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Beverly Hills Attractions
Catalina Island
Visitors enjoy hiking, biking, scuba-diving, golf, tennis, driving golf carts, and water activities in the clearest water in Southern California. The Mediterranean-like town of Avalon is home to numerous shops, hotels, restaurants, and cafés. The landmark Casino building houses the island's only movie theater, an art gallery, the Catalina Island Museum, and one of the world's largest circular ballrooms.
Chinatown
Bordered by César E. Chávez Avenue and N. Alameda, Bernard and Figueroa streets, the "new" Chinatown was built in 1938 after Union Station construction demolished most of the original. Chinatown is packed with distinctive Chinese architecture, culture, and cuisine. Visitors can be served dim sum any day of the week, then browse through shops that specialize in fine silks, inlaid furniture, and Asian art.
Farmers' Market
6333 W. Third Street
Opened in 1934, this is Los Angeles' oldest farmers' market. In addition to fresh meat and produce, the market offers a wide variety of prepared ethnic foods, restaurants, and shops.
Griffith Observatory
Located in Griffith Park and offering spectacular views of the city, the observatory hosts planetarium shows, stargazing, laser light shows, and exhibits.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Boulevard
More than 2000 veteran entertainers are honored along these streets. Star-shaped plaques embedded in the sidewalk commemorate talents from film, television, radio, and music.
Santa Monica Pier
The Santa Monica Pier is located at the foot of Colorado Boulevard in Santa Monica and it is the city’s most famous landmark. The pier contains an amusement park with a big wheel overlooking the Pacific Ocean and parts of West Los Angeles, a carousel from the 1930’s, several shops, vendors, entertainers, a pub and a few restaurants and a café. At the end of the pier, fishermen get together to enjoy their hobby. During the summer months, the free Thursday Twilight Dance Series is held, and open air free film screenings are offered to the public from early August to late September.
Santa Monica Pier Aquarium
3220 Nebraska Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: +1 310 453 0395 or 800 HEAL BAY (in California only)
E-mail
The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (SMPA) is a marine science aquarium located beach-level, just below the Carousel, at the Santa Monica Pier. The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium offers school groups, families and visitors a unique view into the ocean world just outside its doors and is home to dozens of species of marine animals and plants. Aquaria exhibits include interactive displays, touch tanks filled with animals found in tide pools and several large habitat tanks featuring animals and habitats found in the Santa Monica Bay. Public Hours: Monday – closed, Tuesday through Friday – 2:00pm to 5:00pm, Weekends – 12:30pm to 5:00pm.
Universal Studios
The Theme Park includes a tram tour of Universal's back lot, taking you through many well-known sets, being attacked by Jaws, and experiencing an earthquake. An informal tour that will not bore the kids - in fact, they will simple love it. Price included in admission cost to Universal.
Warner Brothers Studios Tour
This two-hour plus tour is an actual tour of working studios; no two tours are alike as you are seeing actual work in progress. Therefore, the chance of seeing a star behind or in front of the camera is excellent. Tour the costume department, scenic department, and the mill that creates sets for films and TV, then tour the exterior sets that you will recognize from films and TV. Last is Warner's on-lot Studio Museum, a collection of over 70 years' worth of film making, where you can see four Best Picture Oscars, clothes worn by the stars, a Casablanca museum with the original piano, John Wayne's saddle, and even James Dean's Triumph motorbike. This two-floor museum contains something from virtually every Warner Bros. film. The tour is limited to up to 12 people at a time, including your well-informed guide, so it is worth booking in advance.
Paramount Studios Tour
Paramount Studios has perhaps the most famous studio gates in the world and is now the only major studio actually located in Hollywood. This two-hour guided walking tour incorporates a historical and informational behind-the-scenes look at the daily workings of a film studio. Do not be surprised if you spot a star, after all they work here.
Museums
Craft and Folk Art Museum
5814 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: +1 323 937 4230
The museum, founded in 1965 by Edith and Frank Wyle as The Egg and The Eye, is known for its exhibitions reflecting the diverse communities and contemporary craft artists and designers of the Southern California region and internationally. The Craft and Folk Art Museum offers Family Art Workshops. Refer to their web site for more information.
Historic Firehouse
501 N. Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel: +1 213 680 2525
Tour the first official firehouse of Los Angeles, built in 1884.
Hollywood Wax Museum
6767 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028
Tel: +1 323 462 8860
Offers visitors an insider's look at over 350 wax figures of icons from the realms of movies, television, the recording arts, athletics, and history. Take a personalized journey through the past and into the present as you encounter the incredibly lifelike figures displayed in high-quality theme settings that will draw you into their world.
J. Paul Getty Museum
1200 Getty Center Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1687
Tel: +1 310 440 7300
A collection and exhibitions of Greek and Roman antiquities, European paintings, sculpture, and much more, surrounded by amazing architecture and a spectacular view. The newly redesigned Family Room is now open! Offering a place for families with children of all ages to discover a world of wonders, delights, and hands-on activities, it's the perfect place for families to learn about art together. Make a mask, create a sculpture, hunt for art treasures, and more.
