California Travel Guide

Los Angeles

Through our TV and Movie screens LA is one of the most familiar cities in the world. The city is known world-wide as the home of the film and TV industries. One facet of this is as city of dreams, the other is as city of the pretentious and artificial. Neither image is completely true - or false. One thing is true is that LA is a place to be experienced, it does not express itself through what it has done but rather more what it is doing. The people have clearly decided 'we live on a major fault line, the mountains are obscured by smog but what the hell, the sun is shining we might as well have a good time'.

One of the great things about LA is that it is composed of so many smaller cities each with its own personality. Venice Beach, Hollywood, Beverley Hills and Long Beach are but a few of these cities that make up the massive sprawl that is Los Angeles County.

Where to Go and What to See

Downtown LA

A film set. Many of the sites in this part of the city are familiar as the backdrop to numerous films. This is 'historical LA', the site where it all began. It's easy to be cynical about the history of a place so patently obviously new but in El Pueblo de los Angeles the past is preserved. In this small park, many buildings from the cities earliest times- it was founded in 1781 - can still be seen.

Also in the Downtown area are two decent museums, the Geffen Contemporary and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Chinatown is the spiritual if not actual home to LA's 200,000 Chinese residents. Restaurants and shops, all with that distinctive Chinese flavour, line the streets.

Exposition Park

Just south of the Downtown area lies this, a favoured spot for picnics and strolling. It is also home to the California Science Centre, the California African American Museum and the LA County Museum of Natural History. The park is also home to the LA Sports Arena and Memorial Coliseum.

Mid Wilshire

Not a very familiar name but this district holds the LA County Museum of Art, one of the world's great collections. Exhibits come from all over the globe and down through the centuries. Also here are the La Brea tar pits which have over the years thrown up large numbers of prehistoric animal bones. The creatures were trapped in the tar where their bones have been preserved for centuries. To see the animals reconstructed visit the nearby George C Page museum.

TV & Movies. Now!

For a closer look at TV and film making today there are several studios that run tours. Check out NBC or Warner Bros studios or try and get tickets for the live filming of your favourite show.

Hit The Beach

LA has a strong association with sun and sea these can be enjoyed to maximum effect in Malibu, Long Beach, Venice Beach and Santa Monica.

Santa Monica is the original Bay City and is the largest of the resorts serving the LA area. Wild in the past it is now much more sedate and, as with much of LA, health conscious.

Malibu is where the rich and famous hide themselves, security is tight but the beaches are OK to walk on below the high water mark. True Beach Boys should head for Surfrider Beach whist further along the coast is Pirates Cove a good place in the winter for those hoping to catch sight of migrating Grey Whales.

Long Beach is home to the Queen Mary. This former Cunard luxury Liner is a huge tourist attraction for those seeking to catch something of a lost era of lavish comfort. Also here is the newly opened Aquarium of the Pacific. If you have spare cash take a helicopter ride to the idyllic and mildly eccentric Catalina Island 20 miles off Long Beach. No spare cash? Boat trips are regular and much cheaper.

The Getty Centre

This is a massive and impressive collection of some of the world's great works of art. Endowed by the late JP Getty the trustees of this museum have a bottomless pit of money with which to buy any pieces that become available. One of the most notable examples of this is Van Goghs 'Irises'.

Hollywood

You don't need a smartass like me to tell you what this is. Suffice to say that this area has gone through years of decline but is now definitely on its way back. Much has been done to return some of the glamour to this fabled place and the myths and legends surrounding it give it a special atmosphere all its own. Wallow in movie nostalgia.

All around are places steeped in movie mythology. Mann's Chinese Theatre is still there, an odd looking place but it is here that stars still come to set their handprints in concrete. The theatre itself has hosted many movie premieres but the site of the first (for the 1922 Robin Hood) was the Egyptian Theatre. Based on the Temple of Thebes this movie house has recently been acquired by the city and now it hosts a history of the film industry plus other special movie screenings.

Originally Hollywood was a typical Californian farming community but when the first studio opened in 1911 it's life changed forever. They came here because the sunlight meant they could save money on artificial lighting and the land was cheap.

Other sites with a 'history' include the Roosevelt Hotel, the first home of the Oscars and a place famed for stars misbehavin'. The Hollywood Entertainment Museum is as much a TV museum as a movie museum. They have all kinds of memorabilia but the highlight is the bridge from the original Starship Enterprise. For ultimate fandom (a word I just made up) visit the Hollywood Memorial Cemetery where many stars of yesteryear went to face their final critic. Chief amongst these is Rudolf Valentino whose tomb is still pulling the crowds.

Whilst in Hollywood don't expect to see any stars, they have all gone, as have the major studios. For many years Hollywood seemed in terminal decline, a sleazy strip of whores, hustlers and porno theatres, even now it is not for the faint hearted after dark. Recent massive investment has begun to reverse this trend and once more it is possible to have a good time and dream dreams of celluloid immortality.

Can you believe it is now illegal to go up to that blooming great HOLLYWOOD sign?

Beverley Hills

One of the most ostentatiously well moneyed places on the planet. This is worth driving around just to see how the other half live. The Polo Lounge is great for celeb spotting but make sure your credit card is in good shape before entering. Taking a tour will inevitably give you more information about Beverley Hills and take you to some of the less obvious locations.

Museum of Television & Radio

If conspicuous consumerism isn't really your thing then there are worse ways to pass a couple of hours than this place. Spanning 50 years of entertainment history, you can watch old movies and TV show clips till your eyes fall out.

Museum of Tolerance

Not for the easily upset and certainly not to everyone's taste, this is essentially a Holocaust memorial Museum. This offers a multi media view of international racism including footage from the rise of the Nazis to the 1992 LA riots. This encourages people to examine their own views on racism and discrimination. Don't expect to feel comfortable.

Eating, Drinking, Clubbing and Sleeping

LA is one of those places where the nightlife crackles with energy. There are hundreds of places to go; there are clubs specialising in any live music you care to mention, there are sophisticated night-clubs, comedy clubs and theatre of all kinds. Whatever takes your fancy can be found.

The same goes for food; LA is a cosmopolitan town so every kind of Ethnic cuisine is here. It is also home to food fads, mad diets and food snobs so be choosy.

As a health conscious town LA is not a great place to go boozing but the bars and cafes can be great for people watching.

There are a huge number of places to stay in LA; Beverley Hills and West Hollywood can be expensive and all over the city prices rise in the summer and around holiday times. Cheaper accommodation is to be found but in some of the less central or less desirable locations.

Fri 12th Mar 2010