Malibu

Santa Monica is a city by the sea in its own right, but for most visitors, it's where Los Angeles meets the Pacific. Wide sandy beaches, a bike path along the water, palm trees on the bluff above the coastal road. The center is compact and easily explored on foot, which is rare in LA.At its heart is the Santa Monica Pier. The Municipal Pier opened in 1909, and in 1916, the Looff family's amusement pier was added to its south. The Looff Hippodrome features a 1922 carousel, and the pier is home to Pacific Park amusement park with its solar-powered Pacific Wheel Ferris wheel. Since 2009, the 'End of the Trail' sign has stood here, a photo op for everyone who has driven Route 66. Officially, however, the road ended at the intersection of Lincoln and Olympic Boulevard. Route 66 celebrates its 100th birthday in 2026.A few blocks inland, the Third Street Promenade runs between Wilshire Boulevard and Broadway, a pedestrian zone since 1965, featuring street musicians and dinosaur-shaped topiary hedges. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, a Farmers Market is held there. South of the pier is the Original Muscle Beach, where gymnasts and bodybuilders like Jack LaLanne trained from the 1930s onwards.The pier is most beautiful at sunset, when the Ferris wheel begins to glow. For the beach and bike path, mornings are quieter.

Venice was Abbot Kinney's dream: in 1905, the entrepreneur established a seaside resort here called "Venice of America," complete with canals, a pier, and Venetian architecture. In 1926, the previously independent city became part of Los Angeles, and many canals were later filled in. What remains is a district with a leaning towards counterculture: due to low rents, artists and Beat poets moved here, and The Doors formed in 1965.The Venice Beach Boardwalk, approximately three kilometers long, is always bustling: street artists, souvenir stands, skaters, and cyclists on the beach bike path. At the outdoor gym Muscle Beach Venice, bodybuilders lift weights for an audience, and right next to it is the 2009 skate park with bowls reminiscent of empty swimming pools. In addition, there are the graffiti walls of the Venice Art Walls.A few blocks inland, it gets quieter. In the Venice Canal Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982, you can stroll along the preserved canals from 1905. The Abbot Kinney Boulevard, a street over 1.5 kilometers long with boutiques, galleries, and restaurants, is Venice's shopping and entertainment district.The Boardwalk is liveliest on weekend afternoons. For the canals, early morning or late afternoon light are best, and in the evening, you'll find the best spots at a restaurant on Abbot Kinney.

Two distinct cities within the Los Angeles urban area, two distinct personalities: Beverly Hills stands for villas, palm-lined avenues, and luxury boutiques, while West Hollywood, founded only in 1984, is synonymous with rock history, comedy, and nightlife.The most famous section of Rodeo Drive comprises approximately three blocks between Wilshire Boulevard and Little Santa Monica Boulevard. The Beverly Wilshire hotel stands at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard. At the intersection with Dayton Way, the “Torso” sculpture marks the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style, where commemorative plaques honor fashion icons. This is where the scene in “Pretty Woman” (1990) takes place, where Julia Roberts is complimented out of a boutique. Worth a detour is Greystone Mansion, a 1928 Tudor estate, now a city park and a backdrop for films like “There Will Be Blood” and “The Big Lebowski.” For a photo with the iconic lettering, head to the Beverly Hills Sign in Beverly Gardens Park.The Sunset Strip, approximately 2.7 kilometers of Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, was the stage for rock in the 1960s. At the Whisky a Go Go, opened in 1964, The Doors played as the house band, and The Comedy Store has been around since 1972. Huge billboards still line the street today.Beverly Hills is best explored on foot during the day, while the Strip comes alive from late evening, when concerts and comedy shows begin.

Hollywood is less about glamour and more of a pilgrimage site: On Hollywood Boulevard, visitors jostle over the Walk of Fame stars, costumed characters pose for tips, amidst souvenir shops and old movie palaces. Film history lies in the details, such as the hand and footprints in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre or in bars where Frank Sinatra and Charles Bukowski once sat.The Walk of Fame spans 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street. The first permanent stars were laid in 1960; there are now around 2,850. The Chinese Theatre opened in 1927 and is currently an IMAX cinema. Right next door is the Ovation Hollywood complex, home to the Dolby Theatre, where the Oscars have been presented since 2002. From 2029, the gala will move to the Peacock Theater in Downtown.The Hollywood Sign has stood on Mount Lee since 1923, originally an advertisement for the "Hollywoodland" settlement. You cannot get close to the letters; the steep terrain is cordoned off and monitored. Two viewpoints are officially recommended: the terraces of Ovation Hollywood and the Griffith Observatory in neighboring Griffith Park, reachable by bus or car in under half an hour.It's best to come in the morning before the boulevard fills, and return in the evening for a drink at the Frolic Room or a steak at Musso & Frank. Then the neon signs glow, and the day visitors have disappeared.

Griffith Park is a piece of wild mountainous landscape right in the city: dry slopes, hiking trails, viewpoints over the Los Angeles basin. Griffith J. Griffith gifted its original land to the city in 1896; today, the park spans about 1,740 hectares.The main attraction is the Griffith Observatory on the southern slope of Mount Hollywood, opened in 1935. Admission is free, over nine million people have already looked through the Zeiss telescope on the roof, and on clear evenings, you can look through it for free. From the parking lot, you can see the Hollywood Sign, and from its far end, hiking trails lead up Mount Hollywood to further viewpoints. The observatory appears twice in the film "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955).Scattered throughout the park you'll also find the Los Angeles Zoo, the Greek Theatre (dating from 1930), the Bronson Caves, which served as the Batcave in the 1960s Batman series, and the shady valley of Fern Dell. To the south is Los Feliz, a hillside neighborhood with villas in the hills and Los Feliz Village around Vermont and Hillhurst Avenue, featuring cafés, restaurants, and vintage shops. On Olive Hill stands Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House, the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Los Angeles since 2019.For hiking, it's best to go early in the morning. The observatory is worth visiting in the evening: it's open until 10 PM, and the sea of city lights is most beautiful after sunset.