Los Angeles Attractions

Beverly Hills
No star-studded tour is complete without a visit to Beverly Hills, home of the rich and famous. Just west of Hollywood, this city-within-a-city flaunts its wealth with opulent manors on manicured grounds and streets overflowing with designer labels. For the latest on who lives where, grab a 'Star Home Map' from a street-corner vendor.
The Hills' Golden Triangle is bisected by that locus of conspicuous consumption, Rodeo Drive, where retailers such as Tiffany, Armani and Vuitton flog their wares.

Disneyland
Apparently the happiest place on earth (though the hordes of screaming children and parents at their wits' end may make you doubt it), Disneyland is a masterpiece of picture-perfect choreography - even the litter bins are themed. The park is divided into four different lands: Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. High-sugar fun.

Downtown Los Angeles
Just as you'd imagine, LA's downtown area is framed by freeways rather than any particular geographic boundary. But in the thick of all this concrete and congestion, however, intrepid urbanites will find a number of pockets worth exploring.
The city's Civic Center is America's largest complex of government buildings after Washington, DC. It contains the most important of LA's city, county, state and federal office buildings, including the Criminal Courts Building, where the infamous OJ Simpson murder trial took place in 1995.

Getty Center
Contrary to popular belief, LA does have an intellectual, refined side. Head to the John Paul Getty collection of museums. The European, photography and other collections are on display at the stunning 110-acre Getty Center in the Santa Monica Mountains, opened in 1998, costing a cool billion. Admission is free, making this one of the best bargains in town.
A stellar art collection (Renaissance to David Hockney), the fabulous architecture of Richard Meier, and the superb - and seasonally changing - gardens designed by Robert Irwin. On clear days, you can add breathtaking views of the city and ocean to the list. Even getting up to the 'campus' aboard a driverless tram is fun. The sprawling complex unites the art collections of oil magnate J Paul Getty (1892-1976) with several Getty-sponsored research, education and conservation institutes. Four two-story pavilions house the permanent collection, while a fifth presents changing exhibitions. The skylit upper floors of each building displays paintings, while the lower floors showcase sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, photographs, drawings, furniture and a spectacular collection of decorative arts. The paintings collection is strongest when it comes to pre-20th-century Europeans. Must-sees include Van Gogh's Irises, Claude Monet's Wheatstacks, Rembrandt's The Abduction of Europa and Titian's Venus & Adonis.

Hollywood
Los Angeles has built its reputation on the glamour of the movies, and most visitors want at least a little of its glitz to rub off on them. Hollywood itself (in northwestern LA) is no longer the movie mecca it once was, but it certainly holds plenty of historic interest.
Take a walk down Hollywood Blvd and you'll pass by famous sights such as Mann's Chinese Theatre, where legions of glitterati have left their prints on the sidewalk out the front. Head east along the Boulevard, stepping on those famous bronze stars, and stop at the Roosevelt Hotel.

Malibu
Malibu is not a destination, it's a state of mind. Long synonymous with surfing, celebrities and a hedonistic lifestyle, it hugs 27 spectacularly beautiful miles of coast where the Santa Monica Mountains meet the ocean. The Chumash who first lived here quite appropriately called the place 'humaliwo', or 'where the surf sounds.'
Malibu has been a popular celebrity retreat since the 1920s when money troubles forced landowner May Rindge to lease out some of her property west of the Malibu Lagoon. Clara Bow and Barbara Stanwyck were among the original residents of what became known as the Malibu Colony. Today, this gated and well-policed enclave is still home to A-list celebs including Tom Hanks, Sting and Leonardo DiCaprio. While it's impossible to get past the gate without a personal invitation from a resident, it is legal to walk along the beach - provided you stay below the high-tide mark.
For the best views of the colony, head a little up the coast to Malibu Bluffs Park. For the best star-spotting, visit Malibu's two shopping areas, the Malibu Country Mart (3835 Cross Creek Rd), a lovely outdoor mall with nice cafés, restaurants and boutiques, or the more utilitarian Malibu Colony Plaza (23841 W Malibu Rd), which has a Ralphs supermarket, a Blockbuster video store and a gas station. Despite its wealth and high star quotient, Malibu is surprisingly low-key and laid-back and best appreciated through its natural assets. Some of the best beaches include Las Tunas, Surfrider, Point Dume and Zuma. Rising behind Malibu is Malibu Creek State Park, part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and laced with hiking and biking trails.

Santa Monica
Santa Monica is one of the city's most appealing neighbourhoods. Although the beach only comes to life on the hottest summer days, the surrounding area is a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon. The heart of Santa Monica is the Third St Promenade, a lively pedestrian mall packed with buskers, movie theatres, bars and cafes.
The Santa Monica Pier, built between 1909 and 1916, is the oldest pleasure pier on the West Coast. It has plenty of old-world carnival attractions, including a 1920s carousel, and seafood restaurants. The neighbourhood is also home to some excellent museums of modern art.

Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios is the world's largest movie studio. Its famous theme park, one of LA's top attractions, has gut-wrenching rides, mind-blowing special-effects shows and the Studio Tour, a part-educational, part-thrill ride behind-the-scenes of moviemaking.
Adjacent to the park, Universal City Walk is a fantasy promenade of shops, restaurants, movie theatres and nightclubs. It's best after dark when vibrant neon signs transform it into a miniature Las Vegas strip.

Venice
Venice pretty much sums up the LA lifestyle. The beach's Ocean Front Walk is a human circus of jugglers and acrobats, tarot readers, jug-band musicians, pick-up basketballers, oiled-up fitness freaks and petition circulators. A hundred years ago, this place was just swampland, until an enterprising cigarette tycoon turned it into a network of gondola-poled canals and dubbed it the 'Playland of the Pacific'. Most of the canals have now been paved over, but the playland atmosphere is hanging in there. It's a great place to shop and an even better place to down a freshly-squeezed juice while the human tide washes over you.