What is the best street or route to take to get really nice views of the city and niegborhoods? Thanks for all your help.

Los Angeles is an enormous city in terms of area. In turn, there are a ton of neighborhoods to see. Can you be more specific on what type of places you'd like to see while you're here? Which area is your hotel in?

For just a few suggestions...
1)Mullholland Drive
2)drive up to the observatory at Griffith Park to see the view of the city
3)Rodeo Drive - see where the rich and famous shop
4) Sunset Boulevard

So many to choose from...

A rather long drive, but my favorite: Sunset Blvd. from Echo Park to the ocean. The route takes one through the older neighborhoods of Silver Lake, through some seedy-but-very-L.A. parts of Hollywood; along Sunset Strip; then through Beverly Hills, past UCLA and Bel Air, Brentwood, and Will Rogers State Park before intersecting with Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

For a brief-but-spectacular view: the westbound side of the 134 freeway between Pasadena and Glendale. From there, one can see the observatory in Griffith Park, and to the south is a great view of South Pasadena and Glendale neighborhoods; this view stretches into the skyline of downtown L.A. On a clear day, the buildings in Century City seem too close, and the ocean is clearly visible.

Stationary viewpoints of Los Angleles: (1) the deck at Griffith Park Observatory; (2) south from Lot 34 at Dodger Stadium.

Thanks everybody.

I think Sunset sounds like a good idea.
Do you actually drive through the neighborhoods of UCLA and BH? How long does it take?

Bill,

I take Sunset Blvd. from Los Feliz to Bel Air Monday -Friday. You do indeed get a cross section of the city. If you want to drive through the posh Beverly Hills residential areas north of Sunset, just take a side street. You do drive by mansions so you'll know where you are.Also, the gates of Bel Air are well marked, so you can meander up the hills there and look around. UCLA is on Westwood and Sunset. You can drive in and ask about parking and walk the campus.

How long does it take? That depends on the hour. Try to avoid the nine o'clock rush and the five o'clock rush. I arrive at work at 7:30 , it takes me about 30 minutes from Los Feliz/Hollywood. I leave at around 3:00. The drive home is usually closer to an hour.

All the other view suggestions are great, too.