What to do in LA?

[B4mv]

Hey Era,

My wife and I are leaving NJ on a plane and emerging at LAX in 2 weeks, getting in a rental car and then...

That's as far as I've got. No Hotel. No plans. No anything. So what to do? What's cool in LA or the areas surrounding it? We're staying for 5 nights, and then need to drop off the rental car at noon.

Where to eat? Other than wanting to try In N Out, I've got nothing
What do see? We're not really into theme parks, so probably not looking into Disney/Universal. But really open for anything else
Where to stay? I don't need to stay at the same place every night. I do prefer hotels to AirBNBs though

I'm really bad at this vacation planning thing.

Help!

 

[MidnightCowboy]

Whatever you end up doing, make sure to get some tacos

 

[beelulzebub]

Hike up the Griffith Observatory and/or the Hollywood sign. Go to MOMA or LACMA or the Natural History Museum. At night go to the Sunset Strip or the main drag of West Hollywood. Grab a bike and tool around the Santa Monica pier or walk around Venice Beach and people watch.

No shortage of great food no matter where you end up. Be bold or Yelp it and you're bound to have some great food.

 

[Kraid]

My favorite place to stay is the Miyako Hybrid Hotel in Torrance. You can get decent rates on Hotwire (use one of those decoding sites or whatever? but I've always gotten it cheaply), it has a full Japanese bath including a soaker tub which is incredible.

If it's not your style or out of your price range, I always try to stay around El Segundo in the South Bay. You're close to LAX. Manhattan Beach is nearby and a really good beach to visit. Lots of hotels have free parking, which is gonna be like $40-50 a night if you stay in Downtown or the row of hotels closest to LAX.

Guisados & Eggslut are the two places I always hit for food when I am there. There's quite a few locations for both and they are really tasty. I went to Howlin' Rays this summer. The food was great but I had a fast pass. If you're there during the week, you can probably get in a lineup of an hour or less. Check their Twitter for line times. I always want the red velvet cake from Ralph's, and I always buy a shit ton of fruit when I'm there.

Every time I have been there I have gone for an event so I haven't had a ton of time to explore, but Japan Town is fun and pretty expansive. Beard Papa cream puffs & browsing Kinokunia are my favorite parts of it. I have been to shows at the Echoplex and Troubadour. Both places were a blast to see a show, so maybe check that out?

If you're up for a drive, I went and stayed in Palm Springs for a couple days last year. The Living Desert Zoo was a really fun time, and probably worth the drive.

Don't stress the plan too much. It's a nice place to vibe, period. Just give yourself time to get around. It takes so much longer than expected.

 

[thekonamicode]

Lots of great food in K-town. I'm particularly infatuated with CoCo Ichibanya Curry House.

 

[MidnightCowboy]

Dan Sung Sa for great cheap Korean food

 

[beelulzebub]

Lots of great food in K-town. I'm particularly infatuated with CoCo Ichibanya Curry House.

Click to shrink...

IMO Curry House (different restaurant) in Little Tokyo is better. Marugame Monzo or Daikokuya a short walk away have world class udon and ramen respectively if you're willing to wait. From any of those spots, go to Tokyo Beat for good cheap drinks and a bunch of drunk Angelinos singing Wii U karaoke.

 

[Keldroc]

IMO Curry House (different restaurant) in Little Tokyo is better. Marugame Monzo or Daikokuya a short walk away have world class udon and ramen respectively if you're willing to wait. From any of those spots, go to Tokyo Beat for good cheap drinks and a bunch of drunk Angelinos singing Wii U karaoke.

Click to shrink...

Agreed on Curry House, but Hurry Curry of Tokyo on Sawtelle is even better.

 

[Rukes]

Eater LA usually has a bunch of good lists for restaurants, and has them all compiled together for tourists:

The ultimate visitor’s guide to eating in Los Angeles

Please meet our first ever guide to LA — custom-made just for all the lovely tourists in your life. (Oh and you might also find it helpful 😉)

la.eater.com

I also vouch for Curry House, it's my comfort food.

One good touristy thing to do is the Getty Center.

 

[Prolepro]

Just moved here last year. GF and I are really fond of Las Galas in Little Tokyo, cheap but solid shrimp tempura rolls, not sure why it's reviewed poorly. K-town is good for food too. Downtown is shitty tbh. Manhattan Beach is cool, better than Venice imo.

