La La Land was filmed across Los Angeles County, with stops in Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, Griffith Park, Pasadena, the South Bay beach towns, Long Beach, Burbank and Santa Clarita. Damien Chazelle's 2016 film follows Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a jazz musician, and this guide covers 19 filming locations, the scene shot at each and whether you can visit. Exact pins are in the Go On Set app. The list starts with the freeway dance and works through the film's big dates, then the walk home, the finale and the houses.
In this guide
- Where was the opening freeway dance filmed?
- Where was Griffith Observatory filmed?
- Where was the Fern Dell walk filmed?
- Where did Sebastian sing to Mia in Griffith Park?
- Where was Angel's Flight filmed?
- Where was the Grand Central Market date filmed?
- Where was Watts Towers filmed?
- Where was the Colorado Street Bridge scene filmed?
- Where was the jazz date filmed?
- Where was "City of Stars" filmed?
- Where was the Rialto Theatre scene filmed?
- Where did Mia walk home from the party?
- Where is the mural Mia passes under the freeway?
- Where is the You Are The Star mural?
- Where was Lipton's Restaurant filmed?
- Where was Mia's Chateau Marmont bungalow filmed?
- Where was Sebastian's Jazz Club filmed?
- Where was Mia's apartment filmed?
- Where was Mia's home in Nevada filmed?
- How should you plan a La La Land locations visit?
- Quick answers about La La Land filming locations
Opening freeway dance
The opening number was shot at the Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange, a stack interchange near the Athens and Watts neighborhoods where the 105 and 110 freeways cross. Opened in 1993, its sweeping curves and Metro Rail infrastructure make it one of Southern California's most recognizable interchanges. In the film it becomes a traffic jam where dozens of dancers spill out of their cars, and Mia and Sebastian first appear stuck side by side. It is an active freeway, so you can only see it from public roads.
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory sits in Griffith Park above the city and opened in 1935. The date takes place here after their movie is cut short by a broken film reel. They arrive late at night and drift into the planetarium, where they dance above the Foucault Pendulum as if gravity had switched off. The Art Deco building is a public attraction, with exhibits, telescopes and a planetarium inside.
Fern Dell Nature Trail
The Fern Dell Nature Trail is a quarter-mile footpath in Griffith Park that follows a man-made stream under sycamores and tropical foliage. Mia and Sebastian walk it hand in hand during their day-long date, trading dreams along the way. It is a public trail, easy to walk in a few minutes.
Cathy's Corner
Cathy's Corner is a spot on a hiking path above the main part of Griffith Park, reachable only on foot, with views over the city. This is where Sebastian offers to walk Mia to her car after they meet again at a party. The view gets to him and he starts singing, until Mia joins in. Bring walking shoes, because there is no driving up to it.
Angel's Flight Railway
Angel's Flight Railway is a funicular in the Bunker Hill district of downtown Los Angeles. It opened in 1901 and is billed as the shortest railway in the world, with orange and black cars. During the date montage, Mia and Sebastian ride it, and elsewhere in the montage they stop for a playful soft-shoe dance.
Grand Central Market
Grand Central Market has been a downtown Los Angeles food hall since 1917. In the "Summer" montage, Mia and Sebastian chat over a meal at Sarita's Pupuseria, a counter-style restaurant inside the market. It is open to the public, so you can eat at the same counter.
Watts Towers
The Watts Towers are seventeen interlinked sculptures in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Sabato "Simon" Rodia built them alone between 1921 and 1954 from steel, mortar, tile, glass and shells, and the tallest reaches nearly 30 meters (99 feet). Mia and Sebastian walk through the site on their day out, taking in the mosaics. The Watts Towers Arts Center runs guided tours.
Colorado Street Bridge
The Colorado Street Bridge spans the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena. Built in 1913, it is about 457 meters (1,500 feet) long with Beaux-Arts arches and light standards. In the "Summer" montage, Mia and Sebastian stroll along it arm in arm in the sun. It is a public bridge, and the views toward the arroyo are the draw.
Lighthouse Cafe jazz date
The Lighthouse Café is a jazz club in Hermosa Beach, in the South Bay area of Greater Los Angeles. It started hosting jazz on May 29, 1949, when bassist Howard Rumsey began Sunday jam sessions that grew into the Lighthouse All-Stars house band. In "Mid-Day Jazz Date," Sebastian tells Mia that jazz is not just Kenny G, then dreams of his own club during "Pure Jazz." Mia sees how much it means to him.
