The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden occupies 127 acres of what was once Lucky Baldwin's Rancho Santa Anita. The collection is organised by geography — gardens of Australian, African, South American, and Asian plants, with extensive Mediterranean and Californian sections. A natural spring fills Baldwin Lake at the centre of the property, and free-ranging peacocks have run of the grounds.
The arboretum has been a steady film location since the 1930s; the giant tropical fronds in the Tantor Pool stood in for African jungle in the Tarzan films, and the Queen Anne Cottage appeared in the opening credits of Fantasy Island. Allow at least three hours; longer for a quiet day with a picnic.