Los Angeles, california
Attractions Guide
Introduction
The Los Angeles metropolitan area is vast, with many unique attractions including famous museums, beaches, movie studios, and iconic sights spread out over a large area. Most of the attractions are centered around Hollywood, Downtown Los Angeles, and Santa Monica.
Hollywood
In Hollywood you can walk along the Walk of Fame, which features the names of countless notable people within starts on the sidewalk. The Walk of Fame stretches down Hollywood Boulevard for about 1.3 miles (2.1 km) on both sides of the road, with an extra 0.4 miles (0.6 km) of stars along the intersecting Vine Street.
Walking along Hollywood Boulevard you'll see famous landmarks such as the TCL Chinese Theatre and the Capitol Records Building, as well as many historic theaters and shops.
Movie Studios
Also in Hollywood is the iconic Paramount Pictures Studio, which offers excellent tours around active movie sets, as well as props and behind the scenes operations. You'll need to make advanced reservations to see Paramount Pictures Studio as the tours are in high demand.
Just north of Hollywood are two more famous movie studios, Warner Bros. Studios and the extremely popular Universal Studios.
Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park
The vast Universal Studios Hollywood is one of the most popular theme parks in the United States, hosting many world-class rides and attractions based on movies, most notably the new Hogwarts Castle and Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Universal Studios also offers amazing studio tours, as well as the Universal CityWalk, an extremely popular outdoor mall with many great restaurants and shops.
Griffith Park
Griffith Observatory
In the hills above Hollywood is the Griffith Observatory, a beautiful historic landmark hosting a planetarium. The main draw of the Observatory however are the sweeping panoramic views you can enjoy from the balcony, with stunning views over Los Angeles both day and night. This structure has been featured in many famous movies, and even features excellent views of the nearby Hollywood Sign.
Hollywood Sign Hikes
If you'd like to enjoy more amazing views over Los Angeles you can hike up to the iconic Hollywood Sign. There are multiple trail options for this hike, the most popular beginning near Bronson Canyon, with a round-trip distance of roughly 5.9 miles (9.5 km) and 1,150 feet (350 m) of elevation gain. Be sure to take the short spur trail from Bronson Canyon to the interesting Bronson Caves.
Alternately you can hike to the sign from the western side. The parking for this route is located along the northern end of Lake Hollywood Drive, walking east from the Starting Point of Wisdom Tree Hike until reaching the Wonder View Trail. This route is only 3.7 miles (6 km) round-trip and includes the Wisdom Tree and Burbank Peak, along with many more stunning views. Due to the shorter distance this trail is very challenging and steep, with an elevation gain of about 1,370 feet (420 m) and hiking shoes required.
There's also the option of hiking through Griffith Park from the Griffith Observatory to the Hollywood Sign, which is about 5.8 miles (9.3 km) round-trip, or 6.8 miles (10.9 km) total taking the alternate path back for slightly different scenery. This route includes many more viewpoints such as Dante's View, with the option of extending the hike by an extra 1.4 miles (2.3 km) total to include the Wisdom Tree.
Getty Museum & Beverly Hills
Rodeo Drive
To the west of Hollywood is the glamorous city of Beverly Hills, where you might like to walk along the high-end shops of Rodeo Drive, especially its iconic Walk of Style mall.
Getty Museum
Further west up in the mountains is Los Angeles's most famous museum, the magnificent Getty Center Museum. This extravagant museum features stunning white travertine stone architecture, which actually contains visible prehistoric fossils within the walls.
The grounds of The Getty are beautiful to explore as well featuring beautiful gardens and fountains. Within the museum buildings you'll find a massive collection of fine European art, including priceless works by Van Gogh, Monet, Rembrandt, and more.
Downtown Los Angeles
The Broad Museum
In Downtown LA you'll find the extremely popular The Broad, which hosts an expansive collection of modern art within a striking white honeycomb-like structure.
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Across from the Broad Museum is the Walt Disney Concert Hall, a breathtaking contemporary structure built of steel designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry. This architect is also known for designing the Centre Pompidou Museum in Paris and Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The concert hall is also renowned for its pristine acoustics.
