Tips for touring Hollywood please!

sadiebug

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
My boyfriend's daughter really wants us to drive up to Hollywood for a couple of hours when we are there next month. We are on a tight budget, so doing one of the bus tours is not an option for us. Any advice for what to see, how to get there, parking, etc? I've done a little bit of research and I know that she wants to go to the Chinese theater, see the Walk of Fame, and the Hollywood sign. I know that Paramount and Warner Brothers studios are in the area as well and we are planning on lunch at Margaritaville Hollywood (gotta splurge somewhere!! LOL!!). Maybe if we have time we might drive by the Disney Studios as well.

Are there places where you can get out and take pictures of the Paramount front gate area and the Warner Brothers water tower? Are there other places we should consider seeing? I'm trying to keep everything to maybe 5 or 6 hours as we're wanting to hit the beach that day too. Our flight gets into SNA at 7:20 AM and we're planning on picking up our rental and heading straight for Hollywood. Any help, suggestions, advice would be much appreciated!!
 
The easiest way to knock out some of those items would be to visit the Hollywood & Highland shopping center (located, conveniently enough, at Hollywood Blvd. & Highland!). Parking is validated -- just ask at any shop or restaurant. We usually stop by Starbucks. There is a photo op for the Hollywood Sign on an upper level, the Dolby Theater (location for the Academy Awards Ceremony) is there, Walk of Fame is out front, Chinese Theater is next door, Disney's El Capitan is across the street, Jimmy Kimmel tapes next door to the El Capitan, etc. Instead of Margaritaville for lunch, have you thought about visiting The Grove shopping center and The Farmer's Market (Fairax and Third)? Those are right next to each other -- lots of fun shopping and restaurants to choose from. (The parking is separate, so remember which one you chose and get the appropriate validation.) Celebrity sighting is fairly consistent there. It might take you a while to get to Hollywood from SNA -- what day of the week will you be arriving? You might be driving right into rush hour traffic.
 
Thank you!! This was the type of information that I needed! How long do we get parking for if we do the validation?
Also, do you know about places we can get out and take pictures near Paramount and Warner Brothers Studios? Margaritaville is a definite must for us. We're parrotheads :-)
Our flight gets in at 7:30 AM Monday morning, so I know we'll end up dealing with some rush hour traffic. We may stop and catch breakfast before starting our drive that direction.
 
Google H&H to get up to date info on the parking validation. I'm afraid you'll hit quite a bit of rush hour traffic on a Monday morning going from SNA to Hollywood. You might want to stop at your hotel, drop off the luggage, get a really good breakfast, then hit the freeway after the worst traffic is over.
 


Thank you!! This was the type of information that I needed! How long do we get parking for if we do the validation?
Also, do you know about places we can get out and take pictures near Paramount and Warner Brothers Studios?

We stopped there in March, ate at the Hard Rock, looked around H & H, and walked along the Walk of Stars for a bit. Got validated at HRC. It cost $2 or $3. I think we went slightly over 2 hours.

I’ve never tried to stop by any of the studios.
 
Definitely do H&H as suggested as that will cover the Hollywood sign, walk of fame and Chinese theatre. It's easy to get validated and the parking is cheap there anyway. For Margaritavillie, the parking at Citywalk is not cheap. It's $25 before 5:00 or $10 after 5, or you can get cheaper valet with validation from sit-down restaurant. It think at this point they no longer have any free parking, even with validation, but I haven't been in a couple months so I could be wrong. I prefer the Grove too, but if you really want Margaritaville go for it, it's a fun time. We usually just get the giant nachos which feed our family of 4.

For Paramount Studios, you should be able to find some street parking or at a nearby business to take a quick picture through the front gate (there's a pretty good Mexican restaurant across the street from the gate where we usually go in). At Warner Bros. I'm not sure you can see much from the front gate.
 
Looking at Google maps, it looks like you can see the WB water tower from the intersection of Avon and Warner Blvd, near where the tours start. There appears to be street parking on Avon and on Riverside, but might be metered.
 


I can give you bogus tips about seeing Hollywood, but I won't. There is not much to do there and your maon attraction will be bums for days. HOWEVER, if you do come up, I will give you ONE restaurant you MUST try. It is not expensive it is not high class dining. Go to the Fairfax District and eat at Andre's. It is on 3rd an Fairfax, across the steeet from the Farmer's Market/Grove (the same one the the Hollywood Studios one is modelled after) and a block north of La Brea Tar Pits and LACMA. You wouldn't expect it but it is right next to the Whole Foods. It is a MUST DO FOR EATING IN THE HOLLYWOOD AREA. It's Italian and it is laid out like a cafeteria but it still has AMAZING food. I won't ever usually say much good about the Hollywood area because I spent a lot of time down there as a kid and was usually in the bad parts (all of it) but I will say that you have to go down to Fairfax and you MUST eat at Andre's. NO EXCEPTIONS. I look forward to you telling me how good it was.
 
I second (or third) the H&H suggestion because there's a lot to see in a small area, but FWIW you might spend more time in the car than enjoying the sights. It could take you two hours to get there from SNA and two hours to get back to DL.
 
Also, do you know about places we can get out and take pictures near Paramount and Warner Brothers Studios?
Paramount - near the corner of Gower and Melrose you'll find Beachwood Dr or Plymouth Blvd. Park on either of those streets and you can see the the famous Paramount arch.
WB - is on Olive Ave. You can get a picture of the main gate there. Go up to Pass Ave to find parking. Walk along Olive (where it turns) and you can get a picture of the Admin Building.
 

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