Medieval Times, Los Angeles

A wildly popular family attraction in Los Angeles, Medieval Times is a dinner attraction that combines food and entertainment. Guests are treated to a four-course 11th-century feast while being entertained by six knights competing in the joust and other contests. The castle features a tower, courtyard, gift shop, torture museum, indoor stable, and a club with two bars and deejays.

Admission:
$57.95 adults, $35.95 children under 12, includes dinner and show.

Getty Center, Los Angeles

It is said that the Getty Center in Brentwood, Los Angeles is less a museum with artworks inside, than an artwork with a museum inside. Certainly the building, designed by Richard Meier and costing $1.2 billion to build in 1997, is celebrated for its architecture and gardens, while the wonderful views over LA are breathtaking. With over 1.3 million visitors, the Getty Center is one of the most visited museums in the USA, and it is well worth allocating a day to explore. It houses a premier collection of pre-20th century European paintings and artworks, and a leading archive of photography from the 19th and 20th centuries. The most famous work on display is undoubtedly Irisesby Vincent van Gogh, although there are hundreds of other notable works, including Paul Gauguin's Arii Matamoe.

Opening Times:
Tuesday to Friday 10am-5:30pm, Saturday 10am-9pm, Sunday 10am-5:30pm. Closed Mondays.

Admission:
Free; parking: $15 per car although free after 5pm

Celebrity Gravesites, Los Angeles

Hollywood's celebrities are a major tourist attraction in Los Angeles long after they're dead. Several cemeteries in LA are known for their famous residents, and visitors flock to pay homage to their idols at their final resting places.

One of the most famous cemeteries in Los Angeles is Westwood Village Memorial Park, home to the graves of Marilyn Monroe, Truman Capote, Billy Wilder, Natalie Wood and Walter Matthau. Forest Lawn Glendale houses the graves of Walt Disney, Nat 'King' Cole, and Humphrey Bogart. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard are here as well in the Great Mausoleum, but it isn't open to the public.

Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills has the graves of Lucille Ball, Liberace, Bette Davis and Buster Keaton; while Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City is home to celebrities like Bing Crosby, Bela Lugosi, John Candy, Rita Hayworth and Ray Bolger. Hillside Memorial Park in Baldwin Hills is the final resting place for Al Jolson, Jack Benny, and Michael Landon.

The most famous celebrity cemetery however, is Hollywood Forever, located on Santa Monica Boulevard in a scenic location under the HOLLYWOOD sign. Celebrity gravesites in Hollywood Forever include Rudolph Valentino, Cecil B DeMille, Mel Blanc, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Tourists looking for celebrity graves should always be respectful of other cemetery visitors who may be grieving. To find out where a specific celebrity is buried, visit www.findagrave.com.

Six Flags Magic Mountain, Los Angeles

Even among the stiff competition among Southern California theme parks, Six Flags Magic Mountain has a solid reputation for the biggest, baddest rides in the area. This world-class theme park was recently named Roller Coaster Capital of the World with 18 coasters, including Superman, the Green Lantern, Batman, The Riddler's Revenge, and the Road Runner Express. The park offers many other rides for all ages, and kids will love meeting their favourite Looney Tunes characters and Justice League superheroes at the family shows. Magic Mountain is dotted with restaurants, snack stands, souvenir shops and other stores, and the park will even hold your parcels at the exit while you enjoy yourself.

Attached to the park is Hurricane Harbor, a water park with more than a dozen rides ranging from the thrilling Black Snake Summit waterslides to the family-friendly Castaway Cove play area.

Opening Times:
Hours vary according to season. Check the website for specific dates.

Admission:
Magic Mountain: Adults $61.99; children under 48" $36.99. Hurricane Harbor: Adults $37.99, children under 48" $29.99. Discounted tickets are available from the website.

Getty Villa, Los Angeles

Originally completed in 1974, and rebuilt in 1997, the Getty Villa is a faithful replica of a Roman villa that was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Perched on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Villa was built to house the expanding art collection of oil tycoon J Paul Getty, and now has one of the world's finest displays of ancient Greek and Roman artefacts, comprising over 44,000 pieces. The best known item is Victorious Youth, one of the only surviving life-size Greek bronzes in existence. The Getty Villa also has over 20,000 books in its library, and collections of jewellery and coins. The free guided tours of both the exhibits and the gardens are highly recommended.

Getting There:
Metro Bus 534 stops at Coastline Drive and Pacific Coast Highway directly across from the Getty Villa entrance.

Opening Times:
Daily 10am-5pm, closed Tuesdays

Admission:
Free. An advance, timed ticket is required. Login to the website to book. Parking is $15 per car or motorcycle; free for all evening public programming.

