Where: Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles is home for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The Walt Disney family's initial gift of $50 million to build a world-class performance venue resulted in a masterpiece of design by architect Frank Gehry, and an acoustic quality that equals the best concert halls in the world.

Similar to Gehry's most famous building, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, the concert hall's stainless-steel exterior is a series of curved surfaces that partially envelop the entire building, presenting multiple glimmering facades to the surrounding neighborhood.

Inside is a 2,273-seat auditorium with curved woods and an impressive array of organ pipes (also designed by Gehry), as well as Joachim Splichal's Patina restaurant, the hip Concert Hall Cafe, a bookstore and a gift shop.

If you go: The 3 1/2-acre Concert Hall is open to the public for viewing, but to really experience it, attend a concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Also recommended are the $12 audio tours, which lead visitors through the Concert Hall's history from conception to creation.

The 45-minute self-guided tour is narrated by actor John Lithgow and includes interviews with Gehry, Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Esa-Pekka Salonen and acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, among others.

One big caveat is that you see just about everything except the auditorium: There's almost always a rehearsal in progress and the acoustics are so good that there's no discreet way to sneak a peek. The audio tours are available on most nonmatinee days from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (check their Web site for the monthly tour schedule).

Where to eat: The Walt Disney Concert Hall is home to Joachim Splichal's Patina restaurant; his Patina Restaurant Group (www.patinagroup.com) also operates a cafe in the concert hall where musicians and concertgoers eat before the performances.

Getting there: The Walt Disney Concert Hall is at 111 S. Grand Ave. at First Street in Los Angeles. 323-850-2000; 213-972-4399, www.disneyhall.com/wdch.