You'll be lured to Los Angeles by the bright lights of Hollywood and the glittering beaches in Malibu and Venice. But you'll also find first-class art and sporting events Downtown and two of the world's finest amusement parks, Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, in neighbouring Anaheim and Buena Park.
Los Angeles began as Mission San Fernando in 1797, one of a string of Spanish missions stretching through California to Mexico. Today Los Angeles is a sprawling city, a metropolis of smaller cities and neighbourhoods, each with its own personality, from posh Beverly Hills to laid-back Venice and historic Downtown. An impressive, sometimes overwhelming network of expressways (fast arterial roads) leads from the Pacific Ocean on Los Angeles' western border to the mountains of San Bernardino.
Arrive early and spend the entire day at Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm, two of the United States' finest amusement parks with rides, attractions and adventures for all ages. Take in icons of the Silver Screen at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which commemorates the best actors of film and television. There's always something or someone to entertain you at Venice Beach, a strand known for its musclemen, bikini-clad skaters, jugglers and hot-dog vendors. You'll need a full wallet to shop on pricey Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive, home to numerous exclusive boutiques.
Enjoy one of the most quintessential Los Angeles experiences, a television taping in Hollywood. For a taste of the fine arts, Downtown is the place to go. Book tickets for Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall, home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Don't miss the Getty Center's vast collection of European paintings and sculpture. Or opt for MOCA, The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, with art collections from the 1940s to the present. Also downtown is the LaBrea Tar Pits, a display of bubbling tar and bizarre fossils that you won't forget in a hurry. Then journey to where all of the glitz and glamour traces its roots, the 18th-century Mission San Fernando in Mission Hills.
Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX, is the world's sixth-busiest airport, handling nearly 60 million passengers a year. It is efficient, with small, easy-to-use terminals, and is located 15 miles from downtown LA between Marina del Rey and Manhattan Beach. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to drive, depending on the traffic.
