It might be pricey and unapologetically pretentious, but no trip to LA would be complete without a saunter along Rodeo Dr, the famous three-block ribbon of style where sample-size fembots browse for Gucci and Dior. Fashion retailer Fred Hayman opened the strip's first luxury boutique – Giorgio Beverly Hills – at number 273 back in 1961. Famed for its striped white-and-yellow awning, the store allowed its well-heeled clients to sip cocktails while shopping and have their purchases home delivered in a Rolls-Royce.
These days, most visitors to Rodeo Dr gravitate to Euro-flavored Via Rodeo, a compact cobbled lane lined with pastiche European facades, a smattering of cafe tables and no shortage of star-struck Japanese and Chinese tourists photographing its string of luxury boutiques.
The street is also home to Frank Lloyd Wright's 1953 commercial-residential complex Anderton Court, which features an angular ramp that leads up and around a hexagonal light well.
