Tours in Los Angeles

From the outside, the big, red bus looks like an open-topped relic from across the pond. Once on board, however, a rainbow oasis of streamers, flags, and tinsel reveals that this is no stodgy ride; rather, it’s the flagship vehicle of Out & About Tours—a tour company dedicated to celebrating the oft-overlooked sites associated with Los Angeles' LGBT legacy. Company CEO Jim Anzide pulls double duty as the tour’s guide, narrating historic info about the roots of the LGBT community in neighborhoods ranging from West Hollywood and downtown to Silverlake and the Sunset Strip. Lively banter punctuates each trip as Anzide and his guides quiz passengers on history and share personal anecdotes. They also lead walking tours that explore La La Land's hotels and bathhouses and curate their signature SunGay Brunch tour—a mini bus excursion that includes mimosas and bites at stops including Flying Leap Café and The Other Side, Los Angeles' last piano bar purportedly haunted by the ghost of Fats Waller’s Wurlitzer.

cityHunt’s urban adventures thrust participants into unfamiliar territory, daring them to explore parts of their cities previously untraversed. Held in various neighborhoods within the nation’s largest cities, each scavenger hunt challenges teams to answer trivia questions and seek out items of interest in a bid to complete the hunt as the fastest squad with the most points. Some tasks might require a keen memory or knowledge of the city's history, while others might ask camera-wielding participants to snap a photo of certain object or landmark without pausing to day dream about all the civil and municipal engineering that must have gone into creating such an awe-inspiring place. At the end of each adventure, cityHunt staff members meet with squads to discuss their strong points and areas that could use improvement, making it an off-the-beaten-path team-building exercise for corporate clients and groups of friends alike.

As Karie Bible strides across Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the hem of her mourning gown absorbs dew from the gravesites of Johnny Ramone and Mel Blanc. She tours the cemetery for a living, leading groups to crypts and monuments that mark the remains of deceased celebrities. Whether recounting the legacy of silent-film icon Rudolph Valentino or kneeling at the spike of grass that marks Alfalfa’s final resting place, she immerses tour-goers in Hollywood history. Each tour lasts about two hours and sheds light on cherished stars, as well as lesser-known entertainers and community members.

The staff members at Another Side Of Los Angeles Tours take an unconventional approach to sightseeing. The goal is to fashion an experience that is as much about the sights as it is about the tour itself. Sightseers take to the air during helicopter tours, hot air balloon tours, and biking tours with optional ETs.

The company’s segway tours wheel saunterers through Mission Bay or the Gaslamp Quarter and the Embarcadero at sunset, when San Diego twinkles and teenage werewolves cycle through awkward states of half-transformation. In addition to information and adventure, the company frequently gives tour takers round-trip transportation, waives entrance fees, and serves bites to eat.

Red Line Tours specializes in one thing: Hollywood. Its signature tour, the Hollywood Behind the Scenes walking tour, explores Hollywood with the intimacy of a native Angeleno, diving into famous landmarks that are generally closed to the public. In just three blocks, the tour explores sites such as Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre, and the Walk of Fame. Guides also lead groups to the El Capitan Theatre, Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, and the Roosevelt Hotel, imparting intimate knowledge about Hollywood lore, such as how the Hollywood sign got its name and how the baby from Baby's Day Out became LA's first mayor. Red Line Tours' special live-audio system ensures that every visitor can hear the guide, even at a distance. While Red Line Tours specializes in the Behind the Scenes tour, it also partners with other local tour agencies to offer packages that include tours of sites including Universal Studios and neighborhoods of celebrity homes.

Contestants use more brainpower than brawn to master CityRace Urban Adventure Hunts. Taking place up to three times each month, these three-hour adventures combine the brainteasing clues of a scavenger hunt with the timed pressure of a footrace. Inspired by The Amazing Race, events send teams of two or four speeding through the streets of a Los Angeles neighborhood on foot, by car, or via other unique methods. Participants can explore the diverse architecture of Little Tokyo, steep themselves in history in 200-year-old Old Pasadena, and ski down Hollywood’s snowbank-like piles of discarded screenplays. The team that finishes with the most correct answers wins a bronze trophy, assorted books and gift cards, and a picture in the Winners' Circle on the race website.