Inside LA
The Los Angeles Lowdown
LA Experiences
So you can have the best authentic experiences in Los Angeles.
Hollywood Sign: Hiking & History
The Hollywood Sign is such an iconic structure that it never needs an introduction or description to first-time visitors who are guests. They know it well, having seen it untold times in movies, TV shows and news pieces. They’ve almost certainly seen a picture of it many times too. Interestingly if you next ask them…
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Broadway Los Angeles: Historic Theater District
When we mention the Broadway Los Angeles Theater District on our tours, visitors from outside Southern California can get confused. Don’t we mean Broadway New York? Their confusion only increases when we tell them that the area in downtown actually has the largest number of historic theaters in the U.S. It does perhaps seem incredible…
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Bicycling In Los Angeles
A lot of people, both visitors AND locals don’t even think it’s possible to go bicycling in Los Angeles. Or even if it is, that it would be unsafe, not to mention downright dangerous. The car is king here – this ain’t Yurup (which is how we say Europe by the way). However, you probably…
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San Fernando Valley: A Fascinating Place
The San Fernando Valley is, in many ways, underrated. Sure, it has some big attractions, such as Universal Studios, but it’s often derided as a suburban sprawl that’s generally way hotter than the rest of Los Angeles and much less interesting. It’s not seen as having either the cultural might of Hollywood, nor the theme park riches…
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Sid Grauman & His Theatres
When the TCL Chinese Theatre opened in 1927 it was known as Sid Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and some older Angelenos still call it such. Directly opposite, across the Walk of Fame, is the El Capitan Theatre, now owned by Disney, but when it opened in 1926 it was a Broadway style theatre that was part-owned…
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Venice LA: Westside Meets Seaside
Since its founding 117 years ago this month Venice Los Angeles has always attracted visitors, both from the region and, later, world. Conceived as a Disneyland – before Disneyland existed or had even been conceived – it was a crucial developmental stage between the early amusement parks, like Coney Island, and the huge adventure parks…
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The Sunset Strip: Los Angeles’ Playground
In 1890 Victor Ponet, a Belgian businessman and diplomat, bought 240 acres of the old Rancho La Brea. His new estate consisted mostly of poinsettia fields and was just west of a small village that was only just becoming known as Hollywood. Eventually, in 1904, Ponet had a six-hundred foot long dirt road cleared to…
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A Day In Griffith Park: From Stars To The Stars
Visitors may not know Griffith Park by name, but you would struggle to find anyone in the world not familiar with its best-known landmark, the Hollywood Sign. Its 4,300-acres make it five times the size of Central Park in New York (it’s not a competition – but if it was, we’d win). On any given…
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A Day In Santa Monica: LA’s Beach Resort
Santa Monica has long been considered the beach resort for Los Angeles. Now the city is practically part of LA, but until the 1950’s it was separated from its much larger neighbor by open farmland. Angelenos, and visitors, would come to Santa Monica to swim in the cool Pacific waters and frolic on the beach.…
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Charles Chaplin’s Los Angeles Today
In the end, everything is a gag. Charles Chaplin Charles Spencer Chaplin, or ‘Charlie’ for short, is one of the most influential figures from the early days of Hollywood and one of the entertainment industry’s first, and greatest, superstars. Not only do his pioneering silent films endure the test of time, with six of his…
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