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1. Of course you could do all of the following or just register to our cultural scavenger hunt!
2. Take a look to this map of the city, to have a real idea on how it is built and organized.
3. Hollywood
A suburb of Los Angeles, Hollywood is a destination in itself, with its own unique history and iconic sites. The attractions in Hollywood are closely associated with the film industry and the glamour of the silver screen. The hillside Hollywood sign, Hollywood Boulevard, the Walk of Fame, and the Chinese Theatre can easily fill a day or two of sightseeing. Get Google maps directions>
4. Walk of Fame
The famous Hollywood Walk of Fame runs along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. Here Hollywood's most recognized faces and names are represented by "stars" dedicated and laid in the sidewalk. The list of names to be found along here include prominent actors, musicians, directors, personalities, and other important people from the areas of motion picture, TV, radio, recording, and live theatre/performance. Stars are still being added.
The tradition began in 1960 and was the source of much controversy. Who would be included and more importantly, who would not be included, became the problem. There is a nomination process with new nominees being announced each June. Today there are about 2500 stars on the sidewalks with a small number are added each year. Get Google maps directions>
5. Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood's main east-west axis, has been compared with New York's Broadway because of its nightlife. However, instead of theaters, Hollywood has extravagant cinemas, such as the Chinese and Egyptian Theaters, built originally by Sid Grauman in the twenties. The elegant shops which once lined Hollywood Boulevard have long since disappeared, as the film stars moved to other districts. Hollywood Boulevard is probably most famous for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For movie buffs, the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards, where the Oscars are awarded each year, is also located here. This street is mostly about the night scene, when these famous places are lit up and throngs of people come down here to walk around. There are some good restaurants in this area so you may want to combine a walk along the boulevard with a dinner out.
Get Google maps directions>
6. TCL Chinese Theater
The Chinese Theatre was built by Sid Grauman in 1927 and has had many titles over the years. After the last change of hands, the theater became known as the TCL Chinese Theater. This famous theater features Chinese design and decoration, and is home to the "autograph collection" of famous footprints and handprints in the forecourt. Get Google maps directions>
7. Sunset Strip
Located in West Hollywood, the famous Sunset Strip is a portion of Sunset Boulevard. This area, between Hollywood and the high end neighborhoods of Beverly Hills, is very eclectic with restaurants, retail, and entertainment venues towered over by huge billboards. At night the street comes to life with neon signs and throngs of people walking the streets or cruising the strip. It is not the glitzy high end street it once was, but it still has plenty of character. The Sunset Strip is still a place to see and be seen; where famous people sometimes hang out and those waiting to be discovered congregate. Some Hollywood celebrities do live in the area. If you are planning on visiting you may want to simply walk the strip and have a look around, do some shopping, and have a meal. However, the busy and exciting time, with the best chance to see celebrities is in the evening.
Get Google maps directions>
8. Hollywood Sign
The famous hillside Hollywood sign, is perhaps the most iconic site in Hollywood. The first sign, built with a much different intention than the one that exists today, was conceived in the 1920s. The original sign read Hollywoodland, advertising a new residential development. It was never intended to be a permanent sign and was not built to last throughout the decades. Eventually the sign was changed to simply Hollywood and became a recognized symbol of the city.
You don't need to drive far to see the sign, it is visible from all over during the day.
