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Pretty Woman

one week in Los Angeles, and the real places behind it

  2. Black-and-white photo of a young Julia Roberts in a denim jacket at a press-conference microphone
    Julia Roberts at the Deauville American Film Festival, September 1990, the year Pretty Woman came out. Photo: Roland Godefroy. Roland Godefroy · CC BY-SA 3.0

    Julia Roberts · Vivian Ward 1990

  4. Black-and-white profile of Richard Gere in glasses speaking into a microphone
    Richard Gere speaking to members of Congress, 1992. Keating, Maureen · Public domain

    Richard Gere · Edward Lewis 1992

It starts on this pavement. The hotel rooms were in Burbank, the opera was in Pittsburgh, and the shop that said no is still on its corner.

A bright souvenir shop sign on Hollywood Boulevard at night, with people walking past
Hollywood Boulevard, December 2009. Chris English · CC BY-SA 3.0

6700 Hollywood Boulevard · after dark

Two Los Angeles.

Vivian starts out working the boulevard, alongside its souvenir shops.

7.1 km to the Beverly Wilshire, as the crow flies.

A public street, open at all hours, on the Walk of Fame. Busy by day; take care late at night.

Where we read it
A dark striped skyscraper against a blue sky with clouds
333 South Hope Street, 2012. Selvingarcia · CC BY-SA 3.0

By day · Bunker Hill

Edward’s place of work in Los Angeles is the Bank of America Building at 333 South Hope Street.

An office tower; the plaza round its foot is open by day. The offices are not.

Where we read it

9500 Wilshire Boulevard

Three keys,
one real room.

The hotel on screen is the Beverly Wilshire. Take a key from the rack to see where each room really is.

A tall cream hotel with striped black-and-white awnings and flags over the entrance
The Beverly Wilshire on Wilshire Boulevard, October 2014. Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0

Lobby · Beverly Wilshire · 9500 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills

The Beverly Wilshire is the hotel where Vivian all but moves in with Edward; its striped awnings show as she first walks in.

The exterior and the lobby are the real Beverly Wilshire. The rooms were a set at the Disney studio in Burbank.

It stands at 9500 Wilshire Boulevard, at the foot of Rodeo Drive.

A working Four Seasons hotel at the foot of Rodeo Drive. The lobby, bar and restaurants are open to non-guests.

Where we read it
Four Seasons

Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel

Beverly Hills

The hotel in the film: its front and lobby are the real thing. 9500 Wilshire Boulevard, at the foot of Rodeo Drive.

Check rooms

The Ambassador ballroom · 3400 Wilshire Boulevard

Outside in.

The hotel manager’s lesson in place settings was filmed in the ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel, then standing empty. Lay off the forks the way she learns it: the outermost first.

3 forks to go.

The Ambassador opened in 1921 and held the Cocoanut Grove nightclub and six Oscar ceremonies. It was demolished in October 2005 for a school campus; the porte cochère and one wall of the Cocoanut Grove were kept.

Where we read it

Rodeo Drive · Wilshire to Santa Monica Boulevard

Pick up a bag.

Walk up Rodeo Drive from the hotel to the boutique corner. Every stop, another bag.

0 m walked

1 bag. Stop 1 of 3: Beverly Wilshire.

A tall cream hotel with striped black-and-white awnings and flags over the entrance
The Beverly Wilshire on Wilshire Boulevard, October 2014. Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0

Beverly Wilshire · 9500 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills

The foot of Rodeo Drive, across Wilshire from the hotel doors.

The Beverly Wilshire is the hotel where Vivian all but moves in with Edward; its striped awnings show as she first walks in.

A working Four Seasons hotel at the foot of Rodeo Drive. The lobby, bar and restaurants are open to non-guests.

Where we read it
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San Francisco, supposedly

One opera,
three cities.

Tear each stub off the ticket to find where that part of the opera house really is.

0 of 3 stubs torn.

480 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank

A day at the polo.

Garry Marshall came to the Equestrian Center to film the polo match, with the centre’s own players in the game. It covers 75 acres and stages more than 30 horse shows a year.

A 75-acre working stables with over 30 horse shows a year; the office opens Monday–Friday 9am–5pm.

Where we read it

Half-time. Tread in the divots.

0 of 6 trodden in.

Riders on horseback passing under a white gatehouse sign
The Equestrian Center gate, March 2008. Cbl62 · CC BY-SA 3.0

On the rail

The people.

Black-and-white photo of Julia Roberts in a denim jacket at a table of microphones
Julia Roberts at a press conference at the Deauville American Film Festival, September 1990. Photo: Roland Godefroy. Roland Godefroy · CC BY-SA 3.0

Julia RobertsVivian Ward

Black-and-white profile of Richard Gere in glasses speaking into a microphone
Richard Gere speaking to members of Congress, 1992. Keating, Maureen · Public domain

Richard GereEdward Lewis

Garry Marshall, grey-haired and grinning, in a white shirt and patterned tie
Garry Marshall at the Producers Guild awards, January 1995. TwinsofSedona · CC0

Garry MarshallDirector

Where we read it
A pale three-storey building with a fire escape and a tall palm tree on the corner
The Las Palmas Hotel, March 2013. Downtowngal · CC BY-SA 3.0

1738 N. Las Palmas Avenue

Up the fire escape.

