When we got back from Los Angeles, we had lots of questions about whether the Los Angeles CityPASS was actually worth buying, especially as there are so many attractions and things to do in LA that the cost of a family holiday can quickly add up.
Los Angeles isn’t a cheap city to visit and, if you’re like us and want to experience some of its most popular attractions as well as seeing some of the city’s sporting and entertainment highlights, admission costs can soon add up.
Having previously used a CityPASS when we visited New York and Houston, we knew that on each occasion our CityPASS had saved us money.
This is where a pre-paid pass like the Los Angeles CityPASS can be useful.
We decided to try the Los Angeles CityPASS during our trip and chose the option which included the Warner Bros. Studio Tour plus three further attractions.
We visited Madame Tussauds Hollywood, SoFi Stadium Tours and used our pass for the Starline Tours Red Route Hop-On Hop-Off bus.
So, was the Los Angeles CityPASS worth buying for us?
I’m going to share what we thought of the pass, the attractions we visited and, more importantly, whether it saved us any money, along with what I would do differently if we were visiting Los Angeles again.
What is the Los Angeles CityPASS?
The Los Angeles CityPASS is a pre-paid sightseeing pass that gives you admission to some of LA’s most popular attractions at a discounted price.
There are currently several options available, including a pass with Universal Studios Hollywood, one with the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, or a version which includes both Universal Studios Hollywood and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.
The pass then allows you to choose three additional attractions from a selection which includes Madame Tussauds Hollywood, Starline Tours, SoFi Stadium Tour, the Los Angeles Zoo, GRAMMY Museum and the Natural History Museum.
What I particularly like about CityPASS is that it can help take some of the stress out of planning a trip. There are so many things to do in Los Angeles that it can be difficult to decide which attractions are actually worth visiting, and having a selection of attractions included with your pass gives you a ready-made starting point for your itinerary.
How much does a Los Angeles CityPASS cost?
The price depends on which version of the Los Angeles CityPASS you choose.
At the time of writing, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour plus three attractions option costs from £80.59 for adults and £70.98 for children aged 5–9, plus a £1.48 processing fee per ticket.
The Universal Studios Hollywood plus three attractions option starts from £116.09 for adults, while the option which includes both Universal Studios Hollywood and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, plus three further attractions, starts from £155.27 for adults.
The pass is valid for nine consecutive days, starting from the first day you use it, so you don’t have to try and squeeze all of the attractions into just a couple of days.
This is particularly useful in Los Angeles because the attractions are spread across a large area and you will spend a full day at places such as Universal Studios Hollywood or exploring another part of the city.
What is included with the Los Angeles CityPASS?
With our Los Angeles CityPASS, we had the Warner Bros. Studio Tour included, plus a choice of three attractions.
We chose:
- Warner Bros. Studio Tour
- Madame Tussauds Hollywood
- SoFi Stadium Tours
- Starline Tours – Red Route Hop-On Hop-Off
There are other attractions available, so the best combination for you will depend on what you want to see during your trip.
One of the biggest things to remember when looking at the value of the pass is that you don’t necessarily have to decide on all of your chosen attractions when you purchase it. You can make your choices later, although reservations are required for several attractions, so I would recommend planning ahead.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour
Cost for tickets for four adults aged 11+: £220
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour was one of the attractions we were particularly looking forward to when we were in LA, and it didn’t disappoint. In fact, this was one of the highlights of LA, so I really recommend a visit here.
This is a very different experience from visiting a theme park because you are actually getting a behind-the-scenes look at where films and television shows have been made and are currently being filmed. This is a working film studio.
The CityPASS experience includes a guided tour followed by time to explore the studio yourself. The experience took us more than three hours, so this isn’t something I would try and squeeze into a spare hour in your LA itinerary.
One of the highlights is seeing the backlot sets and sound stages and learning more about how productions are made.
For fans of Friends, there is also the chance to see the famous Central Perk set, including its iconic couch, which you can sit on. If you’re lucky, you can also get close to the famous fountain used in the opening credits.
There are plenty of other film and television connections around the studio too. A highlight for the kids was visiting Sheldon’s apartment in 4A, as well as seeing the elevator and Caltech Physics Department cafeteria on The Big Bang Theory set.
This makes it a great attraction for both adults and children who are interested in movies and TV.
There are lots of interactive elements to the tour, and the Harry Potter section was excellent, with lots of things to see and do and plenty of opportunities to get involved. It’s similar to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London, but much quieter, and we actually preferred this one, even though it’s on a much smaller scale.
One of the differences from London is that the Harry Potter experience here isn’t exclusively focused on Harry Potter. We could crawl into Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs, experience the Sorting Ceremony, where the hat officially sorted us into our Hogwarts house, and see props and costumes from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts.
The highlight for us on the tour was seeing the set of Gilmore Girls on the backlot tour. It’s a huge 110-acre site with 30 sound stages, and it was incredible to see inside many of the studio and backlot areas.
Midwest Street, which is the largest backlot set, would be recognisable as it has appeared in 400 films and shows, from Gremlins and Seinfeld to Pretty Little Liars.
I’d definitely recommend booking your tour time in advance, as reservations are required.
Madame Tussauds Hollywood
Cost for tickets for four adults aged 11+: £84
If you’ve visited one of the other Madame Tussauds attractions around the world, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect here, but having a Hollywood version of the attraction makes it particularly appropriate for a trip to Los Angeles.
It is also conveniently located, especially if you are visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as it’s right on this famous street. What makes this more fun than simply walking around looking at the figures is that you can actually interact with many of the displays and take photographs with the stars.
Madame Tussauds Hollywood is packed with wax figures of famous actors, musicians and other celebrities, with more than 130 figures to see. These range from some of their latest additions, such as Avatar’s Jake Sully, Ryan Gosling, Bad Bunny and Viola Davis, to coming face-to-face with Jaws and Kong, sitting down for a box of chocolates with Forrest Gump, and seeing classics we have encountered at other Madame Tussauds attractions around the world, such as E.T. on the famous flying bike.
The Illusions of Horror area would be a hit with teens, too. There are props and different sets to use, and it was a nice respite from the midday heat.
It’s also an attraction that doesn’t take up an entire day. Much like the version in London, it will take no more than 90 minutes, which makes it quite easy to fit into a busy Hollywood itinerary.
We found this was a good attraction to combine with other things in the Hollywood area rather than making a whole day around it. It’s also worth checking out the rooftop terrace, which offers some nice views down over Hollywood Boulevard.
SoFi Stadium Tours
Cost for tickets for four adults aged 11+: £167
The SoFi Stadium Tour was probably one of the more unexpected highlights of our Los Angeles CityPASS.
Even if you’re not a huge American football fan, the stadium itself is an incredible place to see, as it’s one of the most technologically advanced stadiums in the world.
SoFi Stadium is home to both the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers and was home to some of the recent World Cup football games. The tour takes you behind the scenes into areas that you wouldn’t normally get to see as a spectator, and you really get a better insight into how this incredible stadium, which must be one of the most impressive in the world, works.
It’s also home to the next Super Bowl and the 2028 Summer Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. The 70,000-seat arena opened in 2020 at a cost approaching $6 billion. Everything about the stadium is big, from its physical scale to its gigantic infinity screen and the economic development it’s spearheading in the Inglewood neighbourhood. It was also really interesting to learn about the engineering and architecture of the stadium and the huge redevelopment taking place at the 300-acre Hollywood Park surrounding the stadium, from luxury hotels to apartments and restaurants. It is impressive.
The tour lasts around 60–90 minutes and gives you an opportunity to see areas such as the player tunnel and press areas. We got to see the changing rooms of both the LA Rams and Chargers and the premium areas of the stadium, such as the Owners Club, while also learning more about the architecture and technology behind this huge venue.
It’s worth looking at their website when booking to see when they also offer the chance to go onto the field.
We have done a few of these stadium tours at NFL stadiums over the years, but at SoFi we were able to get onto the pitch to practise. What made it more realistic was that they were preparing for an upcoming Chargers game, so the PA system and music were blasting out and target practice felt as real as it could get on a tour.
On some days, you can even practise field goals. However, this wasn’t available when we visited because of the upcoming game, but we were happy to be able to get onto the field anyway.
For sports fans visiting Los Angeles, I would definitely put this on the list, but I also think it works well for families because it’s a relatively short attraction and gives you something completely different from the typical LA attractions and given that it’s going to be a focal part of the next Olympics, it’s fascinating to see.
