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Los Angeles is brimming with famous streets, but some are more romantic than others (hint: the Dollar Store parking lot on Crenshaw does not inspire a trip around the bases). If you really want to steam up your windows, nothing beats a trek out to Mulholland Drive. This two-lane stretch of asphalt snakes up through the Santa Monica Mountains and offers breathtaking views of downtown LA and the San Fernando Valley. Dotted along the road are plenty of overlooks to pull off, park and work your game.

Although history may not get your juices flowing, here's a quick rundown on Mulholland Drive's background—who knows, maybe you can whip it out if there's a lull in the conversation. The road was first opened for traffic back in 1924. Originally called Mulholland Highway, it ran between the Chauenga Pass all the way west to the Sepulveda Pass. Mulholland Drive is named after LA's infamous water superintendent and a general on the front lines of the California Water Wars, William Mulholland. He was instrumental in the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which siphoned water away from the Owens Valley to quench LA's growing thirst. While the Aqueduct made him a local legend, the collapse of the St. Francis Dam and the subsequent 450 deaths that ensued turned him into a pariah. You know Faye Dunaway's creepy father in Chinatown? Yeah, that guy's a fictionalized version of William Mulholland.

 
Okay, maybe you should just keep that story to yourself the next time you park out on Mulholland Drive for some heavy petting.

 

Images courtesy of citron_smurf, Carla H and Aquafornia.