Traveling to Los Angeles

December 24, 2006 1:13 PM

Los Angeles Filter: I'm going to be in Los Angeles for the first week of January 2007 and it will be my first time there. What are some things I should definetely see/do around the area while I'm there?

I'm a guy, 23 years old, and I'll be staying there with my girlfriend and best guy friend. I've got about $700 to blow. I plan on getting a rental car for the week and want to check out the area and maybe even travel down to San Diego for a day. What are some things I should know as an "out of towner" and what are some things I should do/see while I'm there that may or may not be listed in a travel book? Throw a guy a bone here.

posted by deeman to travel & transportation (24 comments total)

The Getty, MoCA and LACMA.

The old downtown core along Broadway - must be walked to be appreciated. Also, Central Market is fun. The new cathedral is fantastic. Union Station terminal is pretty impressive if you are into Mission Revival. It's just a block from Olvera Street which is fun in a touristy way.

When you're downtown, stop by the library and walk into the main room - THAT is one of the most amazing architectural feats of southern California IMHO.

Since you have a rental car, drive out to Pasadena and check out the Gamble House ... if you want even more museums you can go to the Norton Simon, but if you only have time for one or two I'd stick with the Getty, first, and then LACMA after that.

What kind of food do you like? LA is kind of segregated, food-wise, with the best of various types of ethnic food not usually colocated.
posted by luriete at 2:11 PM on December 24, 2006

Not that you won't necessarily find these in a guidebook, but these things usually go down well with out-of-towners:

-Watts Towers (especially if you like weird art)
-Union Station/Olvera St./Chinatown (great walking downtown)
-Amoeba Records (if you're really into music)
-Getting lost in the Hollywood Hills and Mulholland Drive (be cafeful on the windy turns)
-Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica (a little touristy, but a good chance to walk around near the pier).
-Venice Beach (freakier than Santa Monica)
-Getty Center, LACMA or MOCA for museums
-Pasadena is worth a drive and the excellent Huntington Library is right nearby

Good cheap food you're unlikely to find elsewhere:

Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles (the location on Gower in Hollywood is my favorite)
In-N-Out Burger (secret menu!)
Zankou Chicken (their garlic paste is AMAZING)
posted by dhammond at 2:16 PM on December 24, 2006

AOC is pretty great.
posted by anonymoose at 2:33 PM on December 24, 2006

Breakfast at The Original Pantry Cafe on Figueroa.
Lunch at Phillipe's Original French Dip on Alameda.
Forget dinner.
Go drinking.
Midnight snack at the Original Tommy Burgers on Beverly Blvd.
Sleep.
Repeat.
posted by Dizzy at 2:54 PM on December 24, 2006

Take a hike in Griffith Park--amazing views of the whole city, when it's clear you can see to the ocean and Catalina island. Great tourist photo op with the Hollywood sign.

The Griffith Observatory recently re-opened and it's awesome--beautiful architecture, great views of the city, if you go at night you can look through the telescopes. Free entry, they charge for the shuttle ride but it's free if you hike up.

Other touristy things: Santa Monica farmer's market, Third Street Promenade, Venice Beach. It's a great city. Enjoy!
posted by Bella Sebastian at 3:04 PM on December 24, 2006

Food:
El Cholo
Fatburger - Way better than In-N-Out IMHO
Bossa Nova

Drinkin':
Father's Office
Library Ale House

Go see a movie at The Arclight.

I couldn't agree more with Roscoes, Getty, and Amoeba. 3rd St. Prom is great, but go at night when there are more street performers. If you hit the beach, head north to Malibu. San Diego is beatiful, but it deserves more than just one day's attention so you probably could skip it this time around.
posted by puritycontrol at 3:11 PM on December 24, 2006

for an "only in LA" experience, I always recommend going to the beach at David geffen's house -- he doesn't want you there, but he can't legally stop you!

I would also recommend walking down Melrose Ave. on a Sunday afternoon. You get lots of "color" and great, cool shops too. It's less of a tourist trap than 3rd St. Promenade and less of a patchouli-stinking hemp n' heroin-fest than Venice Beach.

besides Geffen's house, there are a lot of truly great beaches out the PCH. El Matador is particularly beautiful and often empty, especially on a weekday in the winter.

Food: too many places to recommend just a few, but there is world-class dining everywhere- not just burgers and chili dogs.

Oh yeah, and Griffith "Rebel without a Cause" Observatory just reopened about being closed for about 97 years.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:13 PM on December 24, 2006

oh and if you're into the outdoors, there are great hiking trails everywhere, often with a five to ten minute drive of the "city."

Contrary to the popular image, one of the great things about LA is how closely integrated it is with nature. You can literally drive five minutes off of Sunset Blvd. and be in the mountains.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:18 PM on December 24, 2006

Go right up Mt Lee to the Hollywood sign. The guidebooks say you can't, but that's just because you need to access the path from a residential area, which has obvious repercussions for the residents if everyone knew about it. It's a great hike, taking you round the back of Mt Lee seeing the whole of Burbank & the Valley before you end up right behind the letters with a great view of the city. It takes about 45 minutes to get up there and it's a combination of dirt tracks and paved road - email me if you want and I'll use some really lame Photoshop skillz to throw together a route on Google maps.
posted by forallmankind at 3:50 PM on December 24, 2006

I second getting lost in the hollywood hills.

