Los Angeles, the home of Hollywood is the second largest city in the USA and a much frequented tourist destination. The largest city in the sunny state of California has a unique appeal especially nowadays when tabloids detailing the lives of the rich & the famous attract readers from all over the globe. However, apart from the tours that concentrate on showcasing the homes of movie stars and other cinema-centric attractions, L.A. boasts of many other attractions which make any trip to this city entertaining for the entire family.
Universal Studios and tours
While visiting Los Angeles, you can’t really escape the movies, so it’s better not to resist and take in the mother of all movie related attractions - Universal Studios. Universal studios is one of the largest movie studios in the world. The main attraction here is the one hour Studio tour which is conducted by tram all around the 420 acres that make up the studio. On this tour you get to see the dressing rooms of the stars, production offices and also sets that have been erected for various movies. The theme park offers many different rides and several live performances which enthrall and entertain the enthusiastic audiences who seem to perpetually throng this attraction.
Walk of Fame at Hollywood Boulevard.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame, located on a sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard is the ultimate tribute to the many leading lights of the city. Each bronze medallion which is set in the center of a star pays tribute to a famous television, film, radio, theater, or recording personality like Barbara Streisand, Jerry Lewis and Marilyn Monroe etc. More than 2000 stars have been immortalized forever on this sidewalk.
Venice Beach
One of L.A.’s most colourful areas and the epicenter of all things bohemian in L.A., Venice Beach is a fascinating must-do attraction for any first time tourist to L.A. The paved beach path is bordered with stalls that sell kitschy souvenirs like Mexican blankets, sunglasses, T-shirts and services for getting tattoos, piercings and Chinese massages et al. This location is an ideal spot for those who love to people-watch as you will have the chance to see all types of Los Angelenos including bikini clad skaters and bikers. Venice Beach is also the spot to witness a variety of live performers like mime artists, break dancers and musicians who use the locale to showcase their craft to the many tourists and the casual passerbys.
Getty Center
The Richard Meier designed Getty Center which is housed in a marble building located on a hillside in the Santa Monica Mountains, is a gallery which showcases one of the most awe-inspiring collections of art. This collection consists of Impressionist paintings, antique French furniture and many other decorative arts. The center also has many kid-friendly programs which are geared towards entertaining young visitors so they do not get bored by a visit to the museum.
Chinatown, Koreatown and Thai town.
The ethnic enclaves of Chinatown, Koreatown and Thai town are also worth exploring as they give you an insight into the history of the evolution of this great city. For instance,the origin of L.A’s Chinatown can be traced back to the second half the 19th century when many Chinese people settled in Los Angeles when they came to L.A. during the California gold rush. Koreatown similarly evolved in the mid Wilshire area of Los Angelese in the 1960’s and today the city of Los Angeles, has more Koreans living in it than anywhere else in the word, outside of Korea.
La Brea Tar Pits
A fascinating phenomenon which is located bang in the midst of this ritzy city is the La Brea Tar Pits. This stinky swamp of gooey asphalt bubbles and oozes continuously to the earth’s surface. This phenomenon which is more than 40,000 years old attracted many animals and birds into its slushy interiors through the ages. These creatures then got stuck in gooey mass forever. Scientists began to remove the remains of these creatures in the early 20th Century in order to study them and today the La Brea Tar Pits are a rich source for ice age fossils. Hundreds of the bones that have been excavated from the swamp have been cleaned, catalogued and stored at the George Pace Museum which is located adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits.
The L.A.Zoo
The L.A.Zoo has been a prime Los Angeles attraction for over 40 years since it first opened its doors to the public in 1966. The Zoo houses more than 1200 animals from all over the world and is a delightful year around attraction for all the family. So next time you are in Los Angeles, do take in some of these fun attractions along with your tours of the homes of the movie stars!
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Fun, North America. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 17th, 2008 at 6:41 am
I thought we’re talking about Bangkok!
August 26th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Another good LA suggestion would be visiting the Huntington Gardens and Library in San Marino, near Pasadena. Stunning gardens and art galleries. Just a beautiful place.