About Los Angeles
Although Los Angeles has the second-largest public transportation system in the nation, it's still a car town and you'll need one to get around. For shopping, the Grove in the Fairfax district is the most popular. But don't miss the glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills. Merchants on Rodeo Drive complain that tourists don't spend money — they buy an ice cream cone and gawk in their windows. But that's a good way to enjoy the area without emptying your wallet. For high-end restaurants, try Spago or Morton's Steak House, or the more affordable Lawry's (all in Beverly Hills), or The Palm (West Hollywood). Inexpensive but famous eateries are The Pantry (downtown Los Angeles, featuring steaks) and Taix French Restaurant (Echo Park).

The city has countless cultural attractions. The new Frank O. Gehry-designed Disney Concert Hall in downtown gets rave reviews from critics and visitors for its shiny molded steel design and acoustics. It has no bad seats and the L.A. Philharmonic is a world class orchestra. The Getty Center (art museum) in Bel Air has what most consider a good but not outstanding art collection, but its setting and buildings are spectacular. The circular Capitol Records building on Vine Street in Hollywood was designed to look like a stack of 45 speed records. The Griffith Observatory has been featured in many films and is best remembered as a backdrop for scenes in “Rebel Without a Cause.” Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood has unique architecture and contains the collection of handprints of famous celebrities. Featured in countless TV series and movies, Malibu Beach is a great place. It also has the Getty Villa, an art museum that's a faithful reconstruction of a Roman patrician country home. Venice Beach offers a different perspective — a fascinating place of tattooed skateboarders and muscle men, street artists and fortune-tellers.
Driving is part of the experience, too. Pick up Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and follow its winding path past magnificent homes in Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Brentwood — all the way to the ocean. Mulholland Drive winds around the rim of the Santa Monica Mountains and gives vista views of the west side of town and the San Fernando Valley.

With so much to see and do, you may want to plan an extended stay.

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• Try surfboarding or wakeboarding at Malibu or Santa Monica. Boards and instruction are available for rent if you don't have your own board.

• Go inline skating or bicycling at Venice Beach and enjoy wild and wonderful people watching. Equipment is available for rent.

• Bring your skis in winter and try nearby Big Bear Lake (Snow Summit) or Wrightwood (Mountain High).

• Get in your car and drive with no specific destination in mind. Wherever you drive, you'll discover interesting places and multiple ethnic groups not included in guidebooks.

• Go sportfishing from a number of beach communities, but be prepared to do something with a big catch if you get lucky.

• Attend the California Sushi Academy for beginners’ classes in making sushi. Combine that with a sake tasting session.

• If you want to snorkel or do some spearfishing, take a boat to Catalina Island. It offers clear water, a chance to view some amazing colored fish and even to try Abalone diving—only after you get good instructions. Catalina's mountains also have buffalo herds left over from a Disney movie.

• Searching for something unique in art or furniture? The Beverly/Robertson area serves interior decorators but most stores also accept walk-ins. Its high-end galleries feature contemporary art.

• Hit the trail either on foot or on horseback. Los Angeles County has 344 miles of hiking and horse trails.

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• Drive along the coast, from Santa Monica to Malibu and beyond. Or make that drive in reverse so you can enjoy a great dinner in Santa Monica at one of its many fine restaurants.

• See the Nethercutt Collection in Sylmar; it is a hidden jewel with 60,000 square feet that accommodate more than 200 cars from 1898 to 1982, all fully restored and taken for regular drives. It also has a large collection of music boxes, jukeboxes, cuckoo clocks, watches and more. Also, see the Petersen Automotive Museum at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax; it encloses 150 rare cars in 300,000 square feet with an organized display of the evolution of the automobile.

• Take the behind-the-scenes tour at NBC, the only Los Angeles television studio with such a tour.

• If you're on hand between July and September, catch the Hollywood Bowl — a 25,000 seat outdoor theater in a striking open-air setting and good acoustics. Midweek features symphonies; other days offer jazz, pop concerts and various recording artists.

• Smell the flowers. Descanso Gardens, sandwiched between La Canada and Pasadena, has an extensive display of azaleas, camellias, lilacs and other seasonal plants. Beautiful and fascinating even for non-gardeners.

• Take a hike. Topanga State Park, located within the city’s boundaries, offers 36 miles of trails in the rugged Santa Monica Mountains.

• Count books, or at least have a look at the Huntington Library in San Marino. Formerly the estate home of Henry E. Huntington, it now houses 6.5 million manuscripts and more than a million rare books, including a Gutenberg Bible and thousands of documents about Abraham Lincoln and other historical figures. Its botanical gardens feature a forest of roses and more than a dozen theme gardens.

• Take in a musical or a play at more than 130 theaters around town. It may not be Broadway, but the quality and variety are high because Los Angeles is still the entertainment capitol.

• Tour the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where you can visit the site’s space flight operations facility and spacecraft assembly facility. Advance reservations are required.
Add to that a visit to the Griffith Observatory for its astronomy museum, telescopes and planetarium theater.

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• You won't be able to see the inside of a motion picture studio unless you have connections, but you can join the live audience of quite a number of television game and quiz shows, reality shows and other formats. Contact the networks in advance of your trip. Also, keep your eyes open. You never know when you'll bump into a star shopping or eating at some of the area's finest restaurants.

• Some semblance of a motion picture production can be seen at the Universal Studios theme park in North Hollywood. Stick around until nighttime to enjoy Universal's City Walk that features shopping, clubs and entertainment, 22 restaurants and the Cineplex Odeon Theatre.

• Tours to see the homes of Hollywood stars and other sights can be booked in advance. A Google search will quickly give you multiple choices of tour operator sites that describe tours offered, the kinds of buses and vans used and prices.

• See Olvera Street and its original old pueblo in downtown Los Angeles. At night it's most alive. You can shop for appealing Mexican goods, but you'll find better Mexican restaurants elsewhere. Ask you hotel concierge for restaurant recommendations close to where you stay.

• Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum contains more than 300 oddball exhibits, and the Hollywood Wax Museum has very lifelike replicas of stars and other famous figures. Both will intrigue you.

• The Museum of the American West at the edge of Griffith Park (the largest city park in the nation) holds art, artifacts and memorabilia relating to Western movies and TV shows, especially Gene Autry who started the museum with a gift.

• Visit the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley (rated the safest city in the United States). An extensive Reagan collection and interesting rotating special exhibits help to ensure a memorable experience.

• Work on your swing. Los Angeles County has 19 golf courses.

• While you're in town, dip your toe in the water even if you don't want to swim. May and June are not the best months because morning cloud cover often blankets the Southland. There are many beaches including Hermosa Beach, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Will Rogers State Beach and more.
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For more information, consult the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau at www.seemyla.com.

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