The first thought of Los Angeles is a place made for entertainment.
This is for good reason as many of the movies, television shows, and music is actually produced in the City of Angels.
The city’s show-business history attracts so many tourists, and not to mention the chance to come across a celebrity.
Furthermore, Los Angeles beaches, theme parks, and year-round sunny weather are also reasons to visit this amazing city.
Among the big attractions in Los Angeles, we have to mention a world-class collection of museums, arenas, and theaters.
Furthermore, sports fans and outdoor enthusiasts wil not be disappointed as there are so many activities to be done in Los Angeles.
You can do many different things, from impromptu volleyball games to whale watching and sailing on the blue Pacific.
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California Science Center
California Science Center is set in Exposition Park, and it is full of interesting and educational exhibits.
There are sections that focus on animals from various ecosystems, as well as those that are dedicated to energy, transportation, and outer space.
California Science Center was founded in 1951, and it has developed into a massive museum that nowadays contains amazing aircraft and space shuttles.
The Endeavour is the standout sight, and it is in line with its World of Life and Creative World galleries.
California Science Center has an IMAX theater that plays educational films.
Paramount Pictures Studio Tour
The Paramount Pictures Studio is the last remaining film studio of the ‘Big Five’ in Hollywood.
The Paramount Pictures Studio Tour lets visitors explore some of its recognizable stages, costumes, and memorabilia.
There is a double-arched gate at the entrance which lets you into the place where you can explore the iconic sets from TV shows and blockbuster movies.
If you wish to learn more, you can listen to a knowledgeable guide while driving on golf carts, and see sets from Sabrina and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
The Paramount Pictures Studio Tour is worth going on as it has to offer a look into the world of Hollywood and how TV shows and movies are made.
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl which can be found among the rolling Hollywood Hills is certainly one of the most celebrated live music venues in the States.
The place is carved into the hillside with the world-famous Hollywood Sign.
It is a location where numerous concerts are held each year, including operas, orchestras, and musicals.
the Hollywood Bowl was built in 1922 as the huge outdoor amphitheater and big names like Cher, Queen and The Beatles all have had their concerts here.
All in all, the Hollywood Bowl is one of the most memorable places where you can watch a performance.
Zuma Beach
Zuma Beach is for those looking for sun, sea, and sand.
The picture-perfect Zuma Beach is situated in Malibu and it is easily accessible being that it is just an hour’s drive west of L.A.
The beach is overlooked by the majestic Santa Monica Mountains and is popular with both locals and tourists.
Some of the outdoor activities that can be performed there are fishing and beach volleyball, as well as sunbathing, swimming, and surfing.
Madame Tussauds Hollywood
Madame Tussauds Hollywood is a famous location where you can see a huge collection of wax figures of famous celebrities.
The place belongs to the city’s top tourist attractions, as it is located along Hollywood Boulevard.
The museum was opened in 2009 and nowadays, it is full of movie stars and pop icons, plus exciting VR experiences.
There are over a hundred remarkably life-like wax models of Barack Obama and Leonardo DiCaprio, Taylor Swift, Snoop Dogg, and Spider-Man, to mention just a few.
At this place, you can watch a thrilling 4D Marvel Universe film.
Runyon Canyon Park
Runyon Canyon Park boasts stunning scenery even though it is just a couple of blocks off Hollywood Boulevard.
It is set amidst the Hollywood Hills, and certain epic old mansions and estates also contribute to its beauty.
We suggest hiking about its hills and stopping by Rock Mandala, Inspiration Point, or Clouds Rest for phenomenal vistas of Los Angeles.
Due to the hot, dry climate hiking can be tough, but all in all, the park is well worth visiting so there is a chance of seeing some snakes, lizards, deer, and coyotes.
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall is the city’s unique and impressive music setting.
The remarkable Walt Disney Concert Hall is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale.
It boasts amazing architecture, acoustics, and acts, and it was designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry.
The structure is made of stainless steel and the concert hall’s elegant auditorium features ‘vineyard-style’ seating.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art offers its visitors a chance to see the outstanding collection of artworks.
In the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, you will be able to see photos and paintings, carvings, ceramics, and sculptures.
This is definitely the largest museum in the western United States and it covers a huge part of Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile neighborhood.
The museum was founded in 1961 with not so many artworks, but throughout its history, it has developed into a museum with over 150,000 items with those focusing on ancient Greek and Egyptian artifacts, Islamic art, Renaissance paintings, and contemporary Latin American pieces.
