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Sightseeing
Guide to Sightseeing in Los Angeles
In a city the size of Los Angeles it will come as no surprise that
there are countless sights and attractions to discover, with new
ones being added by the day.
The Go Los Angeles Card gives you free entry to over 35 attractions,
as well as shopping and dining discounts, free tours and a
guidebook. This card costs:
1 day: USD49, adults; USD39, children
2 days: USD79, adults; USD49, children
3 days: USD109, adults; USD69, children
5 days: USD139, adults; USD89, children
7 days: USD159, adults; USD99, children
Venice Beach
 The
original beach life can be found on Venice where musclebound
bodybuilders lift weights in cages and bikini'd beauties rollerblade
up and down the boardwalk. Movies such as "White Men Can't Jump"
have long since cashed in on the small-time life, big-mouthed
attitude of Venice, but seeing it for yourself is ten times the
dose.
It can all be a bit tacky and tawdry but is undeniably fascinatingly
alluring. As well as watching the normal people who workout, play
ball or skate round here there are entertainments to be had, with
jugglers, comedians, acrobats and the generally extroverted doing
their best to catch the eye, and a few bucks, of passers-by.
Europeans should beware that topless sunbathing is illegal on South
Californian beaches, although the string bikinis the locals sport
aren't exactly prudish.
Getty Museum
 Culture
in LA? Surely not, but yes, in the capital of delightful tack, John
Paul Getty saw fit to offer the people some real art. The collection
is one of the world's most valuable and eclectic collations of
masterpieces from periods spanning centuries right up to modern
times.
European Masters and American Pop-art vie for attention in the
exhibition space of the superb modern Getty Center, which has housed
the collection since 1998. There is also an extensive gallery of
photography and, of course, film reviews and exhibitions are held
within the complex.
1200 Getty Center Dr.
Open: Tue-Sun 10h00-18h00 (until 21h00 Fri & Sat).
Admission: free.
Grauman's
Chinese Theater
 Halfway
down Hollywood Boulevard, Grauman's movie theatre is the epitome of
LA, where the fake is made bigger and better than the original. In
Grauman's case it is in the shape of a huge Chinese pavilion with an
ultra-modern cinema inside. Open since the '20s this is where real
movie lovers come to get their celluloid fix.
When Star Wars: The Phantom Menace opened here in 1999 people queued
outside for months - it's that sort of place. Most famous of all is
the concrete courtyard outside that has the hand and footprints of
stars from the movies or the movie industry indelibly impressed in
them. Nearly 200 people have left their imprint, beginning with
Douglas Fairbanks in 1927.
6925 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood and
the Boulevard of the Stars
 Hollywood's
centrepiece, the Boulevard, in actuality has become a slightly
rundown place in areas but nevertheless the stars along the pavement
are still a must-see during a stay in LA. Check out Elvis Presley at
6777, The Beatles at 7051, James Dean at 1719 Vine Street and
Charlie Chaplin at 6751. Being human or real is no criteria for
having a star either: Lassie, Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny are all
honoured on the Boulevard.
While you're here you can't miss the huge Hollywood sign on Mt Lee.
Originally built as advertising for the "Hollywoodland" housing
estate, it has become a symbol of the movies. The closest you can
get to the sign nowadays is by driving out to Beachwood Canyon. Here
you'll not only see the mansions of the millionaires but
occasionally a spot of movie-making.
 Disneyland
The place that never grows old is now undeniably part of history
itself. The original Magic Kingdom still boasts its famous four
general themes in Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland and
Tomorrowland, with all the rides, attractions and shows anyone could
want.
The Disney glam hasn't faded one iota since 1955 when Walt himself
officially opened the park, although things have moved on a bit in
technology of course. As you'd expect, the mouse is much in evidence
as is his goofy mate. But the new stars of Disney such as Aladdin,
Pocahontas and the lead characters of Toy Story are the biggest
draws for kids nowadays.
Film Studios
Tours
The Hollywood movie mill is still turning, and the big companies,
Sony (Tel: +1 (1)323-520-8687) and Warner (Tel: +1 (1)818-977-8687)
both offer tours around their lots. Each has a dedicated tourist
area and tour but the main attraction for movie fans is getting
close to the huge (and mostly out of bounds) warehouses around the
complex, which contain sets for tomorrow's blockbuster movies.
