Beverly Hills

Los Angeles, California Travel Guide

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Beverly Hills

Area: West side

Overview: On a weekday morning about three years ago, I made a stop in Beverly Hills for work. My destination was a store on Rodeo Drive but I decided to park one block over – east – on Beverly Drive for better parking off of Little Santa Monica Blvd close to a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf coffee shop. At one of the tables in front of the Coffee Bean was, surprise surprise, Joaquin Phoenix, one of my favorite actors and a star in the Gladiator. He and his friends or agents or whoever, were “hanging out.”

So, does that mean if you visit and stroll around Beverly Hills, close to or on Rodeo Drive, you’ll see movie stars? It’s a gamble but it could very well happen. Again, it’s a gamble. Certainly, you’re more likely to see them in Beverly Hills than downtown Los Angeles or Hollywood Blvd.

Welcome to Beverly Hills, the epitome of wealth, success and family money of Los Angeles. From about Spalding Drive or Walden Drive on the west to Doheny Drive on the east, and Olympic Blvd south and a little north of Sunset Blvd, L.A.’s fluff meets the green stuff – and the silicon stuff. North of Santa Monica Blvd in Beverly Hills are some of the most gorgeous, extravagant homes you’ll ever see. Plots are large, square footage of each house can fit an apartment complex and well-kept trees and foliage line the yards and streets. These houses have a very long history and are most likely passed on through generations. The lines of trees and foliage lead right up the Sunset Blvd and Bel Air. Take an afternoon and stroll around the Beverly Hills residential areas between Walden Dr and Doheny Dr.

There are two Santa Monica Boulevards that run through Beverly Hills. No, it’s not because Beverly Hills has so much money that it could afford to have two of the same streets. There’s “big” Santa Monica Blvd and Little Santa Monica Blvd. Little Santa Monica Blvd runs south of and parallel with the larger one. So, a concentration of the restaurant and cafe action exists on Little Santa Monica Blvd and the streets running south from it such as Rodeo Dr and Beverly Dr.

Speaking of Rodeo Dr – everyone’s heard of it and Pretty Woman made the famous shopping street a little infamous. Rodeo Dr, south of Little Santa Monica Blvd, pushes posh to the limit. It’s one of the prettiest streets in Los Angeles. Rodeo has nicely paved sidewalks and carefully painted crosswalks to access the retail stores on either side of the street. The center dividers of the street are infused with greenery.

As for retail stores, Juicy Couture to the plushest limit and Chanel to the nose’s edge. High end retail shopping is the name of Rodeo Drive’s name. Hugo Boss sweeps up its floors at the day’s end. Tiffany clinks her jewelry. Hermes of Paris adds a dash of suave. Bijan’s little boutique store trumps all of the stores on Rodeo Drive. The appointment-only store is known to be the most expensive store in the world.

For restaurants, La Dolce Vita and Spago Beverly Hills continues to serve rich eats with elegance. Or, have a “power lunch” at Kate Mantilini on Wilshire Blvd.

Accessibility: Beverly Hills is wheelchair accessible.

Getting There: www.bigbluebus.com, www.metro.net, http://www.culvercity.org/bus/bus.asp