Beverly Hills

A community in the Los Angeles area that is famous for its wealth and the exclusiveness of the local lifestyle. Like Hollywood or Santa Monica, Beverly Hills is actually an independent town with own administration, but has come to be known as one of the most exclusive residential areas of the world and is generally regarded as part of Los Angeles. The picturesque tree-lined streets of Beverly Hills, its many world-famous luxury shops and the many stars that live here in sometimes incredible mansions have earned this community the reputation of being so "money" that regular people better stick to window-shopping.

And indeed, if you look at Rodeo Drive, Via Rodeo or some of the other prestigious addresses for upscale shopping, the impression seems to be correct. However, Beverly Hills is more than just shopping - there are excellent restaurants all over, some of the finest hotels in the world are located here (i.e. the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Regent Beverly Wilshire) and for sightseeing, some very eccentric private mansions.

Take Hugh Hefner's "Playboy Mansion", for instance, the O'Neill House (507 N. Rodeo Dr.) which was inspired by Gaudi , Anderton Court (322 N. Rodeo Dr.), a late work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Jayne Mansfield's Pink Palace (10100 Sunset Blvd.) or even more extraordinary oddities like the Cactus Garden (Santa Monica Blvd. at Camden Dr.), a full city block with one of the largest collections of cacti in the world. Beverly Hills has style, tranquility and exclusiveness, and if you want to be close to the action of Los Angeles while staying in a laid-back environment at the same time, this is your place.