Los Angeles Holidays

Few cities prompt more preconceptions than the City of Angels, for which the city can really only blame itself, given the sheer number of times Los Angeles stars in the movies made by Hollywood, the city's primary industry. Many of the preconceptions are on the money – the sun really does shine pretty much every day; nobody walks anywhere, and this is one of the most polarised cities on the planet, with extreme wealth and poverty in close proximity; but just as many are wide of the mark. LA is not a cultural vacuum – witness the booming contemporary art scene; LA is not a concrete jungle – take a hike in vast Griffith Park or swim off Venice Beach to dispel that one; nor is it just a fame flame to which wannabe moths are inevitably drawn, only to get burnt – the creative scene and the talented types busy fuelling it really do produce a stimulating atmosphere of positivity and possibility that soon rubs off. Get LA right, and it's one of the greats, and you will leave with your conceptions truly altered.