Hollywood

You know you’ve really made it in Tinseltown when you get your own star. Spread across both sides of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, everyone from Marilyn Monroe and Walt Disney to Jennifer Aniston and John Travolta is immortalised here.

It doesn’t get more Hollywood than the home of the actual Oscars. It was custom designed for the Academy Awards themselves and features 3,400 seats, three balcony levels and 20 opera boxes. Formerly known as the Kodak Theatre.

Set amidst the glitz, glamour and occasional grime of Hollywood Boulevard, the former Grauman’s Chinese Theater is often billed as the world’s most ornate and opulent cinema complex, home to some of film’s biggest movie premieres over the years. It’s still the place where the biggest premieres still go down. 30-minute walking tours available.

As the world centre of the film and TV industry, no trip to Los Angeles would be complete without a deeper look into this high profile and often fantastical world.

The big three film studios in town – Warner Bros, Paramount and Sony – all offer behind-the-scenes guided tours of the studios, where you’ll get a fascinating insight into how the films are made.

Another option is to join the audience for a taping of a popular sitcom or chat show. You can often turn up and queue on the day to get in.

Situated next door to LACMA, the visually striking Renzo Piano-designed museum has been years in the making and finally opened to much fanfare in September 2021, making it the largest in the world solely dedicated to the art of movie-making.

Spread across four floors of gallery space, including a 1,000-seat theatre space in its famous glassy dome, it’s filled with cinematic treasures, from Dorothy’s ruby red slippers and the Rosebud sled from Citizen Kane to the sole surviving shark from Jaws. There’s also an experience dedicated to the Oscars, where you get the chance to hold one of the coveted golden statuettes.

The Hollywood Sign has long been a powerful symbol for the global entertainment industry. At 14m high and 110m long, you can’t miss it.

Installed back in 1923 as part of an advertising campaign for a suburban housing development called ‘Hollywoodland’, the sign initially fell into disrepair until a group of celebrities funded its restoration in 1978, minus the ‘land’.

Getting to the foot of the sign itself is no longer possible, thanks to tight security. The best option is therefore to hike the picturesque but little-known Hollyridge Trail up to the summit of Mount Lee, from where you can look down on the sign, just 100ft below where you stand.

You’re rewarded with exceptional views of Hollywood and the LA basin to the south, and the San Fernando Valley to the north.