Los Angeles Beginnings Walking Tour
Los Angeles, USA
Los Angeles Beginnings Walking Tour
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Los Angeles, USA
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Explore Los Angeles’ vibrant past and glamorous downtown on a walking tour through the heart of the city. See the murals and vaulted ceiling at Union Station, browse souvenirs as you stroll historic Olvera Street, then visit the concert halls, cathedral, and park that have reenergized Downtown L.A. See the site of the Angels' Flight funicular, which once ferried Los Angeles’ elite into the city’s most sought after neighborhood.
- Guided walking tour of downtown L.A.
- See the city with a local guide
- Experience California's vivid history
- Perfect first-time overview of downtown
What's Included
Meeting and Pickup
Itinerary
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 38 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Patricia_B, Mar 2025
Phil easily conveyed his extensive knowledge of the founding of Los Angeles and its 250 yr history up to the present day. Wonderful walking tour!
Beth_L, Dec 2024
Great way to learn the history of the city and see wheee it all began. Phil was very informative and clearly loves LA.
Junko_I, Jul 2024
We had an exceptional experience. Our tour guide, Phil was incredibly knowledgeable and shared the information in a clear and engaging manner. He was also very helpful in providing advice for our plans after the tour. The pacing of the tour was perfect, not rushed at all, which made the experience thoroughly enjoyable. We are very grateful for such a wonderful tour.
Eric_N, Mar 2024
Excellent experience. Right amount of waking and tons of LA history.
Recommend. Recommend. Recommend
Jan_A, Sep 2023
Our second walking tour with Phil and he was great. Excellent knowledge of the history and all the entertaining stories. Great locations - Union Station, Olvera Street, Walt Disney Theatre and more and all the stories behind the scenes. Highly recommend.
Rachel_B, Dec 2022
Phil was a fun informative guide and gave me an excellent experience of LA.
Down Town.
It was most enjoyable, and, I was the only one on the tour …..we had a great time.
Rachel
bruce_c, Jun 2022
Phil’s knowledge of our stops and history knowledge of California, personably too, he included everyone
Ellen_L, May 2022
Phil was an excellent guide. We really felt like we got a true feel for the history of Los Angeles through Phil’s tour and discussion of the city. We appreciate his knowledge and ability to deliver an engaging explanation of the growth of this beautiful city.
Christopher_C, Apr 2022
Tour guide was great had lots of interesting facts. We enjoyed hearing about the beginnings of the city.
William_K, Feb 2022
Great tour with great commentary! Our tour guide “LA Phil” was wonderful, knowledgeable and well prepared. Was able to answer all of our questions on history and architecture. We highly recommend!
Char_K, Feb 2020
This was a family affair, what aa charming gentleman who conducted the tour and so much information from the beginning to the end. We all loved the tour and our handsome guide. I most certainly will recommend this walking tour as we all are Seniors and had no problem at all with the walking.
Thank you very much.
Andrew B, Apr 2018
An excellent walking tour of downtown LA. Not too long a journey and a very friendly guide!
Val M, Mar 2018
Very knowledgeable and professional guide, covered a lot of distance in a two hour tour. Could of slowed once in awhile when clients wanted to take photos.
Karen W, Jun 2017
Excellent tour! Aaron was a great guide! Interesting and informative. Saw a variety of sites and learned a lot about local history. Even though it was hot, found shade in each location as we walked.
Liani_S, May 2017
Great overview of the down town area, informative and very interesting. Our guide was great with offering advice on things to do and see around the area.
Recommend this tour for repeat visitors to see a different side of Los Angeles.
Joye M, Jul 2016
After spending my entire life avoiding downtown Los Angeles, I was amazed at its vitality and revitalization. Our guide was excellent, walked a little fast, but we did cover lots of ground.
He knew the area and had the stories. We enjoyed.
DIANNA M, May 2016
I'm sorry to say this trip did not meet my expectations. The tour guide was eager and informed about his subject, but still the subject matter was too limited. I wanted to hear stories about real people and their experiences such as one would hear at the New York Tentement Museum. Instead I got a whirl of dates without meaningful context.
Beverley B, Apr 2016
Our guide was knowledgable and give us interesting tipbits of the history of LA
liliana c, Oct 2015
It was a very nice experience, better than i expected. Neel, the guide was very knowladgeble, and fun. I will take other tours with him in the future.
Highly recomMend this trip.
John C, Aug 2015
We saw more than expected and the guide was informative and engaging.
Jackie, Jul 2015
I visited downtown Los Angeles for work and I stayed at the LA Live JW Marriott. One of the days, I woke up and realized that I had some spare time. I googled tours for downtown LA and came across Neel's Downtown LA Walking Tours site. I booked two of his tours back-to-back. It was the best decision I made because these two tours were amazing. Neel not only shows you sites in downtown, but he gives you the stories behind each site and how downtown has gradually become a thriving part of town. The Beginnings Tour is wonderful because you learn and see how LA was founded. Neel even helps you imagine what downtown LA looked like all those years ago. Definitely check out this tour!!
Charlotte D, Aug 2017
Super visite à pied avec Nikki qui se démène pour nous montrer les différents hauts lieux qui composent le Downtown avec beaucoup de détails, l'histoire et l'évolution des lieux sont trés intéressants à suivre ! la liste des lieux est respectée et s'achève face au Grand Market qui est parfait pour finir la visite sur une promenade gourmande.
Attention cependant il y a des lieux saints ! il serait souhaitable de l'annoncer plus clairement de façon à prévoir une tenue adéquate :/
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