Later this month, my husband and I will be spending a week in Los Angeles. I haven’t been to LA since 1971, and my husband hasn’t been since 1979, so we’re way out of touch. Although this is essentially a business trip, we’ll have quite a bit of free time. Disneyland and Universal Studios are on our list, but I’m sure there are lots of great things we could do and places we could go, if only we knew about 'em. Hubby and I are chronologically old (he’s 55 and I’m 60), but we are fairly hip (do they still say hip?), and we’d like to find some really neat ways to spend the first vacation we’ve had in 15 years. Any suggestions are welcome.
A lot of the answers are going to depend on what you like, when you’re coming, and where you are staying. I will however give some of my favorite museums:
The Gettyof course, and if you like Greek and Roman things there is the Villain Malibu. When will you be here? There’s a Bernini exhibit at the Center until Oct. 26. There is no charge for the Getty Center, however parking is around $10. The Villa requires a ticket (free, available through the website. You should book ASAP if you plan to go) and also a parking charge of around $10.
The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City. It’s a piece of art/social commentary masquerading as a museum. I love the place, but some people don’t.
The Nethercutt Collection at San Sylmar. The last time I went there was a dress code; you might want to check. I haven’t been to their new facilities. Most of the stuff are old cars (Duesenbergs, Packards, Rolls, and the like, some previously owned by celebrities such as Rudolph Valentino) as well as a collection of musical oddities.
The Huntington Library is also supposed to be excellent, but I haven’t had the chance to go yet.
Dinner with a bunch of crazy LA area dopers is pretty darn fun. 
D’oh! I knew I shoulda given more info. We arrive September 22 and leave September 29. We will be staying at the Radisson in Culver City, but we’ll have a rental car, and hubby loves to drive. It’s really hard to say what we like, since we have rather eclectic tastes. We love science fiction, computers and other high-tech gizmos(hubby is an engineer), Rocky Horror, '50s nostalgia stuff, animals (both pet & wild), and good food that is relatively cheap.
Well, given that information, let me be the first to stump for The Apple Pan, a Los Angeles institution. It’s on the Westside on Pico so it won’t be too far from where you are staying. It’s a burger joint that has been in the same spot since it started in the '40s. The burgers are very excellent (I’m partial to the hickory burger), the coffee will light your brain on fire (if you ask for cream that is what you will get: heavy whipping cream :eek::D) and the pie is almost as good as mine. It’s tiny (seats oh, I dunno, around 24?), the parking sucks, and some people complain that the service is too gruff. They won’t take credit cards, so bring cash. The most junior employee has been there something like 30 years. It is one of my favorite places.
They still have a midnight showing of Rocky Horror at the Nuart Theater on Santa Monica Boulevard.
Spending the day in Santa Monica itself is fun. You can hang out on the Third Street Promenade. There are lots of restaurants and interesting shops. Or go out on the Santa Monica pier and play skeeball and ride the ferris wheel. (If you saw Iron Man, that’s the ferris wheel he flies over when he’s testing his suit.) There’s also an antique carousel at the pier and a small aquarium.
Do you like sushi? Try The Hump at the Santa Monica airport. You can watch planes take off and land while you chow down on your maki.
Also in Santa Monica is Bergamot Station. It’s an old trolley station that’s been turned into a group of art galleries. There’s like 30 different galleries with different shows opening at different times.
Drive down to Seal Beach. The beach is clean, not too crowded, and there’s always room to park (you can park on Main Street or in the little public lot off Main.) Plus there are lots of little shops and restaurants within walking distance. And a pier!
If you like cars, the Peterson Automotive Museum is world class.
If the old west, and American Indians are more to your liking, the Autry National Center of the American West consists of two museums, the Museum of the American West (often called the Autry Museum) located in Griffith Park, and the Southwest Museum located on Mt. Washington just north of Downtown LA off of the Pasadena Frwy.
