Southern California Sunshine is an American Express Vacations Crown Jewel

American Express Vacations is offering new and improved California vacation packages. California is called the golden state because of its famous gold rush in 1849. But in actuality, it’s the golden state because of its beautiful weather. This beach side state is known for its laid back attitude towards life, making it a popular travel destination. Besides the beautiful Southern California weather, this state offers visitors a huge array of attractions and activities that create a magnificent vacation for people of all ages. Orange County Southern California is so large and diverse, that American Express Travel has effectively broken up into three areas of interest. The first is Orange County. Made popular by the recent television show, the OC, Orange County contains some of the most popular beaches in the continental United States. These beaches offer surfers some of the best terrain to employ their sport. On the edge of Orange County is one of the most famous childhood institutions ever mad: Disneyland! This resort has grown quite a lot in the last ten years, and now hosts three Disney owned hotels, the original Disneyland theme park and a new park called California Adventure. The area is full of many other hotels that cater to family travelers. And literally down the road from Disneyland is Angels stadium, home to the 2002 World Champion baseball team the Angles. Los Angeles The next important section of California is the Los Angles area. Home to big business, this booming metropolitan area is home to some pretty famous landmarks. Stop by Alvera Street to experience the cities Latin influences and to see Union Station. Visit downtown s garment district for some great discount shopping. Don’t miss the La Brea Tar Pits and the Page museum, which can be found on Museum Rom near the LA County Art Museum and the Modern Art Museum. See the new Los Angeles Cathedral while checking out the Disney Concert Hall, the Dorothy Chandler, and the Ahmenson Theater. With so much to do, you’ll never be board. Hollywood About forty minutes from downtown, experience the magic of Hollywood. Your first stop should be Grauman’s Chinese Theater. You can get a tour of the original theater in all its glory, or actually see a movie in one of the theaters refurbished sections. Then step outside to see the hand and footprints of some of the biggest stars to ever live. Maybe your hands fit into the prints of Clark Gable or Harrison Ford. Stand where Shirley Temple once danced and Judy Garland sang. See the star walk of fame that lines the streets outside the theater. Just next-door is the Kodak Theater, where every year the Academy Awards are held. The Kodak shopping center is also a treat, offering luxury boutiques, fun dining experiences and even the popular Build-a-Bear workshop. Across the street from the Chinese Theater is the El Capitan, an old style movie theater with special pre movie shows and a classic pipe organ that is still played for the moviegoers. Next to the El Capitan, you can attend the filming of the Jimmy Kimmel Show. All the while, you can gaze at the Hollywood sign, day or night! The best way to see all these great Southern California sights is through American Express Travel Deals , which will combine air, hotel and car rental into a great package. This way, travelers can see the amazing wonders of Southern California on their own time. It’s not impossible to see it all! Virginia Morgan writes tourism and travel articles for AMT American Express Travel , The Internet’s premier resource for American Express Vacations . Serving customers online since 1996.