Rodeo Drive gets all the attention, but it’s maybe five blocks of a city with dozens of streets worth exploring. If you’ve already snapped your photo outside the famous shops and wonder what else Beverly Hills has going on, you’re asking the right question. This guide covers hidden gems in Beverly Hills that most visitors walk right past because they never look beyond the main strip.
We’re talking about the kind of places locals actually use: a quiet garden retreat a few blocks from the chaos, a restaurant where the food matters more than the paparazzi photos out front. These spots give you a real sense of the neighborhood instead of a postcard version of it, and none of them require a reservation weeks in advance or a budget built for luxury shopping.
Our guides at Another Side Tours spend their days walking these streets and pointing out the spots tourists miss, so this list comes from actual experience, not a rehashed map. Below you’ll find five specific places worth your time, why each one earns its spot, and how to fit them into a day that goes well past the storefronts on Rodeo.
1. Join a guided hidden gems tour of Beverly Hills
What it is
Skipping the guide entirely is the fastest way to miss what makes Beverly Hills interesting. A guided walking tour built around hidden gems takes you off Rodeo Drive and into the residential streets, alleyways, and quiet corners where the actual history lives. Our Another Side Tours guides grew up around this city, and they connect the dots between old Hollywood scandal, architecture, and the small businesses that have survived decades of turnover. You get context you can’t pick up from a self-guided map app, plus the kind of stories that make a random storefront suddenly interesting.
A good local guide turns a walk through unfamiliar streets into a story you actually remember.
Location and hours
Tours typically begin near the edge of the Beverly Hills business triangle and wind through nearby residential blocks, gardens, and lesser-known landmarks, avoiding the crowds that cluster around the main shopping streets. Departure times run mid-morning and early afternoon most days of the week, which keeps groups small and the pace relaxed. Because routes shift slightly based on group size and interest, exact meeting points get confirmed after booking rather than posted as one fixed address.
Cost and how to book
Pricing depends on group size and format, with options for private tours, semi-private groups, and small shared groups. Here’s a general breakdown:
| Tour format | Typical group size | Approximate price range |
|---|---|---|
| Private tour | 1-6 guests | $150-$400+ |
| Semi-private/small group | 4-10 guests | $75-$150 per person |
| Custom or corporate tour | Varies | Quote on request |
Groups of three or more usually qualify for a discounted rate, which makes this a smart option for families or friends splitting a day of sightseeing. Booking happens directly through the Another Side Tours website, where you can check current availability, select a format, and lock in a time slot before your trip.
Insider tip
Ask your guide about the streets just off the main route before the tour starts. Most guides carry a mental list of a few extra stops, like a specific bench with a view or a gate with an odd bit of history behind it, that they’ll add in if the group seems interested and time allows. Telling them upfront that you’re after lesser-known spots rather than the standard highlights reel usually gets you a more tailored walk. It’s a small ask, but it’s the difference between a generic tour and one that actually feels like it was built around what you wanted to see that day.
2. Explore the historic Virginia Robinson Gardens
What it is
Built in 1911, this six-acre estate was the first residence constructed in Beverly Hills, and it still sits tucked behind hedges on a residential street most tourists never turn down. The grounds mix a Beaux-Arts mansion with a series of themed gardens, including a palm forest that predates most of the city around it and a formal Italian terrace garden that looks like it was lifted from the Mediterranean. Walking through feels less like a tourist stop and more like wandering someone’s private backyard, because for decades that’s exactly what it was.
Beverly Hills started as one estate’s garden, and you can still walk through it today.
Location and hours
The property sits at 1008 Elden Way, a quiet residential address a short drive from the main business district. It’s operated by the LA County Department of Parks and Recreation, and access is limited to scheduled guided tours rather than open daily hours, so check the current tour calendar before you plan a visit.
Cost and how to book
Guided tours run a modest fee per person, generally in the $10 to $20 range depending on the tour type, and reservations are required in advance since there’s no walk-in access. Bookings go through the county parks system, and slots fill up during spring and fall when the gardens are at their best.
Insider tip
Book a morning slot if you can. The light through the palm forest is better before noon, and smaller morning groups mean your guide has more time to answer questions about the estate’s original owners and the decades of Hollywood parties that happened on these grounds.
3. Wander the free grounds of Greystone Mansion
What it is
Greystone Mansion is a 55-room Tudor Revival estate built in 1928 for oil heir Edward Doheny, and it’s one of the few properties in Beverly Hills where you can walk the entire grounds for free. The mansion itself doesn’t open to the public except for occasional events, but the 18 acres of terraced gardens, fountains, and stone pathways are open daily. Film crews shoot here constantly, so there’s a decent chance you’ll recognize a corner of the property from a movie or TV show without realizing it until you’re standing in it.