While we are in those neighborhoods, the Griffith Observatory is just up the hill from the Autry and is newly remodeled and open. If you go to the Southwest at the Ave 43 (No not 43rd ave, Ave 43*) exit** from the Pasadena Frwy. is Heritage Square a collection of Victorian houses that have been moved here from all over the city. One by one they are being restored.
If you are around on a weekend, a trip to Venice beach is worth a look.
If the weather is clear a drive along Mullholland with its views is for sure worth the drive. This road runs along the top of the Hollywood hills on one side is the San Fernando Valley, the other Hollywood, Bel Air Bentwood and the Beach.
Right by your Hotel is Johnnie’s Pastrami Some people also like Titos Tacos around the corner, but personally I think the food there is terrible. IMHO there are so many awesome Mexican Restaurants in LA, it would be a shame to go to a third rate shit hole like Titos.
Also a dopefest is always a great thing to do in LA
*Avenues North of downtown are AVE. XX South of downtown it would be XX AVE.
** This freeway ramp has a posted speed limit of 5, yes five MPH, and they are not kidding. Actually if you are curious drive the Pasadena frwy from end to end and look at the off ramps and on ramps. When this road was built, nothing was known about how to build a freeway, so they tried one or two of every kind they could think of.
A good friend of mine used to work at Heritage square. I found it interesting as well.
I like the Norton Simon Museum.
http://www.nortonsimon.org/
I also liked the Museum of Neon Art.
http://www.neonmona.org/flash/
Also, the Museum of Tolerance
http://www.museumoftolerance.com/site/c.juLVJ8MRKtH/b.1580483/
A movie studio tour? I haven’t been on one in ten years, but I enjoyed those. Also, you might want to consider going to a tv taping of a talk show or game show.
Tickets to the Tonight show are free. The best way to get them is to show up sometime in the mid morning and ask for them at the NBC gift shop in Burbank(Southwest corner of the NBC complex)
IIRC the show tapes at about 4:30 each day.
If a Disney movie is playing that you want to see, see it at the El Capitan across from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The El Capitan is an old 1920’s-era theatre & it often has a pipe-organ mini-concert before the movie. One afternoon, it also had a L.A. Zoo bird show.
French onion soup at Hamburger Hamlet.
More to come…
Last time I was in SoCal, I found Knott’s Berry Farm to be more fun than Universal (which was plenty of fun). I also enjoyed the La Brea Tar Pits. I’ll second the Museum of Neon Art recommendation.
San Diego has a lot of great stuff, if you’re up for a two-hour drive. (traffic not included)
Trojan Football games and leaving.
Or take an early Amtrak down to San Diego, and spend a few hours at the Zoo. Being in Balboa Park, the Zoo is easy to reach from the San Diego Amtrak Station. While down there, you can also visit the Maritime Museum, also near the station. The last train back gives you plenty of time to spend at the Zoo and in downtown San Diego.
If you’re interested in Native Americans, the Southwest Museum is world class, but I"m not sure what their status is right now. I heard they were closing for major renovations.
The Museum of Natural History is the largest west of the Mississippi and has stellar collections in many fields, most notably ice-age mammals and the gem and mineral collection. I’ve seen the Field in Chicago and honestly couldn’t see that it was any better.
I second the La Brea Tar Pits - way more cool and interesting than you might think. Did you know they found one human body in there? A pre-Columbian Native American woman who may have been murdered.
Also, San Diego is a blast, if you’ve got the time. I will warn you, though, the trains are pretty crowded these days.
I went down to see the Emperor Qin’s Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at the Bowers museum in Santa Ana a few weeks ago. It’s pretty cool, if you like that sort of thing. The New Getty and the old Villa, recommended above also get a thumbs-up from me. The Huntington library has excellent gardens.
I love the San Deigo Zoo, but the Wild Animal Parkis far more impressive. Sign up for the Park in the Dark program or the ride-around-in-a-truck tour. You get to feed apples to rhinos. It’s the coolest thing ever.
