How to Do Beverly Hills on a Budget

Come and listen to my story ’bout a traveler named Fru
Wants to see the world but wants to save some money, too
What’s the latest place he’s trying to do for cheap or free?
A town in California by the name of Beverly … Hills, that is.

“The Ballad of the Frugal Traveler”

“And about how much would that cost?” I asked at Galerie Michael on Rodeo Drive, motioning toward a gorgeous Picasso linoleum cut. I had spent the last half-hour or so perusing the gallery’s engrossing Salvador Dalí exhibit, which featured a number of drawings and colored lithographs, including a series based on the opera “Carmen.” Admission to the gallery is free. “For a piece like this,” the gallery employee said, “we’re asking $800,000.” I mumbled something incoherent, perhaps because my jaw reflexively hit the floor.

This wasn’t going to be easy. While I was engaged by the prospect of getting to know this famous city (yes, Beverly Hills is its own city — don’t let a local hear you imply it’s merely a neighborhood of Los Angeles), I was also intimidated. How on earth was I going to last a minute here, my modest budget being what it was? Fortunately, by keeping my frugal bearings and getting creative — exploring free galleries, happy hours, local art and music, even a bit of lawn bowling — I discovered ways to play the part of a millionaire while maintaining my penny-pinching ways.

There is no stretch of Beverly Hills more famous than Rodeo Drive, which sits smack in the middle of the city’s so-called Golden Triangle. I was, obviously, not going to be buying much in the street’s high-priced stores — Gucci, Prada and Van Cleef & Arpels are all residents — where a couple of pencils can run you $185 (don’t even ask about a handbag). Window-shopping is touristy, certainly, but I could still have some fun with it.

I simply decided that it was a form of entertainment, no different than any other. I was free to laugh at a $1,960 mini-backpack, or a $7,500 leather jacket, but I was also able to enjoy some of the truly beautiful items (the Gucci store in particular had a lot of fun, playful clothing). The architecture of some of the buildings on Rodeo Drive is also worth appreciating: The Prada store is just one example notable for its confident minimalism.

But beyond the pricey boutiques is an entirely different side to the city — one with businesses with far deeper roots. Kramer’s Pipe & Tobacco Shop, on South Santa Monica Boulevard (a.k.a. “Little Santa Monica”) between Camden and Rodeo Drives, is one such business. Marsha Kramer Keller, an actress and the current proprietor, took over the store when her parents died.