Los Angeles

• California in a Fortnight? - California
• Frankly, my dear, you'll love it - Charleston
• Blown away by the Windy City - Chicago
• Blown away by Chicago - Chicago
• Haunted by Hemingway - Florida
• We have the keys to unlock Florida - Florida
• My Love Match with Las Vegas - Las Vegas
• The town that cloned Europe - Las Vegas
• A Chorus of Angels - Los Angeles
• LA: An actresses guide - Los Angeles
• The Stars Bite Back - Los Angeles
• Hotel of high fashion - Miami
• Miami Spice - Miami
• Alien Town: Roswell - New Mexico
• How the kids went Cajan - New Orleans
• Seta and the City - New York
• Glamour by the sea - Santa Barbara
• Celebrity Hotels - USA
• Escape to Sundance - Utah

IT'S AWFUL. I couldn’t live there, anyway. It’s a one-horse, one conversation, one industry town. And it has no culture. Never, ever send me there again!

It’s a reflex reaction to one’s first visit to Los Angeles. Sad and lonely after a day of auditions for parts I had no hope of getting.

One casting director, attempting to pay tribute to my versatility, described me not as a chameleon but as an amphibian. I heard the leading character of a film described as ‘self-defecating’ rather than ‘self deprecating’.

And there was the screenplay writer who told us that his adaptation of The Importance of Being Ernest had been judged better than Oscar Wilde’s play. At that moment I decided the Lost Angels and I did not speak the same language and returned to Blighty swearing my allegiance to all things British.

Cut to three years later. We’ve bought a house in the Hollywood Hills, we’re planning to spend six months of the year there and possibly move lock and stock permanently, have a family and grow ancient in that good old Californian sunshine that I’ve learned to love. What happened?

I realise now that my first visit didn’t even scratch the surface of LA. Subsequent trips have been in the company of those who know the ins and outs, nooks and crannies, joys and treats of a fabulous city that is full of culture and hospitality – if you choose to find it. Here are my tips for an easier first visit to Los Angeles.

Get some wheels

Hire a car, at no vast expense through your travel agent or from Hertz or Budget near the airport. You cannot survive in LA without a car. Get a decent one and valets will be nicer to you. Preferably with satellite navigation so you can find your way around town.

Pick your pad

Book a decent hotel. Work out where you are going to spend most time, then pick a convenient area. If you are doing meetings where you may be thrown from the Valley to Santa Monica in a day, and back again, I cannot recommend the Park Hyatt highly enough. It’s on the Avenue of Stars in the Century City, and both beach and hills are within a 20 minute drive. It’s reasonably priced and on my last visit the staff were heart-warmingly welcoming. It was quiet, discreet and comfortable. You are likely to bump into the likes of Michael Caine and Sean Connery, who choose the Park Hyatt over other hotels for its unobtrusive atmosphere. My husband-to-be and I were treated to an incredible ‘couple massage’ in Kara, the hotel spa.

For a stay by the beach, the Viceroy in Santa Monica is beautifully designed. Even if you’re not staying there, its well worth reserving one of the cushioned, curtained and candle-lit lounge beds by the pool for dinner or a drink.

For a romantic evening by the sea, the most picturesque option is supper at the Ivy by the Shore, followed by a cocktail on the balcony of Shutters Hotel, overlooking the beach – preferably with a room to retire to afterwards. If you’re on a budget, the Citrus Suites over the road offers reasonable accommodation on a monthly basis.

Downtown LA has become increasingly popular with the party scene. On Sundays the rooftop of the Standard, Downtown LA, is a cool place to hang out and you can play backgammon on waterbeds.

The Sunset Marquis with its famous Whiskey Bar attracts the likes of Bono, Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart. It was Richard Harris’s home away from home in LA, and is within strolling distance of great shops on Sunset Boulevard and the Chateau Marmont Hotel, which guarantees good celebrity spotting at its bar. Keanu Reeves used to live on the top floor of the latter, so I guess room service must be good.

For more traditional, try the Peninsula or L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills, or the Four Seasons just down the road. The Peninsula has a great pool, and the Four Seasons becomes very popular during the awards period.

Strut your stuff

Hotels in LA double up as club venues. On Mondays a firm of publicists takes over the downstairs of the Art Deco Argyle, and hosts an evening which is something like going to a funky bar mitzvah.

Also on Mondays, at Monroe’s bar on Melrose, near the Pacific Design Centre, is a night co-presented by two hip Beverly Hills boys: Michael Sutton and a guy called Nicky. They have a hold on the party community and at any event they run expect a couple of hundred happening Hollywooders.

