When James and I were first planning where to go for our September holiday, James was torn between California and India (#firstworldproblems). The idea of going on a Buffy and Angel LA tour really sealed the deal for the Golden State. James has always been a HUGE Buffy fan and it must be contagious because since first watching Buffy three or four years ago, I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve re-watched all seven seasons. Living alone, I watch a lot of TV in the background as I’m pottering around the house. I take so much comfort in the familiarity of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and I will forever wish Willow was a real person so she could be my best friend!
We spent a full day driving around Los Angeles looking at Buffy sets – some more central to the plot than others. There are a lot of Buffy sights to see, but we picked a handful of the best ones, listed below in chronological order in case you want to do your own Buffy and Angel LA tour!
*Spoiler alert!
Santa Monica Pier (Angel)
Address: 350 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica
Santa Monica Pier only gets a short amount of screen time in Angel, but this is where we started our Buffy and Angel LA tour. It is definitely worth a visit if you’re in Los Angeles. The carousel on the pier is where Gunn and Fred went looking for vampires in the Angel episode “Loyalty” and Gunn and Fred also took Connor to the nearby beach in the episode “Benediction.”
Sunnydale High School (Buffy)
Address: 2200 W. Carson Street, Torrance
Sunnydale High School must be the most iconic set in the whole series. They shoot in here a lot in seasons 1 to 3 and whenever I’m watching with friends we can’t go 10 minutes without me interrupting with an excited “I was there!!” The school is actually Torrance High School, and the corridors, exterior, and inner courtyard are all real-life features (sadly not the library.)
We visited on a weekend, found the gate open and had a peek inside – although I have read posts from people who have successfully contacted the school and asked for an official tour. There were builders on site at the time and if they did notice us then they didn’t mind seem to mind. I don’t recommend doing this when there are children in school, for obvious reasons! It was so, so surreal to be walking up those stairs where Xander crashes into the railings after seeing Buffy on the first episode, and walking down the corridor where Giles lectures the rest of the gang.
Buffy’s House (Buffy)
Address: 1313 Cota Drive, Torrance
The Summers house is conveniently only a short walk from the school in Torrance. Real people actually live there so we didn’t want to linger for too long, but I did manage to get a couple of photos of James outside. In the beginning of Buffy, the interior of the house was used for filming, but they reconstructed the set in the lot at Santa Monica after the residents of Torrance grew tired of the film crews. Rumour has it that the explosion that destroys the school in Season 3 was scheduled for the early evening but, as filming ran late, it happened at 2am and pissed off the neighbourhood. Shots of the exterior are used throughout all seven seasons – although the front yard has changed quite a bit, now 14 years after filming finished!
Wolfram and Hart (Angel)
Address: Sony Pictures Plaza, 10202 W. Washington Boulevard, Culver City
The evil corporate law office from Angel is actually the Sony Pictures Plaza in Culver City. A business complex in Thousand Oaks is used for the interior scenes, and some exterior shots in Season 5 are from the Arco Center Towers in Long Beach. This building is definitely the most recognizably Wolfram and Hart.
Sunnydale Cemetery (Buffy)
Address: Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, 1831 W. Washington Boulevard, West Adams District
Take note: the cemetary closes at 5pm!
Most of the graveyard scenes in Buffy were actually shot in the car park of the Santa Monica Studio lot, where the filmmakers erected fake gravestones. All the wide wide-angled shots of Sunnydale Cemetary however, were filmed here in, I kid you not, Angelus Cemetery. I wonder whether the name inspired the choice of cemetery, or the name of the cemetery inspired Angel’s name? The mix of palm trees and gravestones made me feel very much like I was in Sunnydale. I would have liked more time to wander around and look at headstones, but we arrived late and were kicked out promptly at 5pm.
The Hyperion Hotel (Angel)
Address: The Los Altos Hotel and Apartments, 4121 Wilshire Blvd, Hollywood
The hotel where Angel and the rest of the Angel Investigations team lived is, in fact, the Los Altos Hotel. Some interior scenes were shot in the Ambassador Hotel but the exterior and the courtyard is definitely the Los Altos. This place feels very Old Hollywood, which I suppose is what the directors were going for. The Courtyard was deserted and the gates were open when we visited on a Sunday evening, so we were free to wander around and recall scenes of Angel brooding amongst the plants.
Angel’s Mansion (Buffy)
Address: Ennis House, 2607 Glendower Avenue
The mansion where Angel lives in Season 2 with Drusilla and Spike (and by himself in Season 3) is actually the Ennis House in the Hollywood Hills. The interior was recreated as a studio lot in the set, but the exterior shots in Buffy are from the house itself. The house was built by Frank Lloyd Wright and is a national landmark, currently owned by Ronald Burkle (inspiration for Winifred Burkle’s character perhaps?!) It’s up a narrow and windy street in the Hills and it’s particularly hard to park. The area is very wealthy and we had some disapproving looks as we were taking photos on the street, although no one asked us to leave. If you wanted to go inside, there are also official tours of the house on offer.
Griffith Observatory (Angel)
Address: 2800, East Observatory Road
Okay, so the Griffith Observatory is only briefly featured in Angel but it’s so near Angel’s Mansion, you might as well visit whilst you’re there. There’s a scene in the episode “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been,” in the second season filmed here. It’s the 1950s episode, with flashbacks to Angel’s past, living in the Hyperion Hotel for the first time. The Observatory has brilliant views across the whole of LA and the Hollywood sign. I highly recommend finishing your tour here to watch the sun set.
