Where should I stay in Los Angeles?
May 4, 2018 8:35 AM Subscribe
I'm visiting LA in August--I plan to be there for 3 nights. But the city is so massive I have no idea what part of it to stay in.
Things I plan to do:
Getty
The Broad (if I can get tickets)
Santa Monica (would take the Expo line)
Day trip to Joshua Tree
I think it might make sense to stay somewhere where I won't have to cross LA to get out to Joshua Tree?
I will have a car but access to public transportation would be nice. I've been to LA before and already done Hollywood and the Griffith Observatory.
Things I plan to do:
Getty
The Broad (if I can get tickets)
Santa Monica (would take the Expo line)
Day trip to Joshua Tree
I think it might make sense to stay somewhere where I won't have to cross LA to get out to Joshua Tree?
I will have a car but access to public transportation would be nice. I've been to LA before and already done Hollywood and the Griffith Observatory.
Everything else you want is central and westside, I wouldn't stay way out east and have to cross town every time you want to do something just to avoid crossing town to go to JT. Just plan your leaving time for that jaunt smartly - either leave before 6am or don't leave until 10, 11 at the latest. (I drive to Lake Arrowhead once a year every summer on a Friday, which is the worst, and you want to be clear of LA entirely by noon. And there's always construction in San Bernardino so you want to clear there before school lets out in the afternoon if it's in session, and not try to come back until after 6 or 7.)
Maybe stay DTLA? There's nothing wrong with Pasadena, I love it there, but I feel like your options for getting out and doing things would be better from downtown.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:39 AM on May 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
Maybe stay DTLA? There's nothing wrong with Pasadena, I love it there, but I feel like your options for getting out and doing things would be better from downtown.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:39 AM on May 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
Downtown was my initial impulse, since you'd be near the Broad and Grand Central Market and Little Tokyo, and also to satisfy your "Not cross town to get to Joshua Tree" requirement, but Lyn Never is right that you'll want to leave town around 6am to get to the desert, and the 10 is pretty breezy at that time of day.
So I'd say Culver City, or even farther west into Santa Monica. It'll be cooler closer to the beach, for one thing, and it's more likely you'll have cheap/free parking for the days you take public transportation to get around.
You'd be close to LACMA, the Tar Pits, the Craft and Folk Art museum, and Museum of Jurassic Technology!
posted by itesser at 9:49 AM on May 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
So I'd say Culver City, or even farther west into Santa Monica. It'll be cooler closer to the beach, for one thing, and it's more likely you'll have cheap/free parking for the days you take public transportation to get around.
You'd be close to LACMA, the Tar Pits, the Craft and Folk Art museum, and Museum of Jurassic Technology!
posted by itesser at 9:49 AM on May 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
Depending on your car situation, Union Station has underground parking for a max of $8/day last I was there, so it’s perfect as a place to stash a vehicle while you go running around on trains, rideshare, or whatever. (Plus Olvera Street is next door.) Especially useful if your DTLA hotel charges an arm and a leg for parking.
If you happen to have a rental or ZipCar that includes a Fastrak transponder, the toll lane starts at Union Station as well and will take you as far as the 605, avoiding a lot of traffic (except for rush hour) on the start of your drive to the desert.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:49 AM on May 4, 2018
If you happen to have a rental or ZipCar that includes a Fastrak transponder, the toll lane starts at Union Station as well and will take you as far as the 605, avoiding a lot of traffic (except for rush hour) on the start of your drive to the desert.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:49 AM on May 4, 2018
Best answer: Please consider spending the night in Joshua Tree or nearby. First, because you need to budget an absolute minimum of 3 hours each way for the driving. You'll be traversing some roads that become heavily, heavily congested. Second, because it's going to be damn hot out there, and it'd be much more pleasant if you're able to start your hiking/walking/whatever you're planning either quite early, like right at sunrise, or into the early evening.
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:51 AM on May 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:51 AM on May 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
Three nights in West LA and one of those is a day trip to Joshua Tree? This is not really a doable itinerary.
posted by notyou at 10:20 AM on May 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by notyou at 10:20 AM on May 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks folks! I can play Joshua Tree by ear--I would like to go, but the beginning of my trip is Las Vegas--Death Valley--Sequoia so I'm basically making a big loop. I'd like to see Joshua Tree but if that's not realistic then I can scrap it.
posted by Automocar at 10:24 AM on May 4, 2018
posted by Automocar at 10:24 AM on May 4, 2018
Oh, yeah, it does sort of depend on what you want to do in Joshua Tree. If you're wanting to hike without full backpack serious-water-carrying prep, you'd probably need to be done by 9 or 10am that time of year. And if you were just wanting to go out there and kick around for the day, it's...not a big town. There's a bar and maybe two gas stations that have some souvenirs and two or three restaurants (assuming the Indian and also pizza place is still there, the Indian food was damn decent the last time I was there a few years ago), plus I think there's a Visitor Center at each of the two main gates to the national park. There's a few more things to do in Yucca and Twentynine Palms, but nothing wildly exciting. I don't know that it's worth the 6-8 hours of logistics.
On preview, I'd say skip it. You'll have seen plenty of high desert. If you want to do a little hiking that's different from that, do it in one of the local canyons.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:27 AM on May 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
On preview, I'd say skip it. You'll have seen plenty of high desert. If you want to do a little hiking that's different from that, do it in one of the local canyons.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:27 AM on May 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Much as I would love to have your tourist dollars in my city (Pasadena) and much as I'm sure you'd enjoy everything we have to offer that is not on your list (Huntington Gardens, Norton Simon Museum, etc.), I think something on the west side is a much better bet. You can bus/Metro from there into DTLA pretty easily these days to see the Broad and other downtown attractions. And if your top-priority things are all on the west, there's no reason to fight traffic.
posted by bluejayway at 10:50 AM on May 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bluejayway at 10:50 AM on May 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also, know that if you don't have tickets to the Broad you can wait in the standby line, which usually isn't too bad.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:05 AM on May 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:05 AM on May 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
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Maybe Pasadena? Would be close to central LA stuff, on the Gold Line, and shorten your Joshua Tree trip.
posted by pantarei70 at 8:58 AM on May 4, 2018 [1 favorite]