Just dont let Mercutio try to show you where sunset is…To be fair he found a sunset…Just not the one everybody talks about. But then again, you get what you pay for, and a 16 year Punk Rocker who does tour guide duty for free food …
I would definately recommend santa monica. It’s a great city, you can walk around at night, it’s got a nice beach and is close to most places you’d want to go in LA. I appear to be a bit of an anomaly, as I hate San Fransisco and love Los Angeles, but definately stay in Santa Monica. go to Venice Beach and talk to the vendors too, it’s quite an experience for the uninitiated.
Going to L.A…ah, I’m jealous! I lived near downtown for a few years (KoreaTown)…it’s not as bad as other have made it out to be. BUT, it’s probably not the best place for a tourist.
I strongly suggest you stay in Santa Monica. I think that’s more what you’re thinking of when you think “Los Angeles”! You’ll have the ocean, and lots of neat shops & sights to see. Plus you won’t be too far from Venice Beach–which you’ll definitely want to see! It’s got a lot of little booths along the ocean, filled with people selling trinkets, reading your palm, advocating for political causes, and many many entertainers. You’ll have a great time there!
I also second the suggestion to visit The Self-Realization Fellowship temple. I was a member while I lived in LA. Check it out if you’re at all interested in Eastern Philosophy/Religion. And don’t worry–it’s not a cult…no-one will even talk to you if you’re just checking it out.
Speaking of cults—**The Church of Scientology **is right next to the Self-Realization Fellowship. If you want a laugh, take one of their “personality tests”. Be prepared to be told how screwed up you are, and how much you need their help!
ALSO: Make sure to take full advantage of all the ethnic food available in Los Angeles. LA is one of the most diverse cities in the world, literally every type of food is represented here. I suggest: Mexican (duh!), Ethiopian, and some good Jewish Deli food!
And if you’re only going to visit one museum while you’re in town, make itThe Museum of Tolerance! It is focused on the nature of hate, with exhibits on genocides, and a fully interactive Holocaust experience. Yes, it’s depressing…but it will be one of the most powerful experiences you’ll have.
Is any of these hotels near or in Santa Monica?
I don’t think so, which one would be closest?
Oh. The OP mentioned cheap food.
Tito’s Tacos on Washington (the northern of the two parallel Washingtons – One is “Place” and the other is “Blvd.” and I can never remember which is which) and Sepulveda in Culver City (about 10 or 15 minutes by car from Santa Monica). I love tacos from Tito’s. Good refried beans too. I always specify that I want cheese, as I’m not sure if the tacos come with it. The burritos are good, but not what you’d expect after eating burritos everywhere else. Unless you have a huge appetite, I’d suggest one taco and a cup of refried beans (chips and salsa are included). Maybe two tacos, but I always run out of steam before I can eat everything. Forget Taco Hell (er, “Bell”). Postpone Del Taco. Definitely go to Tito’s. Good and inexpensive.
Ye Olde King’s Head has been mentioned (2nd & Santa Monica). They have the best fish’n’chips I’ve found. Get the “queen size”. The “king size” is too much for me (and I’m a big guy). Not cheap, but worth it. Good place for a small Dopefest, but a large one might stretch it.
Johnny Rocket’s. There are a lot of them around, including one on the 3rd St. Promenade. A little expensive for a burger, but tasty.
In-N-Out Burger. You can get a Double-Double (two beef patties and two slices of cheese), fries and a drink for about $5. Some people say this is the best burger out there. I’ve had better, but they are very good burgers.
Thai Beer on Washington Blvd. a few blocks east of Lincoln in Marina del Rey. I’ve only eaten there once, but they’re the place I order from whenever I want Thai food delivered. I usually order beef satay, padh-see-ew with chicken, spicy fried rice with chicken, and beef pa-naeng. It usually lasts me about four days.
Benny’s Barbeque on Lincoln, south of Washington in Marina del Rey. I haven’t found a BBQ place I’d call cheap, but the food at Benny’s tastes good.
The Coop on Exposition Blvd. and Palms Blvd. Decent pizza. Good Italian sandwiches for $5.00. I like the meat calzone, also $5.00. Take-out only.
Sorrento Italian Market on Sepulveda and Sawtelle (?) in Culver City. The only place I’ll buy a pastrami sandwich. (Tends to be a little on the salty side.) $5.00 for a large sandwich with mustard and provalone cheese. This is a real market and not a restaurant. Take out only. Or just go in and inhale. Ahhhhh!
Mama’s Pizza on Motor Ave. and National Blvd. Good pizza. I like The Monster. (Hey, when I have pizza I want meat!)
Round Table Pizza. They’re around somewhere. It’s a large chain.
Ethnic foods of all kinds can be found in L.A. from Mexican to Japanese to Chinese to Italian. Vietnamese is a little harder to find unless you go down to Orange County (where Disneyland is). Speaking of which…
My Nguen (“may gwin” is a close approximation of the pronunciation) on Brookhurst… I don’t know the cross street, but it’s on the east side a few lights down, across from Vien Dong which is another good Vietnamese restaurant. Bahn Xaio is good, as is the tam-cay-tam. The former is a rice-flour omelette filled with shrimp, mushrooms and bean sprouts, accompanied by various greens and fish sauce. Put a piece of bahn xaio into the bowl, tear up some plants, add fish sauce (it’s not at all fishy – just stay away from the bottled stuff) and eat. Tam-cay-tam is rice in a clay pot with a brown gravy, quail eggs and chicken. Be sure to get the Vietnamese coffee (Café sua da – it’s hard to spell Vietnamese when you don’t have the fonts!). The cup has sweetened condensed milk in it. Let the coffee maker sit on top until it is empty (10 minutes, 20 minutes…). Stir the coffee and milk and pour into the glass of ice provided. Really good stuff. And the best thing about Vietnamese food is that it’s cheap!. Five bucks or so, plus whatever you drink. (I’ve yet to see free drink refills at an Asian restaurant though.)
