The 5 Best Hollywood Tours of 2020

Hop aboard this small, open-air bus for a thorough two-hour tour that swings by all of Hollywood’s must-see spots and a number of celebrity homes, as well as Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive and a few other historical locations and contemporary hotspots, all while having the history and lore of Hollywood’s golden age narrated in (often funny) detail by a professional tour guide. The tour makes a stop at the famous Hollywood sign for photo ops, and begins and ends just steps from the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, which you can explore before or after your ride.

Outdoorsy types who can’t bear the thought of riding around in a vehicle for two hours should consider this tour, which combines walking visits to historic filming locations and other famous sights (Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Roosevelt Hotel, etc.) with a pleasant, ability-tailored hike through the beautiful Hollywood Hills. The two-hour tour is timed perfectly so as to see the landmarks on Hollywood Boulevard while it’s still light outside, and then to catch the sunset and the city’s twinkling lights from the gorgeous vantage point up in the hills. The tour guide is a photographer, so definitely bring your camera — he knows all the best spots from which to snap a shot.

Let’s be real: a major draw for a Hollywood visit is celebrity-spotting, right? On this open-air small-bus tour through Hollywood, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills, you’ll see the luxurious homes of dozens of stars, and hopefully even catch a glimpse of one or two of the celebrities themselves. The narrated tour also stops at the Hollywood Bowl outlook in Hollywood Hills, where you can see the Hollywood sign and the Los Angeles skyline.

If you’re less of a celeb-spotter and more of a cinema nerd, this short (one hour) but in-depth tour is the perfect choice for you. Your knowledgable guide will lead you down Hollywood Boulevard, with exclusive stops to the inside of El Capitan Theater (where Disney premieres its movies) and the historic Grauman’s Egyptian Theater, as well as a number of lesser-known landmarks where film history was made and continues to be made.

You might not think of Hollywood as a culinary mecca, but c’mon — in an area swarming with film execs and their expense accounts (not to mention the stars themselves), of course there’s great food to be had. This four-hour guided tour tells visitors the story of Hollywood through the people and places who made it great… and delicious. The tour combines some walking and some driving and includes sightseeing stops on the Sunset Strip and Melrose Avenue and food stops at local chocolatier John Kelly and iconic Hollywood institution Greenblatt’s Deli, as well as a number of others. The price of the tour includes tastings and bottled water.