The Best Full-Day 1 Tours COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL 05__9780470926116-ch01.indd9780470926116-ch01.indd 7 11/14/11/14/11 111:411:41 AM 0 5 5 _9780470926116-ch01.indd 8 _ 9 7 8 0 4 7 0 9 2 6 1 1 6 - c h 0 8 1 . i n The Best Full-Day Tours d d The Bestin Previous page:Allfirst-timevisitorstoL.A.should takeadriveonSunsetBoulevard. 8 1 Warner Brothers VIP Tour BBURBANKURBANK 1 2 Hollywood and Highland sstarttart Encino 101 . 3 Reservoir SSTUDIOTUDIO . d Grauman’s Chinese d v v Theatre CITYCITY UNIVERSALUNIVERSAL l B 4 405 CITYCITY Walk of Fame ulhollan m 8 M d D a r. h 35 r GriffithGriffith Pig ‘n Whistle a B CahuengaCahuenga ParkPark 6 Sunset Boulevard Blvd.Blvd. 7 Getty Center HHollywoodollywood OneDay 8 MulhollandMountaingate Drive RunyonRunyon CCanyonanyon 9 RReservoireservoir Country Club SSantaanta MMonicaonica MMts.ts. 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OOllym g a Moni . g p 0 3 mi t dd. r S ic . a lv a aann Blvd San B . d VVicen B c v B piic Blv Bl ice l l v ympym o v nttee d 03 km l iicc RRanchoancho PParkark d BBlvd . O . P lvd WW. Ol W GGolfolf CCourseourse . 11/14/11 11:41 A / 1 4 / 1 1 1 1 : 4 1 A M M 9 The Best in eeing the country’s largest city in a single day takes prepa- Sration. It’s best to secure reservations in advance for the Warner Bros. Studios VIP tour, your first stop, as well as tickets to the Holly- wood Bowl for the day’s finale. In between, you’ll see landmarks in pop culture, experience the majestic Getty Center, and wind along a One Day couple of the city’s most scenic and historical roads. START: From Riv- erside Dr., take Avon St. south to Warner Blvd. Go left and follow the signs to VIP Tour parking. 1 ★★ Warner Bros. Studios VIP recommended and can be made Tour. Start the day early in Burbank online. @ 2–3 hr. 3400 Riverside Dr., because that’s how the ghost of stu- Burbank. y 818/972-8687. www. dio chief Jack Warner would want it. wbstudiotour.com. VIP tour $48 per Warner Bros., the third-oldest movie person. Mon–Fri continuously studio (founded in 1918), took over 8:20am–4pm (extended hours in 110 acres from First National Pic- spring & summer). tures in 1928 with the payout from Coming from Riverside Dr., head betting big on the first “talkie,” The left on Olive Ave., continue on 1 Jazz Singer. The 2 ⁄2-hour tour takes Barham Blvd., turn left at you behind the scenes of the work- Cahuenga Blvd., continue on ing lot, and with roughly 35 sound- Highland Ave., and park in the stages and outdoor sets, there’s a parking structure on your right lot of work going on. The hit televi- after you pass Franklin Ave. sion show ER was shot here, as were The Dukes of Hazzard, The 2 ★ Hollywood & Highland. West Wing, and Friends. These days After languishing for years as fly- the sets of The Mentalist, Ellen, and paper for runaways and hustlers, Two and Half Men fill the sound- Hollywood Boulevard has Times stages. But it’s the studio’s film his- Squared itself in the past decade tory that boggles the mind—My Fair and is now a polished link to Tinsel- Lady, Rebel Without a Cause, and town’s heyday. The centerpiece of Bonnie and Clyde were all made the area’s revitalization is the retail here. Children 7 and under are not and entertainment behemoth at admitted. Reservations are Hollywood & Highland, which includes the grand Kodak Theatre, Take a guided tour of the Warner Bros. the first permanent home of the lot. Academy Awards. Explore the multi- tiered Babylonian-style courtyard, inspired by D. W. Griffith’s silent film epic Intolerance, and you’ll find photo-ready views of the HOLLYWOOD sign perched atop Mount Lee in the distance. @ 30 min. 6801 Hollywood Blvd., at Highland Ave. y 323/817- 0200. www.hollywoodandhighland. com. Mon–Sat 10am–10pm; Sun 10am–7pm. You can leave your car in the Hol- lywood & Highland parking com- plex; the next stops are walkable. 