To the delight and relief of museumgoers, the Getty Villa announced that it will finally reopen to the public on June 27th, 2025. The announcement comes nearly five months after the Villa narrowly survived the Palisades Fire, which burned over 23 thousand acres in the Pacific Palisades in January. Fortunately, the museum’s enormous collections were spared, and after extensive work and repairs to the property, it will reopen on a limited schedule—with a fantastic new exhibition to boot.
What to expect after the Getty Villa reopens
Even though the Getty Villa reopens on Friday, June 27th, the museum will implement a few new capacity limits to control traffic on the newly reopened Pacific Coast Highway. Here’s a quick rundown:
- The museum will open from Friday through Monday from 10 AM to 5 PM
- There is a limit of 500 visitors per day (reservations are now open, and are required to visit the museum)
- You may access the museum via PCH, but not via Sunset Blvd.
- The museum still offers free admission, but the parking fee remains at $25
While the Villa’s main structures remain intact, visitors will see visible burn scars and reduced vegetation on the property. However, many of the museum operations are back to business as usual.
Visitors can look forward to the brand-new exhibition, The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece (June 27, 2025 – Jan. 12, 2026), which features over 230 ancient Mycenaean artifacts from the city of Messenia.
The previous exhibition, Ancient Thrace and the Classical World: Treasures from Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece, unfortunately closed prematurely along with the museum in January. However, Getty has created a virtual tour of the exhibition, which you can watch in the above video, for visitors to experience and appreciate.
Finally, Getty will bring back the Outdoor Classical Theater this year for its 19th annual production. The Troubadour Theater Company co-produces Oedipus, the King, Mama!, which has a tentative opening date in September 2025.
Recovery and restoration at the Villa
As exciting as it is to have the Getty Villa back in action, it’s haunting to reflect upon just how narrowly it survived the fire. When the flames approached the Villa property on January 7th of this year, 17 Getty staff members volunteered to stay on-site to seal the galleries and put out small fires. The Villa remained undamaged thanks to their efforts and, of course, the work of the Los Angeles Fire Department—although the fire did tragically destroy 6,837 other structures in the Palisades.
During the months since, Getty facilities and grounds teams have been hard at work cleaning and repairing damage to the property. They’ve removed over 1,300 fire-damaged trees, replaced all air and water filters, deep-cleaned all indoor and outdoor spaces, and conducted inspections in collaboration with safety agencies.
“It is with the utmost gratitude and appreciation for Getty staff, first responders, and other agencies that we can announce the reopening of the Villa to the public,” said Katherine Fleming, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust. “Without their tireless efforts, we would not be in the position we are in today, where we can welcome back visitors and the surrounding community to enjoy the Villa grounds and collection.”