If Los Angeles, so wide and diverse, does not have a true heart; It does, however, have a center, around the buildings of the commercial district and its unique old street, Calle Olivera. Here lie the remains of the town of Mexico and numerous restaurants. You will also see Ávila Adobe, the oldest house on the corner (1818).

When vacationing in Los Angeles, the architecture of the neighboring buildings deserves a stroll through the streets of the revamped downtown, bordered by the city’s most politically and culturally oriented buildings. The pride of Los Angeles, the Music Center is a gigantic entire field dedicated to music. Nearby, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) houses a permanent collection of post-1940 paintings: Rothko, Kline, etc. At 250 South Grand Avenue, visit the Museum of Modern Art. From the top of the Town Hall, the view of the city is impressive. To the southeast, at the height of 1st and Central streets, you will discover the Little Tokyo shopping and theme center. North of the Civic Center, Chinatown has many restaurants and shops, particularly on the Gin Ling Way pedestrian street.

Northeast of downtown, Pasadena, one of the first neighborhoods in Los Angeles, offers several interesting museums. Within Highland Park, the Southwest Museum displays collections of Indian arts and crafts. In San Marino, the Huntington Library includes more than 6 million in rare coins. At 411 West Colorado Boulevard, the Norton Simon Museum is dedicated to Impressionist painting.

A symbol of Los Angeles, Hollywood sprawls northwest of downtown, dominated by white letters spelling out its name since the 1920s. When Charlie Chaplin arrived here in 1913, the place was little more than a barn where Cecil B. Mille shot her first film. The barn became the Hollywood Studio Museum, dedicated to silent movies, and Hollywood has moved most of its studios north of Burbank or the San Fernando Valley, with the exception of Paramount (5555 Melrose Avenue). In the middle distance is Universal Studios (on Lanker shim Boulevard, North Hollywood Freeway).

Further south, Hollywood Boulevard no longer knows the splendor of yesteryear. The famous avenue, dotted with more than 2,500 bronze stars on behalf of actors and directors, the most famous lost its shine. In front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre, built by Sid Graumann in 1927, the stars have carved their names and left their mark.

Further west, Sunset Boulevard (parallel to Hollywood Blvd) becomes winding, taking on a residential appearance. Packed with art galleries, shops and restaurants, West Hollywood is a hot spot. South Side Farmer’s Market (Fairfax and 3rd Streets) is a large open-air market.

Along Wilshire Avenue, you’ll find several museums, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (5905 Wilshire), which has collections of paintings, a sculpture garden, and an Oriental art collection.

In the district of Beverly Hills, fabulous villas with gardens landscaped by stars and businessmen who have managed to succeed in a profusion of styles: Bauhaus, Gothic, Spanish, English, among others. Stroll through the maze of quiet streets on your Los Angeles vacation for lazy nights. Carolwood Drive has counted among its residents Elvis Presley (144), Barbra Streisand (325), Walt Disney (355).

As an extension of downtown, Santa Monica is a favorite recreational area for Los Angeles residents. On its palm-adorned beach (Palisades Park), skaters and cyclists train or stroll.

The Getty Center in the Santa Monica Mountains on the San Diego Freeway is made up of six buildings designed by Richard Meier. They house the new J. Paul Getty Museum and several art institutions. His collection includes illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, photographs, drawings, and European paintings from the early 20th century.

Venice Beach, the trendy beach around Los Angeles, gets its name from its many canals, carved out at the turn of the century by a billionaire in Venice. Further south, head to Marina del Rey, the largest water sports center in Los Angeles.

The westernmost of the Los Angeles “community,” Malibu, bordered by a beach popular with surfers, is the new hometown for Hollywood stars. You can visit the Getty Villa there, built to house the private collection of a millionaire. The building is a faithful reconstruction of the enclosed garden of the Papyrus villa, the most luxurious houses in Pompeii identified. The museum is especially famous for its collections of classical antiquity.

Vacations in Los Angeles can be anything but boring. The places and destinations you can go to in Los Angeles are numerous, brilliant and most of them impressive.