Recommendations for L.A.?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m going to be in Los Angeles for four days at the end of March. The only time I’ve been there before is when I went to Disneyland/Universal Studios/etc. as a kid, and one time I went through/around it a few years ago driving from San Diego to San Francisco on the PCH.

What should I do? Where should I eat? I will be staying in west L.A. if that helps.

It’s just my wife and me, no kids this time. We do sometimes find that when we’re on vacation we have trouble finding things to do in the evening besides just going out for dinner. Dance clubs are definitely not our thing. Any ideas there?

I will have a rental car so attractions in the surrounding area are OK. When I’m on vacation, I definitely lean more towards city stuff than nature stuff, but I’m open to any and all recommendations. We’re not usually particularly interested in tourist traps though (e.g. Fisherman’s Wharf/Times Square type stuff).

Speaking of having a car, how much do I need to be worried about driving around there? I live in a medium-sized, car-oriented city and I have successfully navigated Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco by car but my understanding is L.A. is a whole different thing. I will have a navigation system so I think I’ll be OK but tips and tricks for getting around, avoiding traffic, finding parking etc. would be appreciated.

Here are a few ideas I have had in no particular order. Let me know what you think of any of these:

[ul]
[li]Griffith Observatory? I like astronomy.[/li][li]Getty Museum? I’m not huge on the visual arts, my wife enjoys it somewhat more than me though.[/li][li]Comedy/Improv club?[/li][li]Space Shuttle Endeavor?[/li][li]Farmer’s Market?[/li][li]Shopping :([/li][li]Hollywood sign? I know, it’s cheesy but it’s iconic, right?[/li][li]Scenic drive in the hills?[/li][/ul]
Thanks in advance!

2

The Getty is an amazing venue, even without the art. The L.A. county museum is also a good place to see art.

Venice Beach is interesting.

3

I like the Huntington Beach Pier, you can watch people fish off the pier and eat at the Ruby’s and look out over the water. You can similarly eat on the pier at several other locations in LA/Orange County, Laguna Beach and San Clemente are pretty wonderful places to spend a day in good weather. Somewhere around Calabasas, off of Liberty Canyon I think, are some of the old movie sets for Planet of the Apes and Mash. (See Google for further details if interested). Griffith Observatory is really good.

4

The Venice Beach boardwalk. Especially on a weekend.
Don’t bother about the Hollywood sign, you can’t get very close to it. The residents really hate people parking on the residential streets that are near and you can see it from the LA basin.

A really wonderful drive if it’s clear out is Angeles Crest Hwy to Mt Wilson.

5

Asimovian will show up eventually to say you have to go to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. I can’t seem to get their website to come up right now, but they really are awfully good.

6

I would highly recommend Rosc— well, shit. Nevermind. :smiley:

I have to concur with going to The Getty just for the views alone. I am also a fan of Griffith Observatory, so since it’s already on your list, do it! If you’re not intimidated by traffic (and, in some areas, San Francisco’s traffic is as bad as LA), take a drive from where you’re staying into and through Hollywood, and then head through and over the Hollywood Hills and into the Valley. Then you can head back down the 405.

I think you’ll be fine for navigation since you have an aid, unless you’re planning to do anything in downtown LA. As with many downtown areas, there are a number of one-way streets, and in LA in particular, there are streets with the same names but with multiple levels. So it’s really best to plan ahead if you’re going to be in that area. That being said, there’s not a ton to do in Downtown Proper, so I wouldn’t stress about that much.

Exactly how close to the end of March will you be here? Are you a sports fan? If so, you’ve got possibility of seeing the Lakers and Clippers (basketball), the Kings (hockey), and – depending on the date – the Dodgers (baseball) in action.

More food selections: I’m not the right person to ask about fancy places, but for more casual fare, the Apple Pan is a very old LA establishment that basically does burgers and pie, all counter seating, and just damn tasty (and also happens to be on the side of town where you’re staying). And if you’re generally a burger fan, try In-N-Out and Tommy’s while you’re here. Near downtown, there is Olvera Street, which has a number of good Mexican establishments, and right up the street from there is Philippe’s, which is over 100 years old and is said to be the originator of the French dip sandwich. Excellent stuff.

ETA: Chinatown is also adjacent to downtown LA, and it has at least one excellent dim sum restaurant (Empress Pavilion), if that is your thing. There are also a number of Vietnamese restaurants in the area, but I can’t speak to those, personally.

7

For comedy/improv-type stuff, my favorite in the area is UCB.

8

The two places that don’t always get top billing which I always suggest to out-of-towners are Venice Beach & The Griffith Park Observatory.

I would suggest also doing a midtown loop, which includes the museums:
From West L.A., you go east on Wilshire Blvd. about four miles. It cuts right through the touristy part of Beverly Hills, which is worth a drive-by. So, at Farifax & Wilshire is Museum Row: LACMA, La Brea Tar Pits as well as the Petersen Automotive Museum, which is on the south side of the street. Both museums are very well regarded. There’s a Counter Burgers nearby, also. Outstanding burgers for a chain. Or, just a few blocks north of the museums/museum row (go up Hauser to get past the Park La Brea apartment complex and avoid Fairfax traffic), you can eat at The Farmer’s Market and/or check out** The Grove** outdoor shopping center (next door). Yeah, it’s just a shopping center, but it has a fountain and a trolley – who can pass on that? If you still have enough gas in the tank (figuratively speaking), continue west a couple miles and cruise through Hancock Park, a very wealthy part of L.A. and where most of the exteriors for “The Artist” were shot. Paramount Pictures is also in the neighborhood a few blocks up on Melrose – and just north of that (on Gower) a few blocks is Roscoe’s! Never eaten there, myself. And then make your way up to The Observatory, which completely rocks since they added on a second floor to the museum. Do check out a planetarium show; they’re terrific. Oh, the Hollywood Sign is on a hill adjacent to the Observatory, so you got that.