One tip, though make sure you check the bag requirements before you go. SoFi has strict rules about what you can take into the stadium. CityPASS also recommends reservations for SoFi Stadium Tours, so don’t leave this until the last minute.
Starline Tours – Red Route Hop-On Hop-Off
Cost for tickets for four adults aged 11+: £174
The other attraction we chose was the Starline Tours Red Route Hop-On Hop-Off tour.
I really like using a hop-on hop-off bus when visiting a city for the first time because it allows you to get your bearings while also seeing some of the major sights without having to worry about driving and parking.
The CityPASS includes the one day Hollywood/Red Route Hop-On Hop-Off tour, with unlimited reboarding, or you can choose the Hollywood Night Tour instead.
We caught the Red Route from the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard and if you get a seat on the top deck, you have some great panoramic views. It was a good way of seeing more of Hollywood and getting around some of the famous areas of Los Angeles.
The route includes stops around attractions and neighbourhoods, including some of our favourites, Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive, as well as the Farmers Market and The Grove.
I would recommend checking the route and timings before setting off because LA traffic can be busy and you don’t want to spend your entire day sitting on a bus.
That said, as part of the CityPASS, we thought it was a good way of seeing more parts of the city and helped us decide which areas we wanted to explore further.
What about Universal Studios Hollywood?
This is where I think our experience is particularly useful if you’re planning your own Los Angeles trip.
We had already purchased our Universal Studios Hollywood tickets separately before buying our LA CityPASS.
However, looking back, it would have been better value for us to have bought the CityPASS option which included Universal Studios Hollywood and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.
So, if you’re planning to visit both Universal Studios Hollywood and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, it’s well worth getting the CityPASS ticket that includes both.
Did we save money with the Los Angeles CityPASS?
For our particular combination of attractions, the answer is yes, and this was similar to what we had experienced with CityPASS in other cities across the USA.
The current published adult prices for a family of four, based on the current exchange rates (September 2026), for the four attractions we chose are:
- Warner Bros. Studio Tour – £55.00
- Madame Tussauds Hollywood – £21.00
- Starline Tours – £43.50
- SoFi Stadium Tours – £41.75
That gives a total regular admission price of £161.25 per adult.
The current Warner Bros. Studio Tour + three attractions CityPASS is £80.59 for adults and £70.98 for children aged 5–9, plus a £1.48 processing fee per ticket. So compared to paying for those four attractions individually we did save money.
Of course, attraction prices can change and the actual price you pay can depend on when you visit, so I would always recommend checking the current prices before booking.
Best place to buy the Los Angeles CityPASS
We found the easiest option was to purchase our CityPASS online through their website.
Once you have your tickets, the My CityPASS app is particularly useful because it keeps your tickets, attraction information and reservations together in one place.
This is important in Los Angeles because reservations are required for attractions including the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Madame Tussauds and Starline Tours, while reservations are recommended for SoFi Stadium Tours, which we arranged by email.
I would recommend looking at your LA itinerary before making the reservations so that you aren’t spending unnecessary time travelling backwards and forwards across the city. Remember that Los Angeles is huge!
Is the Los Angeles CityPASS worth getting?
For us, yes, the Los Angeles CityPASS was worth getting, particularly because we used it for two attractions that we genuinely wanted to visit: the Warner Bros. Studio Tour and SoFi Stadium Tours. It worked out cheaper than paying separately for these two attractions.
If you’re planning to visit Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Madame Tussauds, SoFi Stadium and Starline Tours, then the Warner Bros. CityPASS can make a lot of sense. But if Universal Studios Hollywood is also on your list, look carefully at the different CityPASS options because the version including both Universal Studios Hollywood and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour is even better value.
I also like the fact that you have nine consecutive days to use the pass. You don’t need to rush around Los Angeles trying to fit everything into one or two days, which is particularly important when you’re travelling as a family.
The CityPASS also encouraged us to visit attractions that we might not necessarily have visited, such as Madame Tussauds Hollywood and the Starline Tour.
For first time visitors to Los Angeles, I would definitely recommend looking at the CityPASS options and adding up the individual admission prices for the attractions you want to visit.