 

[B4mv]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone!
We're thinking about hotel hopping, so We'll definitely check out the Miyako Hybrid Hotel for at least a night

 

[Surakian]

Go check out the Venice Canals in Venice. Also for some casual beach exploration, I really recommend going to the Playa Del Ray beach area. If you like Pho, there is a pho shop hidden inside of a little convenience market called ASAP Phorage that is really good, and the whole area is a little bar and restaurant town if you want to find something else. There is a platform you can walk that takes you out to the ocean which is fun to experience. The Playa Del Ray area is really gorgeous imo and it's by the Ballona Wetlands which are also a sight to see. Make sure to come down Lincoln to get the stunning view of the city and wetlands, then west on Jefferson to really feel like you've been transported from the city to a small seaside town.

I've been on the bus with tons of tourists who absolutely marvel at the sight of it when they are trying to make their way to Venice or Santa Monica.

Take a trip to the Getty museum. It's another stunning place to visit. For some downtown stuff, Angel's Flight is really fun to ride, Grand Central Market is home to tons of delicious foods. Walk from there to the Bradbury Building, then visit the Last Bookstore.

You won't regret any of these choices imo

 

[ItIsOkBro]

i always wanted to go drinking in LA while listening to Drinking in LA

 

[Titik]

Where are you guys staying?

Try these:

The Getty Museum complex. It's free but parking is $10. Plan to have lunch here. Food is pretty decent for museum foods. Then perhaps either Santa Monica Beach or Venice Beach. Both are tourist trap heavy tho. So might be better off going to Playa Del Rey beach as mentioned above.

Then if you find yourself in downtown LA , try The Broad. It's also free. Then try going to the Grand Central Market. Tons of dining options here. After getting food, check out the Angel's Flight Railway, the worlds shortest operating train route. It's next to the Grand Central Market so worth a try. Then if you have time check out Olivera St. It's basically Little Mexico. Then check out Union Station since you are nearby. The station itself is really beautiful. Very instagram worthy.

If you guys like shopping, go to Melrose Avenue between Robertson blvd and La Brea blvd. Best to park your car and walk around. Tons of unique and independent shops on this stretch of Melrose. The closer you are to Robertson, the ritzier the shops go so plan which side you want to spend the most time on. Plenty of consignment shops too so if you or the misses like treasure hunting then this is the place to go. The other thing you can do is check out all the street art and graffiti. Apparently Melrose ave and the alleys surrounding it are a hotspot for this type of art and there's a couple famous ones that a lot of people post on Instagram.

 

[Dalek]

Go check out The Last Book store downtown.

And then go to my favorite place to eat: Versailles. It's Cuban food and it's out of this world good.

 

[NoUse4AName]

IMO Curry House (different restaurant) in Little Tokyo is better. Marugame Monzo or Daikokuya a short walk away have world class udon and ramen respectively if you're willing to wait. From any of those spots, go to Tokyo Beat for good cheap drinks and a bunch of drunk Angelinos singing Wii U karaoke.

Click to shrink...

Daikokuya is so good butis always so crowded :(
Hakkata Ikousha is not so crowded and God Fire ramen it's amazing.

 

[Lakershead22]

Just stay away from Hollywood. It sucks

 

[Surakian]

Just stay away from Hollywood. It sucks

Click to shrink...

This. It's overrated and really not fun at all. Maybe on the edges of Hollywood it is fine, and there are cool places to explore but the city is trash and overcrowded.

 

[Murder She Wrote]

Hike up the Griffith Observatory and/or the Hollywood sign. Go to MOMA or LACMA or the Natural History Museum. At night go to the Sunset Strip or the main drag of West Hollywood. Grab a bike and tool around the Santa Monica pier or walk around Venice Beach and people watch.

No shortage of great food no matter where you end up. Be bold or Yelp it and you're bound to have some great food.

Click to shrink...

This is a pretty good suggestion. I'll add a walk down Abbott Kinney and a visit to the Greystone Manor.

If you find yourself on the west side I recommend Gjusta for breakfast/brunch. And for dinner Yamashiro in the Hollywood Hills is very memorable.