Anaheim, Los Angeles

Located approximately 25 miles (40km) southeast of Los Angeles and founded in 1857 by grape farmers and wine makers, Anaheim (meaning 'home by the Santa Anna River' in German) is known as the home of California's Disneyland. This Orange Country town farms walnuts, lemons, and of course oranges and offers visitors a range of fun and exciting activities to enjoy. Take the kids to Disneyland to enjoy a magical world of fun and rides with all their favourite Disney characters; enjoy a day of fun and thrill rides at America's first theme Park, Knott's Berry Farm; enjoy the Middle Ages at Medieval Times; take a tour of Universal Studios Hollywood; explore the fascinating marine life at the Aquarium of the Pacific; soak up the sun on Laguna or Newport Beach, or enjoy a day of shopping, dining and exploring the Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk. Another fun day out is catching an Anaheim Angels baseball game at Angels Stadium.

Knott's Berry Farm, Los Angeles

When Walter Knott began selling berries, berry plants and pies from a roadside stand beside State Route 39 in the 1920s he could never have known what his stand would eventually become. As the highway developed over time, so did his stand, becoming a roadside eatery with entertainment and eventually turning into America's first theme park, Knott's Berry Farm. The park features a multitude of fun for visitors of all ages and boasts nine world-class roller coasters, a plethora of thrill rides, family rides, children's rides, water rides, a Ghost Town, Fiesta Village (portraying Spanish California), Indian Trails, Wild Water Wilderness and the Sky Cabin Tower where fabulous views can be enjoyed by those brave enough to climb to the top. Each October the park transforms into a spooky Halloween-themed 'haunted theme park' called Knott's Scary Farm!

Opening Times:
Opening times vary according to season. Check the park's website for current information.

Admission:
Full day regular: $57.99; Full day Junior: $28.99 (age 3 and up and under 48 inches). Discounted tickets are available on the website.

Castle Park, Los Angeles

A great attraction for kids in Los Angeles, Castle Park has a number of enticing entertainment options to offer adventure-seeking children. The arcade boasts hundreds of games including Ghost Blasters, Time Crisis 3 and Dance Dance Revolution, with fun prizes to be won and a snack bar. The park's roller-coasters, antique train tours and mini-golf are also great fun for kids. There are souvenir shops and family restaurants, as well as a weekly magic show.

Admission:
Ride Park: $24.99 adults, $16.99 kids under 48 inches (122cm).

Peach Tree Pottery, Los Angeles

For kids who really want to get their hands dirty, Peach Tree Pottery offers children's pottery lessons in a friendly, relaxed environment. Aside from learning to use a potter's wheel, children will also be shown how to make pinch pots, coil pots and tile trivets - a world of ceramic fun!

Getting There:
Three blocks west of Centinela, off Venice

Admission:
$45 and up

Disneyland Resort, Los Angeles

Claiming to be 'The Happiest Place on Earth', Disneyland is an integral part of an American childhood and was the world's first mega theme park designed for the family by Walt Disney in 1955. It is one of America's most famous attractions and despite competition from other similar parks in Florida, Paris and Tokyo, nothing can compare to the original. It is an enchanted kingdom of fantasy and imagination filled with magical entertainment and attractions. The park is divided into eight 'lands' and each one features different rides, dining experiences and entertainment as well as daily live-action shows and parades. Adventureland, Fantasyland, Critter Country, Frontierland, Mickey's Toontown, Tomorrowland, New Orleans Square and Main Street USA offer such attractions as a boat trip through the underground caverns of Pirates of the Caribbean, an experience of the Wild West on the Thunder Mountain Railroad, a visit to Sleeping Beauty's Castle and flying with Dumbo the elephant, a giddy journey with Indiana Jones, a spooky tour of the Haunted Mansion, or the experience of a pitch-black rollercoaster ride inside Space Mountain, and a wet ride on Splash Mountain.

There is also a shopping, dining and entertainment district called Downtown Disney. The latest appendage to Disneyland is the adjacent California Adventure, a separate park minus the cartoon characters that offers further rides and rollercoasters, but an additional ticket is required. (A new Cars-themed attraction is currently under construction at California Adventure.) The parks are busiest during summer from mid-June to mid-September and during school holidays and there are usually long queues at the popular rides. The new Fastpass system allows visitors to reserve a place in line at the park's busiest attractions. No day at Disneyland is complete without watching the nightly fireworks show with an appearance by Tinkerbell.

Opening Times:
Both parks are open daily, but opening hours vary according to days and seasons; check the official website for up to date information.

Admission:
One-day passes start at $80 adults, $74 children under 10.

Warner Bros Studios, Los Angeles

The tour at Warner Bros offers a comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at an authentic working studio and provides more of a technical slant than the Universal Studios tour, focussing on the authentic filmmaking procedure. The informative two-hour tour takes visitors to view the sets, prop construction, wardrobe and sound department, as well as visiting active film and television sets where it is sometimes possible to watch actors in the midst of filming. There is also an introductory film and museum depicting the studio's film history.

Opening Times:
Open for tours from Monday to Friday between 9am and 6pm (9am-3pm in winter). Reservations are required.

Admission:
Different tours vary in price, check the website for details.

Universal Studios Hollywood, Los Angeles

One of the most popular attractions in Los Angeles is Universal Studios Hollywood, reputedly the world's biggest film studio and theme park. The main attraction is the Studio Tour, a narrated tram ride that traverses the huge complex, passing stars' dressing rooms and famous back-lot sets, including an Old West town, the town square in 'Back to the Future' films, as well as Jurassic Park III and 'Curse of the Mummy's Tomb' sets. Along the way visitors will experience several realistic staged-disasters such as an earthquake, an avalanche, an attack by 'Jaws' and a meeting with an enormous version of 'King Kong'. Besides the tours there is a theme park that provides a thrilling introduction to the principles of special effects with several attractions and movie-related rides. The popular 'Back to the Future' ride is a simulated jerky flight in a time machine with exceptional special effects and is one of the park's best rides. The 'Jurassic Park' ride is a tour through a jungle full of frightening dinosaurs ending with an 84-foot (26m) near-vertical drop into water. Other attractions include the spectacular 'Waterworld' live action stunt performance, a realistic warehouse fire in 'Backdraft', a 'Terminator 2' 3-D show, and animal tricks on 'Animal Planet Live!' Universal CityWalk is a separate venue with shops, restaurants, cinemas and nightclubs.

Getting There:
Universal City station on the Metro Red Line, or numerous public bus routes to Universal City

Opening Times:
Opening times vary according to season and visitors are advised to check beforehand. Generally open daily in summer 8am-10pm (June to September), and in winter 10am-6pm (September to June).

Admission:
$77 (adults), $69 (children smaller than 48 inches/122cm). Combination tickets are available. Universal CityWalk has free admission.

Magicopolis, Los Angeles

Fantasy and illusion come alive for kids at Magicopolis, where magic, music and special effects inspire awe and wonder. The shows at Magicopolis run between 90 minutes and two hours and feature comedy, magic, music, illusions, special effects and audience participation. Magic trick kits can be purchased for children to take home, and there are treats and refreshments available from the theatre's café.

Opening Times:
Monday to Friday, 11am-8pm; Saturday and Sunday 11am-10pm.

Admission:
Evening shows (8pm) $34; Saturday matinees (2pm) $24.

Hollywood, Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the film and entertainment capital of the world and the name 'Hollywood' is the embodiment of glamour, success and money; the place where films are made, television shows are recorded and stars take up residence. The famous Hollywood sign on the hills above the city has become the enduring symbol of the movie industry and of Los Angeles itself - the 50-foot-high (15m) white letters can be seen from miles away. The historic heart of the movie industry is centred on Hollywood Boulevard where millions of visitors flock to see landmark attractions and museums.

The impressive Mann's (Grauman's) Chinese Theatre is famous for its courtyard where over 200 stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood and Frank Sinatra have set their signatures and imprints of their hands or feet in cement. For many years the theatre has been the spot for movie premieres and is modelled on a Chinese temple with columns, dragons and an ornate interior. Passing in front of the theatre is the mile-long Walk of Fame, the world-famous sidewalk embedded with the names of legendary television, film, radio, theatre and recording greats engraved within pink granite stars. More than 2,500 celebrities are honoured here, including Elvis Presley, Charlie Chapman, Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson.

The cylindrical Capitol Records Tower is one of the most recognisable buildings in the city and is supposed to resemble a 12-storey stack of records with a needle on top that blinks out 'h-o-l-l-y-w-o-o-d' in Morse code. Other attractions include the Kodak Theatre (designed to host the Academy Awards) and the Hollywood Guinness World Records Museum, as well as the Hollywood Wax Museum and the Ripley's 'Believe It or Not!' Museum.

Opening Times:
The Guinness World Records Museum opens daily 10am-midnight; Wax Museum daily 8am-midnight; Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum open daily 10am-11pm (until midnight on weekends).

Admission:
Mann's Chinese Theatre movie tickets $12.75. Guinness World Records Museum and Wax Museum $15.95 each. Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum $14.99. Concessions are available.

La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles

One of the world's most significant fossil sites, the tar pits in central Los Angeles have revealed fossils of plant and animal life preserved in the pits for ten of thousands of years. The fossils themselves are on display in the Page Museum on the site, while replicas of some of the animals, mammoths and sabre-toothed cats found have been creatively re-placed in and around the pits.

Opening Times:
Monday through Friday, 9:30am-5pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-5pm.

Admission:
$7 (adults), $2 children; free on the first Tuesday of each month.

