Things to do, places to stay, and reasons to fall in love

The movie and entertainment industry’s global hub, Los Angeles—also known as Tinseltown, “La-La Land,” or the “City of Angels”—sprinkled a liberal amount of stardust over the Southern California coast. However, LA is far more diverse than Hollywood. Its vast urban area weaves together sun-kissed, free-spirited neighborhoods like West Hollywood, Bel Air, Echo Park, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Venice Beach, which are well-known on both sides of the Atlantic. The list is endless, and the locations are instantly recognizable, ranging from the Hollywood sign high in the hills to Santa Monica Pier and its iconic ferris wheel.

Yes, there are the renowned Universal Studios Hollywood amusement park, the movie lots, and those iconic beaches with their heroic sunsets and iconic wooden lifeguard towers. However, LA also makes a compelling case for itself as the US’s restaurant capital. Foodies will be happy to learn that it’s renowned for having the best farmers’ market in the world every day of the week, with the Santa Monica Market being the mother of them all, taking place on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

With a land area of over 500 square miles, this expansive coastal metropolis can be challenging to navigate at first, especially without a comprehensive public transportation infrastructure like that of New York or Boston.

It can be thrilling and energizing for visitors to slip into this attitude, which is adopted by the constant influx of libertines and achievers who call this place home. So grab your shorts, sunglasses, and flip-flops, grab an Uber, and head to America’s ultimate beach city.

How to Proceed

The Pacific Ocean marks the start and finish of Los Angeles. Explore the well-known seaside communities of bustling Long Beach, family-friendly Santa Monica, and artsy Venice starting here. After you’ve had your fill of beach, sun, and sea, go west and upward toward Hollywood to take an official studio tour, see behind the scenes, and study the craft of filmmaking. A majority of the major studios, such as Universal, Sony, Paramount, and Warner Bros., provide two-hour tours of their production lots for approximately $50, with a good chance of seeing celebrities.

After taking a studio tour, proceed to Hollywood Boulevard, where about 2,500 famous people have stars engraved on their Walk of Fame, and many more can be seen going about their everyday lives.

Once you’ve had enough of the spotlight, escape to the peaceful Griffith Park, which is home to the storied Griffith Observatory and is a remarkable slice of rural beauty in the middle of Los Angeles. The iconic art deco skyscraper is most recognized for a different kind of star: its 12-inch Zeiss telescope, which opens an amazing window on to the cosmos. The edifice has used as a background for numerous Hollywood films, including Rebel Without a Cause and La La Land. After that, take in breathtaking views of the entire Los Angeles basin, the surrounding mountains, and the Pacific Ocean by gazing out rather than up from this ideal vantage point atop Mount Hollywood.

Later, enjoy an acoustically flawless symphony at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, created by Frank Gehry. After that, drive to downtown Los Angeles, which is seeing a renaissance, for a nightcap at one of the city’s numerous rooftop cocktail bars. One of the best is Perch LA.

Where to lodge

There are numerous legendary homes and grande dame in the city and the entire county of Los Angeles, such the Hollywood Roosevelt, the Hotel Bel Air, and the Chateau Marmont. To prevent spending too much time on the freeway when visiting, it’s wise to choose your neighborhood and lodging first when searching for a hotel in Los Angeles. If you’re a beach person, focus on Santa Monica homes like Casa del Mar or Shutters on the Beach. Choose to stay at one of the trendy, high-end hotels downtown—the Ace, the Hoxton, or the Freehand are all good choices if you want to go out and enjoy the nightlife.

Consumables

Los Angeles boasts some of the world’s greatest restaurants. The City of Angels boasts a substantial number of Michelin stars, primarily due to its extensive array of upscale Japanese restaurants, including Urasawa, Kato, and Hayato. Other legendary pacesetters are Michael Cimarusti’s Providence, a contemplative, creative reimagining of classic Californian seafood, and Jordan Kahn’s Vespertine, known for its mind-blowing tasting menus.

If you’re not too fond of expensive fine dining, there are plenty of authentic sushi bars and noodle businesses in Little Tokyo, which is located above the trendy Arts District. Additionally, the Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles is a must-see. The vibrant food hall, located in the middle of Broadway, features a rotating roster of vendors, but you can always count on some of the best tacos and most delicious burgers in the area. In all of its juicy, drippy, hangover-squishing magnificence, one of America’s most beloved breakfast sandwiches is produced by the current star turn, Eggslut. Arrive early because there is frequently an hour-long line.

Avoid missing

Underneath the glitter of Hollywood and beyond the golden beaches, there are lots of lesser-known LA locations to explore. The glittering Getty Center is completely free to enter and features an amazing art collection that includes everything from baroque sculpture to medieval triptychs. It is situated on a billion-dollar perch in the Bel Air skies.

Families in the area love visiting the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum, which houses the fossils and bones of extinct animals including dire wolves, sabre-toothed tigers, and mammoths that were stuck in the tar pit.

For those looking for an unconventional choice, they need only visit the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, which is the final resting place of silent film luminaries like Douglas Fairbanks. If possible, return at night when the cemetery conducts a range of events from DJ-led dance parties among the tombstones to movie screenings projected on the mausoleum.

Be informed before you leave.

Arrive in Los Angeles with no intention of using public transit; you will either need to rent a car or have an Uber account, and you will use it often. In the meanwhile, avoid visiting between May and August if you’re hoping to spot some celebrities as these months mark the main studios’ “hiatus” between TV seasons. Last but not least, if you’re shooting that perfect shot of the well-known canyons and slopes off the Hollywood Hills, the greatest place to see them is from the serpentine Mulholland Drive, which exquisitely winds around the mountain top and is a breathtaking drive in and of itself.