I am Headed to Los Angeles

I will be visiting with my 3 girls (they are in their 20's) in Los Angeles soon. They are somewhat familiar with LA, and want to visit some places. The Getty, Griffith Observatory and the Santa Monica Pier are a few of places we will visit.

Do any of you have any other suggestions for visits in and around LA?
Thanks

Santa Monica Pier and Manhattan Beach Pier are two of my favorite areas. Venice Beach is also great.

Hollywood Blvd is always a blast even though it is very touristy. Check out the local metro stations there as they all have film themes inside.

Universal Studio's is another favorite of mine

Check out downtown LA as well. Especially the Fashion District is a favorite of mine for street photography.

BrianS wrote in post #15901392
Check out downtown LA as well. Especially the Fashion District is a favorite of mine for street photography.

I was going to say the same, it's also great to shop in general.

I have 3 girls in their 20s. I am staying as far from stores as possible - I have already spent 100s of thousands on them to date.

BTW- thanks for the other spots.

pbelarge wrote in post #15901411
I have 3 girls in their 20s. I am staying as far from stores as possible - I have already spent 100s of thousands on them to date.

BTW- thanks for the other spots.

L.A. Live: lots of restaurants, theatres, GRAMMY Museum if they're interested in music... lots of great entertainment venues in LA, so hit a concert or a show. If you make it to the OC, there's always Disneyland. and if you want to kill your budget, South Coast Plaza is a shopper's paradise. Of course, Beverly Hills... LA is a world-class city, so it really depends on what their interests are: shopping, music, art, sports... LA has it all.

...walk over or rent a bike towards venice beach. great street action and plenty of colorful people. Lake shrine is also not too far of a drive, if the top room is not being used for meditation, you could climb up and enjoy the view overlooking the ocean! cameras are welcome but use it respectfully!

View from Mulholland is definitely worth a drive up IMO. They've got several places along the way where you can pull over and park and LA is just laid out before you. Griffith Observatory is a cool place, tons of photo ops up there. Santa Monica Pier is also really cool, lot of photo ops there as well. I actually stayed in downtown LA the last couple of times I've been and it's a great area for street and architecture photos.

it depends on what you're looking to do, you can check out LA weekly to get an idea too

1. Huntington Library in Pasadena. Many acres of groomed gardens and landscape plus a fantastic museum of art. Take the tour; there's some history behind Mr. Huntington's extravagance.

2. Old Town Pasadena is nice. Tons of old brick buildings and fascinating architecture plus street photography. It's a "cool hangout". Check out the "Church of God" on Green street - an amazing grounds stuffed with Japanese gardens, old majestic buildings, streams, and so on.

3. I 2nd the Griffith Observatory, esp. if you're a science buff. The LA Zoo's right next door.

4. Many hikes in the mountains. Great time of year for it.

5. If you take a drive 80 miles out the 10 freeway, there's the windmill farm. Behind that is Joshua Tree National Park. There's a scientific anomaly happening with their procreation, where they're flowering exponentially more than ever in recorded history. Some photos here.

6. As mentioned, Hollywood has lots of interesting shows. The Madam somebody's Wax Museum is a nice day, as is Ripply's believe it or not is entertaining. There's a nice magic show if you can get tickets up on the hill behind it, just up from the Chinese Theater.

Further up Hollywood Blvd towards Beverly Hills is a unique happening part of town for having some drinks, seeing some rock music, etc. Melrose District is also good for that, down near Beverly Hills (but without the expensive shops ... just the sidewalk cafe's).


Enjoy the stay. You'll probably see more than most 10 year residents if you try.

The Grove and the Farmer's Market were cool. Stay away from the Cheesecake Factory... horrible food!
I did not like that Sea Food restaurant on the Santa Monica Pier either. We stayed at the Embassy Suites, which had real good breakfast.
Venice Beach... I dont have to write what a crazy place that is.
Marina DelRey, not impressed. Hollywood, fun to see but be aware often closes for movie or tv or some shoots.

And I liked San Diego, less crazies than LA, the drive there is worth it.

Take the ferry to Catalina Island for a day. Rent a golf cart or bicycle. Hike up the zip line road - it's a loop. Visit their desert garden, well worth it. The ferry ride is also interesting if you like the ocean.