HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD! By Heidi Dvorak

WHEN IT COMES TO SEEING TINSELTOWN, YOU’VE GOT TO HIT ALL THE LANDMARKS THAT MAKE IT A WORLD-CLASS DESTINATION.

Awards season is upon us, and that means it’s the perfect time to immerse yourself in everything entertainment with a must-see visit to the movie, television, music, and radio capital of the world. Specialized bus tours of celebrity homes and points of interest are aplenty, but why settle for a drive-by when you can experience the city on your own two feet—up close and personal. A trip to Hollywood would not be complete without seeing these 10 attractions—you’ll find it’s the stuff dreams are made of.

{ 1 } Hollywood Walk of Fame

Put on your walking shoes to traverse 18 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard’s sidewalks embedded with 2,765 terrazzo-and-brass stars representing major contributors to stage, screen, and radio since 1960. But don’t spend all your time looking down, because the area is chockfull of worthy sights: the TCL Chinese Theatre with its famous footprints, the historic El Capitan Theatre and Egyptian Theatre, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, Madame Tussauds Hollywood wax museum, the Guinness World Records Museum, the Hollywood Museum, and the record-shaped Capitol Records Tower—to mention a few. Note: Some streets are off-limits from March 5 to 12 for Oscar preparations, so check on closures; Hollywood Blvd. from Gower St. to La Brea Ave. and Vine St. from Sunset Blvd. to Yucca St., walkoffame.com.

{ 2 } HOLLYWOOD BOWL

Show season isn’t underway yet, but the world-famous amphitheater is always open for self-guided walking tours—and seeing the shell (this is actually the fifth incarnation), with its hallmark concentric circles, has set the stage for Jascha Heifetz, Vladimir Horowitz, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, the Beatles, Barbra Streisand, John Williams, almost every prestigious conductor since 1922, and the L.A. Philharmonic. The on-site museum showcases collections of historical media and artifacts, rotating exhibitions, and the exhibition Hollywood Bowl: Music for Everyone. The museum and walking tour are free; 2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles, hollywoodbowl.com.

3 } ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES

Oscar fever is at its height now at this institution dedicated to the art, technology, and history of moviemaking. Seven floors are packed with artifacts, props, sets, costumes, film equipment, and galleries staged with nostalgic set pieces from movies such as The Wizard of Oz, The Godfather, North by Northwest, and Jaws. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to win an Academy

Award, buy a separate ticket to the Oscars Experience, a room in which you are “transported” to the Dolby Theatre via simulated images on Oscar night, your name is announced, and you can approach a podium onstage to accept your award. A video captures the experience, making it a unique souvenir to show the folks back home; 6067 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, academymuseum.org.

{ 4 } THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN

Those famous nine letters, perched atop Mount Hollywood, can be seen from almost anywhere in the city, but for a closer look, take any of three hiking trails—the Cahuenga Peak Trail, the Brush Canyon Trail, and the Mount Hollywood Trail, with distances of 3, 6, and 5 miles—to the top, from sunrise to sunset. Visitors are not allowed to touch the fenced-off sign, as enforced by an on-site police officer, but you certainly can take photos. Want to go full-on Gene Autry? Hop on a horse with Sunset Ranch Hollywood for its Mt. Hollywood Day Tour. You’ll hoof it to the sign and through the hills of Griffith Park; hollywoodsign.org, 3400 N. Beachwood Dr., Los Angeles, sunsetranchhollywood.com.

{ 5 } MUSSO & FRANK GRILL

With its own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, this historic hangout was (and still is) the place where celebrities, movers and shakers, and writers of yore schmoozed and boozed. Its look—rich wood paneling, an austere bar, old-time sconces—is unchanged from the 1919 opening, and that’s the beauty of it. Slide onto a red-leather bar stool or banquette that may have graced the derrieres of Charlie Chaplin, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Raymond Chandler, Charles Bukowski, Johnny Depp, Keith Richards, Quentin Tarantino (who filmed Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood there), all served by the formally attired red-jacketed waitstaff. Make sure to order their legendary martini; 6667 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, mussoandfrank.com.

{ 6 } SUNSET STRIP ROCK ’N WALK TOURS

This unique tour just might mirror the rock soundtrack of your life: Frequented by the entertainment industry, rock musicians, and its aficionados, the Strip has been famous for 60-plus years for its historic, scandalous, and outrageous hangouts, music clubs, hotels, and restaurants, as well as its long history as a prime TV and movie location (Almost Famous, The Doors, “77 Sunset Strip” to name a few). For insider stories about this notorious 2-mile stretch, take a detail-driven three-and-a-half-hour walking tour with former rock musician and well-versed livewire Jon D’Amico, who escorts you to legendary sites like the Whisky a Go Go, the fabled hotels that accommodated the antics of rock stars, and hush-hush hideaways; 8441 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, rocknwalktours.com.

{ 7 } PARAMOUNT PICTURES STUDIOS

Let a knowledgeable page take you by cart on a narrated tour of Hollywood’s longest-operating working television and movie studio. In existence for more than 100 years, Paramount is responsible for productions such as Mission Impossible, Top Gun: Maverick, DeMille’s The Ten Commandments, Sunset Boulevard, The Godfather trilogy, “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Glee,” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.” The studio traverses 65 acres and has 30 stages, so it’s highly possible that if you take either the two-hour Studio Tour or the four-and-a-half-hour VIP Tour (which includes breakfast or lunch), you just might be able to spot a celeb or two; 5515 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, paramountstudiostour.com.

{ 8 } HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY

Pay respects to the stars of yore at this national cemetery that is the final resting place for many of Hollywood’s major founders and stars. You can spend the better part of the day searching for the graves and crypts of legends such as Judy Garland, Rudolph Valentino, Valerie Harper, Peter Finch, Burt Reynolds, Anne Heche, Douglas Fairbanks, Mickey Rooney, two of the Ramones, and hundreds of others. Or get a map of gravesites from the on-site flower shop. Better yet, book a two-and-a-half-hour guided walking tour, in which you’ll learn about the memorial park’s history and famous residents; 6000 Santa Monica, Blvd., Los Angeles, hollywoodforever.com.

9 } YAMASHIRO

Like an over-the-top ornate set from a movie about the Far East, this magnificent Japanese restaurant, built in 1914, is a replica of a palace in Kyoto. Ensconced on a hilltop, 250 feet above the city, it presents dramatic views of Hollywood below, particularly famous points of interest including Griffith Observatory. The jaw-dropping, exquisite architecture conjures the ambience of a tranquil sanctuary with Japanese gardens, a koi pond, a 600-yearold pagoda, and carefully curated decor that explains why The Teahouse of the August Moon, Sayonara, and Memoirs of a Geisha were filmed there, as well as dozens of other TV shows and movies; 1999 N. Sycamore Ave., Hollywood, yamashirohollywood.com.

{ 10 } DOLBY THEATRE

You can gaze upon this landmark performing arts theater—the site of the Academy Awards show—while strolling the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but if you want to soak up some red-carpet energy, take a 30-minute guided tour of this 180,000-square-foot state-of-the-art auditorium that also serves as a host location for “America’s Got Talent,” the AFI Life Achievement Ceremony, the ESPY Awards, “American Idol” finals, and numerous movie premieres. You’ll visit the Dolby Lounge VIP Room (where celebs hang out), and see an authentic Oscar statue; 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, dolbytheatre.com.