a journalist writing extensively about the arts. She has a passion for modern art and when she’s not writing about museums, she can be found spending her weekends in them.

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Percy at the Getty Villa

The Getty Villa , a stunning museum in Malibu, California, is full of Greek and Roman art. And now they’re giving Percy Jackson fans the VIP treatment with a brand-new audio tour experience!

The Demigods, A Villa Audio Tour from the World of Percy Jackson , officially launched last Saturday with a party for Percy’s birthday. Fans cosplayed, ate blue cookies, and enjoyed a delightful performance by L.A.’s Troubadour Theater Company . See below for photos—and thanks to @lolococonut on Instagram for our banner image.

Troubadours Cloie Wyatt Taylor as Solus, Goddess of Safety, and Henry Phillips on guitar.

Troubadour Jennifer Cannon as Medusa.

If you find yourself in the Los Angeles area, make your way to the Villa and take the tour for yourself. Or you can listen at the Getty’s website here .

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Villa announce USA pre-season tour

A ston Villa will be heading to the United States for a three-game tour across three cities in preparation for the 2024-25 Premier League campaign.

The pre-season trip will kick off in Ohio, as Unai Emery's side take on MLS champions Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field on Saturday, 27 July.

The squad will then travel to New Jersey to face Bundesliga side RB Leipzig at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday, 31 July.

Villa will round off their Stateside tour in Chicago, with a match against Liga MX champions Club America at Windy City's Soldier Field on Saturday, 3 August.

On their return from America, Unai Emery's squad will wrap up their pre-season with a showpiece friendly against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park in Germany on Saturday, 10 August.

As usual, there is the annual pre-season opener at Walsall which this year will be on Wednesday, 17 July.

The club says on their website they also retain hope of confirming an "additional domestic fixture" for pre-season.

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RB Leipzig announced that the club will hold a training camp in New Jersey from July 28 to August 4. ... [+] As part of the US Tour the club will play Aston Villa on July 31 at the New York Red Bulls Arena in Harrison, NJ. Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa (Photo by Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images)

For the first time in the club’s history, RB Leipzig will play two preseason friendly matches in the United States this summer. Leipzig will train at the New York Red Bulls Academy in Whippany, New Jersey, the home of its Major League Soccer sister club, the New York Red Bulls.

“This will be our first preseason outside of Europe, and in the United States, we decided to go to a key target market for our club,” RB Leipzig CBO Johann Plenge said in a club statement. RB Leipzig excites soccer fans both domestically and internationally with its unique story, which has taken us from the fifth division to the Champions League.”

The club will also play a friendly against Aston Villa at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, on Jul. 31. On Aug. 4, the club plans to play a second friendly against a yet-to-be-determined opponent somewhere on the East Coast.

“We will be at their training facilities and have a very close exchange with them,” Plenge said when asked why Leipzig opted not to play against their sister club. “We wanted to play Aston Villa because we think it is exciting to bring together European teams and have them compete in the US. Aston Villa has been playing an impressive season not only in the Premier League but also the Conference League.”

What does the tour mean from a commercial standpoint? According to RB Leipzig , the club is currently among the top three Bundesliga teams in terms of US television ratings. The club also has seven million followers on various social media platforms, 10% coming from the United States.

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Johann Plenge, Managing Director of RB Leipzig, announcing the club's US Tour at the Red Bull Arana ... [+] in Leipzig (Photo by Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images)

“Soccer fans in the United States are following the RB Leipzig story,” Plenge said. “We are convinced that it is a great story, and we want to spread the word about our story and reach more fans. But it is also important for our partners. First and foremost, Red Bull in the US market is very relevant for the brand, and we will try to activate together.”

That activation will also include presenting new kit sponsor Puma and working together closely with sister club New York Red Bulls. “We will go to the match on July 30 [against Pachuca] and do commercial activations,” Plenge said. “We will also do commercial activations with our new equipment partner and launch our jersey during the US tour.”

One of the key aspects of the tour will be to work closely with the New York Red Bulls. “For me, that’s more important than connecting our soccer team with other kinds of sports,” Plenge said. “I want our coaches to exchange, the sporting directors to exchange, and most importantly our players.”

Focusing on player engagement makes sense from an RB Leipzig point of view. After all, in the likes of Tyler Adams and Caden Clark, RB Leipzig has recruited from the Red Bulls in the past. Finding more talent in North America through their sister club has been, in fact, something Leipzig has wanted to deepen for some time, and the US Tour will, therefore, be a two-way street of exchanging ideas.

Player transfers, however, haven’t been just one way. In February, Leipzig legend Emil Forsberg headed stateside to join the New York Red Bulls. The Swedish playmaker has voiced his excitement about seeing his former teammates. “Not only are the conditions at our training complex great, but New York is also the perfect city for RB Leipzig and the Bundesliga to become better known in the USA,” Forsberg said before concluding. “I’m sure that we’ll have a great time together.”

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt . He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth

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