Some of your best bets for
touring downtown and other
spots are the
two-and-one-half hour
walking
tours offered by the LA
Conservancy (Sat 10am; $8;
tel 213/623-CITY, ), which
concentrate on various
aspects of the city's
architecture, history,
murals and culture. If you'd
rather take a ride,
innumerable
bus tours
introduce the city, though
only the specialists we list
show you anything you
couldn't see more cheaply
yourself. Costs are $30
minimum; most will collect
you from your hotel. The
mainstream
bus tours whiz you past the
main sights and the
homes
of the stars (though you
often don't see much more
than the gate at the end of
the driveway), padding out
the experience with views of
palm trees and wide
boulevards. Operators
include
Casablanca Tours
, at the
Hollywood
Roosevelt hotel, 6362
Hollywood Blvd (tel
323/461-0156, ), which
focuses on the golden age of
cinema;
Tour Coach ,
6922 Hollywood Blvd (tel
323/463-3333), which points
out the houses of Marilyn
Monroe, Barbra Streisand and
Charlie Chaplin, and also
runs shopping trips to the
Mexican border town of
Tijuana; and
Hollywood
Fantasy Tours , 6671
Hollywood Blvd (tel
323/469-8184), which shows
off Beverly Hills and
Hollywood only. Even if you
don't call or drop by their
offices, you can pick up a
tour flyer or brochure by
standing outside Mann's
Chinese Theatre, 6925
Hollywood Blvd, where
discarded advertisements
litter the sidewalk.
Specialist tours
Black LA Tours tel
323/750-9267. Black
historical and
entertainment tours of
once-famed Central Avenue
and key African-American
history museums and
cultural attractions.
The California
Native 6701 W 87th
Place (tel 310/642-1140 or
1-800/926-1140, ). Go
sea-kayaking, tour the
uninhabited islands off
the coast of California.
Adventure tours $195 and
up.
Googie Tours (tel
323/980-3480). Groovy
treks to space-age glass
and formica diners, quirky
cocktail lounges and
classic fast-food joints,
as well as touring
tributes to LA's primo pop
architecture.
Haunted Hearse Tours
PO Box 461145, Hollywood (tel
323/782-9652). Better have
a strong taste for the
morbid to spend two and a
half hours in the back of
a Cadillac hearse,
tracking down the location
of every eventful death,
scandal, perverted sex act
and drug orgy ever to have
tainted Hollywood.
Neon Cruises 501
W Olympic Blvd, downtown (tel
213/489-9918, ).
Three-hour-long,
eye-popping evening tours
of LA's best remaining
neon art, once a month on
Saturdays, sponsored by
the Museum of Neon Art.
SPARC tours: the
Murals of LA 685
Venice Blvd, Venice (tel
310/822-9560, ). Expert
tours through the
"mural capital of the
world." Pointing out
remarkable neighborhood
landmarks all over the
city - community art in a
cultural context.
