Culture Club: Make your way around California with these top pop culture stops

Make like a movie star and snap these Instagram-able spots on a pop-culture road trip.

Bring some movie magic to your real life in just six days when you head out on a roadtrip through these famous California spots. Make it easy on yourself and get some expert advice planning for your self-driving itinerary- we like Flight Centre for their 24/7 support for travellers on the road, plus their [site] is a one-stop shop for advice on what to do, see and eat from people who’ve been there before you. So hit the road in Hollywood – on this timeless trip, it’s always a good time to go- then take a road trip across California living out some classic pop moments but with bonus gourmet food and wine, luxurious spas and stunning landscapes to soak up along the way.

Your Road Trip at a Glance:

• Beverly Hills & West Hollywood

• Malibu

• Ventura

• Santa Barbara

• Big Sur

• Carmel-by-the-Sea & Monterey

Beverly Hills and West Hollywood

If you’re planning to find some famous film locations, start in Beverly Hills for an Instagram win. The Beverly Wilshire hotel was made famous by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, but the neighbourhood also offers Rodeo Drive (for those elegant threads) and locations used in cult hits like Clueless, classics like Down and Out in Beverly Hills and comedies Beverly Hills Cop (of course). Across West Hollywood you can dance by starlight in Griffith Park, made famous by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in La La Land, and wander down Hermosa Pier just like they did in the film. TV addicts can tour all top locations used for Pretty Little Liars at Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood. As the centre of the moviemaking world, these are just the very start of the cinematic stops in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. In fact, you might need to visit more than once to experience it all!

Malibu

Just 45 mins down the road from Hollywood, you can make like Miley Cyrus in her super-high-emotion Malibu clip and wander down the iconic beach (Liam Hemsworth not included) singing on the shoreline for a cool Snapchat story. Or, if you’re feeling brave, bronze up and don your bikini for a snap on the sand and hashtag yourself #malibubarbie to be totally on trend. If you’re not the type to be the star in your own life, go celeb- spotting for real at famous restaurants like Nobu Malibu or you might catch some when you go shopping at Malibu Country Mart.

Santa Barbara

Just over an hour away is the original centre of US filmmaking, so score yourself some social media points snapping your visit to Santa Barbara, making sure you mention that actually, California’s first movie studio was built in there in 1910. Go for the Quentin Tarantino locations (Death Proof was filmed in Santa Barbara) to impress with your pop culture references, or show your reality-show colours and post from the white sands of the beaches we saw Speidi (Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag) holiday on during their time on ‘semi-scripted’ glam-trash reality show The Hills. And if that’s not enough reality for you, clock up the likes on your content by chronicling every on-site location you can think of from Hell’s Kitchen to The Bachelor and Laguna Beach at this TV show mecca.

There’s so much more to Santa Barbara beyond filmmaking. Santa Barbara has the unofficial nickname of being the ‘American Riviera.’ It earned this title for its similarities to the French Riviera. In 2007, a group of eight like-minded winemakers decided to come together to create the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail. Their goal was to offer visitors the opportunity to learn about and taste the wines of many different varieties and styles crafted from the County’s best vineyards. Twenty-eight wineries now make up the renowned Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail. On the trail there is also the Funk Zone. The Funk Zone, offers an eclectic mix of galleries, shops, restaurants, wineries, and breweries. Comprising approximately 10 blocks, adjacent to the ocean, train station, and downtown Santa Barbara.

Big Sur

Big Sur is where your content goes from ‘pop culture’ to straight culture, as you’re travelling the road firs forged by the famed 1960s philosophers Henry Miller and Jack Kerouac. Obviously, this requires a trip to the Henry Miller Memorial Library, which is less a library and more a wooden cabin crammed with bookshop-style volumes, surrounded by peaceful gardens where visitors can leaf through the collections and reflect. Finish up paying tribute with a drink at Nepenthe bar and restaurant, the building itself once a gift from Orson Welles to actress Rita Hayworth and a haunt of famous names of the beat poet generation.

Then, your way up the iconic Californian coast, crossing the famous Bixby Bridge on your way to the charming coastal town of Monterey. The bridge is one of the tallest single-span concrete bridges in the world, and so recognisable from TV and movies, you’ll feel like you’ve just walked on to a movie set as someone called ‘action’. Besides its place in film history, the bridge, gorge and beach beneath are drawcards for those dedicated to searching for the ramshackle, isolated cabin (owned by poet Lawrence Ferlinghettii) where Jack Kerouac wrote many of his works.

Monterey Bay and Carmel-By-the-Sea

Monterey Bay is a must-see, especially the two-storey jellyfish tank at oceanside Monterey Bay Aquarium on historic Cannery Row. Both these landmarks come with cred- uberfans might remember the aquarium’s star turn in Star Trek VI and Steinbeck fans will be familiar with his 1945 novel, Cannery Row set during the Great Depression in Monterey. While you’re in the area, ten-minutes away you can visit Carmel-By-the-Sea. You can embrace the lifestyle of bonafide stars like Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, who shot Big Little Lies on location here. Carmel has clocked up its share of Hollywood clout after Clint Eastwood reigned as mayor in the 80s, and now it’s the perfect place to kick back and relax with a soothing spa day before you have to head home.

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