Los Angeles is the largest city of California and the second largest of the United States with a population exceeding the 10 million mark. Los Angeles has seven different districts that compose the city and that offer a rich cultural environment. Every part of the city has a multitude of attractions to offer!

This district of Los Angeles includes the Grand Central Market, the MOCA(Museum of Contemporary Art), the Disney Concert Hall, The Music Center, Olvera Street, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Natural History Museum and the Japanese-American Museum.

Downtown Los Angeles is home to some of the most unique and stunning examples of American and international architecture. As this is one of Southern California's most remarkable architectural achievements, do not miss to see the Bradbury Building that was built in 1893. Behind its modest exterior lies a magical light-filled Victorian court that rises 50 feet featuring open cage elevators, marble stairs and ornate iron railings. The building has been the set for many films, including Blade Runner in 1982. Another example of Downtown's fabulous architecture is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, opened in 2002 costing about $200 million. Also do not miss to see the Library Tower/ US Bank Tower with its 72 floors. With a height of 1,017 feet, this tower is known as the tallest building between Chicago and Hong Kong.

Downtown is also famous for its huge cultural diversity with areas such as Chinatown Los Angeles and Little Tokyo, also known as J-Town. In Chinatown you will find a wide, main, busy street filled with small shops and restaurants. Mexican culture in Los Angeles can be experienced at Olvera Street, where L.A. was founded under the name of El Pueblo de Los Angeles. Los Angeles' oldest house is located here, and you can have a tour to see what it looked like at that time. The square is now mostly filled with Mexican trinket stands and Mexican restaurants.

The Eastside of Los Angeles comprises neighborhoods such as Los Feliz, Silverlake, Echo Park, and MacArthur Park. Here you have to visit the Derby Dolls, Los Angeles' original women's skate roller derby league. With the skate roller derby league, Los Angeles has revived a sport that peaked in the 1970's. Tickets for the matches in Los Angeles can be purchased by those who are 21 and older.

If you want to relax go to the Echo Park, a really nice lakeside park, which is ideal for picnics. You may also want to spend some quality time in the MacArthur Park. The park owes his fame to Charlie Chaplin, who made several films here. Silver Lake Reservoir is encompassed by a nice walking and jogging path that is more than two miles long.

The Eastside district also offers a great evening attraction with El Cid. El Cid is the only theatre in Los Angeles that combines dinner and show. The menu is mainly Spanish and the shows differ depending on the night, ranging from flamenco performances to tongue-in-cheek burlesque.

Los Angeles Harbor Area is an industrial district, where you can find the Port of Los Angeles , and the Port of Long Beach , the busiest port along the Pacific Coast. From here you can take a cruise or a ferry to Catalina Island.

Hollywood is L.A.'s most famous business and residential district consisting of three fascinating boulevards: Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard and Melrose Avenue. Hollywood Blvd. is known for its entertainment history; Sunset Blvd. for its clubs and Melrose Ave. for its shopping and nightlife.

Exploring the Hollywood area requires a pair of sunglasses, a camera and some money. Hollywood Blvd. is the centre of L.A.'s tourist madness. Thousands of visitors come daily to see the Walk of Fame, its famous theatres, souvenir shops and museums. In this amazing area you can visit the giant Hollywood sign on Mt. Lee, the Grauman's Chinese Theatre that frequently rolls out the red carpet for movie premieres, the Walk of Fame with its 2000 bronze-inlaid stairs, the Kodak theatre that hosts the Academy Awards and the Hollywood and Highland Mall where you can find a lot of shops and restaurants.

Paramount is the only major film studio still headquartered in Hollywood, but the area nonetheless remains an important centre of the entertainment industry with plenty of production and broadcast facilities. In the Griffith Park you can visit the Planetarium and the Observatory. The parking lot of the Observatory offers a terrific view of the Hollywood sign. Here you can enjoy the Los Angeles Zoo with its rare animals on 113 well-kept acres. The Zoo's five sea lions are a major attraction as well as the red apes and chimps. If you are interested in museums, don't forget to visit the Hollywood Wax Museum. This museum is devoted to celebrities, presenting over 180 figures. The Ripley's Believe It Or Not is an exhibition that focuses on the odd, the unusual and the unbelievable and features interactive illusions.

South Central L.A. is a relatively impoverished region of Los Angeles, known for its gang violence. Despite its reputation, however, Leimert Park has developed as an African-American cultural centre. Here you can visit the Watts Towers, 17 interconnected structures of which 2 reach heights of over 99 feet, the Leimert Park, a famous centre for Los Angeles' African-American culture, the Shrine Auditorium, a huge venue that holds the Emmy's and other award shows, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the University of Southern California.

The University of Southern California hosts many musical and theatrical performances throughout the year that are free or very cheap: tickets can be purchased on the campus at the Ticket Office. The university has more than 30.000 students and has trained celebrities such as Neil Amstrong. Furthermore, every summer Olympics since 1912 featured a gold-medal-winning athlete from this university .

Westside is the most affluent area of Los Angeles near the Pacific ocean. Here you can find a lot of bookstores, art movie theaters, inexpensive restaurants and coffee houses. Suggested museums include the Museum of Tolerance, which is an amazing and highly interactive museum inspired by the Holocaust. Especially, kids over 10 can ask here about things such as racial and economic tensions.A highlight of the museum are the live testimonies by Holocaust survivors.
The J. Paul Getty Museum features a collection of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present against a backdrop of dramatic architecture, peaceful gardens and breathtaking views. Finally, you should also visit the the Hammer Museum, that houses continually changing exhibitions of both modern and classic art.

In the Greater Westside Koreatown and the Hancock Park are the major attractions. Once there, walk along Larchmont Blvd. and look into the overpriced but homy boutiques along HP's main street. For local Oaxacan & Salvadoran culture, walk along Pico Blvd between Vermont and Normandie. Here you can discover Latino Catholic imagery and icons at one of the numerous local markets before heading over to Papa Cristo's for Greek culture. If you want to see gorgeous Art Deco and apartment buildings, you have to go to Sycamore. The most beautiful museum to visit is the Petersen Automotive Museum: a great exposition of rare cars.

There are 88 districts in Los Angeles County. Don't miss to visit the Beverly Hills, home to many of the entertainment industry's rich. Another famous city in L.A. county is Venice with its amazing high-end shopping facilities and its stunning beachfront. Other must see L.A. county cities are Muscle Beach, Santa Monica, famous for its pier and beaches, Pasadena, home of the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Stadium on New Year's day and Long Beach, home to the Queen Mary, the Long Beach airport, and other common tourist stops such as the Aquarium of the Pacific and Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden.

Los Angeles is a beautiful city with a multitude of things to visit and do! Save some time worrying about your next move and plan your travels ahead of time with Gift-Tours! Gift-Tours offers you everything you will need for your stay and travel in Los Angeles: accommodation, transport, tours and high quality information.

If you need more information about accommodation in Los Angeles, please search for your perfect L.A. accommodation through our search engines, submit an enquiry, or contact us!