18 Things to do in Hollywood: A Travel Guide

lissa of Josh from California to New Orleans comms team will show you eight team things to do can Holly for this video we're going a little bit outside of the Hollywood area in covering this section of the map I tried to cover a wide range of activities for museums and hiking to shopping and landmarks here are 18 spots to check out my first recommendation is the Walk of Fame while in Hollywood pretty much everyone wants to go to the Walk of Fame and see one of the over 2,500 different stars it's worth seeing at least once and the best spot to do that at is Hollywood and Highland as there's a great parking structure and there's lots of museums and souvenir shops it's not my favorite thing to do in Hollywood so I don't do it too often but it is fun to check out while you're in the city recommendation number two is the TCL Chinese Theatre the Chinese Theater is near Hollywood and Highland and it's one of the most famous movie theaters in all of Los Angeles you can still see a movie here or you can take a tour of the theater and learn the history for most people though they'll just want to see the exterior where there are over 300 handed footprints in the ground from many different famous actors and actresses and movie characters including r2d2 it's a lot of fun just to walk around and try to see which ones you can find recommendation number three is the Hollywood museum there are lots of museums near the Hollywood Walk of Fame like the Wax Museum and Ripley's Believe It or Not but my favorite is the Hollywood museum this museum features four floors of different props from famous movies the bottom floor is dedicated completely to horror movies and it's a little creepy including a replica of the Silence of the Lambs jail there are also rotating exhibits with one of my favorites I've seen being the Batman and Robin TV show exhibit stop number four is the Paramount Studio Tour win in Hollywood most people want to experience movie culture and one of the best ways to do that is through a studio tour there are three tours you can go on Sony Paramount and Warner Brothers but the only one I've done is paramount it's a little pricey but it's a really cool experience where you can explore the old sets see props and learn about the moviemaking process if the movies are something you want to learn more about in Hollywood then definitely take a studio tour recommendation number five is the Hollywood Forever Cemetery the Hollywood Forever Cemetery shares the back wall with Paramount Studios and it's a place that many of the stars have been buried over the years a few notable graves are Johnny Ramone Mel Blanc and Cecil B DeMille the cemetery also shows movies over the summer and it's a popular thing to do while you're in Los Angeles stop number six is Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is probably my favorite place in Los Angeles it's free to visit other than parking and it has amazing views of downtown LA and the Hollywood sign the observatory itself has so many interesting exhibits to see with my favorite being the Tesla coil and you can easily spend a few hours here there's usually a telescope open most evenings as well if you want to look through it do note that it gets crazy busy on the weekends and during the summer so come early recommendation number seven is Runyon Canyon Randy and Canyon is where people who live in Hollywood get out and stretch their legs and do some hiking I avoided it for a long time as I didn't think it'd be a great hike but I actually really enjoyed it when I went there are many different hiking trails that lead to good vantage points over downtown Los Angeles Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard and it's a great place to watch the sunset as well parking can be difficult here though so I recommend taking an uber or a lift if you're staying in the city recommendation number eight is Mount Lee and the back of the Hollywood sign if you're looking to get as close to the Hollywood sign as possible then you'll want to hike up to Mount Lee which is where it's located there are many ways to hike there but my favorite is via the wisdom tree Trail it's short but it's a pretty steep hike that gains a decent amount of elevation as you get up to the tree and then across the ridgeline to the sign you can't get super close to the letter just but it's still awesome to be able to see them from a vantage point like this and it's a must-do hike and Hollywood for me side note if you want a great view of the sign from below drive over to Lake Hollywood Park and you can get photos without having to hike it all recommendation number nine is the Hollywood ball overlook if you want another great view without doing any hiking then I recommend heading over to the Hollywood Bowl overlook with only about a half dozen parking spaces this spot can fill up fast but it's worth waiting as it gives you an amazing view of downtown Los Angeles and the 101 freeway leading into it there's not a lot to do here so people do leave pretty quickly but it's a great spot for photography with a really awesome viewpoint of downtown Los Angeles do note that the park