Other Buffy Spots
There are lots of other spots that we didn’t get a chance to see. Here are some of the next best in case you want to include them in your own Buffy and Angel LA tour:
Town Hall (office of the Mayor from Season 3)
Address: 15411 Crenshaw Blvd, Torrance
The Library of UC Sunnydale
Address: Powell Library on the UCLA campus
Church in “Who Are You”, Season 4.
Address: Church of the Angels, 1100 Avenue 64, Pasadena
Xander and Anya’s apartment
Address: 844 S. Plymouth Boulevard
Glory’s Apartment (Season 5)
Address: The Castle Green Apartments, 99 S. Raymond Avenue, Pasadena
The Factory (home of the Master, the Order of Aurellius and Spike and Drusilla in Seasons 1 and 2)
Address: Willow Street and South Santa Fe Avenue, Los Angeles
Kingmann’s Bluff, the hill where Angel tries to kill himself in “Amends” and where evil Willow raises the Temple of Proserpexa in the Season 6 finale “Grave”
Address: Angel Gate Park, San Pedro
Thanks to the following articles for lots of great info!
Wikipedia – Buffy Filming Locations
Doux Reviews
Buffy was also a few years ahead of me growing up so I never got into it. I always watch Netflix and I need a new show to watch so I’ll have to check it out!
They’ve actually taken it off UK Netflix (as well as The Office) which is so annoying! They were the two best programmes on there! Luckily we have the box sets to re-watch x
Oh my! What a fun idea! That’s such a blast that you guys decided to do this!
We enjoyed watching Buffy so much. We have not had a chance to start Angel yet though. Ha I just love these pictures! XO – Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
Angel is good! Some characters / story lines are a little irritating but there are some really great episodes x
I think this was probably the best day of my life
This is incredible! I know you are a Buffy fan so this must have just been such a great day for you both xxx
It was amazing! James and I can’t stop talking about it. And it’s so surreal being somewhere that is so familiar to you but from a fictional world x
ohh godd. i need to go. i now actually have this bookmarked and am definitely using this as a guide at some point in my life. lucky you!
DO IT! It was so surreal but so magical!
Hey Jess!
Just came across your post ~ amazing photos!
I, too, am heading to LA in a couple weeks and plan on visiting Torrance High School! Do you suggest I go on a Sunday as well? And can you just walk into the courtyard area freely? I thought it would be closed off, or you’d need to go in through the school itself haha.
Thanks a ton girl!
~ Neia
I’m emailing you with more details Neia! xx
This is super helpful! My husband and I are going to LA next week for my birthday/Halloween (we are dressing as Spike and Buffy!) so we are definitely planning on stopping by the high school and Buffy’s house at least. Do you think Saturday is an okay day to visit? I’m worried there might be school activities going on…
That is awesome, you are going to have the best time! If you remember I would LOVE to see photos of your outfits
Even if there are school activities going on, it’s easy to walk up to the front of the school to have a look / take photos and it’s such an iconic location. You could always try contacting the school to ask them if you can wander around inside, but you risk them saying no (which might make it harder for you to visit.)
My husband and I are going to California next summer and plan on doing this
I’ve been to the Ennis house last october, It’s awsome. We went there after visiting Griffith Observatory, at the end of the day/early evening. I would suggest going when it’s still light out, because it is quite a walk and my friends thought it was a bit creepy in twilight. Love your site!
Hi! My partner and I are going to LA in September and I would LOVE to visit the high school where Buffy was filmed! Please can you email me details of how you got in to have a look around? Do we need to ask anyone for permission or can you just enter the courtyard at the weekend freely? Thanks!!
I’m emailing you Aida!
Hi Jess, I have the exact same question as Aida! I’m going to LA in January to visit a friend. Thank you in advance and thanks for the cool blog
hey guys ill be in LA in september and would love some insider info on how to get in and look around, massive fan of buffy!!
I’m emailing you too!
This is the best!!!! Me and hubby are doing this when we visit from Australia!!
I hope you have an amazing time!
Hey Jess! So amazingly a year after I commented we are in LA and hoping to go to the school today, a Saturday visit should be fine do you think? Thanks a bunch!
Hi Jessica, sorry I didn’t get back to you the same day. I hope your visit was fantastic! I would love to hear more about it so that I can share with others who are planning to go – my email is jessthetics@gmail.com if you’d like to drop me a line
Hi Jess – can you email me the info on the school access as well?
Of course
Great page Jess – I’m travelling over from Australia and will passing through Torrance on a Tuesday or Wednesday so am planning on going to the school after hours – do u have any tips of the best time and ways to get in the school to visit the courtyard (I’d rather not have to jump the fence (but will if I have to:)
Thanks again for ur great detailed tour!
Just emailing you now Rob – you’re going to have the best time!
I’m going To California the end of February and would love to visit all the Buffy sites that you went to could you please email me what the best order is to go and visit all of these locations and how long you think it would take to see them is it possible to see them all in one day and is everything pretty close to one another also could you send me some details as well for how you got to look around the high school And any other tips for anything else thank you so much
Hi Alex, the order I recommend is the order that I’ve listed in the post! I did this tour in one day with no problems, although (as you can see in the photos) the sun was setting by the time I got to the Observatory, You will need a car though. I’ll send you an email too with all the details
Hi,
i love your photos and infos, it’s really helpful for a good Buffy/Angel tour !
I’m going to California in just a month and of course i plan to go to Torrance High. I read a lot about how people could or could not get in. It’s totally normal to me that it’s closed to public during school time (school will start like 3 days before we go there), but i would love to have a few photos as you did there. If you have more infos, it would be so great
Hi Charlotte,
That’s so exciting, I hope you have a fab time in California! I’ll send you an email with a bit more info about my experience.