When my father was posted to Washington DC just before my 13th birthday, Mexico City was our first port of call in North America. We arrived on Christmas Day. I remember my mind being blown as we walked through Chapultepec Park and then visited the National Museum of Anthropology in its radical modernist building – the first international museum I had seen. Mexico City remains one of my favourite cities in the world.

SIENA

When I finished high school in Washington, I had the chance to study Italian language for two months in Siena after three months of study in Perugia. Over that summer, I was able to experience 14th-century masterpieces such as Duccio's Maestà in the cathedral and Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the town hall in their original settings. I was impressed that art could be experienced in both sacred and public spaces, not just museums.

DELHI

I spent several months living in Delhi while doing fieldwork for my PhD thesis at Harvard. I rented a room on the roof of a house near the 16th-century garden tomb of the Mughal emperor Humayun (a prototype for the Taj Mahal). It was here that I first listened to music outdoors on a Sony Walkman. I would also walk to the nearby shrine of the Sufi Muslim mystic Nizam ad-Din Awliya (1238-1325) and listen to the Qawwali singers. 

LOS ANGELES

I lived in Los Angeles with my wife Tina and our two daughters 2005-2010 when I was director of the Getty Museum. We still regard it as our second home. Despite some logistical challenges, it's a very beautiful city. I really enjoy its cosmopolitan nature and openness to new ideas and people. A rival to New York as a centre of contemporary art, it also offers some of the world's best food.

JAMAICA

When we lived in Virginia from 2000-2005, Jamaica became a favourite destination for family holidays. I had always wanted to visit because of an old family connection. We would rent a house in Westmoreland Parish far away from any resorts (but near the home village of reggae star Peter Tosh). Getting to know the local community and their issues made this much more than a relaxing holiday. I wish it was closer to Australia.