Things to see in Los Angeles

The 50-year-old theme park is still the world's most famous and new attractions are always appearing in the 'Magic Kingdom'. The park is divided into themed 'lands' (Main Street USA, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Toontown) each with a variety of rides and entertainment. Favourite attractions include the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Star Tours and Indiana Jones Adventure. The fabulous Electrical Parade and night-time laser light show alone are worth the trip.

Located next to Disneyland, Disneyland California Adventure has four theme areas that represent California: pass under the Golden Gate Bridge at Sunshine Plaza, then visit Paradise Pier hyping the glories of seaside piers, Hollywood Pictures Backlot, A bug's land - life from a bug's point of view, and Golden State which celebrates the history and beauty of California. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, plunges riders down a 43m (141ft) elevator shaft.

The Getty is much more than just a museum; if you visit, plan to stay the whole day. From the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, the marble terraces of the Getty Center afford spectacular panoramic views of the city, the mountains and the ocean. The unique buildings, designed by architect Richard Meier, employ simple shapes that form an organic, stunning, whole. They contain not only J Paul Getty's painting collection, including Van Gogh's Irises , but a centre for the study of archaeology, culture, art history and humanities. The changing exhibitions vary from Byzantine art to American photographers. The galleries display sculpture, photographs, drawings, furniture and more than 100 illuminated manuscripts. Lectures, concerts and educational programmes are also held here. The Getty Center is surrounded by beautiful gardens with rare and native plants and trees. The handheld electronic Getty Guide, a self-guided audio tour, is worth the small charge.

Built by showman Sid Grauman in 1927, this is the most famous of the flamboyant picture palaces along this stretch of Hollywood Boulevard. As part of the development of the area, the theatre has been extensively renovated; the inside has been opulently restored, while the exotic oriental facade is resplendent in its pastel greens, crowned by a red pagoda roof. The ticket booth has been moved from the forecourt - which remains the main attraction here.

It is where the hand and footprints of Hollywood celebrities are embedded into the cement. This signature parade started quite by accident when, at the grand opening, actress Constance Talmadge tripped and stepped in wet cement. Among the more unusual signatures are Jimmy Durante's nose and the hoof prints of Roy Roger's horse Trigger. All kinds of characters hang out at Grauman's; people, just looking to make a couple of bucks, dress like famous characters such as Michael Jackson, Sponge Bob Square Pants, Spiderman, Elmo and Marilyn Monroe. VIP backstage tours take about 35 minutes and include a short film. The cinema still shows first-run movies, another way to see its lavish interior. Other art deco theatres nearby that are worth a look are Pacific El Capitan, The Egyptian and Pantages .

The Hollywood Walk of Fame passes outside the front of the Chinese Theatre. This trail of bronze stars embedded in the paving stones runs 5.5km (3.5 miles) along Hollywood Boulevard between La Brea and Gower Streets and along Vine Street between Yucca Street and Sunset Boulevard. It honours artists in the film, television and music industries and the first star imbedded in the pavement in 1960 was one for Joanne Woodward. Today, they number well over 2,000.

The exquisite, art deco Max Factor Building has been restored to its original 1935 state and now houses the Hollywood History Museum. The cavernous museum features a wide array of exhibits, including costumes and props used in Hollywood films. Visitors can see Marilyn Monroe's autopsy, the whip used by Indiana Jones and even visit Hannibal Lecter's jail cell. Displays begin with the silent film and work their way through Hollywood's Golden Era, to state-of-the-art technology and the future of the industry. Particularly impressive are the special events at the museum, where the presentations on Hollywood history are given by those who actually helped to forge that history.

It is virtually impossible to see everything on this lavish estate in one visit. The former home of railroad tycoon Henry E Huntington is filled with French porcelain, tapestries, American paintings and a remarkable collection of British and French art from the 18th and 19th centuries. Famous highlights are Gainsborough's Blue Boy and Lawrence's Pinkie . Among the 4 million items in the Library are rare books and manuscripts: a Gutenberg Bible, an early 15th-century manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and early editions of Shakespeare. Save some time to stroll in the beautiful Botanical Gardens, whose 81 hectares (200 acres) include a Japanese garden, desert garden and rose garden. The 'Garden of Flowing Fragrance' Chinese garden is a real work of art, created to stimulate both the spirit and the mind - like the wonderful Huntingdon itself .