The fire escape Edward climbs at the end of the film is attached to the Las Palmas Hotel, at 1738 Las Palmas Avenue. Movie Locations calls it by no means the most glamorous stretch of Hollywood.

A working budget hotel for its guests. See the fire escape from the pavement and do not go in.

Where we read it

Where it is now

12 places you can visit. The Las Palmas Hotel takes only its guests and the old Ambassador site is a school, so both are marked as places to see from the street. The Disney lot is a working studio and is not on the map.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public street, open at all hours, on the Walk of Fame. Busy by day; take care late at night.

  • General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working budget hotel for its guests. See the fire escape from the pavement and do not go in.

  1. A bright souvenir shop sign on Hollywood Boulevard at night, with people walking past
    Souvenir shops on Hollywood Boulevard at night, December 2009. Chris English · CC BY-SA 3.0

    6700 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

    Hollywood Boulevard at Las Palmas

    Vivian starts out working the boulevard, alongside its souvenir shops.

    A public street, open at all hours, on the Walk of Fame. Busy by day; take care late at night.

    Where we read it
  2. A pale three-storey building with a fire escape and a tall palm tree on the corner
    The Las Palmas Hotel, 1738 N. Las Palmas Avenue, March 2013. Downtowngal · CC BY-SA 3.0

    1738 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood

    Las Palmas Hotel

    The fire escape Edward climbs at the end of the film is attached to the Las Palmas Hotel, at 1738 Las Palmas Avenue.

    A working budget hotel for its guests. See the fire escape from the pavement and do not go in.

    Where we read it

Stay

A room at the foot of Rodeo.

The Beverly Wilshire takes guests. The lobby is the one on screen; the rooms never were.

Four Seasons

Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel

Beverly Hills

The hotel in the film: its front and lobby are the real thing. 9500 Wilshire Boulevard, at the foot of Rodeo Drive.

Check rooms

Go there

Walk it, then take the Metro.

Beverly Hills and Hollywood tours, the museum that played the opera lobby, and the house the film was meant to use.

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Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Exposition Park · Daily 9.30am–5pm · closed first Tuesday of the month

The museum that played the opera lobby. Walk in through the main entrance, as Edward and Vivian do.

Plan a visit
San Francisco War Memorial

War Memorial Opera House

San Francisco · Campus tours by appointment

The opera house the film was meant to use. Home of San Francisco Opera and Ballet.

See the venue

What’s on

Dancing downtown, then the musical.

A Halloween big-band night at Cicada, and Pretty Woman: The Musical in Georgia and on tour in the UK in March 2027.

Checking current event dates…

Take it home

The memoir and the soundtrack.

Garry Marshall’s memoir and the 1990 soundtrack on CD and vinyl.

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My Happy Days in Hollywood

Garry Marshall

Garry Marshall’s memoir of his years making television and films.

Find the book
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Pretty Woman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Various Artists · CD, EMI, 1990

The 1990 soundtrack album, released by EMI.

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Pretty Woman

Various Artists · 12" vinyl, EMI, 1990

The soundtrack on vinyl, 1990.

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Find a copy

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The receipts

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

13 of 13 places · 13 of 13 Moments

  • Hollywood Boulevard at Las Palmas

    6700 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

    • The boulevard

      Vivian works Hollywood Boulevard, among the souvenir shops.

  • Las Palmas Hotel

    1738 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood

    • The fire escape

      Edward climbs Vivian’s fire escape at the end.

  • Beverly Wilshire

    9500 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills

    • Through the awnings

      Vivian walks into the Beverly Wilshire with Edward.

  • Rodeo Drive

    Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills

    • The spree

      Vivian shops on Rodeo Drive.

  • The boutique corner, 479 N. Rodeo Drive

    Rodeo Drive at South Santa Monica Boulevard

    • The snub

      The sales staff at a Rodeo Drive boutique turn Vivian away; she comes back with her bags.

  • Cicada, in the Oviatt Building

    617 S. Olive Street, Downtown

    • The snails

      A business dinner, and a snail that gets away.

  • 333 South Hope Street

    333 S. Hope Street, Bunker Hill

    • The office

      Edward’s Los Angeles office.

  • The Ambassador Hotel site

    3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Koreatown

    • Outside in

      The hotel manager teaches Vivian place settings.

  • Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

    900 Exposition Boulevard, Exposition Park

    • The opera lobby

      They walk through the opera’s lobby.

  • Los Angeles Equestrian Center

    480 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank

    • The polo

      Edward takes Vivian to a polo match.

  • Walt Disney Studios

    Burbank

    • The suite

      Edward’s penthouse suite, built as a set in Burbank.

  • Carnegie Music Hall

    4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh

    • Front of house

      Edward and Vivian arrive at the San Francisco opera.

  • War Memorial Opera House

    301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco

    • The opera that wasn’t

      The real San Francisco opera house, where the scene was first planned.

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