Last night I was feeling bored, so I went on Laurel Canyon Road, hit Mulholland drive (and since it was shortly after midnight there was no traffic) and then took Sunset all the way to the beach. They're good drivin' roads, a blast if you have a sporty-type car.

I also recommend the Wacko toy store.
posted by mullingitover at 3:56 PM on December 24, 2006

(I just put a few Hollywood Sign shots up on flickr if you're interested - link in profile)
posted by forallmankind at 4:05 PM on December 24, 2006

The Museum of Jurassic Technology.
posted by jvilter at 5:17 PM on December 24, 2006

I love the Wacko store! Good tip, mullingitover.
posted by Four-Eyed Girl at 6:05 PM on December 24, 2006

I neglected to add in my earlier comment my suggestion for Palms Thai. They've got good Thai food, and Thai Elvis, an Elvis impersonator who never fails to be entertaining.
posted by Four-Eyed Girl at 6:09 PM on December 24, 2006

I second the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Amazing place, and very old-L.A. weirdness, in a way. Well worth a visit, spend a couple hours.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 6:35 PM on December 24, 2006

Hollywood Farmers Market. Sunday from 8:00AM-1:00PM. Ivar and Selma. One block west of Vine St. between Sunset and Hollywood Blvds. It's just north of Amoeba Records and the Arclight Theatres
posted by goalyeehah at 7:56 PM on December 24, 2006

How bout some King Taco in East Los.. over on 3rd and ??.

BTW how do you pronounce Phillippes is it like Fil-eeps or fil-ee-pehs??
posted by 0217174 at 8:03 PM on December 24, 2006

Mostly adding +1s on the great stuff: the getty center, a movie at the Arclight, Amoeba (unless you live in SF!), Venice Beach. Drive sunset from hollywood to the coast, then turn north and drive up PCH to see Malibu and the beaches.

Added suggestion: La Brea Tar Pits.

Don't bother with: Chinese Theater and star handprints. Its the worst kind of tourist trap.
posted by Joh at 9:25 PM on December 24, 2006

021714---
I've always pronounced it "Fil-eeps" only because the old lady at the register said it that way.
Yummy!
posted by Dizzy at 9:57 PM on December 24, 2006

Also worth a look is Huell Howser's video tour of LA's history and neighborhoods. Huell is a local treasure to some, and no one captures the wide-eyed spirit of seeing LA for the first time quite like he does.
posted by dhammond at 10:45 PM on December 24, 2006

Sunset blvd is where you should go if you want some of the Los Angeles that all the cliches come from. After that, Venice Blvd and 3rd street are worth checking out.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 11:26 PM on December 24, 2006

votes for food:
phillipe's (fil-eeps not fil-eep-ays)
original pantry (but late night, not for breakfast)
roscoe's (and if you're ever in phoenix, Lo-lo's is even better)

votes for drinking:
the standard hotel (worth it, I promise, although it will be kinda cold on the roof this time of year. go early to avoid paying cover)

Stuff to do:
LACMA, tar pits, getty are must-see. Promenade is nice but not particularly special. Venice beach for crazy, malibu for nice, but my favorite socal beach is in la jolla - save it for another trip. If you like architecture, check out Caltrans, eames house, palm springs mid-century modern, and so much more. Lots of modern stuff in and around Venice, Gehry got his start there. The creepy building from bladerunner is downtown, very cool, so is angels flight even though it's closed. Maneo's cathedral is awesome, and there's all the usual big-city downtown stuff nearby plus the old spanish core. MOCA and its sibling Geffen Contemporary always have great stuff. Chinatown is touristy but fun, and pasadena is nice to visit. Try to hit a different part of town each day, you'll see how diverse LA really is. And at least drive through hollywood, just to say you were there.
posted by Chris4d at 12:24 AM on December 25, 2006

I was just out there this past summer for the first time so here are a couple of things that I found were awesome.

Luckily I was with someone that had lived out there so I got to see some "behind the scenes" stuff; like going up into the Hollywood Hills. That is a must! Be careful though, small, windy, narrow roads! But the views are awesome. And, you get to look at some pretty cool houses that are literally stacked on top of each other.

Go down the Pacific Coast Highway to Topanga Canyon! Then go through Topanga Canyon! The drive up the PCH will blow your mind if you've never been out there. It was so unbelievably beautiful. The mountains in the background. Truly beautiful. And then you get to topanga canyon! Holy crap is that great. We were driving through the canyon and I was blown away.

And if you know anyone in the biz, see if you can get on a movie set for a little while.
posted by Botunda at 10:08 AM on December 25, 2006

if there is anything going on - hollywood bowl is unforgettable.
posted by specialk420 at 5:39 PM on December 26, 2006