Known for its important collection of rare books, arts and botanical gardens, the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens is definitely worth a visit when in Los Angeles.
Henry Huntington, a railroad and real estate magnate, created the Huntington estate and filled it with exquisite items he collected from around the world.

The estate is situated on 207 acres on the outskirts of Los Angeles and includes the Huntington Library, the Huntington Gallery and 120 acres of botanical gardens.  When visiting the Huntington Library you’ll find an original manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, a Gutenberg Bible, a beautiful folio edition of Audubon’s Birds of America, early editions of Shakespeare’s works, as well as original letters of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and Lincoln.

The gardens at the Huntington are spectacular and include 14,000 different species of plants.  When we visited last spring, we took the free guided walking tour of the gardens. The walking tour covers most of the gardens which include the Rose Garden, Shakespeare and Herb Gardens, Desert Garden, Japanese Garden, Australian Garden, Subtropical and Jungle Garden, Palm Garden, North Vista, and Camellia Collection.

If you’ve seen The Wedding Planner or Memoirs of a Geisha you’ll recognize places on the estate where scenes were filmed.  Remember to bring a camera when you visit. The Japanese Garden is a perfect backdrop for a group shot. 

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