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Bergamot Station
One of LA's best-known art nodes, this one-time trolley stop now houses 35 contemporary art galleries, the Santa Monica Museum of Art (310-586-6488; www.smmoa.org; ; - ), a café, and plenty of free parking on its 8-acre, campus-style complex. Stop by the museum for cutting-edge exhibits, a map and a look at the orange-tiered shelves of Gracie, an artistically inclined, non-traditional gift shop.
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California Science Center
From pedaling on a highwire bike to watching 50ft animatronic Tess maintain homeostasis, science here is state-of-the-art, highly interactive and loads of fun for families. The most low-tech exhibit inside the center's bright soaring walls may be the most interesting - baby chicks hatching in an incubator. To beat the fieldtrippers, visit after .
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Canal Walk
Just northeast of the intersection of Washington Blvd and Pacific Ave, it's a step through the looking glass from the traffic-clogged roar of Washington Blvd to the bougainvillea-lined bungalows bordering Venice's once-plentiful canals. Wandering the narrow, impossibly cute bridges and walkways, it's tough to keep envy in check as dog-walkers, surfers and grandmas pass by, enjoying their tranquil patch of paradise.
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Cathedral Of Our Lady Of The Angels
Architect Jose Rafael Moneo rewrote the cathedral builders' rulebook in 2002 with this flowing, freeform church complete with plazas, colonnades and a distinct disregard for right angles. His incorporation of regional styles and historic influences provides a welcoming air that's certainly helped by the gift store - famous locally for selling the cathedral's private-label chardonnay, cabernet and zin.
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Chinese American Museum
This small but engaging museum spotlights the history of Chinese immigration to America - a history that parallels the current immigration debate like an eerily prescient fortune cookie. From America's dependence on cheap foreign labor to Congressional acts of Chinese exclusion, the newcomer's journey hasn't changed much in 100 years. In the adjacent exhibit hall, ponder the efficiency of the abacus in Sun Wing Wo's general store.
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El Pueblo Historical Monument
Nope, LA didn't spring from the head of Hollywood directors, it was a full-blown community a good 100 years before DW Griffith showed up. Grab a map at restored Firehouse No.1 (the Plaza Firehouse) then wander through narrow Olvera St's vibrant Mexican-themed stalls. For LA's oldest building, see Avila Adobe, then walk through the Sepulveda House visitor center to see a restored 1800s-era kitchen and bedroom.
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Forever Cemetery
The rock'n'roll faithful flock to the monument of guitar-playing Johnny Ramone at this Paramount-adjacent boneyard. Other long-term residents include Hattie McDaniel, Rudolph Valentino and Cecil B DeMille. From Bugsy Siegel's mausoleum, catch the perfectly framed view of the Hollywood sign - proving that Hollywood, at least here, really is forever. Watch outdoor movie screenings in the summer (www.cinespia.org).
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Gamble House
This masterpiece of the Arts and Craft style was designed by brothers Charles and Henry Greene for Proctor & Gamble heir David Gamble in the early 1900s. The whole home is a work of art, its foundation, furniture and fixtures all united by a common design and theme inspired by its southern California environs. Note sleeping porches, rounded corners and subtle appearances of the Gamble family crest's rose-and-crane pattern.
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Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Stand in the footprints of silver-screen legends in the courtyard of this grand movie palace, built in 1927. Inspired by Chinese imperial architecture, the ornate decor extends from the intricate courtyard to the grand lobby, the lounges, and the massive theater itself where current releases captivate all-ages crowds.
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Greystone Mansion & Park
Greystone Mansion, with its stone walls and balustrades, seems more suited for foggy Scottish bluffs than shiny Beverly Hills - even the cleaning crews hurry out by sunset. The gothic-style mansion was the site of the still-mysterious 1929 murder of oil heir Ned Doheny and may be recognized from Ghostbusters II and The Witches of Eastwick . The home is closed but the gardens and grounds are open. Citywide views from the front patio are stellar.
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Griffith Observatory
With an additional 40,000 square feet, a new multi-level exhibit gallery, a 200-seat theater, 60 new exhibits, a café and a gift shop, the new observatory in Griffith Park is ready for the masses. Public drive-up access has been reinstated, but stargazers can also access observatory shuttles from various locations (your reservation guarantees a seat). And yes, it's worth the hassle.
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Hammer Museum
Fancy a fine-art immersion - but need it fast? Step off the busy streets of Westwood and indulge for a moment in the collections of entrepreneur Armand Hammer. Contemporary works, nineteenth-century French masters - Gaugin, Monet, Manet, Pissaro and Van Gogh - as well as a noteworthy collection of Honore Daumier caricatures of French society are highlights.
