Los Angeles Travel Guide (Los Angeles, California)

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.