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Have the itch to travel again? Start your comeback in Los Angeles
We get it: You’ve seen Los Angeles all over the movies and TV, so when you’re planning a visit you want to see the sights—those instantly recognizable attractions that have plastered who-knows-how-many postcards. But you also have an appetite for in-the-know-finds, the less-obvious landmarks that nonetheless still elicit an “oh, that place!” sort of reaction.
So to satisfy both of those needs, we’ve scoured the city to pick out our favorite hidden gems that even lifelong Angelenos love. And since the movies are kind of a big deal in L.A. (we even have a whole museum dedicated to them now, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures), we’ve tied in some silver screen history with all of our picks: Each one has served as the filming location for an Oscar winner.
And speaking of Oscars, we’re hosting our very own Oscars Watch Party at Time Out Market New York! Book now and get ready for custom-made cocktails, Hollywood-inspired food, themed trivia, and the chance of winning a vacation to California. Book tickets here.
Forget about hilltop estates and oceanfront mansions: L.A.’s most stunning structure is hidden inside a brick office space that dates back to 1893. Downtown L.A.’s Bradbury Building may be unassuming from the outside, but step into its warm, iron-trimmed atrium and you’ll be dazzled. Imagine some blue-hued fog in the space and you may just recognize its zigzagging staircases from the climax of Blade Runner.
Once the watering hole of choice for the neighboring Samuel Goldwyn Studio crowd, this Old Hollywood hangout had its own star turn with a Lana Turner gag in L.A. Confidential. But the nearly century-old Formosa Cafe doesn’t rest on its history alone. A 2019 update brought in a craveable Chinese American comfort menu and freshened up nods to its roots, from its Red Car dining room to headshots of early influential Asian actors.
We’d hazard a guess that Musso & Frank has always been a classic. The century-old steak-and-cocktails spot certainly is today, and its wood-and-wallpaper interior effectively conjured Old Hollywood as a backdrop for the 1969-set Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood. You too will feel like you’ve slipped into a bygone era as you sip its iconic martini among industry power players.
While you probably won’t find Ryan Gosling there, you can certainly hear live music at the Lighthouse Cafe. Best recognized as the date night jazz club from La La Land (you’ll find a lighthouse medallion from the film behind the stage and the neon sign out back), it’s a bit more bar band than Miles Davis these days—but to us, that’s the perfect recipe for an easygoing hangout, just blocks from the beach.
The southernmost point in L.A. County’s mainland has served in all sorts of official capacities, from a Victorian-era lighthouse to a military lookout across the World Wars. Atop the grassy hill at Angels Gate Park, the colorful Korean Bell of Friendship cameoed in The Usual Suspects while Chinatown’s Jake Gittes traced a water dumping mystery to its rocky shore. But today, it’s best used as a place to fly a kite overlooking the ocean or to visit rescued sea lions—or to peer into the remains of the Sunken City, a former beachside development that began sliding into the ocean in the late ‘20s.
If you’re willing to put in the mileage and venture past L.A.’s most popular beaches, you’ll eventually encounter this peaceful portion of the coast on the very western edge of the county. Split between mountainous hiking and campings areas and a rugged shoreline, Leo Carrillo is notable for its stargazing-worthy dark skies and its on-leash dog-friendly north beach. On the silver screen, its shore has hosted beach parties and its caves murder mysteries, while it was made over with black sand for Letters From Iwo Jima.
The Walk of Fame likely isn’t going to live up to your expectations for Hollywood glamor—with the exception of this 1927 hotel. Its Spanish Colonial lobby looks like it has decades of industry gossip to unleash, while its ballroom boasts being the site of the very first Academy Awards ceremony. We particularly love it, though, for its polished respite from Hollywood Boulevard: In-house bar the Spare Room stirs up some of the best cocktails in the city, with an old-timey two-lane bowling alley to boot.
Discover more Los Angeles movie locations and start planning your visit.