Los Angeles Zoo, Los Angeles

Located within the Griffith Park area, the Los Angeles Zoo is a large facility boasting 1,100 animals from around the world. The Zoo is currently adding naturalistic habitats for the animals, making the facility more attractive to both visitors and occupants. It is also a botanical garden, holding 800 plant species. Apart from the myriad natural life to be seen, there are animal shows, workshops and a petting zoo in store for visitors.

Opening Times:
Open daily 10am-5pm. Closed December 25th.

Admission:
$16 (adults); $11 (children)

Beach Communities, Los Angeles

The miles of sandy beaches along the Pacific Ocean are a celebration of the Californian lifestyle with distinct neighbourhoods and oceanfront walks linking the communities. Malibu is popular with the privacy seeking rich and famous and their mansions line strips of privately owned shoreline; the wide sandy beaches, rocky outcrops and green open-spaces make Malibu the most scenic neighbourhood in LA. It presents the classic Californian beach babe image immortalised by The Beach Boys and Baywatch. LA's premiere beach community, Santa Monica, is known for its alternative beachfront atmosphere, as well as its famous hideaway Hollywood residents. The palm-lined cliffs, once the location of the homes of Clark Gable, Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo, are today home to celebrities like Meryl Streep, Rod Stewart and Michelle Pfeiffer. The neighbourhood's famous landmark is the Santa Monica Pier, boasting old-world carnival attractions, including a wooden 1920s carousel with painted horses, and plenty of seafood restaurants.

Third Street Promenade is a lively pedestrian mall bustling with buskers, street vendors, evangelists and original shops, and is the heart of Santa Monica's cafes, restaurants and bars. Venice is best known for its Ocean Front Walk that is a non-stop parade of jugglers, artists, vendors, musicians and joggers. Venice Beach provides a classic Los Angeles lifestyle experience where beautiful sun-bronzed bodies on bicycles and rollerblades cruise along the walkway to Muscle Beach, where the outdoor weightlifting gym gleams with the sweat of muscle-bound hunks flexing their pecs for the onlookers. The area is full of laid back cafes and restaurants, health food shops, bike and blade rentals, and second hand record stores. After dark however the area becomes the haunt of street gangs and drug dealers; and visitors are advised to exercise caution in the area.

West LA, Los Angeles

West LA is famous for its trend-setting style; the place where the 'stars' live, shop and go out on the town. The area includes some of the most prestigious neighbourhoods in Los Angeles, particularly Beverly Hills and Bel Air. Home of the rich and famous, and one of the world's most expensive residential areas, Beverly Hills flaunts its wealth with luxurious manors, tree-lined streets, grand estates and security gates concealing landscaped grounds that are home to the likes of Jack Nicholson and Harrison Ford. Scheduled tours are available or Star Home Maps can be picked up at any street corner vendor for the latest on who lives where. The neighbourhood is also home to the famous shopping district centred on Rodeo Drive with expensive shops oozing designer labels such as Gucci, Armani and Vuitton.

West Hollywood, between Beverly Hills and Hollywood, is the centre of LA's gay community and boasts the area's best restaurants, trendiest shops, eccentric boutiques and modern galleries along Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. Sunset Strip, a section of Sunset Boulevard, is famed for its nightlife with rock clubs, bars and posh hotels attracting a huge variety of characters, and many places have a history of big names. In the 1930s Errol Flynn and Rita Hayworth went dancing at nightclubs like Trocadero, by the 1970s it had become the focus of rock and roll with stage performances by the Doors and Elton John at Whisky-a-Go-Go club. The actor River Phoenix died of drug-related problems at the Viper Room, and Thunder Roadhouse was where Mickey Rourke bought his Harley-Davidson.

Getting There:
Getting around by car is by far the easiest way to tour the area as public transport doesn't reach everywhere.

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles

It's worth heading into downtown Los Angeles to see this strange Frank Gehry-designed concert hall. The silver-plated building can be described as art deco meets surrealism, and while it derives mixed admiration from visitors, its uniqueness is never argued. A walking tour with an explanation for the intricate design is on offer free of charge to anyone curious to know how the hall came about. There is also a restaurant in the building - in one of those nooks and/or crannies.

Admission:
Free

Griffith Park and Observatory, Los Angeles

The Griffith Park extends for 4,210 acres (17 km²) of well-kept public grounds and is often referred to as the 'Central Park' of Los Angeles. Rent a bicycle, take a hike or have a picnic under the iconic Hollywood sign. Within the park is the Griffith observatory, which apart from being a familiar filming location, is filled with attractions of its own and a significant site for the study of astronomy. The park has a gift shops and the 'Cafe at the End of the Universe'.

Opening Times:
Open Wednesday to Friday 12pm-10pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-10pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

Admission:
Free