Top Rated Attractions in Los Angeles

The Getty Center is a museum you can't miss. With lofty skylights and original architecture, it is one of the best museums in Los Angeles. The center stores a multitude of art, sculpture, and photographs from Europe and America. You can also check out old manuscripts and decorative arts here. Highlights of past years consist of Italian manuscripts from the Middle Ages and Renaissance and Rembrandt's Late Religious Portraits. Set aside a day for this museum, its Central Gardens and popular restaurant, which are sure to leave you breathless with their beauty.

Spread over 4,210 acres (1704 hectares) of the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, Griffith Park is often referred to as "the Central Park of Los Angeles," although its verdant sprawl surpasses its east-coast counterpart in both size and wild charm. The municipal park is one of North America's largest urban green spaces, splayed across an undulating landscape sheathed in oak and walnut woodlands, coastal sage scrub, landscaped parklands, and deep, luxuriant gorges. There's ample opportunity for outdoor activities like hiking, horseback riding and tennis, alongside popular attractions like the Griffith Observatory, the Los Angeles Zoo, the Greek Theater, and the iconic Hollywood Sign. At the confluence of landscaped greenery and rugged wilderness, Griffith Park is Los Angeles' most treasured recreational venues and scenic escapes.

160 acres (65 hectares) of unspoiled nature can be seen at the east point of the Santa Monica mountains at the Runyon Canyon Park. This pet friendly park has two southern entrances and a northern entrance at Mulholland Drive. Go for a hike or head to the play area where your kids can play. Keep your camera ready as celebrities are known to unwind here as well.

Since 1913 this museum has been delighting people of all ages with entertaining exhibits about our world, both natural and cultural. Visit such wonders as the rarest shark in the world, a zoo full of insects and 20 complete dinosaur skeletons. A number of special exhibits are presented throughout the year.

Venice is know for its beach, the glorious stretch of pristine white sands, the warm sunshine and the palm trees making for the perfect postcard. You need not step onto the beach in order to experience the vibrant culture of Venice, just walk along the bustling boardwalk and you will see the local scene unfold before you. Watch the street performers mesmerize spectators with their talents, buy something very unique from any of the shops that line the Boardwalk, or catch the attraction that is the Muscle Beach, where Arnold Schwarzenegger-worshipers pump iron and strive to look as big and muscular as possible.

Art finds expression, culture finds a solid canvas, and entertainment blooms at Venice Beach, a charming beachfront neighborhood. Stretching two and a half miles along the edge of Los Angeles, Venice Beach is one of the city’s most recognizable strips of seaside real estate. Modeled on the romantic Venice in Italy, this waterfront town is quirky and charismatic, teamed with a thriving music scene. Its boulevards are lined with Californian palm trees, which deeply contrast the cottages resting under charming pastel facades. The neighborhood's expanse is stippled with an array of beachfront hotels, restaurants and open volleyball courts. Its many vibrant murals lend a vibrant hue, and the neighborhood boasts some iconic landmarks like Muscle Beach and the ultra-bohemian Abbot Kinney Boulevard, which is a shopping wonderland. A jewel of the West Coast, 'Venice' is a splendid locus of aesthetics, creativity and an indelible Californian spirit.