Skyscrapers
Downtown Los Angeles is a very dense urban landscape of towering skyscrapers, including the US Bank Tower, which is the tallest building on the West Coast of the United States based on roof height (but the second tallest building in Los Angeles), at nearly 1,020 feet (310 m) tall. At the top of this tower is the OUE Skyspace LA, a rooftop observation deck hosting incredible panoramic views over the city, as well as a terrifying all glass slide which hangs high above the streets below.
The tallest building in Los Angeles, the Wiltshire Grand Center, hosts an observation deck and sky bar.
Museums & The Grove
LACMA & La Brea Tar Pits
To the south of Hollywood along Miracle Mile you'll find two of Los Angeles's most popular museums, including the massive LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). This museum features a vast collection of many different types of art spread across multiple buildings.
Adjacent to LACMA is the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, which is centered around a pre-historic tar pit where many Ice Age fossils have been recovered and are displayed.
The Grove Mall
Nearby LACMA and the La Brea Tar Pits is the most famous mall in Los Angeles, the extravagant high-end outdoor mall, The Grove, which is also a very popular tourist destination.
Huntington Library
East of Los Angeles near the city of Pasadena is the opulent Huntington Library. This palatial structure hosts an impressive collection of fine European and American art, as well as decadent rooms with historic furnishings. Surrounding the building are majestic botanical gardens including a Chinese garden, Japanese garden, and desert-themed garden.
Santa Monica, California
The city of Santa Monica lies to the west of Los Angeles along the coast and hosts one of the most popular beaches in the area, with views up the coastline to nearby Malibu and the towering Santa Monica Mountains.
The beach hosts the famous Santa Monica Pier, atop which is the Pacific Park amusement park with many rides and carnival games. Within walking distance of the beach and pier is the popular Third Street Promenade outdoor mall with many boutique shops.
Venice, California
Just south of Santa Monica is the Venice Beach Boardwalk, another extremely popular beach and tourist destination that's lined with many interesting shops and art installations. The walk along the Venice Boardwalk is among the most popular tourist activities in Los Angeles. The wide sandy Venice Beach is also very popular and surrounded by striking scenery.
Behind Venice Beach are the Venice Canals, which were constructed over 100 years ago and inspired by the canals of Venice in Italy. The canals sit within a large residential area and feature pathways and bridges alongside plants and beautiful homes.
Malibu, California
Getty Villa
North of Santa Monica is another Getty museum, the incredibly lavish Getty Villa, which sits in the hills of Pacific Palisades above the coast. The structure is modeled after an extravagant ancient Roman villa and displays many ancient Greek and Roman artifacts set amongst its beautiful landscaped gardens and striking architecture. To visit the Getty Villa you'll need to pre-book free tickets ahead of time.
Point Dume Beach
If you drive further up the coast from Santa Monica you'll be driving along the scenic and long Malibu Coastline. One of the most gorgeous beaches you'll find along the Malibu coast is Point Dume and adjaent Zuma Beach, which sit below the tall cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. From atop the cliffs you can enjoy amazing and far-reaching coastal views.
Long Beach, California
Approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of Los Angeles is the seaside city of Long Beach.
The Queen Mary
Long Beach is home to the iconic Queen Mary ocean liner ship, which was once the longest boat in the world at over 1,000 feet (300 m) long. The ship has an incredible history of being used as a luxury British cruise ship as well as a military transport later during WWII. As such, the boat is very extravagant with many intriguing historic features.The Queen Mary is also said to be haunted and offers spooky ghost tours.
Aquarium of the Pacific
Very close-by the Queen Mary you'll find one of the top aquariums on the West Coast of North America, the massive Aquarium of the Pacific. Be sure to take the short walk from the aquarium to the Rainbow Lighthouse, which sits atop a grassy peninsular hill with panoramic views overlooking the Queen Mary, the bay, and Downtown Long Beach.
USS Iowa Battleship
To the west of Long Beach in San Pedro Harbor is another ship used during WWII, the gigantic Battleship USS Iowa, which now serves as a fascinating museum.
Google Maps Attraction Lists
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