Los Angeles is four cities and a freeway. Pick your side of town.
Which studio lot puts you on a working soundstage. Whether the Hollywood Sign hike beats the open-top bus. What the boat to Catalina costs, and which beach bike ride is worth an afternoon. Reviews of the tours you can book across Los Angeles.
Studio lot, sign, observatory, beach: the four LA bookings everything else fits around.
The days most first visits hang off, what each one costs, and what the people who took them say.
01The studio morningWarner Bros. Studio Tour HollywoodThree hours on a working Burbank lot: the tram through the backlot streets, then soundstages and the props on foot.
02The sign, up closeHollywood Sign 2.5-Hour Tour with Comedians and Their DogsTwo and a half hours on the trails under the letters, led by stand-up comedians walking their dogs. The cheapest good morning in Hollywood.
03The observatory hillGriffith Observatory Hike: Guided Tour through Griffith ParkA guided climb through Griffith Park to the observatory terrace, with the sign on one side and the whole basin on the other.
04The beach afternoonSmall-Group Electric Bike Tour of Santa Monica and VeniceElectric bikes along the Santa Monica and Venice path in a small group. Save it for after the marine layer burns off.
The sign, the stars’ homes, the studio lots or Rodeo Drive. Pick your Hollywood.
Most first trips to Los Angeles start here, and most try to cram all four into one afternoon. What each kind of Hollywood day costs, and what it gets you.
1★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · Full-Day LA Tour: Santa Monica, Hollywood and Beverly Hills · from $95
The signOn foot up the trails under Mount Lee, or a Ferrari to the viewpoint.
Stars’ homesOpen-top buses through the canyons, Bel Air and the Beverly Hills flats.
The studio lotsWarner Bros. soundstages in Burbank and the Universal backlot tram.
Beverly HillsRodeo Drive, the shield sign and the palm-lined avenues.
All 129 Hollywood tours →
What Los Angeles books first.
Every Los Angeles tour →The tours more visitors take than anything else in the city, from the studio lots to the open-top buses up the canyons.
1
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood
Spend one hour touring Warner Bros. backlots and sound stages with a guide, then explore exhibits and photo sets for two hours on your own. See the Central Perk set, sit in Sheldon’s spot, and find DC and Harry Potter displays. Guides speak English, French, or Spanish. Transportation is not included.
Book it from $76
Read our review →
2
Full-Day Iconic Sights of LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Beaches and More
from $99
3
Hollywood, Beverly Hills & Celebrity Homes Tour by Open Air Bus
from $39
4
Hollywood Sign 2.5-Hour Tour with Comedians and Their Dogs
from $15
5
Full-Day LA Tour: Santa Monica, Hollywood and Beverly Hills
from $95
6
Hollywood and Celebrity Homes Bus Tour
from $39
7
Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour with Audio Guide
from $51
8
Half Day Best of Los Angeles Guided City Tour
from $69
Santa Monica to Catalina: where Los Angeles runs out of road.
The city stops at a long run of beach, piers and harbours. Ride the bike path from the pier to Venice, take a surf lesson on a gentle break, or sail out of Long Beach for whales and the island.
- 1Perfect 5 ½ Hour LA & Hollywood Tour from Santa Monicafrom $75
- 2Swan Boat Rental in Echo Parkfrom $13
- 3Best of LA: Hollywood, Griffith, Santa Monica, Venice, and Rodeofrom $98
Hollywood after sundown: ghosts, noir and the city lights.
Haunted walks down Hollywood Boulevard, true-crime routes along Sunset, the Queen Mary after closing and a night flight over the grid of lights.
What a day out in Los Angeles costs.
Every tour on the site, sorted by price. Plenty of the good LA mornings cost less than a tank of gas.
Sign hikes, museum entries, swan boats on Echo Park Lake and the comedy-and-dogs walks.
Studio tours, full-day city loops, beach e-bike rides and surf lessons.
Helicopters over the hills, private SUVs, supercars and the Universal VIP day.
A free observatory, an island of golf carts, a boulevard full of ghosts.
Every big city sells a skyline tour. These three belong to this one.
Griffith Observatory
The white domes have sat on the south slope of Mount Hollywood since 1935, and getting in still costs nothing. The terrace looks at the Hollywood Sign one way and across the basin to the ocean the other. It shuts on Mondays, and the walk up from Fern Dell is the better way to arrive.
- 1Griffith Observatory Hike: Guided Tour through Griffith Park★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,020 reviews
- 2Best of LA: Hollywood, Griffith, Santa Monica, Venice, and Rodeo★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 788 reviews
- 3Hollywood Night Tour with Griffith Observatory★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 531 reviews
Catalina Island
The ferry from San Pedro or Long Beach takes about an hour and lands you in Avalon, a harbour town where most visitors get around by golf cart. The round Casino on the point dates from 1929 and was built for dancing, not gambling. Glass-bottom boats work the kelp beds just off the beach.
- 1Private Guided Golf Cart Tour of Avalon★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 501 reviews
- 2Yellow Semi-Submarine Tour of Catalina Island From Avalon★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 488 reviews
- 3Catalina Food Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 467 reviews
Haunted Hollywood
Hollywood Boulevard keeps a long list of old hotels, movie palaces and unsolved cases, and the walking tours tell them after dark. Expect the Egyptian Theatre, the Roosevelt Hotel and the stories behind a few Walk of Fame stars, all on foot in about two hours.
- 1Haunted Hollywood Walking Tour: True Crime and Creepy Tales★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 299 reviews
- 2Hollywood Ghost Hunting Experience with Real Paranormal Tools★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 267 reviews
- 3Los Angeles Ghost Tours: Terrors of Tinseltown★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 170 reviews
Four Los Angeles bookings that fill up before you land.
Most of this city can be booked the morning of. These four run on dated tickets, fixed sailings and a stadium calendar.
- 01Warner Bros. Studio Tour HollywoodTours leave on timed departures through the day, and the weekend and school-holiday slots go first.
- 02Skip the Line: Express Ticket at Universal Studios HollywoodUniversal prices by date, and the Express line pass climbs on busy days. Fix the date before you fix anything else.
- 03Catalina Express: San Pedro to Avalon One-Way FerryThe ferry keeps a fixed timetable that thins out in winter, and the last boat back to the mainland does not wait.
- 04LA Dodgers MLB Game Ticket at Dodger StadiumA Tuesday game is easy. A Saturday against the Giants fills the stadium in Chavez Ravine weeks out.
When the marine layer sits on the beach until lunch.
Late spring brings a low lid of sea cloud that can hang over Santa Monica and Malibu all morning while Hollywood is in sun. Spend the mornings inland, at the museums, the studio lots and the observatory, and head for the coast once it burns off.
- 1Petersen Automotive Museum Admission Ticketfrom $22
- 2Downtown Los Angeles Food Tourfrom $89
- 3Catalina Food Tourfrom $154
From the hills down to the harbour
Backlot, trail, boat or bus
Beach, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, harbour: a first week across Los Angeles.
Griffith ParkJust reviewed: new Los Angeles tours.
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