Even if you’ve never been to Los Angeles, you probably have a clear image of the city in your mind. Film and TV have built an archetypal “Los Angeles” in every American’s head—even those who grew up on the other side of the country—making the Hollywood Sign, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and starlet-laden red carpets familiar to all of us. If you’ve ever been to L.A., chances are you spent your trip on tour buses and studio lots checking off destinations from your list of iconic sites to see.
But there is so much more to Los Angeles than what is pictured in the brochures handed out by guys wearing sandwich boards on Hollywood and Highland. There is a vast city to experience outside of the dozen or so landmarks that we all know—the L.A. people actually live in, not the L.A. that only exists for tourists. Here is Hidden L.A.: How to Visit Like a Local.