Even the graffiti here is larger than life-and the people-watching is top shelf. Weird, wonderful, and totally Los Angeles, Venice Beach is where you'll find a full-on scene in Southern California. Still, that doesn't mean it isn't crowded and sometimes tacky. For the most part, that's a thing of the past. Things to consider: Don't let outdated online guides tell you that Hollywood is dirty and rundown. There's more to Hollywood than just the boulevard, however. Nearby, you'll find the Hollywood Bowl (the best place to catch a summer concert), Paramount Studios, and the Hollywood Heritage Museum (the birthplace of the film industry). And if you're lucky, you might get to witness a footprint ceremony, star ceremony, or movie premiere while there. Celebrity impersonators prowl the sidewalks, posing for photos with passersby (for a small fee). Along the boulevard, you'll find the Walk of Fame, a series of stars embedded in the sidewalk, celebrating hundreds of personal achievements in film, television, and music. Ever since Sid Grauman built his first movie houses and asked his famed friends to imprint their hands and feet in wet cement outside his Chinese Theatre, the area has been the site of a film fan frenzy. That said, in Los Angeles, much of the hype centers around Hollywood Boulevard and its intersection with Highland Boulevard. Hollywood is actually more of a state of mind than a real place. Things to consider: At Disneyland, lines can be long, tickets are pricey, and rides are very tame. Next door to Disneyland lies Disney's California Adventure Park, a separate park with a growing collection of rides based on animated films. And, Downtown Disney-a shopping, dining, and entertainment area nearby-is where you can stay overnight and pick up memorabilia to take home. Most rides are on the gentler side, and they exist alongside shows, parades, and daily fireworks in the summer. Walt Disney's original vision was to create a place where parents and kids could do things together. Unlike other area theme parks, Disneyland doesn't charge extra fees for special attractions, raising your overall cost of admission. This soul-filled theme park brings out the kid in everyone with its friendly employees and overall fun factor. Here, you can wear a funny hat all day and not feel silly. This Anaheim-based theme park is the original one baby boomers grew up visiting, earning it a top spot on this list. Also, on a sunny summer weekend, parking can be hard to find near popular spots. Things to consider: Los Angeles' beaches can be foggier than you'd expect, especially during the month of June when temperatures rise inland and pull cool air off the ocean. You'll get a full taste of the Los Angeles lifestyle as you mingle among the active locals, while ogling over their enviable beachfront homes. Zuma Beach, in particular, is a quintessential stretch of coastline, with its wide 1.8 miles of extended sand, complete with places to surf, bodyboard, and dive. Locals and tourists alike enjoy the simple pleasure of a walk or a run along a Los Angeles beach, especially in the lively South Bay beach towns of Redondo, Hermosa, and Manhattan Beach. Every few miles, a pier juts out into the ocean, (the most notable being the 920-foot pier at Balboa Beach-voted Orange County's best), making conditions perfect for surfers or those wanting a bird's eye view of the coast. Here you'll find stretches of shoreline lined with volleyball nets, quiet and serene spots, and places to grab a meal or drink with sand in between your toes. Los Angeles County contains miles of beaches-all of them open to the public, whether you want to lounge and read a book, surf, or practice yoga.
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