Architect Daniel Libeskind

A trip to Los Angeles is many things-Beverly Hills, the beaches, celebrity sightings and Hollywood. However many visitors don't realize they are able to take a tour of several working movie studios and get a front row look of how movies and tv shows are made. Every day several of the major studios offer walking tours of their backlots and give visitors and chance to see a behind the scenes look at how their favorite tv shows and movies are produced. Universal Studios offers the most comprehensive tour, however Paramount, Sony Pictures and Warner Brothers all offer exciting opportunities to see intimate views of their backlots as well.

The most easily accessible studio is Universal. Less than 20 minutes from the heart of Hollywood in Studio City (San Fernando Valley), Universal is more than a studio but a complete theme park. Universal Studios most famous attraction is its tram tour. Trams depart every few minutes and take visitors on an extensive hour long tour of the studio backlot. Guests will be shown sound stages, cross rickety bridges, see great floods, plane crashes, city blocks and old west towns-all featured in hundreds of movies. One of the most popular sights on the tram tour that has been thrilling guests for decades is the Jaws attack where the tram drives along a lake and a full mechanical shark jumps out along the shore to the surprise (and horror) of the guests. In addition to the tram tour, Universal offers a whole park with roller coasters, shows and exhibits dedicated to the biggest movie franchises of all time.

Adjacent to Universal Pictures in Burbank is the Warner Brothers lot. Like Universal, Warner Brothers is a sprawling campus full of sound stages, movie executive offices and various facade backdrops. Warner Brothers offers a combined walking and cart tour of their backlot, however the tour is not as extensive as those offered by its neighbor Universal Studios. Warner Brothers tours are a combined golf cart and walking tour experience. The tour takes visitors through the various alley ways between the sound stages, facades and outdoor sets. The tour lasts a total of a little over 2 hours and includes a stop at the Warner Brothers museum where visitors can see up close and personal props and costumes used in some of the biggest movies ever made. For those looking to do a tour and be a part of a live studio audience, the Ellen Degeneres show films daily on the Warner Brothers lot. The price of the tour is $45.00 and runs Monday through Fridays. There is an upgraded tour where for $195 guests are taken onto actual live movie sets as well as a lunch at the famous Warner Brothers commissary where visitors are guaranteed an up close and personal sighting (or even interaction) with one of their favorite movie stars.

Paramount Pictures is one of the last studios to maintain a presence in Hollywood and offers a combined walking and cart tour of the back lot. Paramount Pictures is an expansive studio lot that is located about 2 miles from the Hollywood and Highland Center. The Studio includes several sound stages and offices for producers and studio executives. Visitors looking to embrace and experience Hollywood's past will probably find the Paramount tour to be the highest value over Universal and Warner Brothers as the Paramount lot is far older and has been in continuous production of movies before both Warner Brothers and Universal. Countless movies, tv shows and commercials have been filmed on the Paramount Pictures lot. In addition to the tour, visitors will be able to visit the Paramount Store where t-shirts, DVDS and memorabilia from their favorite movies of all time are for sale. The cost of the the Hollywood tour is $35.00 and guests need to be 12 and up.

Sony Pictures is located south of Los Angeles in the city of Culver City that is adjacent to LAX. This studio lot like all the rest in Los Angeles includes sprawling back lots, sound stages and history. The studio has changed ownership many times and has included names such Columbia Pictures and MGM. It was this studio lot that several classics including the Wizard of Oz were fjlmed. The studio offers a daily walking tour of its sound stages and facilities. The Sony Pictures lot is slightly smaller than the Paramount and Warner Brothers lot-therefore a cart is not utilized. It is the Sony Pictures lot that game shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are taped.

Studios, movies, television and Hollywood are all synonymous with each other. A studio tour during a trip to Los Angeles can be exciting and educational and will leave visitors with a greater appreciation and understanding of how their favorite movies and television shows are made.