Hermosa Beach Pier
The Hermosa Beach Pier extends 152 meters (500 feet) into the Pacific and dates to 1904. After a date with Mia, Sebastian walks it alone at night and breaks into "City of Stars" with a bit of soft-shoe. The pier is public, and you can reach it from the same beach town as the Lighthouse Café.
Rialto Theatre
The Rialto Theatre in South Pasadena was built as a 1,200-seat movie house and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Sebastian waits outside for Mia, who is late, to see Rebel Without a Cause, and his disappointment shows. Today the building is home to Mosaic South Pasadena, a church, so treat it as an exterior stop.
Mia's walk home
The walk home begins on a stretch of road in The Hollywood Dell, a residential neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills, filmed at this Hollywood Dell location. Mia realizes she has stayed too long at a party and that her car has been towed. Before Highway 101 was built, the area was part of Whitley Heights, an early Hollywood stars' enclave. It is a residential neighborhood, so keep a low profile.
Hollywood mural under the 101 freeway
The Argyle mural was painted by Dan Collins in 1986 on the Hollywood Bowl Self-Storage building under the 101 freeway. Mia walks past it on her long way home after the pool party. It is an outdoor mural you can view from public sidewalks.
You Are The Star mural
Thomas Suriya painted You Are The Star in 1983, just before the Los Angeles Olympics. It shows Hollywood stars seated in a theater watching the viewer. Mia stops to take it in on her walk home, and the mural is the backdrop as she reaches Lipton's Restaurant. It is on the side of a family business in Hollywood and open to the public to view.
Lipton's Restaurant at the Smoke House
Lipton's Restaurant in the film is the Smoke House Restaurant in Burbank, next to the Warner Brothers lot. It has been open since 1946, with a brick exterior and old-school atmosphere. This is where Sebastian meets owner Bill (J.K. Simmons) and reluctantly agrees to play only the Christmas setlist. It is a working restaurant, so you can go in for a meal.
Chateau Marmont
The Chateau Marmont is a 1929 hotel modeled on a French château, at the eastern end of the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. In the epilogue, "future" Mia arrives at her bungalow there, which signals how far she has come. It is a private hotel, so most visitors will see it from outside.
Sebastian's Jazz Club
Sebastian's Jazz Club was filmed at The Blind Donkey, a whiskey bar and game room in downtown Long Beach. In the final scenes, Mia comes in with her husband David (Tom Everett Scott) while Sebastian plays. A look passes between them, and it is the quietest moment in the film. It is a working bar, so you can go in.
Mia's apartment
Mia's apartment is a bright pink building in the Alamitos Beach neighborhood of Long Beach. Her roommates talk her into a party in the Hollywood Hills here. It is a residential building, so view it from outside.
Mia's home in Nevada
Mia's home in Nevada was filmed at a private residence in a quiet Santa Clarita neighborhood, north of Los Angeles. The scene is tied to Sebastian's drive to Boulder City to tell Mia about an audition, and the two then head back to LA. It is a private home, so do not approach it.
How to plan the visit
- Cluster by area. Griffith Park holds three stops (the observatory, Fern Dell and Cathy's Corner). Hollywood holds the walk-home stops, and downtown holds Angel's Flight and Grand Central Market.
- Beach day. The Lighthouse Café and the pier are both in Hermosa Beach. Long Beach has the bar and the apartment.
- Outside Los Angeles. Pasadena, South Pasadena, Burbank and Santa Clarita need their own trips.
- Private places. The apartment, the Santa Clarita home, the Rialto Theatre and the Chateau Marmont are exteriors only. Stay on public land and keep noise down for residents.
- Freeways. The interchange is for viewing from public roads only.
- Maps. Exact map pins are in the Go On Set app.
Quick answers
Where was La La Land filmed?
Mostly across Los Angeles County, California, including Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, Griffith Park, Pasadena, Hermosa Beach, Long Beach, Burbank and Santa Clarita.
How many La La Land filming locations are there?
This guide covers 19, from the freeway interchange for the opening dance to a private home in Santa Clarita.
Where was the Griffith Observatory scene filmed?
At Griffith Observatory itself, in Griffith Park. Mia and Sebastian dance in the planetarium above the Foucault Pendulum.
Can you visit the La La Land filming locations?
Most are public, including Griffith Park, Grand Central Market, the Colorado Street Bridge, Watts Towers and Hermosa Beach Pier. Mia's apartment and Santa Clarita home are private residences, so view them from outside.