Stand at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue and the sidewalk itself is the attraction: brass-edged stars underfoot, handprints in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the Hollywood Sign lettering the ridge above town. Los Angeles rewards travellers who accept its scale and plan in clusters rather than trying to cross the whole basin in a day.
This guide suits first-time visitors and returning travellers who want the film landmarks, the historic core and the major museums without guesswork. Each entry below names a place you can look up on its own page, with one practical note on how to fit it into your day.
Top things to do in Los Angeles
1. Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Walk of Fame
These two Hollywood landmarks sit in the same stretch of sidewalk, which makes them the natural starting point for a film-focused visit. Grauman's Chinese Theater is the forecourt where stars left handprints and footprints, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame runs along the boulevard outside it.
Combine the two on foot rather than treating them as separate stops, and look up from the pavement now and then: the Hollywood Sign is perched on the hill above.
2. Griffith Observatory and Griffith Park
The Griffith Observatory sits atop Griffith Park and is known both for its appearances in film and for its sweeping view of the city. The park around it is a vast expanse of hills near the Hollywood Sign, with hiking trails, picnic spots and tucked-away sights.
Because the observatory and the park share the same terrain, pair a walk or hike with the view from the top. The park also holds the Los Angeles Zoo and the Autry Museum of the American West if you want to extend the visit.
3. El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument and Olvera Street
This Downtown historic district marks the site of the original Spanish settlement where Los Angeles was founded in the 1780s. It preserves some of the city's oldest buildings, and Olvera Street, the oldest part of Los Angeles, runs through it with Mexican restaurants and shops.
It sits across from Union Station, so you can arrive by rail and walk straight into the district. Give yourself time to eat on Olvera Street rather than passing through.
4. The Getty Center
The Getty Center in West L.A. is regularly described as one of the finest art museums in the country, with an extensive European art collection and a position above the city on the Santa Monica mountains that gives it a spectacular view of the L.A. basin and the Pacific Ocean.
Admission is free, and you can visit the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades on the same day, Wednesday through Sunday only, paying the parking fee just once. The source warns that doing both leaves no time for other activities, so choose deliberately.
5. The Broad and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
The Broad is a contemporary art museum housed in a striking building on Grand Avenue in Downtown, directly across the street from the MOCA's main building. The MOCA also has branches in Little Tokyo and West Hollywood.
Treat the two as one Downtown stop, since they face each other. If contemporary art is your priority, the Little Tokyo branch can be folded into a separate day in that neighbourhood.
6. Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art occupies a massive campus on Wilshire with a particularly varied collection from around the world, including strong holdings of Asian, Latin American and American art, plus a contemporary art museum on the same campus.
It shares the Wilshire corridor with the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, so the two can be visited in sequence. Plan the museum first and the tar pits after, or the reverse, but not both plus a third Wilshire stop.
7. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits
This Wilshire museum preserves the tar pits themselves and displays the numerous fossils excavated from them. It is the rare Los Angeles attraction where the exhibit and the site are the same thing.
Pair it with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art nearby. The pits are outdoors and the museum is indoors, which makes the combination workable whatever the weather does.
8. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and California Science Center
Exposition Park holds both of these science museums, each with an extensive range of exhibits. The Natural History Museum is the largest of its kind on the West Coast, and the Science Center is known for its aircraft collection, which includes the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
Because they share Exposition Park, you can move between them without travelling across the city. The park itself is a pleasant green space with a rose garden, so allow time to sit between buildings.
9. Universal Studios and the studio tours
Universal City in the San Fernando Valley is home to Universal Studios and its associated theme park. Other studios in the area include Warner Brothers Studios and the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, and CBS in Studio City.
Many studios offer tours, and at some you may be able to attend a television show taping. Check the individual pages for details before you commit a day, since taping schedules decide what is possible.
10. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures is the last movie studio left in Hollywood itself, with its famed double-arched gate facing Melrose Avenue. For anyone tracing the industry's geography, it is the Hollywood address that still works as a studio.
Pair it with the Hollywood sights above, since it sits in the same part of town. Elsewhere, Sony Pictures occupies the historic MGM Studios in Culver City and 20th Century Studios is headquartered in Century City.
11. Downtown's Historic Core and the Bradbury Building
The Historic Core retains many examples of late 19th and early 20th century architecture, including old movie palaces and the Victorian-style Bradbury Building along Broadway. Just north is the grand 1920s City Hall, and a little further on, across from the El Pueblo area, is the 1930s Mission Revival-style Union Station.
These are close enough to walk as a single Downtown sequence, ending at Union Station. The architecture is the attraction, so go at a pace that lets you look up at the facades.
12. Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood is one of the cemeteries noted as the final resting place of many celebrities and influential writers and directors. The Westwood Village Memorial Park in Westwood and the massive Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale are the other two.
Choose one rather than attempting all three, since they sit in different parts of the city. Hollywood Forever fits most easily into a Hollywood day.
13. Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary
Long Beach has the Aquarium of the Pacific, one of the largest aquariums in the country, sitting right across the harbour from the historic Queen Mary ocean liner. On the other side of the port, San Pedro holds several maritime museums.
The harbour setting means you can see the aquarium and the Queen Mary without a long transfer between them. This is a natural full-day outing if you are basing yourself in Long Beach.
14. The Autry Museum of the American West
The Autry Museum in Griffith Park holds numerous exhibits on the history of the American West, with cowboy artifacts and memorabilia from Hollywood westerns. It is one of the major draws within the park itself.
Fold it into a Griffith Park day alongside the Griffith Observatory and the Los Angeles Zoo. The park is large, so pick your stops before you arrive rather than deciding on the ground.
15. The Getty Villa
The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades is the older Getty museum, worth a visit for its collection of artifacts from ancient Greece and Rome. Admission is free, but tickets must be reserved in advance.
It can be visited on the same day as the Getty Center, Wednesday through Sunday only, with the parking fee paid once. Reserve your Villa tickets before you plan the rest of that day.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start in Hollywood at Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, then look up to the Hollywood Sign on the ridge above. If you have time before moving on, Paramount Pictures and its double-arched gate on Melrose Avenue are in the same part of town.
Afternoon: Head to Griffith Park for the Griffith Observatory and its sweeping view of the city, adding the Autry Museum of the American West if the park's terrain and your energy allow. Alternatively, trade the park for the Getty Center in West L.A., whose view takes in the L.A. basin and the Pacific Ocean.
Evening: Finish Downtown at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, walking Olvera Street for its Mexican restaurants and shops, then continue into the Historic Core for the Bradbury Building, the 1920s City Hall and Union Station. If contemporary art appeals more than architecture, the Broad and the MOCA face each other on Grand Avenue and can close the day instead.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the Hollywood Sign?
The sign is perched on the hill above Hollywood, and Griffith Park sprawls across the hills near it, so the park's trails and viewpoints are the natural place to take it in.
Can I visit the Getty Center and the Getty Villa in one day?
Yes, on Wednesday through Sunday only, and you pay the parking fee once. Admission to both is free, though the Villa requires tickets reserved in advance. The source cautions that you should not expect any time left over for other activities.
Do any Los Angeles studios offer tours?
Many studios offer tours, and at some you may be able to attend a television show taping. Check the individual pages for details, since availability varies by studio.
Where can I find historic architecture in Los Angeles?
Downtown's Historic Core has late 19th and early 20th century buildings including the Bradbury Building, with City Hall and Union Station nearby. The Miracle Mile district along Wilshire holds mid-20th century commercial architecture, including Art Deco and Streamline examples, and the Griffith Observatory is itself an Art Deco structure.
Pick the cluster that matches your interests, check the individual pages for tour and ticket details, and start mapping your days around it.