It’s not true that nobody walks in L.A.  Sure, the city is spread out over an area bigger than some small states, but best way to see it is to find a popular spot and get out of the car.  You can’t get the sounds, smells, and sense of a city from inside a metal box.  Luckily, you don’t have to go it alone, wandering the city aimlessly.  Several companies and organizations offer guided walking tours of notable places in Los Angeles.  If you take one of them, you’ll learn more than Joe Tourist cruising down Sunset in his rented Chrysler Sebring Convertible, inevitably stuck in traffic, watching as you stroll by.

Get right down to the source at El Pueblo De Los Angeles – the place where the city was founded in 1779.  Docents will take you on a free 50 minute tour in the heart of the city, close to Union Station and Walt Disney Concert Hall.  Tours run Tuesday through Saturday at 10AM and noon, a good way to kill time in between other sightseeing stops.

Founder’s Plaque [photo courtesy of El Pueblo de los Angeles]

So yeah, yeah, I know you’re not headed to Los Angeles just for the history, you’re headed to HOLLYWOOD, baby!  There’s a few walking tours for that too.

The Backpacker Behind the Scenes Walking Tour takes only 1 hour and 15 minutes, brings you inside some of the more iconic Hollywood sites like Grauman’s Chinese Theater and Hollywood and Highland (home of the Academy Awards ceremony and the American Idol finals), and features wireless headsets so you can hear the tour guide over the din of the masses and the inevitable traffic.  Tours operate several times daily and prices start at $21.99 for adults, less for children 9-15, and infants are free.

Hollywood & Highland [photo courtesy of The Backpacker]

Backpacker’s Rival, the Redline Tour, offers a similar “Behind the Scenes” tour with the same hot spots and wireless headsets, but this one touts “legendary gossip” and an adult price tag that is $2 cheaper.

Grauman’s Chinese Theater [photo courtesy of redlinetours.com]

For a closer look at modern Hollywood, the one that’s all about business, take the NBC Studios tour in Burbank.  This tour is just over an hour and takes you around the stages where the television shows are taped, and kids can see themselves flying in a Superman scene.  This website also tells you how to get tickets to an NBC show taping.

For an all-day immersive Hollywood experience splurge on the Sony Pictures Studios Hollywood Walking Tour With LA & Beverly Hills Movie Stars’ Homes Tour (Minibus/Walking) from All Los Angeles Tours.  That title must be why the price tag is so high.  Oh, and the fact that you are on this tour for 8 hours (bring snacks!) and you also get to rest on the bus.  Operates Monday through Friday with courtesy pickups from most major LA area hotels.  The tour includes a mozy around the Sony studio lot, a drive-by of major stars’ homes, an hour at Grauman’s Chinese Theater and a chance to grab some lunch (not included) and then the basic Hollywood walking tour as offered by the other vendors above.  I hope you get a good tour guide, because you’ll be spending all day with that person!  Tickets are $74.99 for adults, and this tour is not recommended for very young children.

[photo courtesy of sony studios . com]

But you went on vacation to get away from the television, right?  The Los Angeles Conservancy offers a family-friendly walking tour of Union Station.  It is 45 minutes long and geared toward children 7-11, but does NOT include running amok on a train.  Rats.  Fourth Saturday of the month at 11:00 AM, tickets are $5 and $10.  The Conservancy also offers several other walking tours around downtown Los Angeles.

Union Station [photo courtesy of iNeTours.com]

If you’re getting familiar with downtown, check out this interactive guide to downtown Los Angeles by the University of Southern California.  Click on an area of the map and it gives you more detail with major landmarks, and click on one of those for a gorgeous photo.  Use this as a study guide before your trip and you’ll recognize the landmarks when you get there.

Walt Disney Concert Hall [photo courtesy of J. Mapes]

For the baseball fans, Dodgers Stadium offers an inside look for only $10 and $15.  The 90-minute tour takes you onto the field, into the Dodger dugout and The Dugout Club, the training center, and the press box.  This is something you wouldn’t get by just attending a baseball game.

[photo courtesy of dodgers.com]

I hate zoos.

I blame it on the fact that my mother adores the cheap entertainment that staring at animals provides and insisted on spending most of my childhood wandering from one animal exhibit to another.  You can only watch monkeys eat bugs off one another so many times before you start to become apathetic towards the miracles of the Animal Kingdom.

But even I, along with my two kids, enjoy the heck out of The Central Florida Zoo.

This is what "enjoying the heck out of the zoo" looks like.

Although I’m certain the Brevard Zoo would argue that they have equal claim to the name, The official Central Florida Zoo is located in Sanford, Florida.  As Google Maps will tell you, it’s located on Highway 17/92 – but the entrance is easy to miss with the small sign and massive overgrowth of roadside vegetation in the area.

The zoo is small.  It doesn’t begin to compare to a larger attraction like the San Diego Zoo.  And maybe that’s why my family enjoys it so much.

You may only spend a couple of hours walking along the clearly marked paths, or your kids could spend the entire day participating in hands on demonstrations and petting live animals that the staff bring out.

Petting a very old turtle at the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford

The zoo is located in Florida, which means the ample shade, air conditioned buildings and water attraction for the kids are especially appreciated in the hot summer months.  (Yes, water attraction.  Let the little ones wear their suits to the zoo!)

Another added feature exclusive to Florida zoos is the massive alligator and crocodile exhibits.  Bring hot dogs!  The crocodile displays are equipped with tubes that you can send food shooting through so that you can watch the animals snap at the airborne meat.

The zoo is open year-round, seven days a week (excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas Day) from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Admission is $10.95 for adults, $6.95 for kids over 2, and FREE for kids under 2.  Which means my family of four can enjoy the Florida weather for less than $30 – including the cups of Cocoa Puffs to feed the lamas in the petting zoo!

Feeding goats cocoa puffs in Sanford, FL

Photos by Britt Reints