The three blocks of Rodeo Drive north of Wilshire Boulevard rank among the most famous shopping districts in the world, comparable with the Champs-Elysees in Paris, or Florence’s Ponte Vecchio. The one big difference is style; along Europe’s great boulevards one would never think of wearing a sweatshirt and jeans to go shopping for a $1,000 silk blouse.

People-watching reaches its peak at the coffee bar in nearby Giorgio. North of that are Hermes, where scarves have become an art form, and Gucci, the Italian purveyor of handbags and accessories.

The Rodeo Collection, a group of stores just to the north, includes several suppliers of crystal-ware and jewellery, including Barakat, a fine art gallery. Once relieved of your excess cash, it might be relaxing to drive over to the Greystone Park and Mansion. The hose was built in 1928 by oil baron Edward Doheny and then vacated after his son was found dead there in an apparent love suicide.