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Automobiles

Let's cut to the chase: you will need one of these. The roads will feel wider than an airport runway.

Planes

LAX - aka Los Angeles International Airport (+1 310 646 5252; www.lawa.org) - is a somewhat chaotic affair. Forget public transport; if you don't have your own wheels, either take a SuperShuttle shared van (+1 800 258 3826; www.supershuttle.com) or a taxi from outside Arrivals. Both cost around $30-35 to Beverly Hills and will take around 30 minutes (it can longer in heavy traffic).

Trains

Amtrak (www.amtrak.com) connects Los Angeles to other US cities. The main terminal is at Union Station at 800 N Alameda Street in Downtown.

Dialing

Country code for the United States: 1. There are several area codes in the city and calling outside of these can be expensive. Downtown: 213/323; Malibu, Venice, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills: 310; Hollywood, East LA and South Central: 323.

Reads

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler; Black Dahlia or LA Confidential by James Ellroy; The Comedy Writer by Peter Farrelly.

Do go / Don't Go

Spring and autumn sees LA is at its best. Days are often warm and sunny but summer can see a rise in smog levels and sea mist (known as 'June gloom').

Cuisine

LA is a city where it's very popular to 'do' lunch, except on Sundays when mid-morning brunch is the order of the day. LA's cafés and restaurants offer suitably diverse fare, ranging from traditional all-American steaks to Chinese dim sum and Mexican enchiladas. This is a city dedicated to food fads so don't be surprised if your fellow diners are on a strict raw-food, low-carb 'reverse French' regime that excludes red meat, caffeine and fun. You'll find several farmers' markets around town, particularly in Santa Monica (www.farmernet.com). Wines from Napa and Sonoma Valley are excellent.

Taxis

LA's sprawl means taxi rides can be expensive. You're unlikely to find a taxi rank, so book with one of the large cab companies, such as the Yellow Cab Company (+1 877 733 3305; www.layellowcab.com) or United Taxi (+1 800 822 8294; www.unitedtaxi.com).

Tipping

Tipping is always expected in restaurants: 20 per cent is not unusual - it's easy to calculate by doubling the amount of tax on your bill. It's also the norm to tip a dollar for every drink at the bar. Don't forget to leave something out for your housekeeper to ensure your toiletries get stocked up to the max each day.

Currency

US dollar.

Packing

That film script you've been working on.

Arts

Along Hollywood Boulevard is the Walk of Fame, where more than 2,000 industry greats from Orson Welles to Lassie are memorialised with marble stars in the pavement. This is also the location of the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where the autograph patio is dotted with the handprints and footprints of screen legends (plus the odd cigar impression and hoofprint). Another result of the city's movie wealth is the Walt Disney Concert Hall (www.laphil.org) on Grand Avenue in Downtown; it's home to the LA Philharmonic but it's worth a visit just to see Frank Gehry's fantastic cubist architecture.

And...

Shopping

West Hollywood is the place for boutiques and retail excess, particularly on Rodeo Drive, Beverly Boulevard and Melrose Avenue. If you prefer everything under one enormous roof, the Beverly Center (www.beverlycenter.com) mega-mall on Beverly Boulevard is ideal. The Grove (www.thegrovela.com) on Grove Drive is a boutique shopping mall next to the Farmers Market (with butchers and bakers and peanut-butter makers). The pedestrianised Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica is also good for browsing; Undefeated on Main Street is the best place in for a cool pair of trainers. For something a little more bohemian, head to the independent shops on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice; the best stores include Equator Books (www.equatorbooks.com), Japanese design emporium Tortoise (www.tortoiselife.com), and purveyors of vintage beach lifestyle wares, Surfing Cowboys (www.surfingcowboys.com).

Viewpoint

Drive up to twisting Mulholland Drive for exhilarating views over the city; the road runs for 50 miles from Hollywood all the way to the Malibu coast. There are also fine views from the Getty Center (+1 310 440 7300; www.getty.edu) in the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains; it's one of LA's finest museums of art, sculpture and photography (closed Mondays).

Something

With perhaps the planet's highest concentration of A-listers, Los Angeles is the home of the star safari. These elusive creatures can be hard to track down, but with luck and patience you should enjoy a sighting. Uniquely in LA, you can guide yourself past the homes (or at least the security gates) of the Hollywood elite with the help of a star map while reflecting on the fact that fabulous wealth doesn't guarantee a tasteful house.

Some of these events could only ever happen in LA. Late February The Academy Awards (Oscars) at the Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard sends the city into a frenzy. April Farm animals and pets are blessed by the city's cardinal at the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Monument in Downtown on the Saturday before Easter. Late July Expect punk music, hot rods and Catholic priests at the Blessing of the Cars - yes, cars (www.blessingofthecars.com). Early August The Honda US Open of Surfing takes place at Huntington Beach in Orange County (www.usopenofsurfing.com). December The Hollywood Christmas Parade is on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and brings together celebrities, razzmatazz, marching bands and colourful floats - it's 100 per cent Hollywood (Christmas is just an excuse).