The 22 best things to do in Hollywood

This gorgeous outdoor amphitheatre has been hosting concerts since the LA Philharmonic first played here in 1922. Nestled in an aesthetically blessed fold in the Hollywood Hills, the 18,000-seat venue can bring out the romantic in the terminally cynical. It’s the summer home of the LA Phil (and boozy picnics); as long as there’s no performance, it also doubles as a public park.

It’s still a great place to catch a movie but most people come to the Chinese Theatre for the hand and/or foot imprints of around 200 Hollywood stars. The courtyard is usually choked with snap-happy tourists measuring their own extremities against the likes of John Wayne and Judy Garland, but you can avoid the crowds by catching a flick inside, where the auditorium is as stunning as the IMAX screen’s projection quality

This overlook in the Santa Monica Mountains has fantastic views of the Downtown skyline all the way to the ocean and it’s right on top of the Hollywood Bowl. It’s a prime place to be on a clear day—as evidenced by the tiny parking lot overrun with tour buses—so get there early (it’s also technically not open in the evening). If you’re after more scenic views, you can keep following Mulholland Drive to find about a half-dozen other overlooks that face the Valley side of the city.

Built by the same man who erected the Chinese Theatre and El Capitan Theatre, the Egyptian was faithfully restored by the American Cinematheque in 1998. The not-for-profit company continues to curate a wide range of excellent themed mini-festivals and one-off Q&As with legendary figures—even though the actual building is now owned by Netflix (the streamer, which oversaw a three-year restoration project, uses the space for premieres and special events on weekdays while the American Cinematheque programs weekends). The 516-seat auditorium is outfitted to screen digital, 35mm, 70mm and even nitrate.

Originally created in 1923, the then “Hollywoodland” sign was supposed to be up for only a year and a half, yet here it is a century later. Getting close to the Hollywood Sign, though, is an often contentious issue thanks to pressure from local homeowners. From farther away, the archway at Ovation Hollywood has a pretty decent view of the sign. You can catch a dead-on glimpse of it on Beachwood Drive, or farther up the hill near Lake Hollywood Park for our favorite all-around perspective. Looking to get even closer? Go horseback riding at Sunset Ranch or lace up for a trek along the closed-to-public-vehicles road on Mt. Lee Drive to where you will be standing directly above the Hollywood Sign and can experience a total 360-degree view of the cityscape.

Any cemetery that houses the remains of such celluloid luminaries as Cecil B. DeMille, Jayne Mansfield, Rudolph Valentino and Mel Blanc was bound to become a tourist attraction. Aside from popular posthumous celebs, Hollywood Forever is also home to Cinespia’s summer outdoor movie screenings, an annual Day of the Dead festival and concerts, both outside on the lawn and inside the property’s Masonic lodge.

Multiple publications have tried to deem this L.A.’s coolest neighborhood in recent years, but a single block of entertainment office spaces and high-end restaurants doesn’t exactly constitute an entire neighborhood in our eyes. That said, there’s undeniably an impressive assortment of dining options along this block of Sycamore Avenue, south of Romaine Street, including Tartine Sycamore, Mr. T, Gigi’s, Mother Tongue and Sightglass Coffee, plus always-interesting art exhibitions at Jeffrey Deitch.

Just outside the Hollywood border, this hilly park is the home of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House. Originally intended as a massive arts complex, the site still fulfills that role with exhibitions in a variety of different gallery spaces, including the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, and public tours of the Hollyhock House. In the summer, the park hosts a variety of alfresco cinema nights, wine tastings and cultural events that bring out a nice mix of singles, couples and young families.

Tucked away on the second floor of the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel, the Spare Room is like stepping into another era: one where classic flamboyant concoctions and understated classics pour freely, and people make merry all night long. The big draw here, beyond the expertly made drinks, is the gaming. This bar sports an antique, two-lane bowling alley, which looks great with those George Esquivel–designed bowling shoes and argyle socks.

We’ve spent enough time in Hollywood to know that you probably don’t want to put your hands on those grimy bits of star-dotted sidewalk—better to look but not touch. If you can stomach the suspect superheroes, claustrophobia-inducing crowds and never-ending line of gift shops, tattoo parlors and lingerie stores, there’s actually a lot of old Hollywood history to discover along the Walk of Fame (just maybe not a ton of glamour).

The immortalized names on those famous five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars run from the Walk’s western extreme at the Hollywood and La Brea Gateway, past the Dolby Theatre (home of the Academy Awards) and over to the W Hotel and Pantages Theater at Gower; and additionally on Vine from the Capitol Records Building down to Sunset, near where the original movie studios sprang up a century ago.

