Enjoy a curated journey through space and time at the Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles's gateway to the stars. This tour, designed by former observatory employees, shows you the best of the 67,000 square feet exhibition space, and covers the science, history, architecture, and movie trivia of the iconic site. Note the special ticket option for the planetarium theater, a 40-minute immersive show with live narration for ages 5+.

Learn about the history, film trivia, science, and lore of Griffith Observatory
Explore LA's vast, historic landmark on a curated tour
Small group tour
Optional special ticket option for the planetarium theater show

What's Included

English Speaking Tour Guide by ExperienceFirst a Private Tour Company

Planetarium Show Tickets ($10 extra, on-site)
Parking
Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

2800 E Observatory Rd
2800 E Observatory Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
Meet your guide on the front lawn at Astronomers Monument. NOTE: We are an independent tour company and are not affiliated with the City of LA or their employees. If you ask Observatory staff about the tour they won’t be able to help. You MUST check in with your guide at the Astronomer’s Monument.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Griffith Observatory

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hollywood Sign (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Stroller accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible

Most travelers can participate
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Wheelchair accessible
Meet your guide on the front lawn at Astronomers Monument. NOTE: We are an independent tour company and are not affiliated with the City of LA or their employees. If you ask Observatory staff about the tour they won’t be able to help. You MUST check in with your guide at the Astronomer’s Monument.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

86 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 86 reviews

Very informative

Keisha_J, Sep 2023

Great tour. Tour guide was on time, prep the group before tour and she was very informative. Great!!

Fun evening at Griffith

Ritaliz_L, Sep 2023

Estevan was very knowledgeable about the history of the observatory and astronomy. He was a true story-teller!

Very good.

Danielle_S, Aug 2023

Tour guide was very knowledgeable of history and facts of the Observatory. He was also funny and fun!

Sad I couldn’t join tour

Elin_D, Aug 2023

I’m sure it was great but I can’t really say anything about the quality of the tour since I wasn’t able to join it, booked my Uber too late to get there on time. Too bad you’re not allowed to join if you arrive more than 10minutes late, saw the guide/group I was supposed to have gone with, felt kind of ridiculous since I still had to pay for it.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear this! You could have still joined the group if you saw them - we just don't guarantee you can meet up after 10 minutes since it's harder to coordinate once they go inside the museum. We would be happy to reschedule you to another day/time though. Just reach out directly and we can set that up so you're not out of the cost! Best, Dara

Great tour. Bad parking.

joni1740, Jul 2023

Michael was an excellent guide. He was smart, funny, informative and engaging. And he communicated with us prior to our appointment. My negative is the Observatory parking. Unless you go on an extremely quiet day or when it opens, park at the Greek theater and take the bus. Otherwise, a lot of time is wasted or you will have a long walk up hill.

Awesome visit

Wayne_C, Jul 2023

I love that the tour guide personalized each guests experience based on where they were from. He was super knowledgeable and made it fun. It was easy for me since I’m a space nerd.

Great place to visit with a tour guide

Ayda_M, Jul 2023

The Tour guide is very nice and Griffith Observatory is a great place to visit especially for the students my kids like it.

Did not show

Jennifer_H, Jul 2023

The tour guide never showed up. Paid to park, waited 45 minutes. Did not even have the decency to message me back.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Hello - the guide was there and with the other guests who arrived on time. We are not able to wait for late guests as that would be unfair for the others. We have the meeting location clearly written in the description - perhaps you were in the wrong location? We did try to contact you but reception can be bad in Griffith Park. If you contact me directly we would happily reschedule you! Best, Dara

Wonderful tour! Our guide...

Summer_S, Jul 2023

Wonderful tour! Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and brought this beautiful place to life. Highly recommended!

excellent experience!

Ron_S, Jul 2023

Top notch experience - Barry is incredibly knowledgeable and very enthusiastic. Everyone in our group really enjoyed this tour. Thank you!

Estevan was excellent,...

irena_t, Jun 2023

Estevan was excellent, very funny and engaging! Very good with kids. Spoke a little too quickly and quietly to hear at times, so we missed maybe 20% of the information.

Well worth the investment to provide insights into the Griffith Observatory!

Melissa_M, Jun 2023

Excellent guide! Very knowledge and charismatic. His tour helped us understand more about the history of the Observatory as well as helped Astronomy.

Great experience!

Robert_H, Apr 2023

We have a great tourist guide,Stevan was very knowledgeable about it. We recommend when you are visiting The Griffith Observatory to have your tourist guide. Great experience overall!

A wealth of knowledge and passion

Andrew_M, Apr 2023

A very knowledgeable guide. He goes at a good pace, and makes sure that the group is with him and can hear him. It would have been nice to see a more scientific approach to the tou (science always should be able to question and seek alternatives). He spoke of evolution as if it was concrete fact, and not a theory and a theology. We weren’t there to observe 14 billion years ago. We also cannot assume that the observations we make about the pace of change today have always had the same pace. That said, overall a very enjoyable tour and highly recommended. I would do it again.

Griffith observatory tour

Kyle_Z, Mar 2023

Our guide Barry was educated and informative, good tour. Parking can be a marathon walk, plan ahead otherwise a very nice experience

Wonderful Experience

Valerie_B, Mar 2023

We had a wonderful time and learned a lot about our universe. Estevan did a great job touring us around and answering our questions.

Great experience

Mary_F, Mar 2023

The view is phenomenal. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour very interesting as well as fun.

Best small group tour ever!!

Ian_C, Feb 2023

What an amazing experience to have a tour guide with such incredible knowledge of the Griffith Observatory. Estevan was incredible and gave a really fantastic tour and hit on all the highlights of the building, views, and details you would not get from a self guided tour. Better than fussing with the crowd in the building and just plain ole fun! Estevan was the perfect host for that tour and Viator will be my go to for all my travel destinations! Made for a great day!!!

Excelent tour!

AnaIsabel_A, Jul 2022

A magical place, with beautiful views. I spent a wonderful time there with a excelent tour guide. Highly recommended.

You sold me a ticket to a closed show

Larry_B, Apr 2022

I bought a ticket for 3 to tour the Griffith Observatory and Planetarium. Only when I checked the website for directions did I find out the Planetarium is closed. I spent hours on the phone and internet trying to talk to someone without success.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

I feel this review is unfair. Griffith Observatory notified us they closed the planetarium for the weekend ONE day prior. This is a city run museum and their operating hours and COVID related closures are out of our control. We then canceled and issued you a full refund per YOUR request before the tour even happened. You didn't even experience the actual tour, which did still happen and other guests still enjoyed, and got your money back immediately so its unfortunate that you would leave a review such as this as it really affects our business.