Bel Air is an affluent, faux-gated residential community in the hills of the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California. Together with Beverly Hills and Holmby Hills it forms the Platinum Triangle of Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Bel Air is situated about 17 miles west of downtown Los Angeles and includes some of the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. It borders the north side of UCLA along Sunset Boulevard. At the heart of the community sits the Bel Air Country Club and the Hotel Bel-Air. The community was founded in 1923 by Alphonzo E. Bell, Sr. It is bordered by Brentwood on the west and southwest, Westwood on the south, Beverly Hills Post Office on the east, and Sherman Oaks on the north. Bel Air is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities and corporate executives.

Residences in Bel Air tend to be private and hidden from the winding roads of the community. Most houses are not visible from the street, as they are hidden by hedges or gates. Residences range from modest ranch style houses to multi-story configurations to mansions. While some houses in Bel Air seem quite modest from the outside, often lying only six feet from the street, they have large grounds. In general, the higher up the mountain, the smaller the building lots and the more modest the houses. However, those residences along roads such as Stradella Road and Linda Flora Drive have panoramic views of the Los Angeles basin and Catalina Island. The most desirable houses are right off the main entrances of Bel Air and the country club entrance because these houses have both the views of the Bel-Air Country Club and the rest of Los Angeles. Lower Bel Air are among the most expensive homes in the community. Lower Bel Air is more desirable because of its proximity to Sunset Boulevard, a major thoroughfare.

Multi-family housing is not permitted within the community and ordinances regarding architectural styles, landscaping, and lot sizes exist to preserve Bel Air. Unlike Beverly Hills, Bel Air has no residential sidewalks in attempts to discourage the public from walking around the community. Bel Air is also patrolled by local security companies.

President Ronald Reagan lived in a house in Bel Air from his retirement as President in 1989 until his death in 2004, and former First Lady Nancy Reagan continues to live there and attends nearby Bel Air Presbyterian Church.

Of several entrances, there are two main ones: the East Gate at Beverly Glen and Sunset Boulevards, and the West Gate at Bellagio Road and Sunset Boulevard, opposite an entrance to UCLA. Bel Air is generally subdivided into three distinct neighborhoods: East Gate Old Bel Air, West Gate Bel Air, and Upper Bel Air.

The UCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden is located in Bel Air. It was inspired by the gardens of Kyoto. Many structures in the garden - the main gate, garden house, bridges, and shrine - were built in Japan and reassembled here. Antique stone carvings, water basins and lanterns, as well as the five-tiered pagoda, and key symbolic rocks are also from Japan. Several hundred tons of local stones came from the quarries in Ventura County and the foot of Mt. Baldy, northeast of Los Angeles.

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