Aside from food tours, bike tours might be my favorite way of sightseeing round a new city. You cover more ground than a walking tour, and they’re less terrifying than Segway tours - so really it’s a win win. Choosing to do a bike tour of Hollywood was a no-brainer, and I couldn’t wait to explore the streets of tinseltown with an expert guide!
| Santa Monica Boulevard
Meeting at the bike shop on Santa Monica Boulevard, we started by choosing a helmet and bike, re-sizing said helmet and bike and testing the brakes, then donning a rather fetching high-vis jacket (in case it wasn’t quite clear enough that we were a big group of tourists). Speaking of ‘big group’, there were ten of us plus the guide, which is apparently the higher end of the maximum group size.
| Fairfax District
Our guide’s name was Jade (pronounced like Jad, I think), and he took us through a quick safety briefing covering the hand signals he’d be using throughout the tour. Then we were off! Heading south, we first made our way to the Fairfax District, passing the iconic home of Iron Man up on the hill as we went (apparently they 3D-mapped the house several miles down the road to make it look like it’s in the middle of nowhere - proper Hollywood stuff). We also passed the historic Silent Movie Theatre, and Fairfax High School where such names as Mila Kunis, Demi Moore, and all members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers attended.
| CBS Television City and Original Farmers Market
Further down the street was CBS Television City, a mass of studios where shows like The Late Late Show with James Corden, The X Factor, The Price Is Right, and American Idol are filmed. We were actually cycling the streets where James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke is shot, which I thought was pretty cool. Cycling on a mixture of streets, sidewalks, and bike lanes, we wound our way to the Original Farmer’s Market, dating back to 1934. Here Jade gave an interesting talk on the history of the market and offered us the opportunity to have a look round, but we all agreed to come back another day when we’d have more time.
| The Grove
Directly next to the Farmer’s Market is The Grove, a modern and picturesque shopping mall with a replica Bellagio Fountain, many upscale shops, and what Jade declared as the best sushi restaurant in Los Angeles. We were also lucky enough to spot the vintage double-decker trolley that still trundles along First Street! After taking a shortcut through Park La Brea Apartments, we arrived at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. Now I’d never heard of a Tar Museum, but after hearing Jade’s explanation it really makes sense - so much is perfectly preserved in tar that a lot of prehistoric findings are due to it, and they’re even ‘resurrecting’ the woolly mammoth from DNA found in a tar pit! (The museum is also free on Tuesdays, so I may check that out tomorrow).
| Urban Light
Onwards, we cycled past ‘Urban Light’ at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and "Levitated Mass”, an art installation with a heart-warming back story. A welcome reprieve from the busy streets of Los Angeles came next, in the form of a leisurely cycle through Hancock Park. The houses here are just insane, and it’s not difficult to imagine the various celebrities who live behind the doors (try not to day-dream too much though, if you cycle into one of their cars you’re in big trouble…). Hancock Park (or HP to the locals) also has great views of the Hollywood Sign and the famous Paramount water tower!
| Hollywood Forever Cemetery and Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Forever Cemetery was our next destination, which we (respectfully) cycled through to get to Hollywood Boulevard on the other side. Here we stopped at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, the Walk of Fame, the old Freemasons Temple (now home to Jimmy Kimmel Live), Muhammad Ali’s unique star, the TCL Chinese Theatre, and the Roosevelt Hotel (which Marilyn Monroe supposedly haunts). Then we biked about 10-15 minutes back to the shop, and we were done!
| Thanks for reading!
Now if you’re thinking ‘well she’s listed every stop on the tour so I don’t need to go now’ - you’d be wrong. There were loads of pauses along the way, plus I haven’t even touched upon the various anecdotes, insights and entertaining tales that Jade shared with us. I’d highly recommend this tour if you’re visiting Hollywood for a short period, or even if you’ve lived there you’re whole life - you’re sure to learn something new! Huge thanks to Jade for being a fantastic guide, can’t wait to do more exploring!