Its galleries offer you the masterpieces by Degas, Magritte, and Rembrandt, to mention a few.
The Broad
Unlike the Los Angeles County Museum of Art that focuses on art history, The Broad focuses on current and postwar artworks.
The Broad opened in 2015 and it attracts the attention of passersby due to its eye-catching ‘honeycomb-like’ exterior.
This striking sight does not owe its popularity just to its attractive architecture.
You can see interesting artworks, fabulous photos, paintings and sculptures, and brilliant works of Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, and Jeff Koons, among many others.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood
The Warner Bros. Studio is located in the north of LA in neighboring Burbank.
People who visit this place get the opportunity to see iconic sets from TV shows and films s well as props, costumes, and memorabilia.
This place is one of the oldest film studios in the world and it boasts huge outdoor sets that represent locations, such as New York and a mid-western town, with soundstages for The Big Bang Theory and Pretty Little Liars, etc.
There are so many recognizable places and things, from the ‘Central Perk’ from Friends, Batmobiles, to broomsticks from Harry Potter.
Battleship USS Iowa Museum
Battleship USS Iowa Museum is nowadays protected and permanently secured in San Pedro Bay.
Once there, you will be allowed to wander about its decks, bridges, and cabins, thus learning about life at sea and the ship’s fascinating past.
Battleship Iowa was built in 1943 and served during the Second World War, Korean War, and Cold War.
Currently, it has an interesting Combat Engagement Center which visitors can explore, as well as engine rooms, boiler rooms, and officers’ wards.
It is known under the nickname the ‘Battleship of Presidents’ as it hosted Roosevelt, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush, too.
Petersen Automotive Museum
Petersen Automotive Museum is located in LA’s Miracle Mile neighborhood.
At Petersen Automotive Museum, there is an extensive collection of cars and motorcycles.
The most interesting of them are countless classic cars that tend to take visitors on a journey through the development of the automobile industry.
Petersen Automotive Museum is one of the largest museums of its kind in the world.
The museum boasts over 300 cars and motorcycles including Lavish limos, Rolls-Royces, Porsches, and Ferraris.
Furthermore, there are shiny cars from famous films or those that once were owned by celebrities.
The Grove & Original Farmers Market
The Grove & Original Farmers Market is located in West Hollywood and has to offer a myriad of superb shops, stands, and stalls.
It was opened in 1934, and since that moment, the Original Farmers Market has been very popular with both locals and tourists.
You will find there various coffee stands, ethnic eateries, and stalls selling fresh food, artisanal products, and souvenirs.
Next to the market, there is The Grove an enormous retail and entertainment complex that boasts chain stores, restaurants, and a massive movie theatre.
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is quite a famous place in LA, especially among those who wish for great nightlife.
The place is popular for its restaurants, music venues, and nightclubs.
This is the most famous stretch of Sunset Boulevard and throughout many years, this location was the favorite hangout of many celebrities and influential people, including mob bosses, Marilyn Monroe, rock stars, and metal bands.
Its iconic look made Sunset Strip appear in numerous films, TV shows, and even video games.
Hollywood Sign
The main aim of the Hollywood Sign when erected was to advertise real estate in the Hollywood Hills.
Nevertheless, the meaning of the Hollywood sign has changed a lot, and it now represents the glamour and excitement of the movie industry.
The majority of visitors to Los Angeles want to take a picture of the iconic Hollywood sign, but not everyone manages to get close to it.
The sign consists of the 45-foot (14-meter) high letters set on Mount Lee.
The sign is blocked by barriers and protected by a security system.
It is a huge sign that can be seen from all over Tinseltown, so our suggestion is to park and take pictures from the Griffith Observatory, Lake Hollywood Park, and the Hollywood and Highland Center shopping mall.
La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum
The La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum is well known for its pool of black tar in the middle of a green city park.
Whoever sees it considers it an unexpected sight in Los Angeles.
The La Brea Tar Pits boasts archeological findings for the nearby George C. Page Museum which nowadays has one of the major collections of Ice Age fossils in the world.
The oldest of the 100 tons of bones that were found in the pits date back 38,000 years.
Visitors can see the complete skeletons of animals like saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and mastodons, while the Paleontology Laboratory offers visitors an opportunity to watch scientists while working on the latest findings.
