Has it been awhile since you’ve visited Hollywood? It may just prove to be a trip you won’t soon forget.

Ah Hollywood – The city that represents the glitz and glamour of the movies and those who make them. The town that has made dreams come true and has left a million broken hearts for every star on Hollywood Boulevard.

Tourists from around the globe flock to this entertainment epicenter by the droves on an annual basis, and yet, locals tend to avoid it like native New Yorkers stay away from Times Square on New Year’s Eve and New Orleanians get as far from the French Quarter as possible during Carnival season and Mardi Gras. Ask someone from Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange or Ventura County when the last time was that they spent any time in the heart of Tinseltown and most can’t even remember.

That’s a shame, because today’s Hollywood is by all means worth a visit that will render a memorable visit of fun, history, craziness and relaxation. So make the coroner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland your main destination. The legendary hotels and attractions are all within walking distance from that intersection.

LODGING AMONGST THE LUMINARIES

The Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa is located right next door to the Hollywood and Highland Center and the Kodak Theatre where the Academy Awards are held. While you should definitely avoid the area the week before the Oscars are doled out, once the red carpet has been pulled up, the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa is hoppin’ with live entertainment. On Sunday afternoons, the sounds of their KJAZZ Champagne Brunch Series fill the air at the hotel’s Twist Restaurant from 11 a.m. till 2 p.m. Featuring high-quality jazz artists, you’ll enjoy an all-you-can-eat-and-drink buffet. On various nights throughout the week, Twist is transformed into a chic, luxurious supper club, showcasing the best and brightest talent from Broadway, film, television, standup comedy, and all genres of music. Ticket prices and show times vary with each performance. The Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa embodies modern luxury accented by classic Hollywood charm, featuring an outdoor pool overlooking the Hollywood Sign, world-class fitness center, catering by Wolfgang Puck, the new Spa Luce, and outstanding service. Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa, 1755 N. Highland Avenue (323) 856-1200, www.renaissancehollywood.com.

If you are really adventurous about your fun – not to mention open-minded – you will never forget your evening at Supperclub. From the solid-red cocktail lounge to the blindingly white main room where you’ll enjoy dinner and a show while lounging on giant beds, this will be a night seared into your memory and one your friends won’t believe. The four-course meal is actually prepared as a part of the club’s Felliniesque show that includes an eclectic, always-changing mix of performance artists, musicians, painters, acrobats, pole dancers, women dangling above the dance floor from hula hoops, and audience participation. Take it from us, this will be one wild night that can get a bit risqué! Supperclub, 6675 Hollywood Boulevard, (323) 466-1900, www.supperclub.com

EXPLORING THE BOULEVARD

Just steps from the Renaissance, you’ll traverse The Hollywood Walk of Fame – 2,400-plus terrazzo stars that cover a 15-block area. Follow the stars around the corner to the west and you can start your day with some shopping at the Hollywood and Highland Center and then hop over to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, where you can measure your hand and footprints against the stars of today and yesteryear. Be cautious in their area. Impersonators that range from Elvis and Marilyn to Spider-Man and Michael Jackson will cozy up to you for a photo. That’s fine; just know these costumed celebs are not there for your Kodak moments but for their tips. A dollar or two will suffice.

MINGLING WITH THE STARS

If you really want to get up close and have your picture taken with the stars, you must visit Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum located at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard. Even if you have been to a wax museum before, you have never been to one like this! Covering three floors, you are encouraged to interact for photo opportunities with the incredible lifelike likes of Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood, Raquel Welch, Meryl Streep and hundreds of other luminaries from the past and present. This is a “must do” that you will enjoy and talk about for years to come. (323) 798-1670. www.madametussauds.com

ENJOYING A MAGICAL BUNCH

Just up the block from Madame Tussaud’s is The Magic Castle. While it is a “members only” club, you can still get into the 1908 Victorian mansion by either knowing a member, buying a 30-day membership for $100, or by booking a room at the neighboring Magic Castle Hotel. Since 1963, this majestic and magical castle has served dinners and brunches to folks who then enjoy the magicians who work the castle’s main showroom or the more intimate rooms located throughout. Be sure to come dressed, since the Magic Castle is a major step back in time with its formal dress code. 7001 Franklin Avenue, (323) 851-3313, www.magiccastle.com

By the way, before leaving this area of Hollywood, you really should make it a point to have a cocktail at Yamashiro at 1999 N. Sycamore Avenue. A restaurant and bar that features a 600-year-old Japanese pagoda, Yamashiro offers a truly breathtaking view of the city.

