This is an article that I wanted to write for a long time. It is a bit long, maybe that’s why I took such a long time to write. However, this is our favorite Southern California tour. When we have friends and family visiting from outside of California we always take them on this tour because they get to see some of the best tourist sites in SoCal. Yeah, it’s true, this tour doesn’t include Third stop: Beverly Hills for 2 hours
Getting to Beverly Hills
5:00 pm.Continue south on Pacific Coast Highway all the way down to Sunset Boulevard. Take a left on Sunset Boulevard and follow it all the way to Beverly Hills. It will take you about 1 hour. You will pass right by UCLA and if you have time you can stop for a quick visit. You can also visit the Getty Center but that will take the whole day. Well, there are way too many things to see in Southern California. Ok, ok…let’s just stick with my plan, so keep driving on Sunset Boulevard until you reach the famous…drumroll please…Rodeo Drive.
Take a right on Rodeo Drive and go down, slowly again for two block and right after you pass Camelita Ave park somewhere on the street. Then start walking down Rodeo Drive. The actual world famous stree starts right after Santa Monica Boulevard…so keep walking for a little bit. If you’re tired you can stop at the Beverly Gardens park which is right here on Rodeo Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard.
Beverly Hills, California – The Beverly Hills Hotel is a famous landmark.
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Things to do in Beverly Hills
- Walk on Rodeo Drive from top to bottom. Yeah it’s expensive to shop on Rodeo Drive, but nobody forces you to shop…just stare at stuff
and look important! Please notice that at the end of Rodeo Drive, on Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive is the famous Regent Beverly Whilshire Hotel where the movie Pretty Woman was filmed. - Walk the streets in the residential area and admire the houses. Walk back towards your car after Santa Monica Boulevard and start walking some of the streets…it’s very relaxing. You can also admire the unique houses you see in Beverly Hills. Who knows, maybe you’ll run into Madonna or Elton John. Just say hi if you do !
- Avoid buying star maps…they are expensive and inaccurate. Yep, it’s true ! I have bought a star map and we ended up chasing many addresses that didn’t actually exist. Just save yourself the frustration. Plus, if you actually do get to see a famous star’s house, be sure that it’s surrounded by a tall and thick wall that will prevent you from seeing anything.
Beverly Hills, California – The Bang & Olufsen store on Rodeo Drive.
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Now it’s time to go to Hollywood, where the stars are made! Well, that’s what people say Don’t get your hopes up because you will be dissappointed. Hollywood is only glamorous in the movies and not in reality. Granted, the city has cleaned up the area very much and they brought the subway all the way there. Great improvements to be fair, but the area is far from what it’s made to look like in the movies and in the media. But it’s fun to see it anyway.
Next Stop: Hollywood, California
La Purisima Mission is one of the 27 California missions that line up the California coast from south to north. Located in Lompoc, La Purisima is actually a state park and it has been extensively reconstructed to better capture the feel of the Mission times. With lots of things to offer for the entire family, La Purisima Mission Park is a great tourist stop for the California traveler. Read on to find out what is worth seeing at La Purisima.
The mountains around San Luis Obispo Bay area hide Avila Beach very well. But if you’re willing to get off the beaten path and get off the freeway you will be rewarded greatly with stunning views of the ocean and a relaxed atmosphere in one of the little known California beach towns. Avila Beach, California is the perfect beach town. It’s small, clean and simply beautiful!
Pismo Beach is one of those hidden tourist jewels that is within easy reach but bypassed many times by tourists. The California coast is just beautiful off the 101 freeway in the Pismo Beach area. The fact that many larger tourist attractions like San Luis Obisbo and Hearst Castle are so close, most tourists just pass by Pismo Beach on their way up north. What a mistake! Pismo Beach is just an amazing stop even if you have only few hours to spare. Pretty soon I’ll post my detailed Pismo Beach travel guide, but for now 
We visited San Francisco a few times and we loved it every time. This time however it was in December and it was raining hard and the San Francisco Bay was covered in thick fog. We ended up mostly driving around but we were still able to walk around Fisherman Wharf area and enjoy the sites. San Francisco is spectacular despite the rain. Read on to find out the main tourist attractions in downtown San Francisco.
Lots to see in Palm Springs and the surrounding areas. If you make sure you don’t visit Palm Springs after middle of May and before middle of September, you will have a great time in the Palm Springs area. If you come during the summer, you will be confined inside your hotel where the air conditioner will make the temperature bearable.
Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular attractions in California. It is mostly known as one of the best winter resorts in the world. However, Lake Tahoe is a great family vacation spot in the summer as well. We found Lake Tahoe to be very relaxing and family friendly. My family found great things to see and we enjoyed the beautiful views and places to visit. This article contains our favorite places to visit in Lake Tahoe.
Every year the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California puts on the best show. Entitled the Tournament of Roses, this amazing parade is all about flowers and in particular about roses. We always wanted to go to the Rose Parade, but with two small children coming out in the very early hours of the morning just to get a somewhat decent seat, is out of the question. So, we opted to come see the floats in what is called the Post Parade event where you come admire the floats that have been parked on a couple of wide streets. Is it really worth it? Well, read on to find out.
Sometimes when traveling you get to witness amazing things that you were not planning to see at all. This is what happened to me when going to the beach again at Point Mugu State Beach in California. I have brought some relatives of ours to the beach since they have not been in this part of the state. When we got there, we noticed that the waves were pretty rough and very loud (about 10 feet high). The water was breaking very close to shore, which made it pretty hard for us to enjoy the water. Eventually we decided to head back home since we couldn’t really play in the water much.
We wanted to go to the beach one weekend and we decided to go to Point Mugu since we haven’t been there in a long time. Since I have forgotten to take cash with me, I couldn’t park at the state beach and ended up parking right next to the Mugu Rock and then went down to a small rock beach nearby. We ended up having a great time and saw a sea lion and lots of pelicans. My daughter loved the trip.
We have visited UCLA in the winter on a sunny December day. Even though the day was short, we had a great time. I always like visiting the UCLA campus, regardless if it’s summer or winter, school day or weekend…I just love it. Maybe it’s because I graduated from UCLA myself…yeah it’s because of that. However, I believe anyone can enjoy visiting the campus for a day, including your children.
Thanks for the great informative article with some very interesting ideas and points regarding the best of Southern California tourist attractions in one day trip. Amazing, I sincerely did not know or think it was possible to tour the best of Southern California tourist attraction in one day trip. With that said, this is something I’ll consider the next time I bring my family to Southern California. I must admit I find it insightful to read your article. Keep up the good work.
CJ…thanx for your note. Yep, this would make for a great day trip for your family. Yes you will be tired at the end of the day but it’s worth it. If you have more time in Southern California, you can take your time and visit more of course.
Santa Barbara is one of the most extraordinary beach towns I have ever visited. SO much culture and life, and so many fun things to do, it never gets old. I recently just returned from a trip and i had the best time just relaxing at the beach and my hotel, I loved it.