Celebrities pop up everywhere in L.A. If you spend enough time here, you'll surely bump into a few of them. If you're in the city for only a short time, however, it's best to go on the offensive.

Restaurants are your surest bet. Dining out is such a popular recreation among Hollywood's elite that you sometimes wonder whether frequently sighted folks like Johnny Depp, Nicole Kidman, Bridget Fonda, Nicolas Cage, Brad & Jennifer, or Cindy Crawford ever actually eat at home. Matsuhisa, The Ivy, The Palm, Jozu, Paladar, Spago Beverly Hills, and Maple Drive can almost guarantee sightings any night of the week. The city's stylish hotels can also be good bets -- the poolside cabanas at the new Viceroy in Santa Monica are a sure bet, Mondrian draws stars galore to its dining room Asia de Cuba, as well as the elite Sky Bar; and Shutters' lobby lounge is the rendezvous of choice for famous faces heading to dinner at the hotel's One Pico restaurant. The trendiest clubs and bars -- Whiskey Bar, House of Blues, Viper Room, and Sky Bar -- are all good for star sighting, but cover charges can be astronomical and the velvet rope gauntlet oppressive. And it's not always Mick and Quentin and Madonna; a recent night on the town turned up only Yanni, Ralph Macchio, and Dr. Ruth.

Often, the best places to see members of the A-list aren't as obvious as a back-alley stage door or the front room of Spago. Shops along Sunset Boulevard, like Tower Records and the Virgin Megastore, are often star-heavy, as are chichi shops within the Beverly Center mall. Book Soup, that browser's paradise across the street from Tower, is usually good for a star or two. A midafternoon stroll along Melrose Avenue might also produce a familiar face; likewise the chic European-style shops of Sunset Plaza or the Beverly Center.

Or you can seek out the celebrities on the job. It's not uncommon for star-studded movie productions to use L.A.'s diverse cultural landscape for location shots; in fact, it's such a regular occurrence that locals are usually less impressed with an A-list presence than perturbed about the precious parking spaces lost to all those equipment trucks and dressing-room trailers. On-the-street movie shoots are part of what makes L.A. unique, and onlookers gather wherever hastily scrawled production signs point to a hot site. For the inside track on where the action is, check the "Daily Shoot Sheet" at www.eidc.com. This isn't some word-of-mouth groupie posting. This is a strictly legit online listing of every filming permit applied for within the city limits. Entries are classified by type (commercial advertisement, feature film, student film, TV program) and working title, and the site lists production hours and exact street addresses.

Keep your eyes peeled for celebrities -- everyone does in L.A. -- and you'll more than likely be rewarded. And don't forget to peer through the windows of any Land Rover or Mercedes driving by; even movie stars have errands to run.

Almost everybody who visits L.A. hopes to see a celebrity -- they are, after all, our most common export. But celebrities usually don't cooperate, failing to gather in readily viewable herds. There is, however, an absolutely guaranteed method to approach within 6 feet of many famous stars. Cemeteries are the place for star (or at least headstone) gazing: The star is always available, and you're going to get a lot more up close and personal than you probably would to anyone who's actually alive. Here is a guide to the most fruitful cemeteries, listed in order of their friendliness to stargazers.

Weathered Victorian and Art Deco memorials add to the decaying charm of Hollywood Forever (formerly Hollywood Memorial Park), 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood (tel. 323/469-1181). Fittingly, there's a terrific view of the Hollywood sign over the graves, as many of the founders of the community rest here. The most notable tenant is Rudolph Valentino, who rests in an interior crypt. Outside are Tyrone Power Jr.; Douglas Fairbanks Sr.; Cecil B. DeMille (facing Paramount, his old studio); Carl "Alfalfa" Spritzer from The Little Rascals (the dog on his grave is not Petey); Hearst mistress Marion Davies; John Huston; and a headstone for Jayne Mansfield (she's really buried in Pennsylvania with her family). In 2000, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. joined his dad at Hollywood Forever.

