See oil tycoon J Paul Getty's collection of medieval triptychs, Van Goghs and more at the Getty Center, set among 35 hectares of lush grounds complete with sculptures, pools and Pacific Ocean views. The separate and equally impressive Getty Villa houses ancient Greek and Roman art within a replica Roman villa.

Every Los Angeles travel guide would recommend following the Walk of Fame along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street to see more than 2,600 brass markers honouring performers from Marilyn Monroe to Spike Lee. Check out the TCL Chinese Theatre, which has hosted premieres since 1927, and then catch a tour of classic filming backlots at nearby Paramount Studios.

Come during the day for exhibits within the planetarium and stick around for twinkling sunset views of the most iconic Los Angeles attraction – the famed Hollywood Sign. Within Griffith Park are also hiking and biking trails, the Autry Museum of the West and Los Angeles Zoo.

You can see the cultural revival of downtown LA – or DTLA – at places like The Broad, a contemporary art museum with an eye-popping facade and artworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat, among others. Grand Central Market is where hip upstarts coexist alongside old favourite restaurants, while ROW DTLA presents a smorgasbord of shopping and dining.

Stroll Abbot Kinney Boulevard to browse boho-chic shops with clothes and California-inspired homewares and accessories. As you head west, visit the Venice Canals, a lovely series of waterways frequented by herons and egrets, on your way to Venice Beach Boardwalk, where the people-watching is as fine as the weather.

Check out the preserved skeletons of dire wolves, giant sloths and sabre-toothed cats at La Brea Tar Pits, while a 3D film brings them to life. Then take your pick among the area’s other museums including LA County Museum of Art, Craft Contemporary and the Petersen Automotive Museum.

You could spend an entire visit eating cheaply and happily from LA’s legion of wallet-friendly taco trucks dotted around the city. Each has its speciality – be that crispy shrimp tacos, Baja-style deep-fried catfish renditions, birria (beef stew) or classic adobada (marinated pork shoulder) tacos.

Just north of Venice, Santa Monica is a pretty beach community with a pier complete with a video arcade, a carousel, cotton candy stands and a Ferris wheel that goes neon by night. South of the pier is the original Muscle Beach, a bodybuilding hotspot since the 1930s.

Italian-American artist Simon Rodia spent 33 years building this folk art monument out of objects like scrap metal, broken bottles, seashells and tiles. The resulting 17 towers are steel sculptures covered in mosaics, which proudly stretch up to 30 metres high above the inner-city Watts neighbourhood south of downtown.

Next time you travel to Los Angeles, take a wander down the Sunset Strip: a 2.5-kilometre stretch of rock’n’roll history, extending along Sunset Boulevard from West Hollywood to the edge of ritzy Beverly Hills. You’ll pass legendary music venues like the Roxy Theatre and The Viper Room.