Colorful Travelogues for the Medieval Reader

The Getty Center’s ‘Going Places: Travel in the Middle Ages’ provides an in-depth look at the varied reasons and modes of medieval travel.

"Villagers on Their Way to Church" from the Book of Hours, circa 1550, by Simon Bening. Getty Center, Los Angeles. Getty Museum

The Getty Center’s exhibition “Going Places: Travel in the Middle Ages” delves into the fascinating and sometimes fantastical world of medieval travel as depicted in art. On view through Nov. 30, 2025, the show is composed of manuscripts from the museum’s permanent collection.

Many of the exhibited artworks are rarely on public display and some are new acquisitions. Drawing on illuminated manuscripts from diverse genres, including religious texts, world histories, romances, fables, and encyclopedias, the exhibit illustrates how these works became travelogues for the medieval “armchair” reader.