Kidspace Children's Museum
Brookside Park
Pasadena, CA 91101
Tel: +1 626 449 9143
Where else can kids dig, learn about fossils and the evolution of earthquakes, ride trikes, and climb 35 feet into the air? Today, they can do it all at the new Kidspace Children's Museum, the only Los Angeles-based museum committed to creating exhibits and programs in the arts, sciences, and humanities that promote exploration, investigation, and expression. With a new location in Pasadena's Brookside Park, next to the Rose Bowl, Kidspace unveils its one-of-a-kind museum, including more than two acres of gardens, waterways, and outdoor learning environments.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: +1 323 857 6000
LACMA has assembled a permanent collection that includes approximately 100,000 works of art, spanning the history of art forms from ancient times to the present, making it the premier encyclopedic visual arts museum in the Western United States. LACMA also offers an outstanding schedule of special exhibitions, as well as lectures, classes, family activites, film programs, and world-class musical events. LACMA is closed on Wednesdays and offers free admission the second Tuesday of every month.
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
250 S. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel: +1 213 626 6222
The museum has three locations: MOCA at California Plaza, MOCA at the Geffen Contemporary, and MOCA at the Pacific Design Center. Admission is free on Thursdays from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Museum of the American West
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Tel: +1 323 667 2000
Devoted to preserving and interpreting the rich history and traditions of the American West. Don't miss the hands-on McCormick Tribune Foundation Family Discovery Gallery, where children step back in time to discover what life was like for the See family, a Chinese American family in the 1930s. Through exploration of the family's antique store, restaurant, and home, kids can draw comparisons and contrasts with their own families. (My kids adore exploring the Chinese Restaurant!)
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007
Tel: +1 213 763 DINO
Founded in 1913, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest museum of natural and cultural history in the Western United States. There is so much to see here that you'll come back again and again! Favorite permanent exhibits include Dinosaurs, the Insect Zoo, and the Ralph M. Parsons Discovery Center. Call for 24-hour museum information.
Norton Simon Museum
411 W. Colorado Boulevard
Pasadena, CA 91105
Tel: +1 626 449 6840
Norton Simon's art collection is one of the world's finest and most prestigious. Its outstanding scope is matched only by its superb quality, with more than 2000 years of Western and Asian art represented.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Tel: +1 626 405 2100
An oasis of art and culture set amidst 150 acres of breathtaking gardens. Three art galleries and a library showcase magnificent collections of paintings, sculptures, rare books, manuscripts, and decorative arts. The botanical collection features over 14,000 different species of plants.
Shopping
Robertson Boulevard
Kitson
115 S. Robertson Boulevard
Tel: +1 310 859 2652
Lisa Kline
136 S. Robertson Boulevard
Tel: +1 310 246 0907
Madison
106 S. Robertson Boulevard
Tel: +1 310 275 1930
Curve
154 N. Robertson Boulevard
Tel: +1 310 360 8008
Beverly Boulevard
Beige
7274 Beverly Boulevard
Tel: +1 323 549 0064
3rd Street
Polka Dots & Moonbeams
8367 W. 3rd Street
Tel: +1 323 651 1746
Satine
8117 W. 3rd Street
Tel: +1 323 655 2142
Melrose Avenue
Fred Segal
8100 Melrose Avenue
Tel: +1 323 651 4129
Decades
8214 Melrose Avenue
Tel: +1 323 655 1960
James Perse
8914 Melrose Avenue
Tel: +1 310 276 7777
Sunset Boulevard
Tracy Ross
8595 Sunset Boulevard
Tel: +1 310 854 1996
Kaviar and Kind
8533 W. Sunset Boulevard
Tel: +1 310 659 8857
La Brea Avenue
American Rag
150 S. La Brea Avenue
Tel: +1 323 935 3154
Bleu
454 S. La Brea Avenue
Tel: +1 323 939 2228
Yellow
605 N. La Brea Avenue
Tel: +1 323 525 0362
Beaches
- Hermosa Beach
- Las Tunas Beach
- Malibu Beach
- Manhattan Beach
- Marina Del Rey Beach
- Will Rogers Beach
- Zuma Beach
Golf
Malibu Country Club
901 Encinal Canyon Road
Malibu, CA 90265
Tel: +1 818 889 6680
This course is set back in Malibu Canyon, giving the fairways a rolling topography. Elevation changes will test even the most skilled players' accuracy, and water hazards come into play on three holes. Hole #7, a 205-yard, par 3, has a lake sitting between the tee box and the kidney-shaped green, and #9, a 370-yard, par 4, requires an approach shot over another lake. There is no nine-hole play allowed on weekends, and golfers who wish to play nine during the week should call a day in advance to get approval from the pro shop.