If you really want cheap, there’s a Hari Krishna temple in Culver City on Venice, east of Bagley. Supposedly you can get a free vegetarian meal there. “Free”, of course, means that you have to listen to their sales pitch. I’ve never tried it.
Hungry Pocket is my favourite falafel stand. It’s on Pico at about 17th St. I usually get the shawerma sandwich with a side of falafel balls and tahini. Much better than Falafel King.
Wienerschnitzel. No, they don’t sell Wienerschnitzel. They sell hot dogs. (Because, you see, it sounds like “wieners”, and… Well, at least they no longer call themselves Der Wienerschnitzel…) Seriously though, chili dogs or chili-cheese dogs. It’s a guy thing. Good fries too. Big chain, all over the western states.
Basically, you’re not going to starve in L.A.
Oops. That would be “cam-tay-cam”. :o
As a former tourist in LA myself, can I just underline what several others have said: you need a car in LA. It’s just not viable to try and get around, even on a touristy basis, any other way. Must. Have. Car.
Must. be. 25. I don’t want to wait 6 years or go with my parents. So that’s the only way I can go now.
Another former Angeleno checking in. I’ve got to agree with everybody else. You need a car. The stuff JustPlainBryan listed is cool, but most of those sites won’t take more than an hour or two, and then you’ll be bored at your hotel. If you feel you absolutely must go there, find a hotel in Santa Monica, that’s what they show you in the movies.
Somebody described LA as 88 suburbs in search of a city. That was in the late 70’s, it’s more like 188 suburbs now. Suburbs just aren’t that interesting.
Save your pennies a little longer and visit San Francisco instead. LA will still be there in 6 years when you can rent a car and really see it. Also, since you were thinking about SF in the first place, have you checked into fares and hotels around Oakland? It tends to be much cheaper, and you can take bart into the city in 15 minutes for a couple of bucks any time of day.
I would agree that Santa Monica is the best place to stay. Don’t miss the Santa Monica Pier or the Third Street Promenade. There are plenty of decent restaraunts in the area, and be sure to check out Mort’s Deli in the nearby Pacific Palisades. (I can’t remember the address, though. Has anybody else been there?)
These sites claim that rent to your age group, as long as you have proof of insurance:
I’m guessing that they don’t have the newest cars in their fleet, and they might have a surchage for under 25, but it might work for you.
I’m another one voting for staying in Santa Monica. You’ll be close to the beach, and have easy access to plenty of restaurants, cafes, and shops for whatever you may need within walking distance–downtown L.A. really doesn’t have that.
Santa Monica also has a farmer’s market on Wednesdays–you’ll get a chance to sample some of the best produce that the area can offer, too.
Here’s a link to a good hotel in the area–it’s not one of the ones on the beach (those are pricey), but it’s a short walk to the beach and the Prominade. http://www.doubletree.com/en/dt/hotels/index.jhtml?moreDesc=true&ctyhocn=SMOPCDT
JustPlainBryan is an excellent tour guide (He’s my SO–I should know!), and I know you’ll get to see some great places if he takes you around for a day. Let us know when you’ll be here–we’ll make sure we get a few dopers together for a mini-dopefest 
Things are suddenly looking way different!
I found a flight to San Francisco for about $450. That is a pretty good price. Then I was looking for hotels, but the cheapest were around $70 per night. I know that is good, but still too much for me. So I checked find-hostels.com to see if I can stay in a youth hostel for a week. Wow - there are three hostels available, all for around $20! These are the ones:
Adelaide Hostel, Hostelling International-SF-City Center and Pacific Tradewinds Hostel. Some even offer free breakfast and coffee, just what I need.
Sorry LA people, but it seems like I’m going to SF after all. Nothing is for sure yet so don’t start posting SF tips just yet. I will have decided in about 4 hours…
There’s the Airport Hostel at 2221 Lincoln Blvd. in Venice. 310-305-0250. Also, Share-Tel Apartments at 20 Brooks Ave. in Venice. 310-392-0325.
But if you’re going to SFO, they might be a little out of the way. 
Everything is set for SF. My mom now only wants to call my friend’s mom to make sure she’s ok with it.
Bring warm clothes.
I was wondering if I should bring my leather jacket or not.
Does the temperature change a lot during the day? I mean, does it get warm quickly in the morning or is it quite cold at first?
SF gets fairly cool (lower 60s-ish) and windy after the sun goes down, even in the middle of summer. I would definitely take the leather jacket if your coming from an area that doesn’t have “real” winters, but if you’re used to cold weather you can probably get away with heavy sweatshirts.
-lv
No kidding!
My friends and I went to a couple of Dead shows at the Greek Theater in Berkeley back in May of '82 I think. We’re all from NJ where if it’s warm during the day, chances are it will be just slightly less warm at night. It was also our first trip out west.
So we’re sitting there on the grass diggin’ it and as soon as the sun starts going down, everybody around us reaches into their knapsacks and pull out sweaters and heavy jackets and we’re like, “what’s this about?” Well the rest of the evening and that night we froze our asses off! Bring warm clothes!
Do I really get to be the first to quote Mark Twain?
“The coldest winter I ever knew was one summer in San Francisco.”
It might be warm and loverly in SF. It probably will be cold and foggy - a cold fog that slowly saps all the heat from your body and leaves you frozen to the core. I love it, but bring a sweatshirt, or be prepared to buy one from the 100’s of vendors who prey on tourists in shorts and goosebumps. (The tourists, that is. The vendors are warmly dressed.)