Free Winter Sunsets Over Los Angeles at the Getty Center

Admission to the Getty Center is free. Free admission still needs a reservation. Book a timed-entry slot at getty.edu or on (310) 440-7300. Parking is 25 dollars per car, 15 dollars after 3 p.m., 10 dollars after 6 p.m., and free on Saturdays after 6 p.m.; the garage is cashless.

Ride the tram up and head for the west side first: the view runs from the Pacific to the San Gabriel Mountains, and the Fran and Ray Stark Sculpture Terrace beside the West Pavilion catches the last light through its sculpture. The Lower Terrace Sculpture Garden, west of the Central Garden, holds works by Joan Miró and Alexander Calder. Once the glow fades, cross back to the Cactus Garden between the East and West Pavilions, which looks out over the whole Los Angeles basin as the grid lights up. Terrace access is set on the day, so check at the entrance rather than counting on one particular ledge.

Sunset is early and moves fast. On Saturday, December 5, 2026 it lands at 4:44 p.m.; by Saturday, January 2, 2027 it is 4:56 p.m.; civil twilight ends about 27 minutes later. Check the time for your own date and be on the terrace 20 to 30 minutes before it. Saturdays run to 9 p.m., long enough to watch the grid light up, but a 9 p.m. closing does not mean every gallery or terrace stays open that late.

Other days close at 6:30 p.m., and the Center is shut on Mondays plus New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Several gallery wings, including the South Pavilion, the East Pavilion plaza level and the North Pavilion, are closed for renovations, so check what is open before you go. The whole Center also closes to the public from March 15, 2027, with reopening planned for spring 2028, after which this sunset route no longer applies.