Santa Monica is a coastal town that maintains a balance as a tourist destination and as an area with a thriving local culture. On the beach, bikers, roller-bladers, runners and walkers move along the famed bike path enjoying the beautiful Los Angeles weather. The solar-powered Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica pier spins high above the water, while park revelers scream with delight riding the roller coaster. Inland from the beach, Third Street Promenade bustles with shoppers and street performers, where every block seems to have a musical or acrobatic act drawing crowds giving Santa Monica both the feeling of a laid-back beach town and a major commercial hub.

Beverly Hills began as a modest village years ago and today you can still feel its small town origins, even though it has become a major tourist attraction and business center for the entertainment industry. This town lives up to its reputation as an area full of designer retail stores and residential streets lined with mansions and palm trees. Inside the commercial center of Beverly Hills, along Rodeo Drive, droves of tourists peak into ultra-luxurious boutiques hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous. Off of Rodeo Drive however is where some of the most affluent Angelenos occupying the streets of Beverly Hills come for leisurely meals, power lunches and beauty treatments.

For years, West Hollywood has been known as a hub for the LGBT communities in Los Angeles. Today it still maintains the title, but has also become the “it” neighborhood for the entertainment industry’s up-and-comers. Producers, directors, writers and aspiring actors call this area home. Known for great boutique shopping, vintage clothing stores, home décor shops and fitness studios, West Hollywood is a grid of wide boulevards and narrow residential streets. The neighborhood also has a concentration of the most avant-garde restaurants in Los Angeles (rivaled only by the burgeoning restaurant scene Downtown). A trip to the iconic Sunset Strip, with its many clubs, music venues, hotels and flashing lights won’t be forgotten.