GTA V Los Santos is mirrored on the real life LA. We take a look at the GTA 5 game locations and their real-life Southern California locations.
Los Santos city includes all the key areas of LA such as Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, L.A.’s Koreatown, South Central and Downtown L.A. (all with different names, of course) while omitting some of the less interesting areas. Beyond the city there is the rest of Southern California; Salton Sea region, Wine County and a military base.
The extensive topographic variation of Southern California makes the GTA V environment one of the the biggest, most dynamic and most diverse open world ever created.
Del Perro Pier (Real-Life: Santa Monica Pier)
“Del Perro is a laidback, trendy beachfront community made up of hip tanned new-agey-type yuppies and hip tanned new-agey-type homeless people. Bums on Del Perro beach have a higher standard of living than most of the rest of the United States.” Ha, so obviously based on the city of Santa Monica!
Big Creek Bridge (Real-Life: Bixby Bridge)
The beautiful bridge is a spitting image of the iconic Bixby Creek Bridge in Big Sur, California.
Los Santos Observatory – Verdant Bluffs (Real-Life: Griffith Observatory)
Los Santos Observatory is situated in Verdant Bluffs; over 2,000 acres of natural terrain,and is urban wilderness area in all of San Andreas. On top of the hill is the historic Los Santos Observatory based on the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
Vinewood Sign (Real-Life: Hollywood Sign)
The Vinewood sign is a homage to the Hollywood sign and is described as “a beacon of false hope for impressionable young hopefuls the world over, no visit to Los Santos is complete without a selfie at the Vinewood Sign.” Clearly an homage to the Hollywood sign!
Vinewood Bowl (Real-Life: Hollywood Bowl)
The Vinewood Bowl, is an cool outdoor entertainment venue located beneath the Vinewood Sign – all the chart toppers like ‘Love Fist’ have been there! The “Bowl” is based of the iconic Hollywood Bowl in L.A.
The Oriental (Real-Life: Graumann’s Chinese Theater)
The Oriental is a famous theatre and is based on the real life TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood (used to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre)
Von Crastenberg Hotel (Real-Life: Roosevelt Hotel)
The Von Crastenburg Hotel is a ultra glamorous hotel located in Los Santos, San Andreas and is owned by the Von Crastenburg Family, one of the richest families in the world. Hmmm, sounds familiar and is modelled on the Roosevelt Hotel! Oh, this is the location for Franklin’s epic hotel assassination mission.
Tequil La-La (Real-Life: Whisky a Go Go)
Tequil La-La is influenced on the legendary rock n’ roll nightclub ‘Whisky a Go Go’ located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. It is featured in the Stranger side mission Vinewood Souvenirs – Willy, where Trevor Philips must collect a gold tooth from Willy.
Playboy Mansion (Playboy mansion)
The Playboy mansion Easter Egg is found in northwest Richmond and includes the infamous grotto and play bunnies! Obviously based on Hugh Heffeners playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills.
Vespucci Beach (Real-Life: Venice Beach)
Vespucci Beach is based on Venice Beach in L.A. Vespucci Beach is also home to an open-air gym, Muscle Sands aka Muscle Beach.
Los Santos Forum (Real-Life: L.A. Forum)
The Los Santos Forum is the main stadium in Los Santos and resembles the Los Angeles Forum. It is home to professional sports teams in Los Santos such as the Los Santos Saints, Los Santos Dribblers and the Los Santos Slappers.
Jefferson Towers (Real-Life: Watts Towers)
Jefferson is a district slightly to the northeast of Los Santos and are inspired by the real life Tourist attraction the Watts Towers.
Los Santos Storm Drain (Real-Life: L.A. River)
The Los Santos Storm Drain is a river canal that runs throughout most of Los Santos, San Andreas and is based on the real life Los Angeles River. The Canal is heavily involved in the mission ‘Just Business’ as a place of escaping the pursuing Russian Mafia.
The Alamo Sea, AKA Sandy Shores (Real-Life: Salton Sea)
The Alamo Sea is described as “a putrid, salt-rich lake.” This is pretty accurate since it’s based on the real-life Salton Sea, a shallow, saline, smelly rift lake.
Hippie town in the desert (Real-Life: Salvation Mountain)
Salvation Mountain hippie art installation served as the inspiration for GTA V’s Hippie Town in the Desert. It’s an hippie commune that serves as a “tribute to God and his gift to the world.” Damn hippies!
Photos via roadtrippers.kinja.com Check out their: arget=”_blank” class=”ui-editor-link-external”>GTAV Road Trip
References via www.grandtheftwiki.com
