Huntington Library

The Huntington is really three distinct institutions – a library, an art museum, and a botanical garden – spread across a massive 207-acre estate in the residential city of San Marino. The experience for most is defined by the 130 acres of gardens, a sprawling collection of sixteen themed environments connected by winding paths. You can move from the traditional architecture and koi ponds of the Japanese Garden to the arid landscapes of the Desert Garden, with its huge collection of cacti and succulents. Another major section is the Liu Fang Yuan, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, one of the largest classical Chinese gardens outside of China. The art and books are housed in grand, separate buildings. In the original Beaux-Arts mansion where the Huntingtons once lived, you’ll find the European and American art collections, including Thomas Gainsborough's famous painting, *The Blue Boy*. The nearby library building was built to be fireproof for the collection and now serves as an exhibition space for its treasures. While it’s a serious research center that draws scholars from around the world, the public can see landmark items like a vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible and the 15th-century Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer’s *The Canterbury Tales*. A visit here is an all-day commitment. The sheer scale requires a lot of walking, so comfortable shoes are essential, and the sun exposure in the gardens makes a hat or sunscreen a good idea. It’s common to spend four or five hours and still feel like you’ve only scratched the surface, which is why many people plan return trips to see it all. Advance online ticket reservations are a must, especially for weekends. To help navigate the vast grounds, a tram shuttle runs a circuit around the property.