05__9780470926116-ch01.indd9780470926116-ch01.indd 9 11/14/11/14/11 111:411:41 AM 10 3 ★★ Grauman’s Chinese most, one for each of the five cate- Theatre. “Over the top” would be gories: film, television, music, radio, an understatement. The bronze and theater. Immortality doesn’t pagoda roof, garish columns, leer- come cheap; the honoree must fork ing gargoyles, and fiery dragons— over $25,000 (a “sponsorship fee”) for mad impresario Sid Grauman, to cover installation and mainte- these were only half the fun. nance. Be sure to poke your head Full-Day Tours According to the apocryphal story, up every once in a while as you silent-film star Norma Talmadge shuffle along, or you could miss accidentally stepped in a patch of other landmarks: the immaculate El wet cement at the theater’s opening Capitan Theatre (6838 Hollywood The Best (the 1927 premiere of Cecil B. DeMi- Blvd.), which premiered Citizen Kane lle’s The King of Kings) and the great in 1941; the Hollywood Roosevelt imprinting tradition was born. A less (7000 Hollywood Blvd.), where the dramatic version says Grauman got first Academy Awards were held; the idea when he observed his chief and another Sid Grauman inspira- mason signing his work (look for tion, the Egyptian Theatre (6712 “J.W.K.”). Today, the Forecourt of Hollywood Blvd.), now home to the the Stars is cemented in history, American Cinematheque. @ 30 crammed with the handprints and min.; best times are weekday morn- footprints of more than 200 movie ings. Hollywood Blvd. from La Brea legends. @ 45 min. 6925 Hollywood Ave. to Gower St. & down Vine St. Blvd. y 323/464-8111. www.mann from Yucca St. to Sunset Blvd. theatres.com. Free admission to forecourt. Daily 24 hr. 5 Pig ’n Whistle. Food options 4 ★ Walk of Fame. On 18 blocks abound at the Hollywood & High- of pink terrazzo stars, you can find land Center, but if you’re looking for more than 2,000 names—some old-school ambience, try the slightly unforgettable, some already forgot- upscale pub fare at this renovated ten, and others perhaps less than landmark. In the Forties, customers deserving (sorry, I just don’t think like Shirley Temple and Judy Garland Godzilla is much of an actor). Joanne downed ice-cream sodas. 6714 Hol- Woodward received the first star in lywood Blvd. y 323/463-0000. Soups, 1960, and Gene Autry received the salads, sandwiches $7–$15. John Travolta’s star on the Walk of Fame. 05__9780470926116-ch01.indd9780470926116-ch01.indd 1010 11/14/11/14/11 111:411:41 AM 11 The Best in One Day The gardens at the Getty Center are as impressive as the architecture. Back in your car: From Hollywood the Sunset Tower (no. 8358), the & Highland, head east to Vine St. Viper Room (no. 8852), and Whisky and take a right. At Sunset Blvd., a Go Go (no. 8901), to name just a take another right. few. By the time you reach the pink palace of the Beverly Hills Hotel (no. 6 ★★ Sunset Boulevard. If you 9641), you’re loving the lushness of have to choose only one road by Beverly Hills. Continue on past the which to see the city of Los Angeles, gates of Bel Air and the UCLA cam- this is the one. Beginning near El pus until you reach Sepulveda Bou- Pueblo, the historic core of down- levard. @ 45 min. town, and stretching nearly 25 miles west to the Pacific Ocean, Sunset Head west on Sunset Blvd., take a links working-class ethnic communi- right at Sepulveda Blvd., and fol- ties (Hispanic, Armenian, Thai), low the signs for the Getty Center. bohemian Silver Lake, historic Holly- 7 ★★★ = Getty Center. wood, the rockin’ Sunset Strip, Money can’t buy happiness, but J. exclusive Beverly Hills and Bel Air, Paul Getty’s $1.2 billion bought UCLA, and the Pacific Palisades. For plenty of world-class art (works by an abbreviated tour, start in Holly- van Gogh, Monet, and Man Ray, wood at Sunset and Vine and head among others) and an architectural west. You can’t miss the Cinerama marvel in which to display it—that Dome (6360 Sunset Blvd.), which makes you a little happy, right? anchors the ArcLight Cinemas com- Ascend the acropolis and admire plex, where serious cineastes get the way Richard Meier ballasts his their fix.