Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [62]
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BEST FOR
Bargains – Downtown
Beach Scene - Hermosa Beach
Nightlife - Hollywood (Click here and Click here)
Hot Dining - West Hollywood
Families - Santa Monica
Channeling your inner hippie - Venice
History - Downtown
Gardens - Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley
Star Spotting - West Hollywood
Glamour Shopping - West Hollywood
Museums - Mid-City
Architecture - Downtown
Gays and Lesbian - West Hollywood
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Mulholland Dr runs from the US-101 Fwy (Hollywood Fwy; take the Cahuenga exit, then follow signs) to about 2 miles west of the I-405 (San Diego Fwy). About 8 miles of dirt road (closed to vehicles but not to hikers and cyclists) links it with Mulholland Hwy, which continues to serpentine through the mountains for another 23 miles as far as Leo Carrillo State Beach.
MUSSO & FRANK GRILL
Hollywood history hangs thickly in the air at Musso & Frank Grill (Map; 323-467-7788; 6667 Hollywood Blvd), Tinseltown’s oldest eatery (since 1919). Charlie Chaplin used to knock back vodka gimlets at the bar and Raymond Chandler penned scripts in the high-backed booths. Star-sightings are still possible today; Mick Jagger and Woody Allen are among fans of the noir ambience, gruff waiters and stiff martinis. Skip the food, except for the famous flannel cakes (thin pancakes).
RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
Life’s pretty strange and it’ll feel stranger still after you’ve visited Ripley’s (Map; 323-466-6335; www.ripleys.com; 6780 Hollywood Blvd; adult/child $13/9; 10am-11pm Sun-Thu, 10am-midnight Fri & Sat), where exhibits range from the gross to the grotesque. If shrunken heads, a sculpture of Marilyn Monroe made from shredded $1 bills and a human-hair bikini capture your imagination, this is your place. It’s in a pretty cool building: just look for the T-Rex bursting through the rooftop with a clock in its fangs whose hands run backwards.
GUINNESS WORLD OF RECORDS MUSEUM
You know the drill: the Guinness (Map; 323-463-6433; www.guinnessattractions.com; 6764 Hollywood Blvd; adult/child/senior $16/7/14; 10am-midnight; ) is all about the fastest, tallest, biggest, fattest and other superlatives. Combination tickets with the Hollywood Wax Museum (see following listing) are $18/9/16 per adult/child/senior.
HOLLYWOOD WAX MUSEUM
Starved for celeb sightings? Don’t fret: at this museum (Map; 323-462-5991; www.hollywoodwax.com; 6767 Hollywood Blvd; adult/child/senior $16/7/14; 10am-midnight Sun-Thu, 10am-1am Fri & Sat; ) Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry and other red-carpet royalty will stand still – very still – for you to snap their picture. This retro haven of kitsch and camp just celebrated its 40th anniversary Hollywood-style: with a facelift, that is. There are lots of new monsters in the horror exhibit, Matrix stars in the sci-fi room and even waxen miniatures of the Capitol Records Tower and other local landmarks. Combo tickets with the Guinness World of Records Museum (see previous listing) cost $18/9/16 per adult/child/senior.
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FAMOUS ALUMNI
They may not be like the rest of us, but even celebs once studied math and French – well, sort of anyway. Our list shows you who went were.
Beverly Hills High School (Map; 241 S Moreno Dr, Beverly Hills) Nicolas Cage, Jamie Lee Curtis, Angelina Jolie, Lenny Kravitz, Monica Lewinsky, Rob Reiner, David Schwimmer and Alicia Silverstone are among the celebs to hit the books at this public school.
Buckley School (Map; 3900 Stansbury Ave, Sherman Oaks) This illustrious private school at the end of a cul-de-sac saw such ‘A-list’ students as Laura Dern, Sara Gilbert, Paris Hilton, Alyssa Milano, Matthew Perry and Nicole Richie.
Fairfax High (Map; 7850 Melrose Ave, Mid-City) Home to a cool flea market at the weekend (Click here), this school taught algebra to David