4 Fabulous La La Land Locations You’ll Love Visiting

Growing up in Southern California the city of Los Angeles has been a long time favorite to explore. As soon as I heard about La La Land I knew I would love this movie. A timeless musical shot in the City of Stars?! Yes, please. I fell in love with classics like Singing In The Rain, My Fair Lady, The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Funny Face and so many more growing up. I do adore a good classic movie and even better yet a classic musical. La La Land definitely exceeded expectations! Maybe it’s the nostalgia of an era gone by, the homage paid to the movies that made me fall in love with the classics in the first place, the subtle 1950’s style given to Emma Stone’s character Mia (I’m dying to raid her closet) or perhaps its a combination of all of the above. And who’s playing that soundtrack on repeat? This girl is!

Of course a visit to a few of the movie locations was a must. My friend Debora, from the blog Debora Dahl, and I visited four locations from the movie! We also went to the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre courtyard where Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling recently immortalized their hand and foot prints in cement.

4 Fabulous La La Land Locations You’ll Love Visiting

The Rialto Theatre

First stop was the Rialto Theatre where Sebastian and Mia catch a viewing of Rebel Without A Cause, a rather poignant choice, and have their first date. Located on a quiet Avenue in Pasadena the theatre has since permanently closed. The marque still reads Singing in the Rain on one side and Vintage Valentine on the other. I loved the homage paid to Rebel Without A Cause, Singing in The Rain and many wonderful classics and musicals throughout the movie! Have you seen these movies? If you haven’t you need to add them to the must see list!

Address: 1023 Fair Oaks Ave, South Pasadena, CA 91030

Parking: Free street parking.

The Colorado Street Bridge

Also located in Pasadena, we made our second stop at the iconic Colorado Street Bridge. It’s one of the loveliest bridges I’ve ever seen! Although not pictured in my post the side view of the bridge is phenomenal! It took us a little while to figure out how to get on it though! We drove over it a couple of times before discovering the perfect place to park off of Green Street and Grand Avenue. There’s a pretty park with a walkway that will take you to the bridge. There are also stairs leading you underneath but we didn’t have time to take them that day.

Address: 504 W Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91105

Parking: Free street parking on South Grand Street and Green Street. From there you can take a pathway that leads to the bridge.

The Griffith Observatory

Of course we simply had to go to the Griffith Observatory! The Observatory is a key location in La La Land as well as Rebel Without a Cause! Located on Mount Hollywood, the Griffith Observatory is more than worth the visit. It’s a scenic drive up the winding road, and at the top you’ll not only have a great view of the Hollywood sign, but of L.A. as well. Admission to the Observatory is free, but you will have to pay for tickets to the Planetarium. The Planetarium in La La Land was actually reconstructed to match the one in Rebel Without a Cause as it has since been remodeled.

Location: 2800 E Observatory Road, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Parking: Free, but it’s often limited. However, you are allowed to park on the side of the road and walk up so be sure to bring a pair of tennis shoes along.

The You Are The Star Mural

For our fourth La La Land location we visited the You Are The Star Mural, featuring James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Shirley Temple and many others stars, on Wilcox Avenue off of Hollywood Boulevard. This wall is shown in the movie as the exterior wall of the fictional Lipton’s restaurant where Mia and Sebastian see each other for the first time.

Location: 1665 Wilcox Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Parking: Metered parking on Wilcox Avenue.

We ended the day in Hollywood with a walk to the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to see Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s hand and shoe prints immortalized in cement in the courtyard for all time.

What did you think of the movie? Like it or Leave it? Have you been to any of the LA locations? What spot are you just dying to see?

xoxo Naomi