Looking for section numbers and the best seats by level? See the Hollywood Bowl Seating Chart.
Upcoming events at Hollywood Bowl
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Match the Seat to the Night
The right Hollywood Bowl seat depends on what you are seeing. For an LA Phil classical program or a film night with live orchestra, the smart buy is a padded Super Seat in the middle, or a bench in the lower part of a center section: a straight view of the shell, a seat with a back and a clear look at the video screens. For a rock or pop concert, demand starts at the front, and the movable chairs of the Pool Circle plus the Garden Boxes behind them get you near enough to read expressions. For a picnic dinner with friends, a Terrace Box with its own table is worth more than a slightly closer bench.
The venue itself is a natural canyon in the Hollywood Hills lined with 17,500 reserved seats, all facing a white, ring-arched bandshell at the foot of the slope. Los Angeles County owns it and runs it jointly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, and it has staged concerts since July 11, 1922. The LA Phil moves here each summer, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra is based here.
Reading the Slope From Stage to Summit
There are no decks here, just one continuous rise. Starting at the stage and walking uphill:
- Pool Circle. About seven rows of loose chairs at the lip of the stage.
- Garden Boxes. Fenced boxes, each with a little table ringed by four or six folding chairs, directly up the hill from the Pool Circle.
- Terrace Boxes. Identical boxes on the next tier up.
- Super Seats. Cushioned seats with backrests in a few middle sections (G1, H and J1 among them), right above the boxes.
- Benches. Wooden benches with backrests, in sections lettered from about E, next to the boxes, up to X at the top of the hill.
Two habits save grief. First, bench numbering splits by side: odd numbers run one way from the aisle and even numbers the other, so 11 and 12 can be far apart. Groups should stick to one parity. Second, the benches are hard, and renting a cushion is a long-standing Bowl ritual.
Picks by Type of Evening
Orchestra, film and fireworks nights
Speakers carry the sound up the whole hill, so what separates one seat from another is the view and the cushion. A center Super Seat frames the shell, the lights and both screens at once, ideal for film scores and fireworks. A bench low in a center section shows nearly as much for less.
Pop, rock and hip-hop shows
These are usually lease events, meaning concerts booked by outside promoters, and they draw the heaviest demand. Pool Circle and Garden Boxes are the premium. Terrace Boxes keep the box experience with somewhat less competition. Among the benches, any middle section beats an edge section at an equal height.
Dinner and a show
Boxes are built for eating. Your group shares a table and the box holds the food, which solves the cramped under-seat space on the benches. Buying single seats in a box, though, means sharing that table with people you do not know.
Scenery over detail
The upper benches put the performers far away, and the screens carry the show. The payoff is a sweeping view of the canyon and the lights of the city, and plenty of regulars choose it on purpose.
Where the Map Misleads
- The far side bench sections. They look like a deal, but the angle is sharp and part of the stage disappears behind the outer arches of the shell.
- The very top lettered sections for a first visit. It is a long uphill walk from the entrance, and you will see the stage mostly on the screens.
- Bench pairs with consecutive numbers. Because of odd and even numbering, 11 and 12 may sit on opposite sides of the section.
Night concerts begin while the sun is still up and finish well after dark, and the upper rows chill first. Bring a layer even in August. Concerts run only in the warm months: the 2026 season ran from June 20 through September 27, and the July 4th fireworks concerts rank among the most sought-after nights.
Picnic and Wine Rules Depend on the Presenter
Hauling in a picnic is a Bowl custom, yet the rules shift with the show's presenter. For 2026:
- Food: allowed at every event.
- Your own beer and wine: fine when the LA Phil presents; banned at lease events, which sell both on site.
- Size limits: any bag, basket or cooler must stay within 15 inches in width, 15 in height and 22 in length, and it has to slide under the seat or sit in your box.
- Leave at home: chairs, umbrellas, laptops, tablets, selfie sticks and cameras with removable lenses. There is no check room for banned items.
The venue's own pages disagree about glass containers, so check the beverage rules for your exact date on the Bowl's house rules page. Your event listing shows who presents the show. Every Reserved Seat order carries a 100% guarantee.
Getting There Without the Parking Trap
Decide how you are getting to the Bowl before you decide where to eat. The choices:
- Metro plus shuttle. Take the B Line to the Hollywood/Highland station, then show a valid TAP card or GoMetro round-trip pass for the free Bowl shuttle from Ovation Hollywood, according to the venue.
- Park and Ride or Bowl Shuttle buses. Coaches leave from lots across the county and unload at the gate, skipping Highland Avenue gridlock entirely.
- Parking at the Bowl. Scarce and stacked, meaning cars are packed bumper to bumper and nobody leaves until the cars around them do. It can sell out in advance; if you go this route, prepay and budget time for the wait afterward.
- Rideshare. Cars load and unload in Lot C (Purple); the address for drivers is 6655 Odin St.
The venue recommends arriving at least 90 minutes before showtime and warns that Milner and Camrose can close roughly two hours before the show. Neighborhood streets are heavily ticketed, so do not park there. See the getting-here page for this season's shuttle schedule.
The Canyon's Long Run
The site, then known as Daisy Dell in Bolton Canyon, won out in 1919 because sound carried so well there, and a sunrise service was held on November 11, 1921, ahead of the first season. The shell has been rebuilt again and again. Lloyd Wright drew two versions, in 1927 and 1928. The ringed shell built in 1929 survived until 2003, with acoustic tubes and fiberglass spheres added by Frank Gehry during the 1970s and 1980s. Hodgetts + Fung designed the current shell, Arup engineered it, and it debuted in 2004 with nods to the earlier versions.
The Beatles played here in 1964 and 1965, and the recordings were released as a concert album in 1977. In 1991 the Philharmonic's association revived the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. A free museum named for Edmund D. Edelman opened on site in 1996, and the National Register of Historic Places added the Bowl in 2023. Each summer blends LA Phil classical concerts, usually the simplest tickets to get, with specials such as film, jazz and fireworks nights, and lease concerts.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best seats at the Hollywood Bowl for a classical concert?
A middle-section Super Seat, or a bench low in a center section. Sound is amplified across the hill, so a straight-on view and a comfortable seat matter more than distance.
Why are my Hollywood Bowl bench seats not next to each other?
Bench numbering splits by side, with odd numbers running one direction from the aisle and even numbers the other. A group should buy seats of one parity.
Can I bring wine to the Hollywood Bowl?
For 2026, yes when the LA Phil presents the show, and no at concerts booked by outside promoters. Food is fine at all of them.
Should I park at the Hollywood Bowl?
Regulars usually skip it. On-site parking is limited and stacked, so exits are slow. Park and Ride buses or the Metro B Line plus the free Bowl shuttle are easier.
How big can my picnic cooler be at the Hollywood Bowl?
For 2026, it must stay within 15 inches wide, 15 inches tall and 22 inches long and fit beneath the seat or inside a box. Check the house rules before you go.
How many people does the Hollywood Bowl hold?
The Hollywood Bowl has 17,500 seats, and all of them are reserved.