Rick, my friend, you are a wise man to suggest Johnnie’s Pastrami. In general I’m not wild about pastrami, but I have a hole in my heart the size of one of their sandwiches, because it has been YEARS since I’ve had one.
Damn, that is a fine sandwich. And the pickles ain’t bad either.
I live just a couple blocks from Tito’s/Johnnie’s. I don’t share Rick’s disdain for Tito’s, but then again, I’m no Mexican food connoisseur. If you like simple tacos and burritos and rice and don’t want to stoop to the Taco Bell/Del Taco level, it’s perfect.
Just be warned that both places are cash-only.
Unfortunately the tracks are pretty crowded too, and portions of the L.A.-S.D. route are single-tracked, like the stretch in Chatsworth where they had the Metrolink collision last week. The entire route is shared with freights, and Amtrak runs at least seven or eight trains in each direction, each day. For most of the way down to Fullerton, first stop out of L.A., you’ll have nothing to look at but bleak industrial landscapes.
That said, however, once you get past Fullerton it becomes a pleasant train ride. A portion of it runs almost along the beach, so try to sit on the appropriate side coming and going. Also business class, or whatever they call it now, is very comfortable and doesn’t cost that much more. Even so, the standard coaches and seats are more than adequate. You’ll have a lot more room than you would on an airplane, or on an intercity bus. As I mentioned up-thread, if you start out early enough in the morning you can make a nice daytrip of it. Go to the SD Zoo and take the tram ride. You’ll see a lot more than you would expect, and it’ll help you decide what you want to investigate more closely. There’s a cool restaurant in the Zoo called Albert’s Treetop Inn or something like that. It was named for a gorilla who lived there for many years.
Hollywood, while still a bit tawdry, is improving, and still worth visiting in any case if you are interested in Old Hollywood landmarks such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Musso & Frank’s Grill, an institution since 1920, has good food and is a great place to stop in for a drink or a meal. The Roosevelt Hotel is another good place.
I see on preview that your husband enjoys driving. There are a few interesting road trips you could do around here, but given your schedule and the time of year the easiest choice would probably be from Santa Monica to Oxnard, along PCH, which is the classic beach highway driving experience. Of course what do you have at the end of it? Oxnard of course, which isn’t too thrilling, but the drive is still very much worth it.
Unfortunately the tracks are pretty crowded too, and portions of the L.A.-S.D. route are single-tracked, like the stretch in Chatsworth where they had the Metrolink collision last week. The entire route is shared with freights, and Amtrak runs at least seven or eight trains in each direction, each day. For most of the way down to Fullerton, first stop out of L.A., you’ll have nothing to look at but bleak industrial landscapes.
That said, however, once you get past Fullerton it becomes a pleasant train ride. A portion of it runs almost along the beach, so try to sit on the appropriate side coming and going. Also business class, or whatever they call it now, is very comfortable and doesn’t cost that much more. Even so, the standard coaches and seats are more than adequate. You’ll have a lot more room than you would on an airplane, or on an intercity bus. As I mentioned up-thread, if you start out early enough in the morning you can make a nice daytrip of it. Go to the SD Zoo and take the tram ride. You’ll see a lot more than you would expect, and it’ll help you decide what you want to investigate more closely. There’s a cool restaurant in the Zoo called Albert’s Treetop Inn or something like that. It was named for a gorilla who lived there for many years.
Hollywood, while still a bit tawdry, is improving, and still worth visiting in any case if you are interested in Old Hollywood landmarks such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Musso & Frank’s Grill, an institution since 1920, has good food and is a great place to stop in for a drink or a meal. The Roosevelt Hotel is another good place.
I see on preview that your husband enjoys driving. There are a few interesting road trips you could do around here, but given your schedule and the time of year the easiest choice would probably be from Santa Monica to Oxnard, along PCH, which is the classic beach highway driving experience. Of course what do you have at the end of it? Oxnard of course, which isn’t too thrilling, but the drive is still very much worth it.