Hollywood Los Angeles is the film and entertainment capital of the world and the name 'Hollywood' is the embodiment of glamour, success and money; the place where films are made, television shows are recorded and stars take up residence. The famous Hollywood sign on the hills above the city has become the enduring symbol of the movie industry and of Los Angeles itself - the 50ft-high (15m) white letters can be seen from miles away. The historic heart of the movie industry is centered on Hollywood Boulevard where millions of visitors flock to see landmark attractions and museums.
The impressive Mann's (Grauman's) Chinese Theater is famous for its courtyard where over 200 stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood and Frank Sinatra have set their signatures and imprints of their hands or feet in cement. For many years the theater has been the spot for movie premieres and is modeled on a Chinese temple with columns, dragons and an ornate interior. Passing in front of the theater is the mile-long Walk of Fame, the world-famous sidewalk embedded with the names of legendary television, film, radio, theater and recording greats engraved within pink granite stars. More than 2,500 celebrities are honored here, including Elvis Presley, Charlie Chapman, Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson. The cylindrical Capitol Records Tower is one of the most recognizable buildings in the city and is supposed to resemble a 12-story stack of records with a needle on top that blinks out 'h-o-l-l-y-w-o-o-d' in Morse code. Other attractions include the Kodak Theater (designed to host the Academy Awards) and the Hollywood Guinness World Records Museum, as well as the Hollywood Wax Museum and the Ripley's 'Believe It or Not!' Museum. Phone Number: Mann's Chinese Theater (323) 461 3331, Walk of Fame (323) 469 8311, Guinness World Records Museum (323) 463 6433, Wax Museum (323) 462 5991, Ripley's 'Believe It or Not!' Museum (323) 466 6335 Website: www.seeing-stars.com Hours: The Guinness World Records Museum opens daily 10am to midnight; Wax Museum daily 8am to midnight; Ripley's 'Believe It or Not!' Museum open daily 10am to 11pm (until midnight on weekends) Admission: Mann's Chinese Theater movie tickets $10. Guinness World Records Museum and Wax Museum $12.95 each. Ripley's 'Believe It or Not!' Museum $11.95. Concessions are available
Universal Studios Hollywood One of the most popular attractions in Los Angeles is Universal Studios Hollywood, reputedly the world's biggest film studio and theme park. The main attraction is the Studio Tour, a narrated tram ride that traverses the huge complex, passing stars' dressing rooms and famous back-lot sets, including an Old West town, the town square in 'Back to the Future' films, as well as Jurassic Park III and 'Curse of the Mummy's Tomb' sets. Along the way visitors will experience several realistic staged-disasters such as an earthquake, an avalanche, an attack by 'Jaws' and a meeting with an enormous version of 'King Kong'. Besides the tours there is a theme park that provides a thrilling introduction to the principles of special effects with several attractions and movie-related rides. The popular 'Back to the Future' ride is a simulated jerky flight in a time machine with exceptional special effects and is one of the park's best rides. The 'Jurassic Park' ride is a tour through a jungle full of frightening dinosaurs ending with an 84ft (26m) near-vertical drop into water. Other attractions include the spectacular 'Waterworld' live action stunt performance, a realistic warehouse fire in 'Backdraft', a 'Terminator 2' 3-D show, and animal tricks on 'Animal Planet Live!' Universal CityWalk is a separate venue with shops, restaurants, cinemas and nightclubs. Address: 100 Universal City Plaza, University City Phone Number: (818) 622 3801 Website: www.universalstudioshollywood.com Transport: Universal City station on the Metro Red Line, or numerous public bus routes to Universal City Hours: Opening times vary according to season and visitors are advised to check beforehand. Generally open daily in summer from 8am to 10pm (June to September), and in winter from 10am to 6pm (September to June) Admission: $61 (adults), $51 (children smaller than 48 inches/122cm). Combination tickets are available
Warner Bros Studios The tour at Warner Bros offers a comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at an authentic working studio and provides more of a technical slant than the Universal Studios tour, focussing on the authentic filmmaking procedure. The informative two-hour tour takes visitors to view the sets, prop construction, wardrobe and sound department, as well as visiting active film and television sets where it is sometimes possible to watch actors in the midst of filming. There is also an introductory film and museum depicting the studio's film history. Address: 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank Phone Number: (818) 954 3000 Email Address: wbsf@warnerbros.com Website: wbsf.warnerbros.com Hours: Open for tours from Monday to Friday between 9am and 6pm (9am to 3pm in winter). Reservations are required Admission: Two-hour tours are $45 per person
Disneyland Resort Claiming to be 'The Happiest Place on Earth', Disneyland is an integral part of an American childhood and was the world's first mega theme park designed for the family by Walt Disney in 1955. It is one of America's most famous attractions and despite competition from other similar parks in Florida, Paris and Tokyo, nothing can compare to the original. It is an enchanted kingdom of fantasy and imagination filled with magical entertainment and attractions. The park is divided into eight 'lands' and each one features different rides, dining experiences and entertainment as well as daily live-action shows and parades. Adventureland, Fantasyland, Critter Country, Frontierland, Mickey's Toontown, Tomorrowland, New Orleans Square and Main Street USA offer such attractions as a boat trip through the underground caverns of 'Pirates of the Caribbean', an experience of the Wild West, a visit to Sleeping Beauty's Castle and flying with Dumbo the elephant, a giddy journey with Indiana Jones, or the experience of a pitch-black rollercoaster ride inside Space Mountain, and a wet ride on Splash Mountain. There is also a new shopping, dining and entertainment district called Downtown Disney. The latest appendage to Disneyland is the adjacent California Adventure, a separate park with the same style that offers further rides and rollercoasters, but an additional ticket is required. The parks are busiest during summer from mid-June to mid-September and during school holidays and there are usually long queues at the popular rides. The new Fastpass system allows visitors to reserve a place in line at the park's busiest attractions. Address: 1313 Harbour Boulevard, Anaheim Phone Number: (800) 225-2024 (bookings) Website: www.disneyland.com Hours: Both parks are open daily, but opening hours vary according to days and seasons; please check their website for up to date information Admission: Prices vary and are available on the website provided above.
