Hollywood

Los Angeles is located in Southern California on the Pacific Coast. This City of Angels was established by the Spaniards 1781. Los Angeles was merely a ranch town when the US appropriated it from Mexico in 1846 - But by the 20th century the film industry shone a spotlight on L.A.

The city of 3.5 million sprawls across 467 square miles of desert basin, mountain canyons, and coastal beaches. If there was one word to describe Los Angles it would have to be diverse; for diversity is not only a characteristic of Los Angeles' geography, but it also describes the approximate 11 million people who call it home. The largest population of Pacific Islanders in the nation lives here, as well as the world's third-largest Hispanic population. Los Angeles is home to people from over 140 countries speaking 96 different languages.

Attractions in this city are numerous and varied. There are more than 2,000 museums, galleries, theaters and other attractions in Los Angeles. Los Angeles features itself as a great hostess providing its visitors with activities such as museums, beaches, restaurants, performing arts, people watching and sports. The Mann's Chinese Theater provides for an interesting outing, while Rodeo Drive showcases the latest trends. No matter where you travel in the Los Angeles area, there's something exciting to do or see The Los Angeles area also features dozens of annual events, from parades, to sporting meets to festivals. Los Angeles has drawn the attention of people from all over the US and the world, making it the entertainment capitol of the world. L.A. has not only played a major role in the development of television, music, fashion and art, but it has also been a central figure in creating a diverse center of pop and traditional culture.

Los Angeles has littered the world with its paraphernalia. Disneyland, movie stars, TV, fast food and hype - it's all here in overdrive. LA may be a figment of its own imagination, but if you long to stand in the footsteps of stars and breathe their hallowed air, you've come to the right place.

Starlit and moonstruck, LA beguiles scores of curious tourists, hopeful starlets and wannabe rock musicians each day. But LA is more than the sum total of its mass-produced fantasies. It's a thriving hybrid, a conglomeration of 88 independent cities sprawling over a vast urban maelstrom.

No other city studies itself with such narcissistic intensity. If you're not prepared to embrace the dream, you'll doubtless find it filthy, irritating, frightening or just plain dumb. In this town, game show hosts are household names and nobodies erect billboard shrines to themselves.