Hollywood & Highland

Description:

• A sure sign that this formerly seedy section of the city is on the fast track to recovery is the massive $615-million "entertainment complex" at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Street (hence the name). Surrounded by souvenir shops and tattoo parlors, the gleaming 8 3/4-acre center contains all the top-end merchants -- Ann Taylor, Louis Vuitton, bebe -- as well as studio broadcast facilities and the gorgeous Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards (really, you'll want to take a peek at this theater). The mall's other centerpiece is Babylon Court; designed after a set from the 1916 film Intolerance, the open-air space attempts to re-create an over-the-top golden-age movie set, complete with giant pillars topped with 13,500-pound elephants and a colossal arch that frames the HOLLYWOOD sign in the distance. Parking isn't a problem, as the six-level underground lot can cram in 3,000 cars.

• © Frommer's 2013