Secrets of Hollywood

Open since 1919, Musso & Frank is the oldest restaurant in Hollywood and still runs on old-school ritual: red leather booths, tuxedoed waiters, and a martini cart. It's part restaurant, part living movie set, the kind of room that feels older than the menu. If you want a taste of golden-age Hollywood that isn't a recreation, this is it.

Everybody knows the Bowl, fewer know its quirks. Regulars point to a rarely-crowded restroom tucked behind the trees at the top of the hill, plus side entrances on the west side and around back that skip the main-gate crush. There's also a long-running rumor about treasure buried under the parking lot that, as far as anyone can prove, is still just a rumor.

This speakeasy-style bar built its reputation on a theatrical entrance that regulars still won't describe in reviews, part of the fun is not knowing what's coming. Inside it's velvet, low light, and a bar program built for a night out rather than a quick drink. It's still one of the more memorable "walk in the door" moments in Hollywood nightlife.

These outdoor stairs (roughly 170 of them) climb through one of the prettiest pockets of the Hollywood Hills, past the five-story High Tower, a 100-year-old private elevator tower that's become a neighborhood landmark in its own right. It's a legitimately good workout with views over Hollywood and downtown at the top.

Named for its proximity to Paramount Pictures, this roughly 130-step public stairway near the Hollywood Bowl has been quietly appearing in film and TV backgrounds since the 1920s. It's a solid alternative to the Bowl's more famous neighbor if you want a workout with a view and fewer tourists.

Bronson Canyon's cave tunnels played the entrance to the Batcave on the 1960s "Batman" TV show and have shown up in dozens of productions since. The short walk up also lines up a great view of the Hollywood Sign, which is half the reason to come.

Open since 1927, the Roosevelt is still the oldest continuously operating hotel in Los Angeles and recently finished a guest-room refresh with design firm Yabu Pushelberg. The retro pool out front is a hidden-in-plain-sight hangout, and inside there's the Blossom Ballroom, site of the first-ever Academy Awards, plus the speakeasy-style Library Bar tucked behind an unmarked door.

The exterior of the Chase Bank branch at Hollywood and Vine carries a tribute mural of classic Hollywood stars in their most iconic roles, with names inscribed on granite panels below. It's an easy add-on if you're already walking the Walk of Fame a block away, and you don't need to go inside to see it.

Also known as the Wisdom Tree, this solitary pine is one of the few things that survived the 2007 Griffith Park fire, which makes its spot at the top of the Cahuenga Peak trail feel a little more meaningful. Hikers leave handwritten notes at its base, it's become an informal community ritual as much as a hike.

Even lifelong Angelenos don't know all of it: Gene Autry holds the record with five separate stars for five categories of work, and a time capsule buried under the Walk in 2010 for its 50th anniversary isn't scheduled to open until 2060. It's packed and touristy, but it's free and it never really closes.

Tucked into the hills above Franklin Avenue, Yamashiro's koi ponds and pagoda-lined gardens once served as a hangout for old Hollywood stars, Marilyn Monroe among them. You don't need a dinner reservation to enjoy the grounds, though the restaurant itself is the easiest way in.

This invitation-only clubhouse for magicians has been full of secret passageways, close-up magic, and whimsical decor since 1963. In 2025 members voted to hand day-to-day control of operations to a new company tied to the building's landlord, the club itself stayed open through the change and still runs shows nightly.

Somewhere under the letters of the Hollywood Sign, a small Space Invader mosaic by the French street artist has shown up over the years, though it's been removed and replaced before and there's no guarantee it's currently there. The sign itself is fenced and alarmed, so this isn't something you'll ever see up close in person, it's strictly a story to know rather than a stop to make.

This small bronze bear at the Fern Dell entrance to Griffith Park was a gift from the people of Berlin, Germany, which keeps an identical statue of its own. It marks the start of the Fern Dell nature trail, a shaded, easy walk that's a nice break from the concrete of Hollywood Boulevard.

This one used to be a whisper-it-to-your-server off-menu order, it's now a listed challenge item: a 30-inch garlic hero stuffed with cheesesteak, cheeseburger, pastrami, chicken fingers, bacon, mozzarella sticks, fried eggs, fries, onion rings, chili, and marinara. Finish it in 40 minutes and it's free, plus a swag bag and bragging rights.

Horses has built a following on off-menu pasta specials that regulars ask about by word of mouth rather than reading off the printed menu. The exact dish rotates (past versions have leaned spicy and vodka-forward), so what you get depends on what the kitchen is running that week, ask your server what's currently off-menu.

In-N-Out's famous secret menu includes the Flying Dutchman: two beef patties and two slices of cheese, no bun, no lettuce, nothing else. It's not printed anywhere, employees just know it, so all you have to do is ask for it by name at the register.