By Michael Streefland

1. Los Angeles Conservancy Theater District Broadway Walking Tour
Very few people know that Los Angeles was once home to some of the most glamorous movie palaces in the world. They were built by all the great studios and many are still standing, converted into flea markets or boarded up, along Broadway Avenue in downtown Los Angeles.Take a peek behind the walls to see inlaid gold, 100 foot mosaics, marble statues, and architecture that rival the great churches of Europe. They were places to worship the Stars after all. It’s not to be missed.

2. Starline Tours
Okay getting on a bus with the tourists is cheesy… but who knew that Merv Griffin lived right up the hill from my house? See your world through the eyes of a gawker stranger and suddenly empty lots, old houses, and palm trees are revealed as the studio back lot of the world. You’ll never see your neighborhood the same again.

3. Lost Hollywood by David Wallace
Los Angeles is symbolic of America’s desire to continually reinvent itself. Read how a city seemingly less than 100 years old has buried its past in a pursuit of the future. Like an archeological dig, you’ll discover streets that have come and gone, ocean beaches that were once backyards, and bricks, curbs, and signs that are broken reminders of the men and women who taught the world a new way to dream.

4. Walking LA: 36 Walking Tours Exploring Stairways, Streets and Buildings You Never Knew Existed by Eric Mahoney
Yes, people do get out of their cars in LA… and when they do, it’s like entering into a sunny Wonka Factory full of surprises and oddities. How about The world’s largest Camera Obscura? A working North Pole? A pendulum that reveals the Earth’s rotation? How about a building with no right angles? Yup, it’s all here and ready to be touched, smelt, and experienced outside of the car window. No city in the world has stuff like this, trust me.

5. Subway to Nowhere
LA has one of the most beautiful, slick, and efficient subways in the world. It goes from Downtown to North Hollywood in a blink of the eye all the while boring through an entire mountain and traveling right under the sidewalk of the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. While being constructed, the entire street collapsed, 4 story holes had to dug, and mountain streams suddenly appeared in the Hollywood Hills (hmmmm…). For all the sweat and grit, this modern marvel still feels a little out of place in a land of autos and swimsuits and doesn’t really go anywhere you want to be. It’s perfect for LA.