Pioneer railroad mogul Henry E. Huntington’s former 1910 home, set on 207 acres in super-wealthy San Marino, houses one of the world’s most impressive private cultural institutions and is an absolute must on any visitor’s itinerary. The private non-profit educational and cultural complex, founded by Huntington in 1919, consists of a library, art collections, and botanical gardens, all packed with human and nature-made superlatives.

Three separate buildings display the extensive Huntington Art Collections. The Huntington Gallery, in the hallowed halls of the Huntington’s’ former Myron Hunt-designed mansion, contains all of the British collection and a portion of the European holdings. Here you will find Gainsborough, Lawrence, Reynolds, and Turner. Eighteenth and nineteenth century British and French art are the hallmarks of he collection, and special changing exhibitions are presented throughout the years.

The glorious gardens cover about 150 park-like acres of the grounds, enchanting visitors with 15 specialized sections containing 15,000 different plants. Major groupings are the 3-acre rose garden, the Shakespeare garden, honouring the English gardens of the bard’s era; the herb garden, where the plats are arranged according to their uses, from medicines to potpourris.