LA Days on Foot

January 26, 2006 9:04 AM

LAonFootFilter: my friend in LA (West Hollywood) is having guests next week who don't drive, so he's looking for ideas for places he can drop them off in the morning before work (in Santa Monica), reasonably leave them there for the whole day, and pick them up at night (or perhaps they could cab home).

The best ideas I've personally had are driving them to Union Station and putting them on the Surfliner to Santa Barbara, taking them Santa Monica/ Venice and perhaps bus to the Getty, or just dropping them off
at the nearest Metro station. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

posted by nwhycgirl328 to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

Drop 'em off at either the Vons near Wilshire and 25th where they can catch the Santa Monica No. 14 Big Blue Bus up to the Getty, or just drop 'em off at 3rd St. Promenade.
posted by Rash at 9:18 AM on January 26, 2006

ditto the above. 3rd St. Promenade is right next to the ocean, so if they get sick of walking among the shoopers, they can stroll over the pedestrian bridge over Highway 1 to the beach.
posted by pmbuko at 10:15 AM on January 26, 2006

If it's a clear day the Surfliner trip is beautiful, and once in Santa Barbara you can stroll up State St. for shopping or walk over to the pier and beach area. I'm not sure if there's a train back from S.B. in the evening, but if so you could jump on the subway @ union station and get off @ hollywood/highland to get back to weho.

Also don't forget Main St. and Abbot Kinney for shopping and food! Great stuff there. The Big Blue Bus is easy and clean.
posted by gallois at 10:24 AM on January 26, 2006

Have them walk down Broadway downtown. Start at the Central Market and as you walk south, go into the theaters that line the street. Most play Spanish language films these days (I think they still do --I must admit it's been a few years). But if you ask to just take a look inside you will see some of the most beautiful theaters around.

There's much to do around downtown from MoCA to Little Tokyo and the garment district. That should keep them busy. Pick them up before sunset.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 10:30 AM on January 26, 2006

re: Taken - Definitely pick them up before sunset. Eeeek. Another advantage of downtown is that they can quickly and easily take the Red Line to Koreatown, Hollywood, or Studio City. Also, this is a long shot, but if you have a Treo or Sidekick or something, leave it with them so that they can use metro.net to make sense of the convoluted bus schedule should they decide to change itinerary while on the go.
posted by thedaniel at 10:52 AM on January 26, 2006

Drop them off in Santa Monica and much of LA is within reach.

The LA Metro has a Rapid bus line (#720) that runs from Santa Monica through Downtown LA and out to East LA. The Rapid is fast (IIRC its stops are spaced a mile apart and has transponders that keep the lights green), clean, and makes connections with the LA subway.

Along this route they can stop in Beverly Hills, at the LA County Museum of Art, La Brea Tar Pits, and Koreatown where they can catch the subway. Via subway, they can visit downtown (garment district is fun), Olvera Street, Union Station, and Phillipe's Original French Dip.

If they get off the bus at Fairfax (by LACMA and the tar pits), they can walk half-a-mile to Farmer's Market and the Grove. From there, they are only about a 5-10 drive from you in WeHo, making it easy for you to pick them up on the way home.
posted by GarageWine at 12:10 PM on January 26, 2006

If they can get to a Metro station they can get to Los Feliz (Sunset/Vermont stop). They can walk up Vermont, browse the shops/cafes in the Los Feliz village, and walk up a little farther to be in Griffith Park. Gorgeous views, great hiking trails, another sense of the city.

This really only works if they're big on walking, though.
posted by Bella Sebastian at 12:18 PM on January 26, 2006

Yes, there is an evening train back from Santa Barbara. SB is a great all day trip.
posted by clh at 12:24 PM on January 26, 2006

They could also start in Santa Monica at 3rd Street Promenade and then walk to Venice Beach along Main Street. It isn't that long of a walk and you can walk back to the Promenade along the beach. Another option is for them to rent bikes at the Santa Monica pier and bike to Venice, and beyond.
posted by JuliaKM at 4:22 PM on January 26, 2006