November 10, 2009

Movie Land

It’s fun to take movie tours to Washington D.C. and New York City, because of the bus and walking tours available to actual movie locations around the city. New York, for instance, brings you outdoor settings from several favorite sitcoms plus tons of popular movies. Washington D.C. does as well. But really, if you want to focus on Hollywood, is there really any more natural destination than Los Angeles?

Hollywood itself has all those classic move-land sights that film lovers will enjoy, like the big white letters on the hill, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and the Kodak Theater, which is sort of a new classic. It was built as a permanent home for the Annual Academy Awards but also holds several other shows throughout the year, including the American Idol Finale. And in 2011, Cirque du Soleil finds yet another permanent U.S. stage when it brings a movie-themed production to the Kodak for regular performances.

The Hollywood Museum is another must-see for movie lovers, with pictures, trivia, exhibitions, and memorabilia from film. You’ll see things here like Rocky’s boxing gloves and that distinguished coat or dress that so-and-so wore in that one amazing film…. Stuff like that.

Studios – Another way to celebrate Hollywood is to go behind the scenes and experience it. Studio tours are popular attractions for Los Angeles tours, especially if you choose the right ones. Some can be kind of on the boring side. You aren’t likely to see actual stars, they’re a little long. And getting led from empty sound stages to locked warehouses and all the alleyways in between can get kind of old. Some, like Paramount above, are far more impressive in just a drive-by in which you can just imagine all the magic that takes place beyond the gated entrance.

But some of the movie studios are beautifully designed for exciting tours. Universal Studios, for instance, is all about entertaining you even as it takes you behind the scenes for special effects, what it’s like to film on location, and all kinds of fun info and memorabilia in their backstage tours. Warner Brothers studios falls somewhere in between the two. It’s hardly a theme park, but it does have some interesting sights.

Stalking Tours – Did I say stalking? I mean walking. Only I don’t, because these tours usually take place on a bus. Gray Line, for instance, offers some fun bus tours in which you’ll drive by the homes of actual celebrities. The tours also include some of the classic Hollywood stuff I talked about above.

Theme Parks – Los Angeles is a world leader for most theme parks within a manageable radius. Disney Land is a popular place for LA tours of course. Plus, Universal – as mentioned – has made itself one of the most exciting destinations for the area. Six Flags Magic Mountain has an X-treme theme in this part of the world, and Knotts Berry Farm rounds out the list for coaster mania.

Together, all these attractions make L.A. an exciting tour, but especially for movie lovers.

Photo by Marcos Santiago on Flickr.

Share and Enjoy: