Virginia Robinson Gardens

On our list of the best activities in Los Angeles.

Built in 1911 as the first estate in Beverly Hills, this six-acre property sits behind the Beverly Hills Hotel and still holds the Australian King palm forest and Italian terrace garden its original owners planted. Virginia Robinson hosted parties there for decades that drew Charlie Chaplin and her friend Coco Chanel, and she willed the estate to Los Angeles County on her death in 1977. Visits run only as a docent-led tour booked in advance, in groups of up to fifteen, through the historical, garden or behind-the-scenes options the county now offers.