You’re bound to find something worth listening to just about any night of the week in Hollywood. The Fonda and the Hollywood Palladium are the go-to picks for touring acts, while Avalon and Academy L.A. specialize in DJ-fueled dance parties. You can also find tribute bands and comedy shows at the Bourbon Room. For a more sedate evening, expect singer-songwriters at the Hotel Café or intimate outdoor shows at the Ford, just up the canyon from the Bowl.

This 160-acre park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains has one main loop, plus a bevy of dirt hiking trails. The sea of buff trainers and their sleek, sweaty clients can get to be too much during the busy morning and weekend workout traffic, but you’ll be rewarded with some of the best views of the city (and, if you’re lucky, a chance to gawk at power-walking celebs). The southern entrance is at the end of Fuller Avenue in Hollywood; if you want to cut out most of the hiking and just beeline it to the tob, use the northern entrance off the 7300 block of Mulholland Drive.

As streaming services have erased CDs from our collective memory, the L.A. branch of San Francisco’s Amoeba Music could easily be seen as a mausoleum to actually leaving the house to buy music. But this, one of the largest independent record stores in the country, is very much alive (albeit at a new location). The variety of stock (vinyl, CDs and DVDs, new and used) is awesome, as is the lineup of live shows and signings slated around major record releases.

Just about every Broadway musical that comes to town sets up inside of this gorgeous Art Deco auditorium (a few productions have runs at the nearby Dolby Theatre, as well). Our tip: Opt for the first few rows of the mezzanine for the best seats in the house.

Open since 1919, the Musso & Frank Grill is Hollywood’s oldest restaurant, a steak-and-cocktails joint formerly favored by Charlie Chaplin and Raymond Chandler. With its many obscure dishes and individually priced sides (and salad dressings!), the menu can be daunting. However, some dishes are fail-safes. At breakfast, grab an order of crêpe-thin flannel cakes; later in the day, the grilled meats are excellent. And every table gets a half-loaf of house-made sourdough bread, the perfect accompaniment to a dry martini.

Believe it or not, Paramount is the last major studio to keep its headquarters located in Hollywood—and the only one there to open its doors to the public. Inside the famous wrought iron gate, you’ll be treated to a guided tram tour through soundstages and a sizable New York backlot.

Good Times at Davey Wayne’s takes us back to the 1970s via garage. Walk past the knick-knacks to find the portal to this booze-fueled time machine: an old refrigerator. Step through its door and you’re instantly transported to a house party in the era of hard rock, sideburns and shag carpeting. Vintage beer cans and retro tchotchkes surround the tufted bar, where staff whip up craft cocktails with forgotten spirits and draught beer is served in cans and novelty mugs.

If you keep driving up Beachwood Drive in search of the Hollywood Sign, eventually you’ll hit a dead end at Sunset Ranch Hollywood’s cluster of horse stables. The ranch offers a variety of daily trail rides through Griffith Park, and you can book ahead on their website. Pricier and longer rides include meals or a trek to the top of the park or Mt. Lee, but even the basic one hour ride ($75) lets you snag a close-up look at the Hollywood Sign along with sweeping views of the hills and L.A. cityscape below.

Yearning to relive your childhood and indulge in a Disney flick? El Capitan’s your spot—the lavish 1926-built theater screens Disney’s most current feature along with classics in between releases. Tickets are indeed pricier than other nearby cinemas, but then again, where else do you get to dine at a classic fountain and see a 2,500-pipe organ be played before the show?

With endless celebrity photos and numerous “best of” lists on the walls, this Thai Town restaurant is one of the city’s cult favorites. If perusing the lengthy menu leaves you feeling dazed and confused, the green mussel curry—succulent New Zealand mussels piled high and bathed in an aromatic Southern curry flavored with lemongrass, sweet pineapples and chiles—is a good place to start on the extensive list of fiery Northern and Southern Thai specialties.

Speak the secret phrase to the owl sculpture in the lobby of this private club (we’re serious here), and the rest—well, we don’t want to ruin the surprises in store for visitors at this magical institution. The mansion that houses the Magic Castle is over a century old, but since 1963 it’s been the home of the Academy of Magical Arts, an exclusive organization made up of roughly 2,500 American magicians. Sorry to be cryptic, but if you can bag yourself an invite, you’re guaranteed to have a night you’ll never forget. If you can’t find a member of the Academy to tag along with, stay at the adjacent Magic Castle Hotel for access.

Built as a private art museum in the 1920s, this Japanese palace-like restaurant is a spectacular structure with extraordinary views of Hollywood. As for the food… hey, those views are nice, right?