7 Best Sights in Los Angeles, California

The ultimate shopping indulgence, Rodeo Drive is one of L.A.’s bona fide tourist attractions. The art of window-shopping (and reenacting your Pretty Woman fantasies) is prime among the retail elite: Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Valentino, Harry Winston, Prada—you get the picture. Near the southern end of Rodeo Drive is Via Rodeo, a curvy cobblestone street designed to resemble a European shopping area and the perfect backdrop to pose for your Instagram feed. To give your feet a rest, free trolley tours depart from the southeast corner of Rodeo Drive and Dayton Way from 11:30 to 4:30. They’re a terrific way to get an overview of the neighborhood.

Otherwise known as the Witch’s House in Beverly Hills, the Spadena House has an interesting history. First built on the Willat Studios lot in 1920, the house was physically moved to its current ritzy location in 1924. The house is not open for tourists, but the fairy-tale-like appearance is viewable from the street for onlookers to snap pics. Movie buffs will also recognize it from a background shot in the film Clueless.

Towering over the 20th Century Fox studio lot in Century City is Fox Plaza, a 34-story skyscraper where former president Ronald Reagan once had an office. Savvy screen watchers will undoubtedly know it by its more famous name---Nakatomi Plaza. Starring in the blockbusting juggernaut Die Hard, the building is shot at, blown apart, and set on fire as Bruce Willis takes down a German terrorist cell. It can be fun to see if you're a fan of the movie, but be aware this is just an office building, so there’s not a whole lot to do but look at it.

This contemporary art gallery, owned and directed by the legendary Larry Gagosian, features cutting-edge artists in a minimalist-styled space. It’s free to enter, exhibits rotate every six weeks, and the gallery has displayed everyone from Richard Avedon and Takashi Murakami to Frank Gehry and Jeff Koons. During Oscar season the gallery is known for its celeb-filled openings.

Built in 1928, this stunning mansion resides in a discreet residential part of Beverly Hills, surrounded by 18 acres of manicured grounds that are open to the public. The historic house was built by oil magnate Ned Doheny (inspiration for the Daniel Day-Lewis character in There Will Be Blood) and has been featured in a number of films like The Big Lebowski, Spider-Man, The Social Network, and X-Men. Park rangers offer tours for $20 where you can gawk at the 46,000-square-foot estate with a bowling alley, secret panels for liquor, and even a screening room.

A museum that unflinchingly confronts bigotry and racism, one of its most affecting sections covers the Holocaust, with film footage of deportations and concentration camps. Upon entering, you are issued a "passport" bearing the name of a child whose life was dramatically changed by the Nazis; as you go through the exhibit, you learn the fate of that child. Another exhibit called Anne: The Life and Legacy of Anne Frank brings her story to life through immersive environments, multimedia presentations, and interesting artifacts, while Simon Wiesenthal's Vienna office is set exactly as the famous "Nazi hunter" had it while conducting his research that brought more than 1,000 war criminals to justice.

Interactive exhibits include The Forum where visitors can examine and debate solutions to controversial topics facing our nation today such as immigration, policing, homelessness, the pandemic, and bigotry; We the People, which looks at U.S. history from the 1600s up to the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, 2021, with an immense interactive wall; and the Point of View Experience, a four-sided glass cube that presents a different individual's perspective on a particular situation facing society.

Plan to spend at least three hours touring the museum; making a reservation is especially recommended for Sunday and holiday visits.

As an heiress to the Robinson department store dynasty, Virginia Robinson lived on what is the oldest intact estate in Beverly Hills, dating back to 1911. The house and gardens cover 6½ acres of immaculately landscaped flora with a distinct Italian-villa vibe right out of Tuscany. The beaux arts--style house includes a tennis court, pool house, and five separate gardens including a rose garden, Italian terrace, palm tree forest, and more.