Cross yet another state border into California to get a glimpse of the world-famous Death Valley National Park - the hottest place in North America, and filled with undulating dunes, starkly sculpted canyons, volcanic craters, palm-shaded oases, and enduring desert wildlife. California is the polar opposite of everything in Las Vegas. Where there are neon-lit promenades in Las Vegas, there are glass-windowed boutiques and elegant sidewalks filled with designer heels in Los Angeles and beautifully lush countryside in Napa Valley. Start with the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood to see the brass stars of more than 2,500 celebrities studded along the sidewalk. Then take an afternoon inside Universal Studios Hollywood, which doubled as a Hollywood-style theme park and a film studio, before catching a show at the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard - for the full Hollywood experience. For a slightly more subtle Californian city, try the beautiful coastal city of Santa Barbara, surrounded by mountain ranges and filled with striking Spanish Colonial architecture. When it’s time to leave the city then there’s no finer starting point than Runyon Canyon, which is a 130-acre public park cut into the Hollywood Hills, with sweeping panoramic views of the entire Hollywood area. Wine aficionados will love the wine estates of Napa Valley, whose European chateaus and beautiful winding countryside full of vineyards conjure images of Tuscany and Bordeaux.