Get Google maps directions>
9. Capitol Records Building
The unique Capitol Records Building is a circular shaped multi story building. It was built in 1956, designed by Welton Becket, who intended it to look like a stack of vinyl records sitting on a turntable complete with a stylus on top. Although, the younger generation of music fans may not recognize what is now an obsolete piece of equipment. The building is a bit of an icon in Hollywood and can be appreciated with a simple drive by. A 1972 mural by local artist Richard Wyatt pays tribute to the artists and clubs that made Hollywood a center for innovative jazz. Get Google maps directions>
10. Universal Studios Hollywood
The Universal site is divided into several areas including a theme park, a working studio, and also City Walk, an area of restaurants and shops. The park offers some of the most innovative and interesting theme park rides to be found anywhere in the United States. There are several classic rides but new rides are being developed all the time, based on popular movies and TV shows. In addition to the rides and amusements, a studio tour is also available. Here visitors get to take a trip behind the camera and see what goes into making a Hollywood film extravaganza. The tour involves riding a tram throughout the backlots and former movie sets that include such classics as the War of the Worlds, the Bates Motel, and Wisteria Lane. For a bite to eat, some shopping, or to catch a movie, wander over to City Walk where there are dozens of restaurants, cinemas, comedy clubs, and even indoor skydiving. Get Google maps directions>
11. Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory
Griffith Park, in the eastern part of the Santa Monica Mountains, and covering an area of 4,210 acres, is the largest state park in California. The park is home to the Los Angeles Zoo, the Griffith Observatory, a planetarium, a Greek theater, a riding center created for the 1984 Olympic Games, golf courses, tennis courts, hiking trails, and other attractions. Walking trails and scenic drives through the mountains offer views over the city and beyond.
The Griffith Observatory is one of the city's most interesting experience-based attractions, and it's all free to the public. On the grounds are exhibits and telescopes. The main highlight is a look through the Zeiss telescope, used for viewing the moon and planets. You can use the telescopes free each evening the facility is open. Also on site are solar telescopes used for viewing the sun.
The park and observatory are named for Griffith J. Griffith, who donated the greater part of the parkland to the city in 1896 and willed funds to the city for the creation of the observatory.
Get Google maps directions>
12. The Getty Center
On a hilltop in the Santa Monica Mountains, the Getty Center, designed by Richard Meier, is a huge complex measuring 0.75 square miles and set on 110 acres. The uniquely designed building and the beautiful grounds provide the perfect setting for this impressive museum. Collections include European paintings, drawings, sculpture, and decorative arts, as well as 19th- and 20th-century photography. The Getty Center is one of two locations of the J. Paul Getty Museum, created by the late oil magnate, J. Paul Getty. Get Google maps directions>
13. Santa Monica
Santa Monica is a unique destination that is both chic and laid-back, with a population that ranges from surfers, skateboarders, and yoga devotees to techies and business people. The beautiful stretch of golden sand along the coast and the famous Santa Monica Pier, with its iconic Ferris wheel, are what most tourists come to enjoy, but you can find all kinds of experiences in this beachfront city next to LA. Shoppers will find a full range of options, from quirky and vintage stores to high-end boutiques. For a little activity, check out the 26-mile bike path along the waterfront or wander along the Third Street Promenade to see street performers and do some shopping and people watching.
Getting to Santa Monica is now much easier since the opening of the new Expo Metro line, connecting downtown LA to Santa Monica. Get Google maps directions>
14. The Broad
One of Los Angeles' newest cultural attractions, The Broad opened in late 2015 and was immediately an overwhelming success. Tickets are free of charge but are generally booked out a month in advance, and lineups for standby tickets, which are first-come, first-served on the day of admission, can be hours long, particularly on weekends. The museum focuses on contemporary and postwar art, with some large and dramatic installations. More than 2,000 works of art are on display in this unique building, with a "veil-and-vault" concept. The museum was founded by Eli and Edythe Broad, who have been long time collectors of postwar and contemporary art. Get Google maps directions>
15. Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art lays claim to being the largest art museum in the western United States, with almost 130,000 pieces spanning from antiquity through to modern times. Of particular note are the outstanding collections of Asian, Latin American, and Islamic Art. The huge complex consists of a number of separate buildings that have been acquired and renovated over the years.The most recent expansion, known as the Transformation, saw the opening of several new buildings on the western half of the campus, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
The LACMA, as it is also known, is next to the La Brea Tar Pits on museum row.