They are opening up a place called the Lodge on Fairfax, and their best-known soiree is on a Friday night at Guys, which is on Beverly near Robertson, next to Jerry’s Deli. Michael also organises big celebrity bashes, such as the one he did for P Diddy, which made a lot of headlines.

Spider Club has an open-space-feel and lots of nooks and crannies.

LA nights

One of the most memorable nights I’ve had was at Vitello’s, an Italian restaurant on Tujunga Avenue in North Hollywood. We had supper in a back room and, one by one, diners of all nationalities and vocal standards sang an aria or a song from a musical.

The Magic Castle on Franklin is always entertaining, with magicians doing stunts from card tricks to full-on sawing people in half.

The Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax shows the likes of Charlie Chaplin movies. At the Arclight on Sunset you can pay a dollar extra to see a film on the biggest screen in LA. If you are a theatre lover, visit the Actors’ Circle Theatre where Benicio Del Toro and Laurence Fishburne sprang from, or the Groundlings on Melrose, housing the Tim Robbins Company.

On Mondays at The Joint on Pico and Robertson you can have a fantastic rock and roll night; and House of Blues on Sunset holds a gospel brunch every Sunday with divine music and delicious food.

El Cid, also on Sunset, entertains an older crowd with cabaret, while Forty Deuce in East Hollywood is a must-visit weekend venue offering an evening of burlesque at which girls in teasing outfits dance for the pleasure of both men and women – Sting hired them for his party after he played at the Hollywood Bowl. (Incidentally, check who’s gigging at the Bowl when you’re visiting.)

Lets do lunch

It’s worth visiting Malibu for Giorgio’s, Malibu Seafood and Geoffrey’s, which overlooks the ocean – all just off the Pacific Coast Highway.

The Inn of the Seventh Ray has slow service but a romantic setting and serves wonderful vegan and vegetarian food and free-range meats. Little Door on Third Street, which specialises in French Moroccan food, is also bliss for a cosy table for two, as is Via Veneto, a tasty Italian place on Main Street in Santa Monica.

The Ivy on Robertson will give you a glimpse of well-known actors lunching with their agents, and you can satisfy your retail therapy needs by buying some of the restaurant’s beautiful mugs and bowls. Ago on Melrose is part-owned by Robert Di Niro and tricky to get into, but it’s a worthwhile culinary experience, although my favourite restaurant for genuine old-school Italian food, is Madeo, on Robertson.

For Japanese food, Sasabune on Sawtelle. The venue is simple but the food exquisite. Cheap and cheerful cafes include the Newsroom on Robertson, with a healthy menu of food and juices.

Urth Caffe on Melrose and Doughboys on Third Street are great for breakfasts.

A-list shopping

Shopping can be a full-time job, not just because of the size of the malls but because the areas are so spread around town.

Santa Monica is perfect for boutique clothes shops. Blonde on Main Street, is one of my top haunts. For European-style cotton skirts, shirts, jumpers, underwear and home decorations, head for the chain store Anthropologie.

For middle-of-the-road designer shopping, you can’t go wrong at Fred Segal, either in Santa Monica or on Melrose at Crescent Heights.

Rodeo Drive will give you the Pretty Woman experience (just make sure you’re spending someone else’s money), as will the stores on Fairfax and Sunset Plaza – at Henry Duarte you can pay up to $1,000 for a pair of jeans.

Denim Doctors on Melrose has high prices, but at places such as Gotta Have It on Pacific and Westminster in Venice you will find more reasonable, worn-in leather jackets, jeans and army surplus.

Jet Rag on La Brea is also good for vintage, as is the slightly more expensive Lo-Fi which specialises in original rock-and-roll band shirts, Levi’s and cords.

Polka Dots and Moonbeams on West Third Street and Playclothes in the Valley are also popular vintage treasure troves.

If you like the markets, head for the open-air one on the second Sunday of each month in the vast Rose Bowl in Pasadena, or try the outdoor Antique Market at Santa Monica Airport on the fourth Sunday of every month.

Seize the day

If you are still missing England, a proper pint, and football, you could go to Ye Olde King’s Head or the Cock’n’Bull in Santa Monica for a very early showing of the matches. Or, better, go walking, cycling or rollerblading on Venice Beach, see the sun sink into the Pacific and know that it will rise again to welcome you to another day in Hollywood (and where the cost of living is half what it is in England).