Of course the stars are always somewhere around - although you're
only likely to see your own reflection in the blacked out windows of
the SUVs that whisk them on and off set. The tours are still
worthwhile however, if only because you'll be able to tell people
for definite who it might have been that you nearly saw. You get
better value at Universal Studios Hollywood, which has been
developed into a full theme park with rides, shows and film-based
attractions aplenty. Only Disneyland gets more visitors so be
prepared to battle the crowds.
Star Tours
After trying brunching on Melrose and hanging round the film lot to
no avail then maybe it's time to visit (not stalk) the stars at
home.
It's possible to buy a map of the homes of the stars from almost
anywhere along Hollywood Boulevard, but a better idea is to climb
aboard a tour bus and let a guide point out the highlights in
person. Starline Tours leave from outside Graumann's every half-hour
and visits all the outsized pads of the most famous inhabitants of
the city, past and present. A quirkier option is the Oh Heavenly
Tour (formerly Graveline), which escorts visitors round the sites of
the various suicides and accidents in which stars met their end -
still pulling the punters in long after the final reel. Grisly, but
fascinating nonetheless.
Starline Tours, leave from Grauman's Chinese Theater.
Cost: from USD35 per person.
La Brea Tar
Pits
 After
all the glitz and glam of Hollywood the La Brea tar pits are a
reminder that Los Angeles has a genuine history, and is firmly
grounded in reality.
The La Brea tar pits are probably one of the world's best fossil
sites. The exposed pools entrapped many a poor creature over the
centuries, and the remains were fabulously preserved under the
cloying black stuff. Full skeletons of sabre toothed tigers,
mammoths and bison along with fossils of plants, spiders and insects
extracted from the pits are displayed in the Page Museum near to the
site.
In the park outside life-size replicas of the pits' victims,
including tigers and mammoths are displayed in dramatic tableaux.
For the curious, although several human artefacts have been dredged
up over the years, only one human skeleton has been found so far,
dating from 9,000 years ago.
5801 Wilshire Blvd.
Open: Mon-Fri 09h30-17h00; Sat-Sun 10h00-17h00.
Admission: USD7, adults; USD2, children (5-12).
El Pueblo de
Los Angeles
 This
historic State Park encompasses the site where the city was first
founded in 1781. Piquant Olvera Street is the centrepiece, and
recaptures the Mexican flavour of the early settlement. There's a
marketplace selling handicrafts as well as restaurants and shops to
explore.
The old buildings that fall under the park's protection remind you
that LA has a genuine and interesting history underneath its movie
set façade. While in the area it's worth paying a visit to Union
Station, built in 1939 and widely considered one of America's great
rail stations architecturally speaking.
Museum of
Tolerance
 An
absolutely amazing - and disturbing - place that could only exist in
LA, a city that has seen more than its fair share of hate crime.
In the museum you are confronted by all the non-PC fears of modern
society, from being the subject of abuse hurled at you personally,
to your own levels of tolerance being cannily drawn out of you by
the opinion-provoking Point of View Diner. Most harrowing of all is
the entire section on the Holocaust with its recreation of the
genocidal programme of hate perpetrated against the Jews by the
Nazis. If you come out feeling shell-shocked, and a little more
thoughtful, then that's how it should be.
Museum of Tolerance. Simon Wiesenthal Plaza, 9786 West Pico Blvd.
Open: Mon-Thu 10h00-18h30; Fri 10h00-17h00; Sun 11h00-19h30.
Admission: USD10, adults; USD7, children (under 12).
Basketball -
LA Lakers
If New York is the place to see baseball then its West Coast rival
is the premier place to see America's other favourite spectator
sport - basketball.
There are two teams that play in the city, the Clippers and the
Lakers, who share the massive Staples Center arena downtown. The
Lakers are now back where they believe they belong as NBA champions
following the supremacy of the Chicago Bulls through most of the
90s.
Getting a ticket for the Lakers might prove difficult depending on
how well they're doing and which team they're playing. There's
always plenty of food, drink and entertainment and even a star or
two. Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington always sit courtside while
Dustin Hoffman, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Steven Spielberg can
often be spotted. Lakers tickets can be obtained at Ticketmaster
outlets. They are located in The Wherehouse, Robinson's-May, and
Tower Records.
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