LA Tourism ?
A friend of mine was traveling to LA as part of larger trip he has planned for himself and his wife. When he told me that he was going to LA for tourism, my immediate response was “why? there not much there worth visiting”. But I agreed to email him a few pointers, and below is my original email. Let me know what you think or if there is anyway I can improve this guide: …
Before writing this I didn’t think that there was much to see in LA, by the time I got half way through this, I was amazed. I feel like visiting LA again.
Warning
I would like to warn you with following about Los Angeles so you don’t get shocked:
1) Parking is hell. Very difficult to find and very expensive. This is part of LA culture: If you are going to shopping centers they will usually have parking, but remember to read the signs. Parking can be 10$/hour. Often the parking is just for one free hour, also take the ticket that’s issued during entry into the parking area, you usually can validate your parking for an additional 2 to 3 hours. Validating parking can simply be a stamp by a store clerk or can be a little magnetic machine you stick the ticket in — always ask “where can I validate my parking?” Also there are some malls like Westfield where some parking exit lanes are fully automated, so if you are leaving and you haven’t validated your parking, then you will be stuck in the lane. You don’t want that to happen to you, read the signs carefully.
2) A lot of homeless people, they usually reek of alcohol and other non-pleasantries. Get used to seeing them around. Especially in city areas, and Venice beach.
3) Traffic can be very bad if you are caught during rush hours (so its good to include traffic in your plans.)
4) Don’t even think of public transportation. Buses are a mess, late and don’t go everywhere. Car rental is the only way to go.
Fast Food Must Eat
Before I get in to the details, I have to mention that there are two LA must visit fast food joints:
1) “In & Out” (Get the number 2, or 3)
2) Fat Burger (Get the King burger on the char, w/char grilled Onions)
Jack in the Box is also good. All these above three are good for drive through. There not the best restaurants for dining in — especially Fat Burger.
I will not forgive you if you come back and have not eaten from In & Out.
Beaches in General
If you would like to spend time at the beach in general, then the cleanest beaches are Redondo, Manhattan, Laguna and Zuma Beach. Santa Monica and Venice don’t have the cleanest beaches, but they are near other attractions. The Santa Monica area (especially 3rd St.) brings in people for the street shop/walk area and the vast amount of restaurants. Whereas Venice, the attraction there is the strange shops at the beach with its associated strange people. At my time, Venice beach had an amazing amount of homeless people, with a bit of thieves here and there. I’m sure its much better now.
Coastal Fun
Catalina Island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Catalina_Island,_California#Tourism_and_attractions
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.479563&lon=-118.437424&z=11&l=0&m=a&v=2
Paradise Cove, Malibu
This is the cove I mentioned to you, where I was the only one there. It looks like it haze become more popular, since my time.
It is worth a visit, at least to have a meal at the Beach Cafe.
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.019577&lon=-118.786395&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2 (The houses are above the cliffs, so you don’t see them when you are in the cove)
Marina Del Ray
There are couple of nice parks there, and you might like seeing all the parked boats. From the satellite image it looks like the canal boats of Venice, Italy.
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.976214&lon=-118.445234&z=15&l=0&m=a&v=2
Venice Beach
It right south of Santa Monica Beach and north of Marina Del Ray.
Venice beach has a walk way that is famous for it funky atmosphere and wired people. I don’t know if you would be comfortable with your wife there.
You can rent roller blades, two seater bikes, swim gear, bongs, weed and hookers 😉
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.989675&lon=-118.476123&z=17&l=0&m=a&v=2
Day trip to Santa Barbara
You can also a day drive up the coast on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). Have Breakfast in Malibu on your way to Santa Barbara. Spend half the day in Santa Barbara, then drive back and catch the Sunset at Malibu (maybe Zuma beach.) There is a lot of sandy coast, and very easy to get reasonable privacy. (So take a blanket with you, maybe even picnic on the beach.)
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.145908&lon=-118.954468&z=10&l=0&m=a&v=2
The best view of the sunset is facing West or South West — Keep the map in mind.
Recreation/Shopping Villages
(Shop, dine, coffee and/or watch movies)
3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica
3rd street is the most active, but the entire area is full of restraints and funky shops, and about 3 movie theaters.
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.016349&lon=-118.496861&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2
Century City Westfield Mall (Remember to validate, ask where)
Its one of LA best malls. Also has a new movie theaters. This place used to be where all the Saudi tourist would gather during the day, but no longer after 911.
Beverly Center — Shopping Center (Remember to validate, ask where)
Westside Pavilion (Remember to validate, ask where)
This shopping center is near Westwood, and has a Barns&Noble books store. The area around the shopping center has some nice restaurants.
The Grove (Shopping Center) at the Farmers Market
Another nice shopping village area to shop, dine and have coffee. It also has a large book store (B&N) and movie theater. Keep in mind that is location is not obvious from the outside.
http://www.farmersmarketla.com/newsandevents/index.asp
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.072284&lon=-118.357859&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2
(Pasadena and Burbank are nice suburb cities (about 30 minutes away. I used to often visit on Saturdays.) Very nice to drive through, and have pretty village shopping areas.)
Pasadena
Burbank
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.185607&lon=-118.32593&z=14&l=0&m=a&v=2
(Town Center) http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.183619&lon=-118.312798&z=16&l=0&m=a&v=2
Other Very Important Interests
Beverly hills
You should definitely visit Rodeo Dr.. Do some Window Shopping, walk around and you can then stop at one of the many cafes in the area. Also remember to drive past the police station.
Hollywood Chinese Mann Theater
Take a look at the hand, food and face prints of some famous Hollywood movie actors.
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2812879-mann_s_chinese_theatre_los_angeles-i
La Brea Tar Pits
There is a museum and park. Nice for a two to three hour visit. There is also LACMA (LA County Museum, right near.
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.063368&lon=-118.355858&z=19&l=0&m=a&v=2
Exposition Park
Right near USC (my school), it has several nice museums, a rose garden, IMAX theater and a Science Center.
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.016518&lon=-118.286952&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2
Amusement parks
And of course you have you amusement parks: Universal Studios, MGM Studios, Disney. After visiting Universal Studios, you can visit Universal City walk http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.136518&lon=-118.353224&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2, where can also play games, dine, shop, etc.
Griffith Observatory
Nice drive up the mountain, and not too far. The best thing about it, is that it has a beautiful view of LA. So I would recommend going there near sunset, and get a view before and after sunset.
LA Driving
Some good streets to do some cruising on are: Sunset Blvd (around West Hollywood), Santa Monica Blvd (all the way from Santa Monica to West Hollywood), Wilshire, PCH.
I would also recommend taking a drive through the sky-scrapers of Downtown LA (http://wikimapia.org/#lat=34.050259&lon=-118.253253&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2).
LA Walking
There are a lot of nice places to walk, I don’t know where to start. I like to walk around UCLA campus, its very beautiful, you might like it too. You can park in Westwood Village, then walk north into UCLA, then come back into the Village for food and coffee.
Another nice area is in Santa Monica at the cliffs overlooking the beach and PCH.
There are also some good trails in Santa Monica Mountains.
One last thing, during the weekends, entertainment areas get much more crowded. So you might want to plan on visiting amusement parks and beaches during weekdays, and maybe during the weekends you can do more driving activities, since less cars are on the roads (especially Sundays.) There are some sights you can visit on the same day since they are near each other, like La Brea Tar Pits & The Grove/Farmers Market; Hollywood & Griffith Observatory; 3rd St. Promenade & Venice Beach; etc.