If you have a desire to see celebrities, have lunch at **The Ivy **on Robertson: surprisingly, not hard to get into, just dress a little upscale and don’t act like a yahoo. You may want to call in advance to see about reservations ahead. It’s not crazy-priced, either (though not cheap). Last time we took out-of-towners there, Sharon Stone was getting mauled by the paparazzi at the table next to us. It was pretty neat (although I gather more of a publicity stunt arranged by her publicist).

If you feel even a little inkling to explore spirituality, go to the Self Realization Fellowship Lakeside Shrine on Sunset just north of Pacific Coast Highway (not too far from West L.A.). Really cool. You can also stare at the snobby people in the Pacific Palisades while you’re there.

Oh, everybody raves about the Warner Brothers Studio tour, which is in Burbank (east end of the Valley). It’s not a touristy thing like Universal Studios, but you tour through the WB back lot and watch actual stuff get made and in some cases meet celebrities (they poop like we do, though, or so I’m told).

That should help – good luck!

9

[Norm MacDonald]Wait… what?!?[/Norm MacDonald]

10

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery (google it, it is tricky to find)

I took my friend from Florida there and she loved it. Most people from LA aren’t even aware of it.

Marilyn and Dino and many many others are (always) there.

11

I think most of the main points have been hit already. I’m going to have to mildly disagree with Roscoe’s though (sorry, Asimovian). It’s decent grub for a late night meal, but I wouldn’t consider it a must-visit.

If you want to check out more classical art, you can visit the Getty Villa, but that requires a reservation. I’m a big fan of LACMA, Griffith Observatory, and the Tar Pits. Some of the museums also have night time events, but be prepared for a parking nightmare for any special events. If you’re up to drive down to Orange County, the Bower’s Museum also has a traveling exhibit right now on Lucy, the hominid that was found in Ethiopia.

If you can handle San Francisco traffic, you can handle LA traffic. Just note that the 405 is a parking lot during rush hour (6am-10am and 4pm-7pm) and all the freeways go about 80mph outside of rush hour.

As for food, you can’t go wrong with Jonathan Gold’s 99 Essential Restaurants. He’s LA’s quintessential food reviewer and he’s pretty spot on in my opinion. Lots of ethnic places on his list with all kinds of price ranges as well. It does span LA County though, so not all of them will be convenient to West LA. I think there’s even a Google Map for it.

For farmer’s markets, the Santa Monica one on 3rd is very lively with gorgeous produce.

12

Another vote for Getty Museum and definitely Venice Beach. You really can’t beat Venice Beach for people staring. It’s wonderfully weird and iconic LA.

13

if you still have time, try to grab tickets to see a late night show, many of which are recorded in the afternoon in l.a. like craig ferguson, jimmy kimmel, conan, ellen, etc. some game shows happen in culver city. some of those shows make you wait in a line, which you might not want to do. also, mexican food is a must in l.a. (i prefer the hole in the wall places. maybe do a search on chow.com, laweekly.com, grubstreetla) and if you’re in the downtown area, langer’s has the one of best pastrami sandwiches i’ve ever had. torrance and gardena have great japanese restaurants. if you find yourself in oc try some vietnamese restaurants. this is off the top of my head (i was born and raised in l.a. but only visit a few times a year now since i live outside the country.) if i think of anything else i’ll try to add it here. have fun.

14

Eat at the Stinking Rose. Its a garlic restaurant. Best prime rib anywhere!

15

This is all great info, thanks a lot everybody! I’ve got a lot more bookmarks now to check out. It’s too bad we’re not staying for a couple of weeks!

16

If you like Pastrami then you MUST go to Langer’s, frequently cited as the best Pastrami sandwiches on the planet. If you find yourself near Grumman’s Chinese Theater check out the Pig n Whistle. If you are in the Pasadena area check out Huntington Gardens.

17

A recent thread on the same subject

18

I’m trying to think what the definitive “scenic drive in the hills” would be, but the best i can come up with is going up Laurel Canyon Blvd. (heading north from L.A./Hollywood) and turning left on Mulholland Drive and taking it across to I-405 or turning left down Roscoemare (before the 405) and cruising into Bel Air. You’ll have to look at a map.

Oh, if you want to get out of the car (as Los Angelenos will occasionally do), take a drive up Mandeville Canyon Road in Brentwood (just north of West L.A./Santa Monica). It’s a horseshoe canyon (no outlet), but about 5 miles up (10 minute drive) at Hollyhock Rd. is a 15-minute hiking trail that leads you up to positively the best view of Los Angeles where you can see the entire Valley plus all of L.A., South Bay and Orange County (requires climbing the hill in front of you when the trail widens). It also links to a larger trail that does about a two-hour loop that puts you almost exactly back on the other side of Mandeville Canyon Rd. (about two minutes away from where you parked your car). But that one requires a bigger investment in time and energy.

19

Actually, if you’re going to Pasadena, skip Langers (which is good) and go to The Hat (which is better).

20

If you want to overpay for movies but do it the L.A. way, go to the Arclight Cinemas/Cinerama Dome near Sunset & Vine. Best movie theaters in L.A. Amoeba Records, a half-block away, is generally considered the best place to shop for music (also has DVD’s).

If you are into funky fashion, hit up Melrose Ave. (between Fairfax & La Brea). There is also a terrific sketch comedy/improv house in the Groundlings (spawned a lot of SNL’ers).