The West Coast flagship store of the preppy Madison Avenue-based clothier - a favorite of Ashton Kutcher, who wore a cream-colored Brooks Brothers suit when he married Demi Moore - has a large, trellised, second-floor wraparound deck overlooking the busy intersection of Rodeo Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard. Clients buying suits use it to check color and fit in daylight; others just relax under the Chilean jasmine (Mandevilla) with a complimentary coffee or cappuccino. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to six p.m., and Sunday, noon to five p.m. 468 North Rodeo Drive, (310) 274-4003, www.brooksbrothers.com

3- The Peninsula Beverly Hills
Sarah Jessica Parker has referred to this low-slung, leafy oasis tucked away behind large magnolia trees as "the best-smelling hotel in the world." In addition to the trees' white flowers (with their heady, intoxicating citrusy-apricot aroma) out front, this favorite hotel of celebrities and Hollywood power brokers features a rooftop terrace, dining patio, and garden-villa area, all of which are planted with scentastic Gardenia augusta, pink jasmine, Hall's honeysuckle, French and English lavender, rosemary, Eureka lemon trees, and Valencia orange trees. 9882 South Santa Monica Boulevard, (310) 551-2888, www.peninsula.com

4- Greystone Mansion
A 46,000-square-foot English Gothic Revival mansion, Greystone is best known to moviegoers as the Green Goblin's manor house in Spider-Man (and in the upcoming Spider-Man 3). But the real star of the property is its stunning 18-acre park, which was designed by Paul Thiene. The mansion is open to the public only during the month of November, but the picturesque terraced Mediterranean gardens are an unexpected free refuge and are often filled with artists and writers looking to be inspired by the very un-Californian, E.M. Forster-ish surroundings. The park is open daily, ten a.m. to six p.m. Free. 905 Loma Vista Drive, (310) 550-4796