For the culture

Wealth and glamour aren’t a recent development in Beverly Hills, and it has historically been an enclave where people with money come to live and play.

Take a peek into the lives of some of the first one-percenters to settle here at the historic Greystone Mansion. Built in 1929, Greystone Mansion was originally valued at nearly $3 million, making it the most expensive private home of the day. Today, you can take a tour of the spectacular 55-room Tudor estate, with its slate-clad facade and sprawling gardens.

Another grand estate worth touring is the Virginia Robinson Gardens, a lavish green space with impeccably landscaped lawns, and the location for many star-studded parties throughout the decades.

The American art boom of the 1980s had a home in California at the Gagosian Beverly Hills. To this day, the gallery is considered the gold standard of Los Angeles art galleries. It specializes in modern and contemporary art, and it regularly hosts cultural programming and exhibitions by internationally acclaimed artists.

After a day on your feet exploring the city’s cultural highlights, slip into a wellness cabana at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills — an idyllic way to decompress. Choose from a menu of state-of-the-art treatments, including percussive massage, cupping and heat healing treatments — all of which can be experienced in complete privacy and tranquility.

Fine dining

There are plenty of famous chefs and renowned restaurants in Beverly Hills. If you’re looking for an exquisite and endlessly memorable meal, then there’s no shortage of palatial dining rooms to explore.

For the last word in fashionable food, Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura has a Michelin star and designer label-clad servers. They serve arguably the most polished Italian food in town, highlighting seasonal ingredients with creativity and passion, and look great doing it. Sushi fans should have the concierge reserve a seat for them at the intimate Nozawa Bar, where acclaimed chef Osamu Fujita prepares the highest-grade fish from local Los Angeles fish markets to delight diners with a tradition-based omakase sushi experience.

Esplette is the flagship restaurant at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. They serve wood-grilled Wagyu beef and sophisticated Southern European cuisine that will whisk you away to the Mediterranean coast. You can also dine alfresco amid styled garden greenery on the beautiful terrace at The Rooftop by JG, looking out over those rolling Californian hills.

Paul Oswell is a British award-winning journalist and published travel author based in New Orleans, Louisiana in the United States. His books include Bucket List North America and The Great American Road Trip, as well as New Orleans' Historic Hotels. He has also been an editor of and contributor to several guide books/editions published by Dorling Kindersley (owned by Penguin), including New Orleans, Florida, Orlando, Los Angeles, California and The United States. His work has appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure (both of which he has written multiple online travel guides for) and The Guardian, as well as dozens of international newspaper and magazine titles, and inflight magazines for major airlines.