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Hollyhock House
Oil heiress Aline Barnsdall commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design this hilltop home in 1919. As happens with rich eccentrics and stubborn geniuses, the project ended sourly and was finished by architect Rudolph Schindler. Due to Wright's Romanza-style design there's an easy flow between rooms and courtyards. Note abstract imagery of the hollyhock, Aline's preferred flower, throughout.
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Hollywood & Highland
With 65 shops, 26 eateries, 12 bowling lanes, six cinemas, two nightclubs and one hotel, the towering complex at one of Hollywood's busiest intersections takes one-stop shopping to the extreme. But creating the grand spectacle is a Tinseltown tradition, and the complex's courtyard - an over-the-top reproduction of a Babylonian set from DW Griffith's 1916 epic Intolerance - pays homage to these movie-making roots.
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Hollywood Museum
Like an aging movie mogul's long-forgotten attic, the slightly musty halls of the Hollywood Museum are crammed with knickknacks, kitsch and some truly fascinating bits of history. From an exhibit on Marilyn Monroe's husbands to an excerpt from James Dean's homework, it's an unexpectedly fascinating mix.
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Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
Unwind in the zen-like tranquility of the Japanese Garden? Study the jaunty pose of Thomas Gainsborough's Blue Boy ? Linger over the well-thumbed pages of the Gutenberg Bible, the world's first printed book? It's hard to know where to start at this inspirational collection of botanical gardens, art and literature amassed by railroad magnate Henry E Huntington and displayed on his former estate.
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La Louver
Inside the sleek, cool walls of LA Louver, it's easy to forget the adjacent Venice Beach kookiness. Exhibits in this compact two-story gallery rotate every few months but expect an array of contemporary artists ranging from LA up-and-comers to established international names.
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LA Zoo & Botanical Gardens
Meerkats are the current squeezables of the Disney set and one well-placed, big-eyed Timon wows kids entering the zoo. From there, undisputed crowdpleasers include swinging gibbons, frolicking sea lions, posturing chimpanzees, cuddling koalas, and, according to the zoo's director, anything currently defecating. The zoo is deceptively larger than it appears from outside; you'll need at least 2½ hours. New gorilla and elephant reserves coming soon.
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Manhattan Beach
If Manhattan Beach had its own magazine, it would surely be called Gorgeous Living . Classy beachside cottages, bougainvillea-lined walk-streets, bustling sidewalk patios, friendly boutiques, surfers silhouetted against the setting sun, and babies who never seem to cry - all within half a mile of a portrait-worthy pier. It's that impossibly perfect. Outdoor enthusiasts should check out Fun Bunn's for various fun beach rentals.
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Museum Of Contemporary Art
Architect Arata Osozaki built this conglomeration of cubes, pyramids and cylinders to house renowned collections of abstract expressionism, pop art, minimalism and photography from the 5000-piece permanent collection. Same-day tickets are valid at Little Tokyo's MOCA Geffen Contemporary (152 N Central Ave). MOCA's satellite gallery at the Pacific Design Center is always free.
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Natural History Museum Of Los Angeles County
What's the most frightening Night at the Museum display at this three-level warehouse of goodies? Is it the towering death match between T-rex and Triceratops in the great hall? The chest-thumping stuffed gorillas in the Hall of African Mammals? The 'human head' football games gruesomely described in the Hall of Ancient Latin American? Or perhaps it's the 200 shrieking 4th-graders tumbling off school buses at .
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Norton Simon Museum
Norton Simon's passion for the arts shines through at this accessible museum - see Rodin's The Thinker luring visitors out front - thought by many to be the best collection of fine art in LA. The permanent exhibits, spanning the 14th century to the 20th and including Southeast Asian sculpture, fill six galleries over two floors.
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Ocean Front Walk
Known locally as the Venice Boardwalk, this can't-miss parade of hustlers, freaks, artists and exhibitionists will have you either thanking your lucky stars for your office job or plotting your imminent escape from drudgery. Shopping? Cheap sunglasses, Bob Marley tees, beachy photographs and sarongs are representative fare. Personal makeover? Body piercers, tattoo artist, masseuses and hair-braiders are happy to help. Fast food options abound.
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Pacific Asia Museum
The Pacific Museum may be small, but with more than 14,000 works of Asian and Pacific Island art in its collection, the quality and range of the exhibits is almost unrivaled. The nine galleries, linked around a courtyard, include informative but accessible displays on Chinese, Tibetan, Southeast Asian and Japanese arts. Particularly fascinating is the two-room Chinese Ceramics exhibit.
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Pacific Design Center
The blue and green leviathan at the corner of Melrose and San Vicente - the 'Blue Whale' - is a perfect launch pad for exploring the nearby Avenues of Arts & Design. Inside, more than 130 showrooms highlight furniture, fabrics and architectural products of interest to design professionals. The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA; 310-289-5223) maintains a satellite gallery here with rotating design- and architecture-related exhibits.