Housed in seven buildings, most of which are clustered around a courtyard, this outstanding collection of art and artefacts (over 100,000) forms one of the leading art museums in the United States. In the enormous Ahmanson Building, art, sculpture and decorative arts from Asia, Europe and the Americas are on display. Highlights of the collection include the Indian and South-East Asian art collection, regarded as the finest in the West; the Western Art galleries and pre-Columbian artefacts from Latin America. There is a special Japanese Pavilion designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; the striking, modern Robert O Anderson Building, and the Bing Theater. The first phase of a ten-year expansion plan was completed in 2008 which saw the opening of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA and an open-air pavilion, called the BP Grand Entrance.

Named after Saint Ferdinand, King of Spain (1217-1252), this mission was founded in 1797. Much of the original structure remains except for the Old Mission Church, which was reconstructed after the 1971 earthquake. Self-guided tours include the church (visited by Pope John Paul in 1987) the museum, workshops, convent and gardens. Towards the rear is the Bob Hope Memorial Garden where the world famous entertainer is buried.

Given a 'passport' of a Holocaust child, the visitor embarks on a moving journey from the Jewish ghettos to Hitler's death camps. At the end of the hour-long timed tour, the child's ultimate fate is revealed. Though the main focus is on the Holocaust, the museum contains high-tech, interactive exhibits that explore racism and bigotry in America through events such as the LA riots of 1992, while the Tolerancenter focuses on major intolerance issues in daily life. Upstairs are archives and a multimedia learning centre. Allow at least two hours to experience this thought-provoking museum.

Smack in the middle of LA, the La Brea Tar Pits are a fascinating survival from prehistoric times. They have yielded more than four million fossils (one of the largest caches in the world) from the Pleistocene Era. Inside the museum are the skeletons of long-extinct animals, such as the imperial mammoth, giant sloth, sabre-toothed tiger and dire wolf. All became trapped and preserved in the thick black tar, or 'brea', that seeped up through the ground. Visitors can watch palaeontologists cleaning and cataloguing fossils and see excavations from viewing stations beside the tar pits.

Expect to see some rare and beautiful vehicles, including the hand-made Bugatti. But the real objective of this museum is to underscore the automobile's influence on LA culture. A streetscape, with a surface changing from dirt to gravel to tar, follows the history of the city. Architecture and cars along the 'street' change with the time period and culminate with the first drive-up strip mall. Don't miss the Hollywood Gallery that features cars used in films and owned by celebrities.

The main collection at this museum is an impressive display of Old Masters, Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings, which were acquired by the late industrialist Armand Hammer. This collection is shown on a rotating basis and includes works by Constable, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Monet, as well as a room full of lithographs by Daumier. Run by UCLA, the museum also displays exhibitions from the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts , which cover graphic art from the Renaissance to the present day. There is also an impressive Sculpture Garden, as well as special exhibitions and programmes.

Originally developed in 1905 by Abbot Kinney, an ex-cigarette manufacturer who relocated to Los Angeles, the area around Ballona Creek was intended to attract Los Angeles's urban populace to live by the ocean. Based on the canals in Venice, the developers hoped to create a European/Bohemian atmosphere by the sea.

Today, the area around Venice Boardwalk, which is locally-known as Venice Beach, attracts thousands of Angelenos and tourists every week who come to soak up the party atmosphere. Venice Boardwalk is also known as the Ocean Front Walk, and is home to hundreds of street performers, including jugglers, palm readers, buskers, snake charmers, fire-eaters, cyclists and roller skaters. Muscle Beach, which is situated close by, is just as famous for its legendary weightlifters who work out daily in the sun.