Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens Tours and Activities

Get your dose of European art and international botany in California at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, where you find an impressive display of art, rare books, and plants. The collections, gifted from entrepreneur Henry E. Huntington, contain the most 18th century art from around the world outside of London.

Stroll through the gardens admiring hundreds of species of colorful plants and flowers, or lose yourself in a book or a painting. The art collection houses both European and American pieces in its galleries, with sections dedicated to ceramics and decorative arts. The library holds more than six million items, including historic first edition Shakespeare manuscripts and a Gutenberg Bible, though the main section is available only to researchers. As for the gardens, you’ll find much variety — from Japanese and Chinese gardens, to herbs, roses, a desert garden and a children’s garden.

All in all there are more than 120 acres of garden open to the public to explore. And whether you choose to spend your time in the library, gardens, or galleries, you’ll have no shortage of things to do and see.