You can spend a full afternoon on a private estate in Beverly Hills without spending a dime.
Location and hours
The park sits at 905 Loma Vista Drive, up in the hills above Sunset Boulevard, and it’s officially called Greystone Mansion and Gardens: The Doheny Estate. Grounds are open daily from 10am to 5pm in winter and until 6pm in summer, with the gates closing on a fixed schedule that the city posts online each season.
Cost and how to book
Walking the grounds costs nothing, and there’s no reservation required for general access. Parking near the entrance is metered, so bring quarters or use a parking app, since free street parking further down the hill means a longer walk up. Interior mansion tours happen a few times a year through special events and do require a ticket, but the gardens alone are worth the trip on their own.
Insider tip
Time your visit for late afternoon on a weekday. The crowds thin out, the light hits the fountains well for photos, and you’ll often have entire sections of the terraced gardens to yourself, which is rare for anywhere this close to central Beverly Hills.
4. Taste history at the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills
What it is
Opened in 1967, this small shop on North Beverly Drive has outlasted every trend that’s come through the neighborhood since. The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills stocks over 400 varieties of cheese alongside cured meats, olives, and a deli counter that turns out sandwiches locals have been ordering for decades. Celebrities shop here quietly, without the fanfare you’d expect a few blocks from Rodeo Drive, because the staff treats everyone the same whether you’re buying a wedge of cheddar or building a full charcuterie spread for a dinner party.
The best hidden gem in Beverly Hills might just be a sandwich counter that’s stayed the same since 1967.
Location and hours
You’ll find the store at 419 N Beverly Drive, a short walk from the main shopping strip but far enough that most tourists never wander past it. It’s open daily, generally from 10am to 7pm, with slightly shorter hours on Sundays, though it’s worth checking ahead around holidays when the shop adjusts its schedule for gift orders.
Cost and how to book
No reservation is needed since this is a walk-in retail shop, and prices vary widely depending on what you’re buying, from a $6 sandwich to a $40 imported cheese wedge. Cash and card both work, and the staff will vacuum-seal cheese for travel if you ask, which makes it easy to bring a souvenir home that isn’t a T-shirt.
Insider tip
Ask the counter staff for a taste before you buy anything unfamiliar. They expect it, and it’s the fastest way to find a new favorite cheese without gambling twenty dollars on something you might not like.
5. Step into film history at the Margaret Herrick Library
What it is
Most visitors chasing hidden gems in Beverly Hills never think to look for one inside a research library, but the Margaret Herrick Library holds one of the deepest collections of film history anywhere in the world. Run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, it houses scripts, photographs, correspondence, and production files going back to the silent era, including materials tied to Oscar-winning films you’ve actually seen. Anyone can walk in and request materials, which makes this one of the rare Hollywood archives that isn’t locked away behind a studio gate or a private membership.
A working research library, open to anyone, holds more real Hollywood history than most paid attractions in the city.
Location and hours
The library sits at 1313 N Vine Street, technically just over the Beverly Hills line in Hollywood but close enough that it fits naturally into a day spent in the area. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday, generally from 10am to 5pm, and closed on major holidays, so check the current schedule before making the trip since hours shift occasionally around Academy events.
Cost and how to book
General admission and research access are free, though first-time visitors need to register in advance and reserve materials ahead of their visit since items come out of climate-controlled storage on request. Booking happens through the Academy’s online request system, and it’s worth submitting your list a few days early if you want specific scripts or photographs pulled and ready when you arrive.
Insider tip
Request materials tied to a specific film or actor rather than browsing blind. The staff know the collection deeply, and giving them a narrow starting point almost always leads to unexpected finds you wouldn’t have known to ask for otherwise.
Where to go next in Beverly Hills
Five stops won’t exhaust what Beverly Hills has to offer, but they’ll change how you see the place. Once you’ve walked a private garden, stood on free estate grounds, tasted cheese from a shop that’s outlasted every trend on Rodeo Drive, and dug through real film history at a working archive, the postcard version of this city starts to feel thin by comparison. That’s really the point: hidden gems in Beverly Hills reward the visitor willing to turn down a side street instead of following the crowd.
If you’d rather have someone else handle the planning, that’s exactly what our guides do every day. They know which gate has a story behind it and which bench has the best view, and they’ll build a route around what you actually want to see. Book a private tour and skip straight to the good part.
