Los Angeles Hotels

Los Angeles is perhaps the best known and the least known city in the United States. Hollywood has spread the myth of Los Angeles around the world, but behind the stories and the facade of "Tinseltown" there is a real city. Actually, there are dozens of cities that make up the greater Los Angeles area - a sprawling metropolis of over 10 million people. When you try to book a Los Angeles hotel, you may find that hotel isn't in Los Angeles at all. But then again, you may not want a hotel in Los Angeles. For instance if you are visiting Disneyland, you would want an Orange County hotel; if not a hotel in Anaheim, the city the Mickey calls home. While it may seem confusing, most Los Angeles hotel proprietors provide plenty of information about their hotel, including its location relative to the local tourist sites.

The movie industry is a major tourism draw in Los Angeles. Many of the studios now offer tours of their facilities. Universal Studios has built an entire amusement park with movie themes, including back lot tours. Disneyland also incorporates many elements from the cinema industry in its park. Many tourists prefer to catch the stars in their natural environments and take advantage of the bus tours which pass by the homes of some of Hollywood's biggest names. Speaking of Hollywood, you can visit the city of Hollywood itself, though you shouldn't anticipate seeing any stars there. The movie industry has left the town far behind. All that remains are Mann's Chinese Theater, the Walk of Fame, and memories that are still guarded in a few tourist museums and gift shops.

There are a few other famous places that you will want to include in your Los Angeles visit. The best-known beaches in the L.A. area are Venice Beach and Malibu. Both places are great people-watching sites. If you want to see the stereotypical California beach babes, head to Malibu. But you may find the entertainment at Venice more intriguing. Part beach, part gym, part street circus - there is always something to see here.

Los Angeles is not completely hype and special effects. The Getty Center houses one of the finest collections of European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, and decorative arts, as well as American and European photographs in the United States. The Music Center has been L.A.'s major performing arts venue since its opening in 1964 and it's now downtown's centerpiece. Home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Opera, the Center Theater Group, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Music Center was also the former site of the Academy Awards ceremonies.

Whether your plans bring you to Los Angeles for a few days or a few weeks, you are sure to find plenty to keep you occupied, and enough variety to keep you intrigued until you can return again.