Visiting LA in December
December 16, 2017 5:58 AM   Subscribe

Ok, here goes: Hello, I am staying in Oakwood LA for a week with my family and need suggestions for cool things to do. [posting for a friend]

My brother and I are recent college grads and our parents are chill. We are low maintenance and like walking a lot, so any cool neighborhoods or streets could keep us happily wandering for awhile.

We are fans of street art, local history and art museums, public parks, tacos, super spicy wings, co-op businesses, hole in the wall live music spots. We also like renting bicycles and finding cool places to ride around town. We have vehicular transportation and can go to different areas of LA.

Any must-sees or unusual less sought-out spots. Not super touristy if possible. Also minimal traffic driving is ideal even though we understand that traffic is inevitable.
posted by tedious to Travel & Transportation around Los Angeles, CA (9 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Oakwood that is a neighborhood in Venice?
posted by k8t at 8:19 AM on December 16, 2017


Oakwood that is a neighborhood in Venice?

Service/extended stay apartments over by Warner Bros.
posted by bluecore at 8:33 AM on December 16, 2017


Some clarification from the OP might help, but it looks like Oakwood is a neighborhood in Venice.

Which, if that's the case, looks like a couple of "tourist-trappy" but still entertaining things to do would be to visit the Venice Beach Boardwalk and the Santa Monica Pier. Probably not prime beach weather, but if you're from a place that's cold & snowy right now, it'll seem like paradise.

The one time I was able to do some touristy stuff in LA (usually I'm only there for a day), I was very impressed by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, by Phillipe's (supposedly) home of the French Dip sandwich, which is right across the street from Union Station (which you've seen in a million movies), and the art exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library.

I thought "downtown" LA (from Philippe's & Union Station to the library, more or less) was fairly walkable, and there's a bunch of other stuff to look at and visit, like the Bradbury Building and Disney concert hall. I mean, it's a big city - if you're willing and able to spend most of a day just kind of wandering around on foot, then pick a neighborhood or specific place that looks interesting, and then once you're in the neighborhood there's likely to be all kinds of shops and restaurants and maybe museums and galleries.

For sheer weirdness, there's the Museum of Jurassic Technology.

hole in the wall live music spots

The only one I can claim any familiarity with is The Echo, which is pretty copacetic.

Also minimal traffic driving is ideal even though we understand that traffic is inevitable.

Having driven in LA a bunch, I think the reputation is kinda worse than the reality - the bad reputation is driven by commuter traffic on the highways at rush hour. Which, bluntly, has never seemed all that much worse than rush hour traffic in other big cities, like Chicago and Manhattan. And LA generally seems to have a variety of non-highway routes to most places - at least, that's been my experience when there. If you're genuinely starting from "inside" the city, in Venice, I think you could get to a lot of places without running into too much horrible traffic; just avoid the highways at rush hour.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:53 AM on December 16, 2017 [1 favorite]


Some clarification from the OP might help, but it looks like Oakwood is a neighborhood in Venice.

Oh, weird. I had no idea it was a neighborhood too. Oakwood is also an extended stay place near Warner Bros that's famous for having a bunch of actors staying there while shooting TV pilots before they become famous. Because the OP mentioned being there for a month, I automatically assumed that was where they were staying, but I guess I'm mistaken.
posted by bluecore at 12:43 PM on December 16, 2017 [2 favorites]


"Having driven in LA a bunch, I think the reputation is kinda worse than the reality - the bad reputation is driven by commuter traffic on the highways at rush hour"

Yeah. NO.

We've had a huge population influx, even side street shortcuts that used to work for me years ago are impassable today. 2.5 hrs from Venice to West Hollywood at the wrong time of day happens. Even with clever route hacks.

Where is this person staying - Lake Hollywood/Burbank? Or a neighborhood near Venice Beach?
posted by jbenben at 1:00 PM on December 16, 2017 [1 favorite]


Nthing the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Also, the Center for Land Use Interpretation which is right next door. Both are worth hours in traffic.

Heading to San Fernando and Sylmar for northern Mexican Tacos, and Rosemont, El Monte, and Arcadia for Chinese food is worth the drive. Din Tay Fung out east is the go-to choice, if you can afford a two hour wait. Out west, Guelaguetza is fantasitic for Oaxacan food, and Chung Kiwaa is the best Korean place in town.

When it comes to walking around, LA is pretty limited. Chinatown, Echo Park, and and Silver Lake are the only neighborhoods that have ever felt like parts of an actual city to me. But, if you want to grab a hiking backpack and head into the hills, there are plenty of options out east.
posted by eotvos at 1:10 PM on December 16, 2017 [2 favorites]


Comedy:
- List of mostly every comedy related happening in LA. Check the Comedy Crawl calendar.

A few restaurant recommendations, all over the place (these are memories from a few years ago):
- late nights, maybe on Fri/Sat nights only, an awesome Taco truck pulls up at this gas station at the corner of Olympic and La Brea. Probably the best tacos ever
- Genwa, a great Korean BBQ restaurant
- this awesome "old school" burger place
- another great Korean spot, Jjan. This well is hidden enough -- you need to enter through the parking lot (through Irolo Street). Great experience (ice beer! the food!)

Other places:
- this offbeat shop
- this "throwback" lounge

Finally, if you're ready to drive up the PCH:

In Malibu:
- this really great seafood restaurant
- a semi-secluded "secret" beach (enter through here)

In Santa Barbara:
- this shellfish restaurant
posted by vert canard at 12:05 AM on December 17, 2017


There are a few Oakwood properties, In fact, even "Warner Brothers" doesn't even narrow it down. There are two near the main lot and one over in Warner Center.

Anyway, I suggest Sunset Blvd between Silver Lake/Echo Park if you want to walk around and look at shops/restaurants. Or Abbot-Kinney in Venice.

If you like decent beer, take a Lyft over to Arts District Brewing. From there you can walk to Mumford Brewing and Angel City. And you really don't mind walking (and it's not dark yet), you can walk all the way up to Iron Triangle Brewing.
posted by sideshow at 8:14 PM on December 21, 2017


Santa Monica, Hollywood Bowl, Griffith Observatory and Griffith Park, Universal Studios Hollywood (a bit pricey), The Getty Center.
posted by arishipping at 12:11 PM on February 12, 2018


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