SEE: Pay your tributes to the celluloid heroes of yesteryear at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery -- gateway to the great silver screen in the sky. Rudolph Valentino, Jayne Mansfield and directors Cecil B. DeMille and John Huston are among the legendary names buried here. Despite its reputation as the global capital of trash culture, L.A. actually does a pretty passable impersonation of highbrow when it feels like it. The latest addition to the Getty collection of museums and galleries is the re-designed Getty Villa, a museum dedicated to ancient antiquities. For a more contemporary vibe, check out Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, an old converted trolley repair station that now houses about 20 independent galleries. The Brewery, a funky collection of artists' live-in studios on Moulton Avenue and the world's biggest art colony, is also worth visiting on one of its regular open days. Architecture enthusiasts shouldn't miss the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, a chaotic steel and limestone construction that appears to have been inspired by the architect's random scribblings. Another architectural landmark is the Bladerunner-featured Bradbury Building. A rather more surreal monument to LA's creative spirit is Watts Tower in the southern district of Watts, a series of nine towers reaching up to 100 feet tall that were built single-handedly by sculptor Simon Rodia over more than 30 years from steel, concrete and assorted bric-a-brac.
BE SEEN: Getting noticed is an art form, if not a career move in Los Angeles, where legions of aspiring actors survive in the hope that Hollywood producers will spot them waiting tables or pumping gas and propel them from obscurity to A-list. The beach is where all Los Angelinos, rich and poor, do their people watching. It's also the only place in the city where the car isn't king, with 18 miles of boardwalk and beaches accessible by bike or -- if you're getting into the California vibe -- on rollerskates. Each stretch of sand has its own distinct character: surf dudes hang out at Hermosa Beach while Manhattan Beach is the center of the volleyball scene and Venice Beach has its iconic musclemen and basketballers. For old-fashioned seaside fun head to Santa Monica. After sunset, health kicks give way to hedonism as bars and clubs play host to a nightlife that lasts until dawn. If your face doesn't fit, you might struggle to convince the doormen at the swish Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica that you're cool enough to come in, but you could try the equally exclusive Standard in downtown, which boasts a rooftop bar and swimming pool. For a slice of old Hollywood glamour, join the lounge lizards who have flocked to the Dresden Room in Los Feliz since it featured in the hip film Swingers, or the Beauty Bar on North Cahuenga Boulevard, which serves manicures with its martinis. Once your nail polish has dried, head for the Roxy, a classic rock and roll venue on Sunset Boulevard, or the nearby Viper Room, Johnny Depp's old club outside which River Phoenix died from a drug overdose.
EAT: Despite being the spiritual home of fad dieting and emaciated celebrities, Los Angeles has a vibrant dining scene, from belt-straining Mexican cantinas to the egregiously hip sushi joints that have come to define west coast cuisine. While the once seminal Tokyo Kaikan restaurant, the birthplace of the California roll, has fallen off the radar, there are new ultra-sophisticated upstarts in its place, such as the exclusive Koi on La Cienega Boulevard, or the Geisha House, on Hollywood Boulevard and Cherokee, which offers a "sensual" atmosphere inspired by Japan's sex industry. Other venues die harder. Mexican El Cholo, on 11th and Western, has been serving its specialty green corn tamales since 1927, while "French-dipped" sandwiches have been a draw at Philippes, North Alameda Street in downtown from the day of their accidental creation in 1918. A mysterious salad dressing and great steaks and seafood, have kept Santa Monica's venerable Galley ticking over for seven decades, competing with the James Ellroy-endorsed Pacific Dining Car, in downtown.
DRIVE: It may be a cliche, but the best way to see -- and be seen in -- LA is from behind the wheel of vintage soft-top. Take the palm-fringed Pacific Coast Highway past deserted beaches as the sun drops over the horizon and feel the American dream rolling under your wheels. Cruise down Sunset Boulevard past the fortified celebrity mansions of Beverly Hills. Sweep through the bright lights of Downtown on 101 Freeway and then head up Mulholland Drive to take in the glittering vista of LA at night -- perhaps the only time of day when this endless maze of concrete transmogrifies into something actually quite picturesque.
CELEBRITY SPOTTING: There's a whole industry revolving around movie star sightings in Los Angeles, from the touts who sell maps of their homes, to the paparazzi who snap them leaving nightclubs. But, even if stalking ain't your scene, there's still a good chance of running into them buying clothes, stopping for gas or picking up a soya latte. Favorite showbiz shopping spots include the swanky boutiques of Rodeo Drive, or the sprawling Fred Segal clothes emporium in Santa Monica. Malibu, where beachside real estate is the preserve of the rich and famous, is another hotspot. Try Cooke's Family Market, the restaurants at the Malibu Country Mart, or failing that the Blockbuster Video on West Malibu Road.
