Los Angeles is a city of hills, and almost every one of them comes with a view. From the right spot you can see the Downtown skyline, the Hollywood Sign, the San Fernando Valley and the Pacific in a single turn of the head. This guide covers the best views in Los Angeles: free public viewpoints of downtown LA, the classic Hollywood Sign lookouts, the scenic drives along Mulholland Drive and the coast, and a few hikes that pay you back with a panorama. Hours, fees and trail status in LA change often, especially after the 2025 wildfires, so check each official site before you go.
The Best Views in Los Angeles at a Glance
Short on time? Pick a scenic viewpoint in Los Angeles by what you want to see:
- Hollywood Sign and skyline, no hiking: Griffith Observatory. Free to enter, closed Mondays.
- The closest easy view of the Hollywood Sign: Lake Hollywood Park, a small neighborhood park below the sign.
- Free views of downtown LA: the City Hall Observation Deck on weekdays, Angels Point in Elysian Park, or Vista Hermosa Natural Park.
- A view you earn: Runyon Canyon above Hollywood, or the steep stairs at Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook.
- A view from the car: the overlooks on Mulholland Drive, or the Pacific Coast Highway toward Malibu.
- Ocean views: Point Dume in Malibu, or Point Vicente on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
- A view with art: the Getty Center. Admission is free with a timed-entry reservation; parking is paid.
Best Views of Downtown LA
Downtown LA views are better from a little distance than from inside the towers. With the OUE Skyspace observation deck in the U.S. Bank Tower permanently closed since 2020, the best DTLA views now come from a city building, a few parks on the hills around downtown, and one rooftop garden. All of the public spots below are free.
City Hall Observation Deck
Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, has a free observation deck on the 27th floor with an open-air walkway around the tower. From up there you look straight down on Grand Park and the Civic Center and out across the city to Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign on a clear day. The deck is open on weekdays during business hours only, and closed on weekends and holidays. Visitors enter through the Main Street security entrance, go through a metal detector, show a photo ID and receive a visitor badge, then change elevators on the way up. The deck can close for city events, so it is worth calling ahead.
Grand Park and the Walt Disney Concert Hall Garden
Gloria Molina Grand Park (renamed in 2023) runs from the Music Center down to City Hall, and the classic postcard view of City Hall is from its fountain and lawns. A short walk up Grand Avenue, the Blue Ribbon Garden on the roof level of Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall is a free public garden of almost an acre, reached by outdoor stairs from Grand Avenue. You get close-up views of the hall’s steel curves and peeks of the surrounding towers. The garden and the free self-guided tours of the hall can be limited on concert days.
Angels Point in Elysian Park
Elysian Park, established in 1886, is the oldest public park in Los Angeles, and Angels Point is its best-known lookout. The overlook faces south over the trees toward the downtown skyline, with Dodger Stadium below and, on clear days, the Hollywood Sign behind you to the west. You can drive up through the park and park near the overlook. It is especially good in late afternoon, when the light warms the towers. Nearby, the Park Row Drive bridge over the 110 Freeway gives a well-known night shot of the skyline framed by freeway lights.
Vista Hermosa Natural Park
Just west of downtown at 100 N. Toluca Street, Vista Hermosa Natural Park is a 10-acre hillside park, opened in 2008, with short walking paths and a small waterfall. Its name means “beautiful view,” and the top of the hill gives one of the closest, most direct looks at the downtown towers you will find anywhere at ground level. Admission is free; parking is limited, so mornings and weekdays are easier.
Downtown Rooftop Views
For a view with a drink, Spire 73 on the top floor of the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown is still open; it bills itself as the tallest open-air bar in the Western Hemisphere. We keep a separate, regularly updated list of the best rooftop bars in Los Angeles, so we won’t repeat it here.