Get Google maps directions>
16. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits
In Hancock Park, La Brea Tar Pits were formed 40,000 years ago, when oil seeped through the rock. The Tar Pits would entrap passing animals, which would get stuck in the substance. The tar then preserved the fossils throughout the ages, leaving behind an incredible glimpse into another age. The Page Museum shows reconstructed fossils of prehistoric animals found in the giant tar-craters of La Brea, as well as the process of fossil recovery. You can see bones being worked on and learn what takes place behind the scenes, before bones and skeletons are able to be displayed. The museum displays fully reconstructed fossils of a variety of mammals including mammoths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and others, all dating from between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago. An outdoor area in Hancock Park displays replicas of extinct animals. Get Google maps directions>
17. Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
The Museum of Contemporary Art consists of three separate facilities and is dedicated to works from the 1940s onwards. Pieces from the permanent collection are on display, and regularly changing exhibits feature new works and emerging media. The MOCA Grand, on Grand Avenue, is the museum's primary facility, with the main galleries as well as the largest museum store and a café. The MOCA Geffen is in Little Tokyo, in what was formerly a police car warehouse. The MOCA Pacific Design Center is in West Hollywood and features rotating exhibits.Get Google maps directions>
18. Venice Beach
Venice Beach deserves its reputation as a place to see and be seen, making it perfect for people walking, although the vibe here is a little unusual. This stretch of golden sand and the Venice Beach Boardwalk are always thronged with people walking, cycling, rollerblading, and jogging. Eclectic shops and street performers of all kinds line the walkway. The Skate Park, also just off the beach, is frequented by some of the area's best skateboarders, and nearby are a number of creative art installations. At the appropriately named Muscle Beach, people pump iron in the hot California sun. Food stalls selling everything from shaved ice to kettle corn and funnel cakes make you feel like you're walking through fair grounds. This is not a typical family beach, but it's well worth a visit.
Get Google maps directions>
19. Long Beach
Bordering Los Angeles to the south, about 20 miles from downtown LA, Long Beach extends along San Pedro Bay. This is another community in the Los Angeles area that you can easily spend a day exploring. Worth visiting here are the historic Queen Mary ocean liner, now converted into a hotel and museum, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the Museum of Latin America. You can also catch the Catalina Express from Long Beach for a trip over to Catalina Island.
Get Google maps directions>
20. Beverly Hills
Try to spot your favorite celebrities on Rodeo Drive and restaurants around the Golden Triangle - an area ripe for star sightings! Capture a perfect souvenir by snapping a picture in front of the famed Beverly Hills sign in Beverly Gardens Park.
Window shop 'til you drop on Rodeo Drive! These three blocks of luxury shopping are the best in the world for day-dreaming and indulging! Spot your favorite designer, model or other fashion legend on Rodeo Drive's Walk of Style. Each honoree has a plaque embedded in the sidewalk with their name, a quote and their autograph.
Get lost in the vast department stores along Wilshire Blvd - aptly nicknamed Department Store Row. Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus provide hours of shopping entertainment. Feel like a celebrity when you walk the red carpet entrance at The Beverly Hills Hotel.
Admire the silver torso sculpture in the Rodeo Drive median at Dayton Way. "Torso" by world-renowned artist Robert Graham is the symbol for the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style.
Head to the edge of town to view the signature Beverly Hills city limits street signs. One is located on the northwest corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Deheny Drive.
Head into Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel to admire the beautiful lobby floral display and get a peek inside this famous hotel where "Pretty Woman" was filmed.
Drive into the hills to admire the unique architecture of Beverly Hills' private mansions, such as the O'Neill House, whose facade was inspired by the surreal designs of famous architect Antoni Gaudi.
See the state-of-the-art Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts which opened in 2013. The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts transforms a Beverly Hills city block into a vibrant new cultural destination with two distinct, elegant buildings: the historic 1933 Italianate-style Beverly Hills Post Office and the new, contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Goldsmith Theater. Together these two structures embrace the city's history and future, creating a new cultural landmark.
Get Google maps directions>
Ryan is our Los Angeles local representative, we asked him what an ideal day of leisure in Los Angeles could look like, what would he suggest to do from early morning to late at night.
Here is what he suggests. Don't hesitate to contact Ryan on Twitter @bigcitychase #Ryan #questionforRyan if you have questions for him, we may publish your conversation in this blog if he thinks it might be useful to other Los Angeles visitors.
Ryan from Los Angeles for Big City Chase Los Angeles :
"Hi guys, my name is Ryan, I grew up in Burbank and which is east of downtown Los Angeles and I live in Santa Monica today, I know L.A like my pocket and will be happy to make you some suggestions for your stay.
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