Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau 333 S. Hope St Los Angeles, CA 90071 (213) 624-7300 Population 3485398 Time Zone Pacific Latitude/Longitude 34.05° /-118.24° Today's Forecast HIGH: 84 LOW: 62

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Attractions

To get an inside look at the "biz," take a tour of the backlot at legendary movie-makers Warner Bros. and Paramount. You can watch a film about the history of the studios and then tour dressing and makeup rooms, scenery workshops, sound stages, and outdoor sets where you may see actual filming going on. NBC Studios in Burbank offers a glimpse of television in the making, while the theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood is packed with high-tech attractions that give visitors a behind-the-scenes and interactive look at the wonders of Hollywood motion picture technology.

A sprawling, dynamic metropolis -- truly an amalgamation of many individual governments and communities -- Los Angeles possesses some of the finest cultural institutions in the land. The J. Paul Getty Museum overlooks the Pacific from the Santa Monica Mountains and its home in the gleaming Getty Center. In surroundings of sterling architecture, here you'll find exceptional examples of pre-20th-century European painting and decorative arts. The museum's first home, the Getty Villa, a repository of Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities, reopened in Malibu in 2006 after extensive renovation and addition. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art in West Hollywood has also seen a period of new construction that seeks to transform and unify the institution's many buildings. The museum's wide-ranging collections embrace Asian, Modern, Islamic, contemporary, African and ancient arts.

For a look into the furthest reaches of history, visit the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits where vast numbers of prehistoric animals were trapped and preserved in sticky asphalt. In the adjacent George C. Page Museum, you can see their bones and watch technicians sift through recent discoveries.

Near the downtown campus of USC, Exposition Park lays claim to the stellar displays of dinosaurs, fossils, and dioramas in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the exciting high-tech exhibits at the California Science Center, the fine arts displayed at the California African American Museum, the thousands of blooms found in a seven-acre sunken rose garden, and the historic stadium where the USC Trojans play NCAA football.

Gigantic Griffith Park on the city's northern edges is the site of the Los Angeles Zoo, the Griffith Observatory, and the Autry National Center, where you can visit the Museum of the American West.

The celebrated Los Angeles Philharmonic makes its home at the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County. This multi-venue facility encompasses the Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and Mark Taper Forum, one of the nation's top regional theaters and recipient of numerous Tony Awards. If you want to catch top national acts, see what's on the bill at the historic Hollywood Bowl, the famed open-air theater that dates from the 1920s.

Sports fans will want to check seating availability at the Staples Center, home of the WNBA Sparks, NBA Clippers, NBA Lakers, NHL Kings, and Arena Football's Avengers; at Dodger Stadium, longtime home of the L.A. Dodgers; at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, longtime Angels baseball home; and at the renamed Honda Center, home of the NHL's Mighty Ducks.

Los Angeles' neighborhoods pulsate with a diversity of vibrant cultures. If you are interested in the early settlement of Los Angeles, explore the Old Spanish Plaza, north of the Civic Center. El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Park preserves the Avila Adobe, the Pico and Sepulveda houses, the Old Plaza Firehouse, and the colorful shopping district along Olvera Street. The ethnic enclaves of Chinatown and Little Tokyo also offer their own enticing array of restaurants and shops. The universal fascination with celebrity culture takes front and center in Hollywood, where the stars are laid out along the Walk of Fame and in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater. You may even see some real-live stars at West Hollywood's Farmers Market at Fairfax and 3rd.

For the latest rave among celebrities, teens, and world-class designers, visit the Silver Lake District on the border of Los Feliz and Hollywood. Dubbed a mini-version of New York's Soho or London's Carnaby Street, Silver Lake is a fashion mecca, burgeoning with trendy boutiques and street vendors featuring vintage and used clothing. Be on the lookout for hand-beaded cardigans, retro '60s and '80s clothing, stiletto heels, alligator handbags, and polyester jumpsuits in this funky little neighborhood.

Surrounding central Los Angeles are a welter of communities where some of Southern California's most famous destinations reside. Disneyland and the adjacent California Adventure theme park are found in Anaheim. Its older competitor Knott's Berry Farm is in neighboring Buena Park. On the ocean, Santa Monica offers art galleries, restaurants, a fabulous promenade, and its famous pier. The communities of Pasadena, northeast of the central city, and Long Beach and Huntington Beach to the south offer their own unique opportunities for fun and excitement. At the far southern reaches of the metropolitan area, the L.A. Maritime Museum documents the growth of the city and port, while the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro has displays of marine ecology.

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