West LA West LA is famous for its trend-setting style; the place where the 'stars' live, shop and go out on the town. The area includes some of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Los Angeles, particularly Beverley Hills and Bel Air. Home of the rich and famous, and one of the world's most expensive residential areas, Beverley Hills flaunts its wealth with luxurious manors, tree-lined streets, grand estates and security gates concealing landscaped grounds that are home to the likes of Jack Nicholson and Harrison Ford. Scheduled tours are available or Star Home Maps can be picked up at any street corner vendor for the latest on who lives where. The neighborhood is also home to the famous shopping district centered on Rodeo Drive with expensive shops oozing designer labels such as Gucci, Armani and Vuitton. West Hollywood, between Beverley Hills and Hollywood, is the center of LA's gay community and boasts the area's best restaurants, trendiest shops, eccentric boutiques and modern galleries along Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. Sunset Strip, a section of Sunset Boulevard, is famed for its nightlife with rock clubs, bars and posh hotels attracting a huge variety of characters, and many places have a history of big names. In the 1930s Errol Flynn and Rita Hayworth went dancing at nightclubs like Trocadero, by the 1970s it had become the focus of rock and roll with stage performances by the Doors and Elton John at Whisky-a-Go-Go club. The actor River Phoenix died of drug-related problems at the Viper Room, and Thunder Roadhouse was where Mickey Rourke bought his Harley-Davidson. Transport: Getting around by car is by far the easiest way to tour the area as public transport doesn't reach everywhere
Beach Communities The miles of sandy beaches along the Pacific Ocean are a celebration of the Californian lifestyle with distinct neighborhoods and oceanfront walks linking the communities. Malibu is popular with the privacy seeking rich and famous and their mansions line strips of privately owned shoreline; the wide sandy beaches, rocky outcrops and green open-spaces make Malibu the most scenic neighborhood in LA. It presents the classic Californian beach babe image immortalized by the 'Beach Boys' and 'Baywatch'. LA's premiere beach community, Santa Monica, is known for its alternative beachfront atmosphere, as well as its famous hideaway Hollywood residents. The palm-lined cliffs - once the location of the homes of Clark Gable, Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo - are today home to celebrities like Merryl Streep, Rod Stewart and Michelle Pfeiffer. The neighborhood's famous landmark is the Santa Monica Pier, boasting old-world carnival attractions, including a wooden 1920s carousel with painted horses, and plenty of seafood restaurants. Third Street Promenade is a lively pedestrian mall bustling with buskers, street vendors, evangelists and original shops, and is the heart of Santa Monica's cafes, restaurants and bars. Venice is best known for its Ocean Front Walk that is a non-stop parade of jugglers, artists, vendors, musicians and joggers. Venice Beach provides a classic Los Angeles lifestyle experience where beautiful sun-bronzed bodies on bicycles and rollerblades cruise along the walkway to Muscle Beach, where the outdoor weightlifting gym gleams with the sweat of muscle-bound hunks flexing their pecs for the onlookers. The area is full of laid back cafes and restaurants, health food shops, bike and blade rentals, and second hand record stores. After dark however the area becomes the haunt of street gangs and drug dealers; and visitors are advised to exercise caution in the area.
Los Angeles Zoo Located within the Griffith Park area, the Los Angeles Zoo is a large facility boasting 1,100 animals from around the world. The Zoo is currently adding naturalistic habitats for the animals, making the facility more attractive to both visitors and occupants. It is also a botanical garden, holding 800 plant species. Apart from the myriad natural life to be seen, there are animal shows, workshops and a petting zoo in store for visitors. Address: Griffith Park Website: www.lazoo.org Hours: 10am - 5pm every day Admission: $12, concessions available.
La Brea tar pits One of the world's most significant fossil sites, the tar pits in central Los Angeles have revealed fossils of plant and animal life preserved in the pits for ten of thousands of years. The fossils themselves are on display in the Page Museum on the site, while replicas of some of the animals, mammoths and sabre-toothed cats found have been creatively re-placed in and around the pits. Website: www.tarpits.org Hours: Monday through Friday, 9.30 am to 5 pm, Saturday, Sunday 10am to 5pm Admission: $7, free on the first Tuesday of each month
Griffith Park and Observatory The Griffith Park extends for 4,210 acres (17 km²) of well-kept public grounds and is often referred to as the 'Central Park' of Los Angeles. Rent a bicycle, take a hike or have a picnic under the iconic Hollywood sign. Within the park is the Griffith observatory, which apart from being a familiar filming location, is filled with attractions of its own and a significant site for the study of astronomy. Website: www.griffithobs.org Hours: 5am to 10.30pm daily Admission: Free
Walt Disney Concert Hall It's worth heading into downtown Los Angeles to see this strange Frank Gehry-designed concert hall. The silver-plated building can be described as art deco meets surrealism, and while it derives mixed admiration from visitors, its uniqueness is never argued. A walking tour with an explanation for the intricate design is on offer free of charge to anyone curious to know how the hall came about. There is also a restaurant in the building - in one of those nooks and/or crannies. Address: 111 South Grand Avenue Website: www.laphil.com Admission: Free
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