Updated September 2026
Beverly Hills packs more into 5.7 square miles than almost any city its size, and most visitors only see the three blocks of Rodeo Drive before moving on. Josh Flagg has lived and sold real estate in this city for over 20 years, and the places on this list are the ones that hold up after the first visit rather than the ones built purely for a photo. Below are 14 of the best things to do in Beverly Hills in 2026, organized by what someone actually wants out of a day here.
Key Takeaways
- Rodeo Drive remains the flagship shopping destination, but the three-block stretch is only part of the story
- Beverly Gardens Park and the Virginia Robinson Gardens offer a quieter, greener side of the city most tourists skip
- The Wallis Annenberg Center anchors a genuine performing arts season, well beyond its reputation as a tourist landmark
- The Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance returns June 21, 2026, for its 31st year
- Several of the city's best experiences, like its spas and small galleries, require almost no planning to enjoy
Shopping Beyond the Obvious
Rodeo Drive Still Delivers, If You Know How to Walk It
Rodeo Drive runs three short blocks between Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard, and nearly every flagship luxury house has a storefront on it, from Chanel to Cartier to Louis Vuitton. First-time visitors sometimes expect a sprawling district and are surprised by how walkable it is, but that compactness is the appeal: it's possible to see a genuine cross-section of the world's luxury retail in under an hour. Two Rodeo, the pedestrian courtyard tucked just off the main drag, is easy to miss and worth the detour for its quieter shops and cafes.
The Golden Triangle Has More Range Than Rodeo Drive Alone
The blocks surrounding Rodeo Drive, generally bounded by Wilshire, Santa Monica, and Canon, hold independent boutiques and specialty jewelers that don't get the same attention as the big fashion houses but often carry more interesting inventory. Anyone shopping Beverly Hills for the first time should plan to wander past Rodeo itself rather than treating it as the entire trip.
Dining, From Old Guard to New Arrivals
Spago Still Sets the Standard
Wolfgang Puck's Spago Beverly Hills has anchored the city's fine dining scene for decades, and it remains a reliable choice for a special-occasion meal. The wine list and the patio both reward a reservation made well in advance.
Alfresco Dining Is a Beverly Hills Habit, Not a Trend
Beverly Hills' mild year-round climate makes outdoor dining a daily reality rather than a seasonal indulgence. Restaurants throughout the Golden Triangle and along Beverly Drive lean into patio seating, and the casual end of that spectrum, coffee shops, sandwich counters, and wine bars, gets far less credit than the fine dining scene despite being where longtime residents actually eat most days.
For a deeper dive into where to eat across the city, see Josh Flagg's guide to the best restaurants in Beverly Hills.
Arts and Culture
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
The Wallis combines a restored 1933 post office building with a modern theater complex, and it runs a genuine season of dance, theater, and music rather than existing as a one-off landmark. It's one of the few venues in the city where the architecture and the programming are equally worth the visit.
Small Galleries Reward a Slow Afternoon
Beverly Hills has a denser concentration of art galleries than its retail reputation suggests, many tucked into the same blocks as the boutiques. The city also runs a formal public art program that rotates sculpture installations through its medians and parks, so a piece seen on one visit may be replaced by something different the next time.
Outdoor Spaces Locals Actually Use
Beverly Gardens Park Runs the Length of the City
This narrow, mile-long park follows Santa Monica Boulevard through the city and includes the Electric Fountain, a cactus garden, and rose gardens spaced along its length. Locals use it for morning walks far more than tourists realize, since most visitors never wander more than a block off Rodeo Drive.
Virginia Robinson Gardens Is the City's Best-Kept Secret
Built on the estate of the first residents of Beverly Hills, the Virginia Robinson Gardens sits on six acres and includes one of the oldest palm forests planted in California. Tours require advance reservations and run through the Los Angeles County Arboreta system, which keeps the gardens quiet even at the height of tourist season. Anyone thinking about their own outdoor space would do well to see how mature palm plantings and structured garden rooms age over a century; it's a useful reference point covered in more detail in Josh Flagg's guide to updating landscaping for curb appeal in Beverly Hills.
Events Worth Building a Trip Around
The Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance Returns June 21, 2026
Rodeo Drive closes to shoppers once a year and fills with vintage and collector cars for the Concours d'Elegance, now in its 31st year. The 2026 event is set for June 21 with an America 250 theme tied to the country's semiquincentennial. It draws collectors and car enthusiasts well beyond the usual Beverly Hills crowd, and it's one of the only times the retail corridor itself becomes the attraction rather than the backdrop.
The Beverly Hills Film Festival
Held annually and now well into its third decade, the Beverly Hills Film Festival screens independent features and shorts across venues in the city. It's a smaller, more accessible alternative to the bigger LA festivals for anyone who wants a genuine film festival experience without the scale of Sundance or TIFF.
Wellness and Quiet Time
Spa Culture Runs Deep Here
Beverly Hills hotels and standalone spas built full wellness programs around the city's reputation long before "wellness" became an industry buzzword elsewhere. The spas at the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Peninsula are the best known, but smaller, appointment-only spas throughout the Golden Triangle often deliver a comparable experience with none of the wait.
What Makes Beverly Hills Worth a Full Day
Beverly Hills rewards people who treat it as a place with layers, not a single street to photograph and leave. The retail gets the attention, but the gardens, the small galleries, and the events calendar are what turn a quick stop into a full day. Readers curious about how the city got this way, and why a town this small carries this much weight, might enjoy Josh Flagg's rundown of surprising facts about Beverly Hills.
Thinking about spending more than a day here? Josh Flagg has represented buyers throughout the Beverly Hills market for over two decades and can help make the case for calling it home.
