Beverly Hills
has so much to offer you don't want to waste any time while
you are here. The exciting city of Hollywood is close by
where you will find Rodeo Drive, Universal Studios, and the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. Learn about all of your favorite
stars and enjoy sights you won't find anywhere else on earth.
That is just the start. You can take a stroll down the
Santa Monica Pier, visit Warner Bros. Studios or tour
LA's Griffith Park. If that is not enough, you will find
museums, art galleries, and historic sights to visit and
enjoy. So while you are planning your vacation make sure
to allow enough time to see everything Beverly Hills has to
offer.
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Attractions & Activities
Anaheim
Attractions -
can be found at our Anaheim site All
About Anaheim
Hollywood
Walk of Fame -
All along this mile-long stretch of Hollywood Boulevard
sidewalk, entertainment legends' names are embossed in
brass, each at the center of a pink star embedded in
dark-gray terrazzo. The first eight stars were unveiled in
1960 at the northwest corner of Highland Avenue and
Hollywood Boulevard: Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise
Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick,
Ernest Torrence, and Joanne Woodward (some of these names
have stood the test of time better than others; many stars
memorialize people who worked in a technical field). Since
then, more than 2,000 others have been immortalized,
though that honor doesn't come cheap--upon selection by a
special committee, the personality in question (or more
likely his or her movie studio or record company) pays
about $15,000 for the privilege.
La
Brea Tar Pitts -
About 40,000 years ago, deposits of oil rose to the
Earth's surface, collected in shallow pools, and
coagulated into sticky asphalt. In the early 20th century,
geologists discovered that the sticky goo contained the
largest collection of Pleistocene, or Ice Age, fossils
ever found at one location: more than 600 species of
birds, mammals, plants, reptiles, and insects. More than
100 tons of fossil bones have been removed in excavations
over the last seven decades.
Mulholland
Drive -
The dividing line between the San Fernando Valley and Los
Angeles proper is one of the most famous thoroughfares in
this vast metropolis. Driving the length of the hilltop
road is slow and can be treacherous, but the rewards are
sensational views of valley and city on each side and
expensive homes along the way. From Hollywood reach
Mulholland via Outpost Drive off Franklin Avenue or
Cahuenga Boulevard West via Highland Avenue north.
Rodeo
Drive - No longer an exclusive shopping street
where a well-heeled clientele shops for $200 pairs of
socks wrapped in gold leaf, Rodeo Drive remains one of
Southern California's bona fide tourist attractions. Just
as if they were at Disneyland or in Hollywood, tourists
clad in T-shirts and shorts wander along this tony avenue,
window shopping at Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Armani, Hermès,
Harry Winston, and Lladro.
Santa
Monica Pier -
Eateries, souvenir shops, a psychic adviser, arcades, and Pacific
Park are all part of this truncated pier at the foot
of Colorado Boulevard below Palisades Park. The pier's
trademark 46-horse carousel, built in 1922, has appeared
in many films, including the Sting. Free concerts
are held on the pier during the summer. Colorado Ave. and
the ocean,
Union
Station -
This building is familiar to moviegoers the world over. It
was built in 1939 in a Spanish Mission style that subtly
combines Streamline Moderne and Moorish design elements.
The waiting room alone is worth a look, its majestic scale
so evocative of movies past that you'll half expect to see
Carole Lombard or Barbara Stanwyck step off a train and
sashay through. 800 N. Alameda St.
Universal
Studios Hollywood -
Though you won't see much to do with real filmmaking,
visiting this theme park is an enlightening--and at times
sensational--introduction to the principles of special
effects. Seated aboard a comfortable tram (narrated,
hour-long tours traverse the 420-acre complex all day
long), you can experience the parting of the Red Sea, an
avalanche, and a flood; meet a 30-ft-tall version of King
Kong; live through an encounter with a runaway train; be
attacked by the ravenous killer shark of Jaws fame;
endure a confrontation by aliens armed with death rays;
and survive a simulation of an earthquake that measured
8.3 on the Richter scale--complete with collapsing earth. Terminator
2-3D, based on the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, mixes
3-D with virtual reality and live action. Jurassic
Park--The Ride is a tour through a jungle full of
dinosaurs with an 84-ft water drop. Throughout the park,
costumed characters mingle with guests and pose for
photos. CityWalk includes a slew of shops,
restaurants, and cinemas. 100 Universal City Plaza,
Universal City, PHONE: 818/508-9600
Venice
Boardwalk -
"Boardwalk" may be something of a
misnomer--we're really talking paved walkway--but this
L.A. must-see, also known as Ocean Front Walk, delivers
year-round action:
Warner
Bros. Studios -
The engaging two-hour peek at this working studio involves
some walking, so dress comfortably. Somewhat technically
oriented and centered more on the actual workings of
filmmaking than the tours at Universal, the ones here vary
from day to day to take advantage of goings-on at the lot.
Most tours take in the back-lot sets, the
prop-construction department, and the sound complex. A
museum chronicles the studio's film and animation history.
Reservations are required.