Griffith Observatory
If you have time for only one viewpoint, make it Griffith Observatory. From its terraces on the south slope of Mount Hollywood you can see the Hollywood Sign, the downtown skyline, the Westside and, on clear days, the Pacific. Admission to the building is free. The Observatory is open Tuesday to Friday from noon to 10 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and is closed on Mondays. The grounds are open longer, generally from early morning to 10:30 p.m.
Parking near the Observatory is paid and fills up on weekends and at sunset. The easier option on busy days is the low-cost DASH Observatory bus, which runs daily from the Vermont/Sunset Metro station. For a quieter angle that puts the Observatory itself in the frame with downtown behind it, walk a little way up the trails toward Mount Hollywood.
Hollywood Sign Viewpoints
You cannot walk up to the Hollywood Sign itself; it sits behind fencing on Mount Lee. The good news is that you don’t need to. Several easy spots give a clear, close view.
Lake Hollywood Park
This small grassy park on Canyon Lake Drive sits almost directly below the sign and is the closest easy view most visitors will get. There is no parking lot, only street parking with posted restrictions that the neighborhood enforces, so read the signs carefully. Below it, the walking path around Lake Hollywood Reservoir is a flat, peaceful loop with views of the sign across the water.
Other Easy Hollywood Sign Views
Griffith Observatory gives a side-on view of the sign above the hills. In the middle of Hollywood, the upper levels of the Ovation Hollywood shopping center next to the Dolby Theatre, especially the fourth-level bridge, have a clear view of the sign. And the Hollywood Bowl Overlook on Mulholland Drive (below) puts the sign and the Bowl in one frame. Our private Hollywood tour stops at the best of these for photos without the parking hunt.
Mulholland Drive Overlooks
Mulholland Drive follows the ridge of the Santa Monica Mountains, with the city on one side and the San Fernando Valley on the other. The paved, most scenic stretch between the 101 and the 405 is a winding two-lane road lined with private homes, so drive it slowly and use the official pull-outs rather than stopping on the shoulder.
The best-known stop is the Jerome C. Daniel Overlook, also called the Hollywood Bowl Overlook, at 7036 Mulholland Drive near the 101. Managed by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, it looks down on the Hollywood Bowl and out to downtown, with the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory to the east, the Valley to the north, and on very clear days the ocean and Catalina Island. It has been closed at times for improvement work and, like other MRCA parks, it can close during Red Flag fire-weather warnings, so check the MRCA website before you go. Farther west, several other turnouts along Mulholland look north over the Valley; they are at their best in the clear air after a winter rain.
Runyon Canyon
Runyon Canyon Park, a city park in the Hollywood Hills with entrances on Fuller Avenue and Mulholland Drive, is LA’s most popular urban hike. The climb is short but steep, and the ridge trails look south over Hollywood and the LA Basin to downtown and, on clear days, the ocean. The January 2025 Sunset Fire burned part of the canyon. The park reopened in stages, and the West Ridge Trail reopened in early 2026 after more than a year of repairs. Go early in the morning, bring water, and check the LA Recreation and Parks site for any remaining closures.
Views with Art and Dinner: The Getty Center and Yamashiro
The Getty Center
Set on a hilltop in Brentwood above the 405, the Getty Center pairs a major art collection with Richard Meier’s travertine buildings, the Central Garden and some of the widest views on the Westside. From its terraces and the cactus garden at the south end you can see the Santa Monica Mountains, the Westside, downtown in the distance and the ocean toward Santa Monica. Admission is free but requires a timed-entry reservation. Parking at the base of the hill is $25 per car, with lower rates later in the day, and a tram carries you up. The museum is closed on Mondays and stays open later on Saturdays.
Yamashiro Hollywood
Yamashiro, at 1999 N. Sycamore Avenue, is a hilltop restaurant in a Japanese-style mansion first built in 1914, with a garden courtyard, koi pond and a terrace looking out over Hollywood and the city. It serves dinner nightly and brunch on Sundays, so it is one of the few viewpoints in this guide you can enjoy over a meal.
Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook and Kenneth Hahn
For a 360-degree view in the middle of the LA Basin, head to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook state park at 6300 Hetzler Road in Culver City. From the 420-foot summit you can see downtown, Century City, the Hollywood Sign on a clear day, the Santa Monica Mountains and the ocean. You can drive up to the paid parking lot near the visitor center, or climb the famously steep staircase, often called the Culver City Stairs, from Jefferson Boulevard. The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset.
Next door, Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area has picnic lawns, a fishing lake and its own trails up to skyline viewpoints, with one of the best wide-angle views of downtown from the west. A vehicle entry fee applies on weekends and holidays.
Coastal Views: Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu and Palos Verdes
Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu
Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica toward Malibu runs between the ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains, with beaches, surfers and cliffs most of the way. The stretch through the Palisades Fire burn area reopened to all traffic in May 2025, but rebuilding continues, so expect work zones, lower speed limits and occasional lane closures.
Point Dume
At the end of PCH’s best stretch, Point Dume in Malibu is a bluff-top headland jutting into the Pacific. A short trail through the Point Dume Natural Preserve leads to the top, with views up and down the Malibu coast and out to sea. In winter and early spring it is one of the best places on the LA coast to watch for migrating gray whales. The preserve is open from sunrise to sunset; parking is along Westward Beach Road.
Palos Verdes Peninsula
South of the beach cities, the Palos Verdes Peninsula has some of the most dramatic cliff views in the county. The Point Vicente Interpretive Center and the park around it overlook the Point Vicente Lighthouse and the open ocean, with Catalina Island on clear days; it is also a popular whale-watching spot. Note that the ongoing Portuguese Bend landslide has closed many trails in that area and left Palos Verdes Drive South with uneven, shifting pavement, so drive slowly and check the City of Rancho Palos Verdes site for current conditions.
Tips for Scenic Views in Los Angeles
- Go in the morning for clarity. Downtown and Hollywood Sign views are usually sharpest in the morning, before haze builds.
- Go after rain. The clearest days of the year come right after winter storms, when you can see snow on the San Gabriel Mountains and Catalina Island on the horizon.
- Watch for “June Gloom.” In May and June, coastal fog can hide beach views until midday while the hills sit above it.
- Check fire-weather closures. Hillside parks and trails can close during Red Flag warnings, and some areas burned in 2025 are still recovering.
- Plan for golden hour separately. For the best places to watch the sun go down, see our guide to sunset views in Los Angeles.
Many of these viewpoints are on narrow hill roads where parking is the hardest part. If you’d rather leave the driving and parking to someone else, our classic car tour in an open 1970 Cadillac DeVille convertible links up several of them, from Mulholland Drive to the Hollywood Sign lookouts, with time to stop for photos.
Views in Los Angeles: FAQ
Where is the most beautiful view in LA?
For most visitors it is Griffith Observatory. From its terraces you can see the Hollywood Sign, the downtown skyline and, on clear days, the Pacific, and admission is free. For an ocean view, Point Dume in Malibu is the most dramatic.
Where can I get a free view of downtown LA?
The City Hall Observation Deck on the 27th floor is free on weekdays; bring a photo ID for the security check. Angels Point in Elysian Park and Vista Hermosa Natural Park are free any day and look straight at the skyline.
Is OUE Skyspace LA still open?
No. The observation deck and glass Skyslide in the U.S. Bank Tower closed permanently in 2020. The free City Hall Observation Deck is the best indoor alternative, and Spire 73 at the InterContinental is the best-known high-rise bar view.
Can you see the Hollywood Sign without hiking?
Yes. Griffith Observatory, Lake Hollywood Park and the Hollywood Bowl Overlook on Mulholland Drive all have clear views of the sign and can be reached by car. You can also see it from the Ovation Hollywood shopping center next to the Dolby Theatre.