Things to do — Los Angeles

In Los Angeles over 5 days:

Day 1 — Hollywood + Universal Studios: morning Hollywood Boulevard (Walk of Fame 2,700 stars since 1960, TCL Chinese Theatre 1927 star hand-foot prints, 2002 Dolby Theatre Oscars, Madame Tussauds $36). Afternoon Universal Studios Hollywood ($109-149, 6-8h, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Simpsons Ride, Jurassic World, authentic tram Studio Tour through sets). Evening Sunset Strip (1964 Whisky a Go Go where Doors, Led Zeppelin, Guns N' Roses played, Sunset Tower bar, dinner Animal or Cassia).

Day 2 — Beverly Hills + Getty Center: morning Beverly Hills (Rodeo Drive luxury Cartier-Hermès-Louis Vuitton, mythical 1912 pink Beverly Hills Hotel €700-1,500/night, Beverly Wilshire from Pretty Woman). $50-70 bus tour star mansions (Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Madonna former houses). Lunch Spago (Wolfgang Puck since 1982, $80-120). Afternoon Getty Center (free, $25 parking, 5-6h, Richard Meier 1997 architecture, universal collections from Van Gogh Iris to Caillebotte, gardens). Alternative Getty Villa (Pacific Coast Hwy 30 min west, free, Greco-Roman antiquities, reconstructed Roman villa).

Day 3 — Santa Monica + Venice Beach: morning Santa Monica (1909 Pier with Pacific Park rollercoaster amusement + historic carousel, 3rd Street Promenade pedestrian shopping, 1934 Original Muscle Beach). Bike Santa Monica → Venice (8 km, rental $15-25/day). Venice Beach — Boardwalk artists-musicians-tattoo, Muscle Beach Venice (1940s, body-builders), basketball courts (White Men Can't Jump 1992 filmed here), canals (1905 replicated Venice heritage, strolls). Lunch Gjelina (California cuisine, $40-70/person) or Great White (Australian). Sunset on Santa Monica Pier.

Day 4 — Downtown LA + Griffith Observatory: morning Downtown LA — Frank Gehry 2003 Disney Concert Hall (free exterior visit or $18 interior audio guide), MOCA ($25 contemporary art), Broad Museum (free mandatory booking, modern art Koons-Lichtenstein-Warhol-Basquiat), Walt Disney Concert Hall, Grand Central Market (food hall since 1917, Tacos Tumbras tacos, Eggslut sandwich), Olvera Street (Calle Olvera, city's Mexican origins 1781, restaurants), 1893 Bradbury Building (Blade Runner, 500 Days of Summer). Afternoon La Brea Tar Pits (fossils $5), LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art $25), Petersen Automotive Museum ($20). Sunset at Griffith Observatory (free, $8 weekend parking, 2h, LA + Hollywood Sign panorama, $7 planetarium, La La Land scene filmed here).

Day 5 — Disneyland OR Joshua Tree OR Catalina: 3 options. (1) Disneyland Anaheim (45 km south LA, 1h drive no traffic, $109-189/person, world's first Disney 1955 — original Sleeping Beauty Castle, original Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones Adventure, Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Rise of the Resistance, full day, essential My Disney Experience app). (2) Joshua Tree National Park (2h30 east LA, $35/vehicle, spectacular Mojave desert, rounded rock formations, emblematic Joshua trees — Yucca brevifolia inflorescences, Hidden Valley 1h hikes, Skull Rock, boulder climbing). (3) Catalina Island (1h ferry from Long Beach $80-130/person return, tropical island offshore LA, charming Avalon village, snorkelling, beaches, bike rental). Evening return LA, dinner Bestia (Italian Arts District, $60-100/person) or Howlin' Ray's (hot fried chicken Chinatown, $25-40).