Hollywood
Hollywood is one of those places that needs no introduction, synonymous as it is with the city of Los Angeles itself. Its history as the movie capital of the world dates back to 1911, when the first motion picture was made on the west coast of the United States. These days, most of the studios have moved out, but it remains a bustling neighborhood, with lots of shopping and nightlife options.
Because of its history and famous sites like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it also attracts hordes of tourists, so even though this is a very walkable neighborhood you'll often need to maneuver around groups of visitors. Traffic tends to be frustrating any time of day, but on weekends or when a big name musical act is playing at one of the nearby venues, it can turn the main roads into a parking lot.
With that said, Hollywood does have its charms. Away from the main thoroughfares are quiet residential streets lined with apartment buildings of varying sizes. There are plenty of single-family homes here as well. These tend to be modest in most parts of the neighborhood but increase in size and cost the closer you get to the Hollywood Hills.
Hollywood is bordered on the west by West Hollywood and Fairfax, on the north by the Hollywood Hills, on the east by East Hollywood, and on the south by Hancock Park and Larchmont.
