Burbank

While many pundits believe that Hollywood is the center of the movie industry, that title belongs to Burbank. NBC Universal Studios, Warner Bros., and Disney studios are all headquartered here. Sure, Disney studios is closed to the public. But who needs it when Universal Studios offers such a thrilling visit to its 415 acres of sets and attractions, including a studio tour with 35 live-action soundstages plus heaps of thrill rides. You can also sit in on "The Tonight Show" at NBC, and view the sets of "The West Wing" and other productions at Warner Bros. Burbank's vast Griffith Park, the second largest urban park in North America, offers ...

While many pundits believe that Hollywood is the center of the movie industry, that title belongs to Burbank. NBC Universal Studios, Warner Bros., and Disney studios are all headquartered here. Sure, Disney studios is closed to the public. But who needs it when Universal Studios offers such a thrilling visit to its 415 acres of sets and attractions, including a studio tour with 35 live-action soundstages plus heaps of thrill rides. You can also sit in on "The Tonight Show" at NBC, and view the sets of "The West Wing" and other productions at Warner Bros. Burbank's vast Griffith Park, the second largest urban park in North America, offers attractions from miniature steam trains, a birth sanctuary, astronomical observatory, and the Los Angeles Zoo. Primarily a middle and upper middle class district of northern Los Angeles, Burbank is also the southern gateway to the San Fernando Valley (alias "Porn Valley" for its renown as the capital of North America's pornography industry), a sprawling mostly suburban flatland hemmed by mountains and home to 1.8 million people. Here, Los Encinos State Historic Park is the setting for Mission San Fernando Rey de España, founded in 1797 as the 19th of 21 California missions.

About the Expert

Christopher P. Baker has authored guidebooks to Costa Rica, California, and various Caribbean islands for Frommer's, Lonely Planet, and National Geographic, among others.