Hollywood Studio Tour

Short answer: for film lovers, book one of the working studios. For families with a theme park day planned, the Universal tram comes with the ticket and is fun on its own terms. Few people need both.

The confusion comes from the word "studio". Several companies still make films and television on their own lots around Los Angeles, and three of them sell guided tours to the public. Universal also has a working lot, but its famous Studio Tour is a ride inside a theme park, with staged effects along the way. Here is how they compare.

Warner Bros., Burbank

The biggest of the working-lot tours. A guide drives a small group round the backlot streets, past exterior sets used again and again in film and TV, and into a sound stage or two if nothing is shooting. The tour ends in a self-guided area with costumes, props and sets you can step into, including the Central Perk café from Friends. It is the most polished of the three and the easiest first choice. Children under 5 are not admitted, and under-18s must come with an adult.

Paramount, Melrose Avenue

The only major studio still inside Hollywood itself, behind the arched Bronson Gate that appears in Sunset Boulevard. The standard tour is by cart, with long stretches on foot around the New York Street backlot and the prop warehouse. It leans more on history, since Paramount has been on this site for about a century. Children under 10 can't go. Combine it with the old cemetery next door, described in our Hollywood guide.

Sony, Culver City

The old MGM lot, where The Wizard of Oz was filmed. This one is a walking tour, runs on weekdays, and is limited to visitors aged 12 and over. It is the quietest of the three and feels most like an actual workplace, with crew carts and production offices around you. Pick it if you are staying on the Westside or already know the other two.

Universal Studios Hollywood

The tram tour sits inside the theme park and is included in park admission. It rolls past the Psycho house, the plane-crash set from War of the Worlds and the Wisteria Lane houses, with a flood, an earthquake and a shark along the way. It works well for children and anyone who likes rides; less so for people who want to see how films are made, because the effects are the point.

What you won't see

Stars, as a rule. On the working lots, which stages you enter depends on what is filming that day, and photos inside stages are often restricted. Treat anything more as luck.

Book the three working-lot tours directly on each studio's own website. Tours run in small groups with timed start slots, and the more popular times go days ahead in summer and school holidays. Sony has no walk-up sales; the others sometimes sell on the day, but we would not count on it. Each studio also sells longer premium versions with extra areas and a meal; the standard tour is enough for most people.

Before you pay, check:

• the minimum age, which differs at every studio
• the photo ID rules; working studios usually ask every adult to show one at the gate
• parking or transport: Warner Bros. and Universal are over the hills in the Valley, and Universal City has its own Metro B Line station
• the change and cancellation terms, since tours are occasionally rerouted around productions

The Universal tram can't be bought on its own; it comes with park admission, so plan it as part of a park day. Third-party packages that bundle a studio tour with a bus tour exist, but add little beyond transport.

• Pick one working lot, not three. The formats overlap; after one, the backlot streets start to look familiar.
• Go on a weekday. More productions are active, so you see crews at work instead of empty stages.
• Brush up first. Watch a film shot on the lot the night before and the tour lands better.
• Group it with the area. Traffic rules the day in Los Angeles. Pair Paramount with the rest of Hollywood, Warner Bros. with Universal City, Sony with the Westside. Our three-day itinerary shows how we cluster days.
• Skip the Walk of Fame "studio" stands. Hawkers on Hollywood Boulevard sell van tours of celebrity homes. They don't go onto any studio lot.
• Wear walking shoes. Even the cart tours involve a good amount of walking between stages.