Kodak Theater Hollywood

• Hours: Tours daily except when they're preparing for the Academy Awards
• Cost: Fee for tours and for performances of Cirque du Soleil's IRIS
• Location: At the corner of Hollywood and Highland, driving directions below
• How Long: Tours last about half an hour
• Best Time to Visit: Any time

The Academy Awards came home to Hollywood in 2002, taking up residence in the newly constructed Kodak Theater. It's in Hollywood and Highland, the centerpiece of a Hollywood Boulevard renaissance.

And what better place to hold the annual awards ceremony? Next to the Grauman's Chinese forecourt of stars' footprints and facing Hollywood Boulevard's Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Kodak Theater location is steeped in movie tradition.

Touring the Kodak Theater

Guided tours are given seven days a week, with a few exceptions (such as the two weeks before the Academy Awards). See the weekly tour schedule at their website web site. You can buy tour tickets in person at the Kodak Theater box office. If you're visiting other attractions in and around Hollywood, check the Go Los Angeles Card, which includes the Kodak Theatre tour. Use this handy guide to find out all you need to know about it.

To get the most glitzy fun out of your Kodak Theater tour, read some of the Hollywood stories set in mosaic in the Hollywood and Highland main court, follow it downstairs, then walk up from Hollywood Boulevard on the "Awards Walk" (where the red carpet is laid on awards night).

Inside, the Kodak Theater tour will take you through the lobby areas, through the lobby bar (where several Oscars are on display), and up to a balcony view of the 3,000-seat Kodak Theater auditorium and the "tiara" of light, an oval chandelier that is the main interior design element. Tours last about thirty minutes, and are handicapped accessible.

The Kodak Theater also hosts concerts throughout the year and when it isn't busy with all that, you can see Cirque du Soleil's IRIS live. This guide will tell you all about it.

See the Kodak Theater with Hollywood and Highland, Grauman's Chinese Theater and Hollywood Boulevard.

Getting to the Kodak Theater

Kodak Theater
6801 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA
(323) 308-6300
Kodak Theater Website

From US 101, take the Highland Avenue exit and go south. The Hollywood and Highland parking lot entrance is on the right about half a mile down the hill. The Kodak Theater doesn't validate for this lot, but you can get validation by buying something from any shop (including Starbucks).

The Los Angeles MTA (Metro Transit Authority) Red Line Hollywood and Highland stop is just steps away from the entrance to the complex.