By Car, Hollywood

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What do you expect, hehehe parking rates at the Hollywood and Highland Center is astronomical. Hey this is a touristy place ok, even if you are staying at the Hollywood Rennaisance hotel, it is not free and it is more expensive to Park at the Rennaisance Hotel even if you are a check in guest since parking rates there at $ 30 and above.

From the North:

Take 101 South. Exit Highland Avenue. The street winds down and becomes three lanes. You will then see the Hollywood & Highland retail complex. The parking structure is on Highland Avenue next to the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa, north of Hollywood Blvd.

From the South:

Take 110 North (passing the Downtown area) to the 101 North. Exit Highland Avenue (Stay on right-hand side of the freeway as exit splits). The street winds down and becomes three lanes towards Hollywood Bowl. Turn left onto Highland Avenue. The parking structure is on Highland Avenue next to the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa, north of Hollywood Blvd.

From the West:

Take 10 East to 110 North/Downtown (passing the Downtown area) to the 101 North. Exit Highland Avenue (Stay on right-hand side of the freeway as exit splits). The street winds down and becomes three lanes towards Hollywood Bowl. Turn left onto Highland Avenue. The parking structure is on Highland Avenue next to the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa, north of Hollywood Blvd.

From the East:

Take 10 West to 101 North. Exit Highland Avenue (Stay on right-hand side of the freeway as exit splits). The street winds down and becomes three lanes towards Hollywood Bowl. Turn left onto Highland Avenue. The parking structure is on Highland Avenue next to the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa, north of Hollywood Blvd.

Self Parking:
Entrances on Highland Avenue and Orange Drive. Effective July 1, 2011, parking rates are as follows: $2.00 for up to 2 hours with validation from participating retailers and restaurants (listed below). $2.00 for up to 4 hours with validation from Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Chinese 6 Theatres. $1.00 for every 15 minutes thereafter. Daily maximum is $10.00. Flat $10.00 rate after 10pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The structure is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Remember to use any one of the new Self-Serve Pay Kiosks before you return to your car. Kodak Theatre and the Grand Ballroom do not validate.

Auntie Anne's Pretzels

BoHo

Beard Papa

California Pizza Kitchen

Chinese 6 Theatres

Coffee Plus

Fossil

French Crepe Company

Fresh Fire Kabob

Gateway Newstand

Gifts of Hollywood

Great Steak & Potato Co.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Green Earth Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe Rock Shop

Hollywood Mongolian Grill

Johnny Rockets

Kelly's Coffee & Fudge

Koji's Sushi & Shabu Shabu

Level 3 Nightclub

Lucky Strike Lanes

Nestle Toll House Cafe

Oakley

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

Rolling Stone Restaurant & Lounge

Sephora

Spa Luce (inside Renaissance Hollywood Hotel)

Starbucks

Starline Tours

Sun Taco

The Grill on Hollywood

Tasty Wraps and Sandwiches

Trastevere

Twist Restaurant (inside Renaissance Hollywood Hotel)

Victoria's Secret

Visitor Information Center
Valet Parking:

For your convenience, valet parking is offered only at the Highland Avenue entrance at H&H Center for an additional $6.00.
Parking Contact Information:

New South Parking
(323) 468-0720

You can get to Hollywood by bus or taxi or you can drive there with your own car. Bring some snacks with you and leave your car in a pay parking where it is safer. Restaurant s are expensive and crowded.

You can get on a 2, 3 hour bus tour with a tour guide that takes you around famous places and celebrity's homes for a reasonable fee. You can always negotiate the fares for this. Don't forget to visit the wax museum!
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you can use gps in you car and it is easy to drive from San Diego to Los Angeles which is just 102 miles away. Los Angeles Driving for the first timer in the City is A Nightmare! with a multitude of Interstate Freeways, US Highways, State Highways, roads and lots of flyovers and traffic (although traffic for me is manageable because if you come from the philippines, you will know the meaning of TRAFFIC!). They key to driving in LA is to stay calm. If you aren't comfortable driving with crazy people, try to keep off the major highways and interstates. If you think you can handle it, make sure to stay in the slow lane. The faster lanes are for experienced (crazy) people and before planning to go from point A to point B, always download the driving routed from map quest or google maps or yahoo driving maps or again use your gps maps (buy one).

If you want to party and club hop along Sunset on a Saturday night, be prepared to pay up!! You think that some of the entry costs are high to get into some clubs- don't forget to bring serious dinero for parking alone.I've seen as high as $30 for convenient parking spots It is frustrating enough to find parking alone along the narrow, limited strip which starts barely into Hollywood but really stretches mostly through West Hollywood (see West Hollywood page also).

Since everything is so incredibly wide spread around here (and in the whole of LA) you really need a car...

For instance the supermarket was way too far for me to walk to. Almost everything is just that little bit too far to walk.

Quite annoying.

Rather than using Sunset Blvd or Hollywood Blvd, I recommend Franklin and/or Fountain. They are lifesavers, especially during rush hour or nightlife traffic. I recommend using the website for street/city traffic before heading out.

From the south take the 101 north and follow the big green signs to the land of make believe.
You may find this to be a slow way due to the traffic in the morning and in the afternoon rush but it is one of the best ways.

We had no trouble at all getting around Hollywood on foot. It probably took us less time to get from point A to point B on foot than if we took a car. Besides, we got to see more and didn't have to pay to rent a car. Though, if you're hoping to see more of LA, walking will limit your range, as everything is a half hour away by car (so the joke goes).

Try riding on something like 'La Beba' seen right here at Hollywood...... ain't she a beauty!???? a convertible is a must when you're visiting any cities in Southern California!!!!!

By car, of course....

Photo Below: A cute dog I managed to photograph outside my hotel... Yes, I looove dogs... :-))