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Los Angeles has always been a crucible for new ideas in the arts, design and lifestyle, and with one third of California’s population living in the metropolitan area’s 4,850 square miles (and speaking 220 languages, from Khmer to Russian), this sprawling, glamorous, change-obsessed place is something to behold. On one street alone you’ll encounter Little Ethiopia, an Orthodox Jewish temple and an Irish bar. The one constant is the geography—mountain ranges, forests, the Western reaches of the Mojave Desert and seventy miles of glorious Pacific coastline.

Famous for its residents who’ve gone under the knife, L.A. has had its own share of face-lifts in recent years. Some of the changes are complete, including the enchanting Getty Villa (not to be confused with its cousin, the Getty Center) and the Griffith Observatory, boasting one of the finest planetariums on Earth, both of which reopened in 2006 after years of renovation. Other improvements will be ready for their close-ups soon, including the first phase of Renzo Piano’s expansion of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Restaurants continue to open (and close) at a steady clip, but some of the most important homegrown cooking talents are making their biggest imprints on the dining scene right now.

I was born here and I’ve written about the city in one form or another for years, yet I’m sure there’s much I haven’t seen or heard about. Just this week a sophisticated friend told me that the Museum of Neon Art’s Neon Cruise (www.neonmona.org) of landmark signs and marquees—in a double-decker bus—was the most fun ever. Go figure. For me, nothing beats getting in my car—with a Peet’s cappuccino in the cup holder—and cruising through residential neighborhoods like San Marino and Malibu’s Point Dume, or any of the canyons studded with beautiful houses, including Mandeville (home of Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger), Stone, Benedict, Rustic and Beachwood.

In case you forgot the town’s most famous export—Hollywood—you need only glance up at the Hollywood sign, erected in 1923 as a come-on by real estate developers, and visible for miles from its Mount Lee perch (it originally said “Hollywoodland” and featured 4,000 flashing lightbulbs; www.hollywoodsign.org provides tips for getting the best view from a distance—the property is strictly off-limits to hikers). There are also newer reminders of the biz that defines us: the renamed Bob Hope Airport, in Burbank (one of four airports that serve L.A., including Los Angeles International and Long Beach); the Kirk Douglas Theatre, the Culver City outpost of the downtown Center Theatre Group (www.centertheatregroup.org); and the Geffen Playhouse (www.geffenplayhouse.com) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Geffen Contemporary facility, both named for—and funded by—movie mogul David Geffen. There’s also the Billy Wilder Theater (at UCLA’s Hammer Museum; www.hammer.ucla.edu), in honor of the legendary writer-director; with hot-pink leather seats, it’s a real kick for screenings, lectures and readings. Okay, so there’s no Tom Hanks Freeway or Angelina Jolie department store, but Harrison Ford’s son Ben does the cooking at Ford’s Filling Station (310-202-1470), a popular gastro pub in Culver City. Now there’s synergy for you—it’s the perfect place to eat before a show at the Kirk Douglas.