Theme park of extreme proportions that is well worth the price ($59). It's a day trip with loads of events and the famous train ride around the film lot.

On their website they actually write this:
"Located conveniently in Los Angeles, CA." Hilarious.
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608.
themeparks.universalstudios.com/hollywood/website/index.html

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The finest Craftsman house in Pasadena, built in 1908 by architects Greene and Greene. The style is Charles Rennie Macintosh with a Pacific Rim twist; everything, down to the light switches, was specifically designed for this house. It also has a great bookshop, with a huge selection of books on design, architecture and art.

Orange Boulevard, Pasadena
www.gamblehouse.org

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Everybody, of course, goes to Universal Studios in Hollywood. Fair enough, it is the biggest but is it the best? It used to be but, alas, no longer. Now try the Warner Bros. studio tour and you'll see the difference, especially if you are a film buff like me.

Warners is far smaller but it is quieter and it is a working studio but most of all the moment you go round the back lots you can immediately see the sets for the familiar 30's and 40's films like Jimmy Cagney's 'Public Enemy', Bogart's 'Maltese Falcon' and Flynn's 'Robin Hood'. While these will mean nothing to the 'Sponge Bob' or 'The Shrek' generation, who will doubtless prefer to enjoy the hussle and bussle of the Universal tour, old fuddy-duddies like me will enjoy the 'WB's. They don't make'm like that anymore. Go enjoy!

Also, don't miss the small movie and TV museums on Sunset, Hollywood and Vine either. Many sadly do, you'll never forgive yourself.

Warner Bros. Studio is at Burbank. Universal Studios is at Universal City (on the way to Burbank). Hollywood Museum, Movie and TV Museum and Max Factor's old make-up palace (now also a museum) are all on or just off Hollywood Blv.

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Look at the paintings if you must, but the external beauty of the gardens and the building itself are perhaps more engaging. The smoggy views of the city over the cactus rooftop are awesome.

On the outskirts somewhere

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The Getty, positioned atop a sheer hillside looking down on Santa Monica and the ocean. From the winding monorail taking visitors from the car park to architect Richard Meier's modern monument to art, the Getty is an adventure, a trip to a world apart stuffed with some of the finest art that money (and the Getty has a lot of it) can buy. Touring exhibitions complement a comprehensive permanent collection (although the Getty does not generally collect contemporary art) but the Getty is an event in itself.

Admission: free; www.getty.edu/

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Recommended to me by a stranger in a second hand record store on Bristol's Gloucester road. His words "I won't tell you what to expect, just go there and see for your self". I did and now I urge you to do the same.

9341 Venice Boulevard, Culver City.
www.mjt.org/

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Large and varied collection includes more Degas than you would expect, extraordinary French impressionists, memorable Old Masters. Outside you are surrounded by bamboo trees & water gardens. Worth the trip.

Pasadena (www.nortonsimon.org)

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This is an amazing art museum in Pasadena. It has quite a small collection, but its quality surpasses that of the Getty. It also has a small but lovely garden.

You can get there on the Metro, though natives of LA will not believe you.
www.nortonsimon.org

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The Huntington institution is a massive estate at San Marino featuring botanical gardens, a library, art galleries and more. They even have Gainsborough's Blue Boy! Admission is free on the first Thursday of every month.

www.huntington.org/

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