Itinerary: Upstairs, Downstairs

Tired of the long wait for the Stairmaster at the gym? Burn those six calories a minute while exploring Los Angeles.

Thursday

Start your climb with the famed Bunker Hill Steps (5th Street between Grand Avenue and Flower Street, downtown L.A.). The steps, all 103 of them, were loosely modeled after the Spanish Steps in Rome with a fountain that flows top to bottom. The steps sit opposite the Central Library connecting many of the cultural institutions and businesses on Bunker Hill with the downtown financial district. One jaunt up “Cardiac Hill” will give you good justification for ordering a decadent dessert at one of the alfresco cafes along the way.

Next weekend you can make your stair stepping count for more than just calories with the 9th annual Ketchum-Downtown YMCA Stair Climb to the Top (Library Tower, 633 W. 5th St., downtown L.A. $25. [213] 624-2348). The two-day event, which gets underway Oct. 5 at 4:30 p.m., will bring hundreds of Angelenos together to raise money for programs at the YMCA. More than 1,000 climbers will run, climb, walk or crawl from the sidewalk on 5th Street up 75 floors-that’s 1,500 stairs-to the rooftop of Library Tower. Corporate teams climb Friday, individuals on Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon.

Friday

Now that your legs have recovered overnight, tackle the nearby Angels Flight Stairs (350 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. [213] 687-2159). The 153 steps climb the side of Bunker Hill that links Hill Street to California Plaza. The famed funicular climbed the hillside until an accident last February, but huffing and puffing is the only way you will get there now.

Catch your breath at the top while watching one of the Grand Performances, free cultural events each week through October. Friday Mariachi Las Adelitas will perform at noon. The performers-almost all women-took their name from the first Las Adelitas, the women who fought in the Mexican Revolution.

Saturday

Head to the hills. In Los Feliz, a series of four unconnected stairways built in 1924 allows pedestrians to bypass the winding streets. A tile mural on a landing midway up depicts nearby Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign. If you can make it all the way to the top of the stairways, you’ll be treated to a spectacular view of the downtown skyline. The stairs connect Bonvue Avenue and Bryn Mawr Road, north of Los Feliz Boulevard, west of Vermont Avenue.

When you’re finished in Los Feliz, head to Hollywood Sign Stairway (bottom of the Hollywood sign between Woodshire Drive and Belden Drive). Six stairways are tucked away on the hillside under the sign giving stair masters vistas of the city and a view of the world-famous sign.

Sunday

At the 4th Street Stairway (300 block of Adelaide Drive), nearly 200 steps await the buff men and women (many with personal trainers in tow) who come to do the stairs daily. The stairs plunge down Santa Monica Canyon near the end of Ocean Avenue, and offer access to the beach below.

Another alternate seaside climb is the 68 steps that connect the sandy shores of Long Beach to the seaside bluff that’s home to the Long Beach Museum of Art (2300 E. Ocean Blvd. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. [562] 439-2119). When you get to the top, treat yourself to a cold drink, bite to eat, and ocean views from the museum’s Spaghettini Cafe, and take a look at “Metamorphoses: The Transformative Vision of Junko Chodos,” the first large-scale presentation of the Japanese artist’s collages and drawings.