Los Angeles Tours & Things to Do — 2026

Hollywood Boulevard & the Walk of Fame

Hollywood Boulevard is where most first visits to LA begin, and the marquee stretch is free to walk at your own pace. The Walk of Fame runs more than 2,700 terrazzo-and-brass stars along the Boulevard and down Vine Street; the forecourt of the TCL Chinese Theatre holds the handprints and footprints of film legends; and the Dolby Theatre a few doors down is the home of the Academy Awards. It's a busy, crowded corridor — go in the morning for the cleanest photos.

→ Read our self-guided Hollywood Boulevard walking route

Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory sits on the south slope of Mount Hollywood, and it's one of the best free things to do in the city — no admission to enter, a working planetarium, and a terrace that gives you the definitive Hollywood Sign view along with a sweep of the Downtown skyline and the coast. It earns its place after dark, when the city lights come up — which is exactly what the guided Hollywood Night Tour we list (Hollywood Night Tour with Griffith Observatory) is built around.

Seeing the Hollywood Sign

The Hollywood Sign is closer than it looks but harder to reach than you'd expect — there's no public road to the letters. The clearest free views are from the Griffith Observatory terrace and Lake Hollywood Park, and several trails in Griffith Park climb toward the ridge behind the Sign for the up-close version. Wear real shoes and bring water — the popular routes are exposed and longer than they look. Guided hikes to the ridge behind the Sign also run.

The Sunset Strip & West Hollywood

Just west of Hollywood proper, the Sunset Strip is the mile-and-a-half of Sunset Boulevard that made LA's music history — the Whisky a Go Go, the Roxy, and the Rainbow are still here, under the oversized billboards the Strip is known for. By day it's a walkable stretch of design shops and cafés; by night it's the city's rock-and-roll spine. Our LA VIP tour runs the Strip as part of its loop, and West Hollywood around it is the nightlife heart of the city.

Landmarks & Iconic Views

Beyond the Hollywood corridor, LA's essentials include the Getty Center's art and architecture, the Santa Monica Pier, and the boardwalk carnival of Venice Beach. Downtown's Broad museum and Walt Disney Concert Hall anchor a walkable arts district that surprises first-timers expecting only freeways.

Neighborhoods Worth Your Time

LA is a city of distinct districts: Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive for luxury window-shopping, West Hollywood for nightlife and the Sunset Strip, Santa Monica and Venice for the beach scene, and Downtown's revived core for food and culture. Plan by neighborhood rather than crisscrossing the basin — the distances are deceptive and traffic is real.

Getting Around Without a Car

LA rewards a car, but you don't strictly need one. The Metro rail network keeps expanding and connects Hollywood, Downtown, Santa Monica, and (as of the 2020s build-out) more of the Westside, while a guided city bus tour is the simplest way to link the marquee sights in a day. For the studio tours and celebrity-homes tours, hotel pickup or a rideshare to the departure point is the norm.

Best Time to Visit

Southern California is mild almost year-round, but spring (March–May) and fall (September–November) bring the clearest skies and the smallest crowds. Watch for 'June Gloom' — a low coastal overcast that can grey out beach days in late spring and early summer, usually burning off by afternoon. Summer is warm and busy; winter is quiet, cooler, and often the clearest of all after a rain.