Beverly Hills is a hotspot of fashion and star spotting, but don’t think that’s all there is here. From luxury boutique shopping to tours to surprisingly interesting museums, this relatively small area near Los Angeles, Westwood, and Hollywood is full of things to do.
Rodeo Drive
Perhaps the best known of Beverly Hills attractions, this strip of shopping and dining hotspots is home to tourists, shopping aficionados, and stars alike. All the top stores are located here either on Rodeo Drive itself or cross streets. One particular cross street to watch for is Via Rodeo, a more modern addition to the area that will make you feel like you’re strolling down a European avenue. Window shopping is no crime here, but don’t miss the people watching either. Free parking is available, and avoid Sundays as many stores close down.
Trolley Tours
Like San Francisco, Beverly Hills has an open-air trolley to whisk you along a narrated tour route. One of your best options for Beverly Hills tours, these trolleys stop by well-known sites such as Rodeo Drive as well as historical and architectural spots around town. Tours depart from the intersection of Rodeo Drive and Dayton Way for most of the year, but not all of it. Tours do not run in the rain.
Segway Tours
Another more unique option for Beverly Hills tours is to ride a Segway through town and see all the Beverly Hills attractions from your very own two-wheeled, gyroscope-balanced vehicle. Currently, a company named Segwow operates the tours, but ask at your hotel or at a tourist office for help locating a tour company or contact information.
Greystone Mansion
Built in 1928 for the son of an oil tycoon, Greystone
Mansion today is one of the best things to do in Beverly
Hills and remains the largest home ever built in this
city. While visitors cannot go inside, several outdoor
areas of the nearly 20 acres surrounding the Mansion as
well as an inner courtyard are open to the public for
free. Find a list of how many movies have been shot on
the grounds and inside the home and be astounded.
Barakat Gallery
Perhaps your list of things to do in Beverly Hills does
not yet include visiting a gallery filled with some of
the finest ancient treasures anywhere, but it should.
Located on Rodeo Drive, the Barakat Gallery has a collection
of antiquities from Egypt
to Asia to the Far East that rivals
most museum collections.
Sunset Strip
Running between West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, the Sunset Strip is another excellent area for shopping and people watching, including the occasional celebrity sighting since many of them live in the area. Many Beverly Hills attractions can be found along the Strip, including nightclubs such as the Viper Room and Whiskey A GoGo.
With a collection started by oil millionaire J. Paul Getty, this museum has grown to include so many pieces of fine art that it takes this 9-building complex (4 exhibition pavilions) on 750 acres of land to house it. Inside, view artwork by Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and other well-known artists; outside stroll through 24 acres of gardens. The museum is free, but there is a charge for the parking garage.
George Page Museum
Just a few miles away from Rodeo Drive, the George Page
Museum offers just about the complete opposite of Beverly
Hills—the La Brea
tar pits. The tar pits have yielded over one million
fossils, on display at the museum. If you need a break
from designer stores and fashionable restaurants, try
spending the day with mammoths, saber tooth tigers, or
giant sloth fossils.
