Secret Stairs #11: Downtown Los Angeles, 3 miles, 1021 steps.

A cardio blast winding through Bunker Hill, in the 1880s a ritzy neighborhood of mansions and family hotels, now a modern skyscraper jungle with old stairs, new stairs, private stairs, and circular stairs. Our starting point was the 121 step climb alongside Angels Flight, the city's only funicular railway constructed in 1901, and moved in 1996 to the current location across from Grand Central Public Market. Out of all the LA neighborhoods we explored in the past 7 weeks, this was the first time we got lost—inside the Bonaventure Hotel! Hey, all four sets of circular staircases inside were exactly the same. :) Highlights: the sculptures peppered between modern skyscrapers, the gardens and steps fronting the historic LA Central Library built in 1926, and the gleaming, stainless steel walls of Walt Disney Concert Hall. Excellent views across the city, especially on this clear, early Sunday morning. We were the only people on the streets!

Pictured: the base of Angels Flight (above) and one of the four Bonaventure staircases that looked to me like something M.C. Escher would build.