Rodeo Drive
Rodeo Drive is located in a 16-square-block area – the Golden Triangle.
Rodeo Drive is definitely L.A.’s most renowned shopping street in the elite neighborhood of Beverly Hills.
You can find designer clothing and accessories that are sold in the luxury shops, but the majority of people come to Rodeo Drive as tourists who just want to explore the site.
Besides window-shopping, these people also try to come across a celebrity.
The mini-mall at Two Rodeo Drive is attractive to tourists due to its architecture and cobblestone street, making it look like a theme park, not a mall.
Santa Monica Pier
The Santa Monica Pier consists of two piers and it is famous worldwide due to its bait shop and pier-end restaurant.
Once part of it was built in 1909 and it looks like most Southern California piers, while the other part of the pier was constructed in 1916 and it is exactly what attracts most visitors.
The elevated square which is used to connect the two piers has an old-fashioned amusement park with a vintage roller coaster, a wooden carousel, and a solar-powered Ferris Wheel.
You can also see a small aquarium, and a trapeze school at the pier too.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is made with the aim to keep the glamour of Hollywood alive.
It is well known as an area where celebrities’ stars are embedded into sidewalks, established in the 1950s.
Since its creation, more than 2,500 stars have been added.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Street and it is operated by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
It boasts about ten million visitors annually, who walk down the sidewalk and look for their favorite actor, singer, musician, director, or other celebrity.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is home to one of the oldest still-operating film studios.
Universal Studios Hollywood is a huge complex located in the San Fernando Valley which attracts visitors by its family-friendly theme park.
Actually, the park’s rides and attractions are focused on blockbuster movies, offering a fantastic experience to fans of films such as “King Kong” and “Waterworld.”
You can also go on a tour of the studio behind-the-scenes or visit the Universal CityWalk, an outdoor shopping center where live performances are available.
Disneyland
No matter if you are a child or an adult, visiting Disneyland is always a memorable experience.
Disneyland in Los Angeles is located an hour’s drive from Downtown.
This Disneyland was the first of Walt Disney’s chain of theme parks and it is one of the two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort.
It was built in Anaheim, California, and opened on July 17, 1955.
It is the only park whose creation was overlooked by Walt Disney himself and its rides and attractions are inspired by the Golden State.
“Park Hopper” tickets let visitors access both parks, meaning that you can visit Tomorrowland and Fantasyland as well as Hollywood Land and Cars Land once there.
Costumed performers are all over the parks so that children can encounter their favorite Disney characters.
Getty Center
Getty Center was named after the oil magnate Jean Paul Getty who was considered one of the richest men in the world.
He is well known for establishing the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1953 and nowadays this is the world’s wealthiest art institution.
The foundation actually funds several institutions, among which there is the stunning billion-dollar Getty Center.
It is located high atop L.A.’s Brentwood Hills and if you want to see it, you will have to take a ride in a sleek hover-train funicular.
It wil take you to the museum where you can see an astonishing collection of artwork dating from the Middle Ages to the present.
There are masterpieces like van Gogh’s “Irises,” Monet’s “Wheatstack” and “The Abduction of Europa” by Rembrandt, to mention just a few.
Griffith Park & Observatory
Griffith Park & Observatory is the largest municipal park in the United States and it is considered as an escape from L.A. hustle and bustle.
It has to offer its visitors acres of hilly trails and green spaces, as well as fun attractions, including the Los Angeles Zoo to the outdoor Greek Theatre.
Withing Griffith Park, there is also one of the city’s most iconic landmarks- the Griffith Observatory.
This observatory dates back to 1935 when this beautiful Art Deco complex was built.
Nowadays, it boasts exhibits, an out-of-this-world planetarium, and multiple telescopes available for visitors to use.
Venice Beach
Venice Beach was established when a tobacco magnate Abbot Kinney decides to transform a stretch of shoreline south of Santa Monica into the “Venice of America.”
It happened in 1904 when Kinney transformed a series of drainage channels into scenic canals and created a Venetian-inspired arcade on the beach.
Today, these canals are one of the top tourist attractions in Los Angeles and definitely deserve the top place on our list.
Visitors also get the chance to visit the beach’s world-famous boardwalk where they can see street performers, shops, stalls, and food stands.
The beach’s volleyball courts, skating plaza and body-building Muscle Beach area are quite popular, as well.