Catholic Holy Cross Cemetery, 5835 W. Slauson Ave., Culver City (tel. 310/670-7697), hands out maps to the stars' graves. In one area, within mere feet of each other, lie Bing Crosby, Bela Lugosi (buried in his Dracula cape), and Sharon Tate; not far away are Rita Hayworth and Jimmy Durante. Also here are "Tin Man" Jack Haley and "Scarecrow" Ray Bolger, Mary Astor, John Ford, and Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt. More recent arrivals include John Candy and Audrey Meadows.

The front office at Hillside Memorial Park, 6001 Centinela Ave., Baldwin Hills (tel. 310/641-0707), can provide a guide to this Jewish cemetery, which has an L.A. landmark: the behemoth tomb of Al Jolson. His rotunda, complete with a bronze reproduction of Jolson and cascading fountain, is visible from I-405. Also on hand are Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Vic Morrow, and Michael Landon.

You just know developers get stomachaches looking at Westwood Village Memorial Park, 1218 Glendon Ave., Westwood (tel. 310/474-1579; the staff can direct you around), smack-dab in the middle of some of L.A.'s priciest real estate (behind the AVCO office building south of Wilshire Blvd.). But it's not going anywhere, especially when you consider its most famous resident: Marilyn Monroe. It's also got Truman Capote, Roy Orbison, John Cassavetes, Armand Hammer, Donna Reed, and Natalie Wood. Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon are buried here as well, a fitting ending for the Odd Couple.

Forest Lawn Glendale, 1712 S. Glendale Ave. (tel. 323/254-3131), likes to pretend it has no celebrities. The most prominent of L.A. cemeteries, it's also the most humorless. The place is full of bad art, all part of the continuing vision of founder Huburt Eaton, who thought cemeteries should be happy places. So he banished those gloomy upright tombstones and monuments in favor of flat, pleasant, character-free, flush-to-the-ground slabs. Contrary to urban legend, Walt Disney was not frozen and placed under Cinderella's castle at Disneyland. His cremated remains are in a little garden to the left of the Freedom Mausoleum. Turn around, and just behind you are Errol Flynn and Spencer Tracy. In the Freedom Mausoleum itself are Nat "King" Cole, Chico Marx, Gummo Marx, and Gracie Allen -- finally joined by George Burns. In a columbarium near the Mystery of Life is Humphrey Bogart. Unfortunately, some of the best celebs -- such as Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Jean Harlow -- are in the Great Mausoleum, which you often can't get into unless you're visiting a relative.

You'd think a place that encourages people to visit for fun would understand what the attraction is. But no -- Forest Lawn Glendale won't tell you where any of their illustrious guests are, so don't ask. This place is immense -- and, frankly, dull in comparison to the previously listed cemeteries, unless you appreciate the kitsch value of the Forest Lawn approach to art.

Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Dr. (tel. 800/204-3131), is slightly less anal than the Glendale branch, but the same basic attitude prevails. On the right lawn, near the statue of George Washington, is Buster Keaton. In the Courts of Remembrance are Lucille Ball, Charles Laughton, and the not-quite-gaudy-enough tomb of Liberace. Outside, in a vault on the Ascension Road side, is Andy Gibb. Bette Davis's sarcophagus is in front of the wall, to the left of the entrance to the Courts. Gene Autry is also buried here, almost within earshot of the museum that bears his name.

Another Kind of Spectator Sport--Attention sports fans: If you want to see your favorite NBA or NHL players up close in their civvies, find out when they're playing the L.A. Lakers, Clippers, or Kings, then dress up nice and drive over to the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey. This is where all the pro teams stay whenever they're playing in L.A. You don't have to rent a room -- just order a drink in the lounge and keep an eye on the lobby (you can't miss the huge basketball players). On game nights they typically check out around 3pm.