closes pretty early so check the sign so that you avoid getting a ticket recommendation number 10 is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art or LACMA LACMA is my favorite Museum in the Hollywood area as its massive with all sorts of unique exhibits and sculptures you could easily spend a half day here exploring the museum and still not see everything plus they have exhibits that rotate often even if you don't have time to go inside the museum it's still worth going just to see the outdoor installations like levitated mass and urban lights urban lights is probably one of the most popular photo spots in Los Angeles recommendation number eleven is La Brea Tar Pits the La Brea Tar Pits are right next to LACMA and they're a great spot to visit after going to the museum the large tar area in the front shows what it would have looked like back in the day complete with mammoth sculptures stuck in the tar if you sit there for a few minutes you can even see the tar bubbling be sure to go inside the museum as well we can see all sorts of dinosaur bones they've taken from the tar recommendation number 12 is the farmers market in the grove the LA farmers market is a permanent collection of restaurants that's been a popular spot for decades while it is showing its age is still a lot of fun to walk up and down and see the different vendors and grab some food of course the main reason I go is for Bob's Donuts which are always awesome especially if they're warm the farmers market is also right next to the Grove a really popular mall so if you want to do some shopping you can do both of those in the same area these next few suggestions are more shopping related as there are lots of interesting places to shop in Hollywood first step recommendation 13 is amoeba I love record stores and amoeba is one I've been coming to for over a decade this store is right in the middle of Hollywood and it's massive with tons of things to see over the two floors the highlight for me is always the used records area which is fun to sort through and to look for hidden gems there's even one hour of free parking under the store as well which is great for Los Angeles recommendation 14 is a wacko soap plant much like the popular Archie McPhee in Seattle this store has aisles of unique crazy gifts and souvenirs there's even a large math section in the back and a whole bunch of figurines that you can check out there's also a small art gallery that you can see when you're in the store as well recommendation number 15 is the time-travel mark the time-travel Mart is another store that I always love in Hollywood it's a nonprofit that provides funding for an after-school program and it does it in the most awesome way possible the time-travel Mart has gifts from all throughout history and the future with everything from dinosaur eggs to robot oil on display it's a fun little store to walk around in that doesn't take itself too seriously and I always purchase something to support the worthy cause recommendation number 16 is Melrose trading post this is my last shopping recommendation but it's a really fun spot to check out that's open every Sunday in the parking lot and quad areas of Fairfax High School Melrose trading post features hundreds of vendors selling everything from custom furniture and decor to vinyl records and clothes it's one of my wife's favorite things to do in Hollywood and if you like shopping thrift stores you'll definitely love the Melrose trading post my second to last recommendation is to go see a comedy show on Sunset or Hollywood Boulevard it's a fun Hollywood experience and since so many of the big stars live in Los Angeles you never know who might show up for a surprise set I'm gonna do an entire video on food in Los Angeles but I thought I'd end this video with Pink's hot dogs as it's a really popular spot that many tourists want to visit when they come to Hollywood Pink's hot dogs is a small Shack that's been serving up their crazy menu to stars and tourists alike for decades you can see the sign photos in the dining area of all the celebrities that have come and enjoyed a hot dog at Pink's there's always a line but it gives you time to review the unique menu which has all sorts of crazy concoctions that they put on top of your hot dog definitely check it out when you're in Hollywood thanks so much for exploring Hollywood with me hopefully you found a new spot check out next time you're in the area let me know if I left something off in the comments you can click here to see all my downtown LA recommendations and you can click here to subscribe we will see you next week [Music] you

Channel: California Through My Lens

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Keywords: things to do in los angeles, things to do in la, what to do in los angeles, los angeles attractions, los angeles travel guide, los angeles travel, top attractions los angeles, hollywood walk of fame, hollywood and highland, hollywood blvd, things to do in hollywood, hollywood travel guide, hollywood attractions, hollywood tourist attractions

Id: T6Av_tNFQoU

Length: 8min 57sec (537 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 06 2019