Los Angeles International Airport

Hollywood remains the city’s most recognizable sightseeing area, with landmarks tied to film history such as Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Hollywood Sign. The broader entertainment landscape is also scattered across nearby studio hubs like Universal City, Burbank, Culver City, and Century City, where major studios and production facilities still operate and some even offer tours or tapings.

Los Angeles has preserved a surprising number of historical places despite its reputation for constant reinvention. El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the city’s original Spanish settlement, still anchors the story of its founding, while Downtown’s Historic Core, Union Station, the Bradbury Building, the Mission San Gabriel, and the Mission San Fernando show different eras of the region’s development. The mix of architecture, museums, and living-history sites makes this a strong category for understanding the city’s past.

The city has several major museums that stand out nationally, especially the Getty Center with its hilltop views and European art, the Getty Villa for ancient Greek and Roman artifacts, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with its wide-ranging global collection. Downtown also concentrates important contemporary art institutions such as MOCA and The Broad, while Exposition Park, Wilshire, and other districts add science, history, and specialty museums to the mix.

Los Angeles has a remarkable amount of scenery for an urban area, from huge Griffith Park and its trails, observatory, zoo, and city views to neighborhood parks like Echo Park and MacArthur Park. Other notable outlooks include Mulholland Drive, Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, Malibu’s coast, Palos Verdes cliffs, botanical gardens in the valleys, and the Angeles National Forest, giving visitors many ways to see both the basin and the surrounding mountains and ocean.

Beach life is one of the city’s defining experiences, with famous stretches such as Venice Beach and Santa Monica offering boardwalk energy, piers, amusements, and very busy summer crowds. More relaxed options include Dockweiler, while Pacific Palisades and Malibu provide scenic shoreline and surf, and the South Bay adds popular beach cities with piers, family-friendly sand, and active sports scenes. Marina del Rey also stands out for boating rather than swimming.

Los Angeles is one of the country’s major sports cities, with a long list of teams and venues spread across the region. You can catch the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, the Lakers, Kings, Sparks, and many concerts at Crypto.com Arena, the Rams and Chargers at SoFi Stadium, LAFC and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium, or college football at the Coliseum and Rose Bowl. The area also supports several other pro and college programs nearby.