TAKING IN SOME TINSELTOWN HISTORY

Back down on Hollywood Boulevard, be sure to visit Disney’s restored El Capitan Theatre at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard. Built in 1926, it is where Hollywood hosts many of today’s red-carpet premieres. You must also stop in at the Roosevelt Hotel located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, where the first Academy Awards were held in 1929, where Shirley Temple is said to have danced with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson on the lobby steps, and where the ghost of Marilyn Monroe reportedly stills roams the halls.

Now comes the longest walk of your Tinseltown visit. Make your way east from The Roosevelt on Hollywood Boulevard, and enjoy the people watching that ranges from the squalid to the sequined and everything in between (remember…it IS Hollywood Boulevard).

CAPPING YOUR VISIT AT LEGENDARY VENUES

Enjoy an early dinner at one of the country’s most legendary eateries – Musso & Frank Grill - located at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard. In business since 1919, “Musso’s” as the locals call it, is the oldest restaurant in Hollywood and offers old-world service, setting and specials.

After dinner, make your way to the world-famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine. You’ll soon realize there’s really nothing there to justify its fame, but just a block in you’ll find the Pantages Theatre at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard. Once the home of the Academy Awards, this is truly a “must see” theater, especially for those who are partial to the Art Deco style of the 1930s. Operating today as a venue for world-class live theatre, check www.pantages-theater.com for upcoming events and tickets.

Finally, to cap off your time in Tinseltown, stop for a nightcap at The Frolic Room next to the Pantages located at 6245 Hollywood Boulevard. A dive bar haunted by the ghosts of Hollywood legends, The Frolic Room has been in business since the 1930s. Once a private VIP lounge, when the Pantages hosted the Academy Awards from 1949 thru 1959, the watering hole quenched the thirst of every Tinsletown celeb. Today, dimly lit retro toadstool shaped lamps hang over the bar and a nostalgic Al Hirschfeld-esque mural lines the wall. The pen-and-ink cartoons depict glamorous Hollywood stars from Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant to Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart and Groucho Marx.

TRAVEL AND ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE

COME FLY AWAY

The new Broadway musical, “Come Fly Away,” conceived, choreographed and directed by Tony Award-winner Twyla Tharp and by special arrangement with the Frank Sinatra Family and Frank Sinatra Enterprises, will visit Segerstrom Center for the Arts January 31 through February 5. “Come Fly Away” follows four couples as they fall in and out of love during one song-and-dance-filled evening at a crowded nightclub. Blending the legendary vocals of Ol’ Blue Eyes with a live on-stage big band and 14 of the world’s finest dancers, “Come Fly Away” weaves an unparalleled hit parade of classics, including “Fly Me To The Moon,” “My Way” and “That’s Life,” into a soaring musical fantasy of romance and seduction. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.SCFTA.org.

MY FAIR LADY

“My Fair Lady” is coming to Landis Performing Arts Center in Riverside. Presented by Performance Riverside, the show has been the “gold standard” for musical theatre since its 1956 Broadway premiere. Aarguably, “the perfect musical”, as noted by the “New York Times,” the score boasts some of the finest numbers ever created for the stage including "With a Little Bit of Luck," "The Rain in Spain," "I Could Have Danced All Night," "On the Street Where You Live," "Get Me to the Church on Time," "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" and Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" Performance Riverside is the professional theatrical production company affiliated with Riverside Community College District. Based at the Landis Performing Arts Center at Riverside City College, it provides top-quality performing arts and seeks to engage, inspire, educate, entertain, bring together, and enlighten with the magic of live performance. Performances of “My Fair Lady” are scheduled for January 27, 28, February 3 and 4 at 8 p.m.; and January 28, 29, February 4 and 5 at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $27. And are available online at www.PerformanceRiverside.org and at the Landis Performing Center Box Office located at 4800 Magnolia Avenue in Riverside. For more information call (951) 222-8100.