Many people laugh when they hear the words “Winter” in association with Los Angeles. We guess it is hard to believe the land of sunshine and beaches is anything but warm and wonderful. And while we agree that it is warm and wonderful, we still do have our version of “winter” here (sweaters…
The history of Los Angeles is more than just the history of the Entertainment Industry. People settled here long before stars walked the red carpets. There are so many places to visit in Los Angeles where you can learn about the roots of this great city. So while you are here, take a look at some of our favorite spots that show the rich history of LA. You will be glad you did! El Pueblo De Los Angeles National Monument A historic district located in the oldest part of Los Angeles, El Pueblo De Los Angeles was founded in 1781 by families who came from the Gulf of California and established a pueblo that eventually became the city of Los Angeles. Who knew that this early community of 44 people would become a city of of over 3 million people…
The American Holiday, Thanksgiving, is upon us once again. As usual, we want to take time to enumerate all of the ways we are thankful for our great town! The Weather We are serious. It is mid-November and the sun is shining and it is nice and warm during the day. You can ditch those…
Now that Halloween has passed, the holidays will be upon us faster than we know it! Which means it is time to turn on some favorite Christmas movies from the past and present that we all know and love. While LA isn’t really known for Christmas weather – no snow around here!- it is still a very popular place to film some of our favorite yuletide classics. Here are just a few: It’s A Wonderful Life Set in fictional Bedford Falls, NY, this 1947 drama starring James Stewart is a classic film that finds its way to many peoples DVD (or now DVR) players every year. However, the winter wonderland is made up largely of movie magic. The set was created at RKO Encino Ranch which is in the San Fernando Valley. The Ranch was originally purchased to create the…
Halloween is just 2 weeks away and L.A. knows how to show everyone who visits a haunting good time. Here are some of our favorite places to visit during this spooky time of year. You can check them out on a Hollywood Tour! Knickerbocker Hotel The Knickerbocker was built in 1925 and played a major role in Hollywood. It first opened as a luxury apartment building and became a hotel later where many celebrities hung out in the Renaissance Revival Bar. Rudolph Valentino frequented the bar and loved to dance to the live music. Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio honeymooned there in 1954 and Elvis Presley stayed there quite often. Other stars who lived and stayed at the Knickerbocker included rocker Jerry Lee Lewis, Mae West, Lana Turner, Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Sinatra, Laurel and Hardy and many others.Through the…
One of the things that draws so many people to LA is that movie and TV magic is made here. There is some type of filming happening somewhere in Los Angeles every day of the week. When you take a tour with us, we can take you to many of these great movie locations on Los Angeles tours throughout this fun and exciting city. Here are 5 of the most requested filming locations you will find on our tours. Griffith Observatory It’s where James Dean gave one of his iconic performances in “Rebel Without a Cause” and Charlie’s Angels kicked into action in “Full Throttle”. It’s where meteors crash to earth in “Transformers” and is the welcome center of “Jurassic Park”. When it is not starring in movies, The Griffith Observatory is the most visited public observatory in the world,…
OK, so when most people think of Beverly Hills, they picture the rich and famous, palm trees for miles and lots of very expensive shopping. But did they picture oil? Yes, oil. In fact, there is an active oil field underneath a portion of Beverly Hills and a derrick ON the high school property. You would think that an area with so many riches couldn’t get richer, but it apparently can – Texas Style. Discovered in 1900, this field has produced over 150 million barrels of oil. Compared to some (the largest in the world has produced over 70 BILLION barrels of oil since the 1950’s) it is a small oil field but yet an important one. Not only is a derrick (which you can see on one of our many tours) on the property of a high school, but…
Los Angeles is truly a stage in which many of our favorite TV shows come to life. Because all of our tours are fully customizable and private, we are able to take our clients to many of the filming locations from TV shows that they know and love. We get a lot of requests to see the homes of the families who live in the award winning television series “Modern Family” and happily make these requests a reality. Each of the families lives in a home distinctive to them and they are all located in Los Angeles. Here is a little more about these homes that we allow into OUR living rooms every week. Claire & Phil Located in Cheviot Hills, near Westwood and Century City, this home was built in 2006. It boasts 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms and is over…
When choosing one of our many tour options that has a lunch stop incorporated into it, many of our clients love going to the Farmers Market. However, we also get A LOT of requests for a California burger institution known as In-N-Out. Opened in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder, In-N-Out was the first drive-thru…
Randy Newman wrote “ From the South Bay to the Valley, from the West Side to the East Side, everybody’s very happy ‘cause the sun is shining all the time. Looks like another perfect day, I love LA”. And he was right. Where ever you go, the sun is shining and LA is a perfect…