 

[MegaRockEXE]

Do SkySpace LA. I've been meaning to do it, but haven't gotten around to it.
Also, if movies are your thing, try some studio tours if you can. I've been on the Warner Bros., Sony, and Paramount tours and would recommend those. Or similarly, you could try to go to a taping of Conan or Jimmy Kimmel Live, if you don't mind getting roasted by the warm-up comedian.

 

[Based0ne]

Pronounce LA like LA people do when you're there. It goes so like so "Ul-ay." Don't forget to make your mouth move like you got something in it.

 

[KennyL]

Try Metro. It actually gets you to a lot of places. You pick a line and hit a bunch of spots in 1 day. $7 for 1 day pass.

Go Metro and Go Everywhere in LA

By riding Metro, locals and visitors alike can enjoy world-famous attractions and cultural gems throughout Los Angeles.

www.discoverlosangeles.com

Like take Red line for Hollywood stuff, Griffith observatory. Gold line for Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Pasadena. Purple line MOCA, Grand Central Market, Disney Concert Hall. Blue line Staples Center, LA Convention Center, Queen Mary, shuttle to LAX.

 

[CaptainNuevo]

Make sure at some point you stop by a random taco stall that sets up on the side of the road at night. They're so good and cheap, just random carts people make with like a single rotisserie grill and a bunch of meats.


Also since you have a car if you like hiking go either:
Up the coast to Malibu and stop at Point Dume and hike up the cliff. This is a pretty short walk in terms of distance, but you get to climb up a cliff by the beach and stare out at the ocean, it's beautiful.
Drive down to Palos Verde and go for a walk around the Portguese Bends Reserve (or any of the spots along it). I think there's some paths that go down to the water, but mostly the trails I know are above the ocean and just look down a hundred or so feet into the waves below with some awesome looking cliffs to see along it.

I've seen whales and dolphins from both these spots (the Palos Verdes area in particular has a whale tracking organization which has volunteers stationed there pretty frequently keeping track of the counts and which way they're going).


Edit: Additionally, I'm actually working on a trip-planning/suggesting website which might be of interest to you. I'm not sure the grounds for self-promotion and whether or not it's ok to post here, but if you'd be open to trying it and and providing some early feedback since it's in alpha state, might be helpful.

 

[messiaen]

Don't go to LACMA--most of it is closed right now. If you want to check out some interesting art/culture there are art galleries in Culver City on La Cienega and Washington Blvd. Blum & Poe, Roberts Projects, etc. are all in that area--there's an art/culture book store called Arcana down the street on Washington. Another big space for galleries is downtown. Hauser & Wirth, Charlie James are some around there--MOCA and The Broad are museums in the downtown area. Hauser and Wirth has a pretty big book store attached to it. The Getty is a nice visit if you're around that area, but WestLA is incredibly boring.

As far as food is concerned, stay away from anything claiming to be west European. Guerrilla Tacos downtown is pretty great. Leo's Taco Truck in Echo Park. There's a cool Austrialian place not too far from those art galleries called Bondi Harvest. The complex it's located in is filled with pop-up stores, so it's a cute little place. The ice cream there is fairly bad though. For ice cream there's a place called Jeni's in Echo Park, they have another location in Venice if you find yourself over there. Come to think of it, there's a cool little fusion restaurant in Venice across the street from Jeni's called wallflower.

For hiking there's a bunch of paths in the Angeles forest. I highly recommend it above Griffith. If you're willing to have a short day trip--go to Joshua Tree. (there's a huge outlet mall along the way too with all the luxury designer brands if you find that interesting) Especially if you're going to be here during a new moon, I think the next one is on Feb. 23? It's a bit of a drive, but I would think of it as a highlight of Southern California. There are some great Airbnbs out there.

I don't know if any of these suggestions are remotely interesting. I tried to think of things that I actually do and not what tourists think people in LA do. I might be a huge weirdo though, hope it was helpful.

 

[Rukes]

Just moved here last year. GF and I are really fond of Las Galas in Little Tokyo, cheap but solid shrimp tempura rolls, not sure why it's reviewed poorly.

Click to shrink...

It's a collection of cheap, where you can get everything better at other places. T.O.T. Has better donburi, all the other Ramen places are better, Curry House has better curry, Suehiro Cafe is better for bento, hell even Kura Sushi is cheaper and better for Sushi.

 

[jakomocha]

Go to Santa Monica and Venice and walk around, get good food and see the street performers and art.

If you like film and Hollywood I'd recommend going to Universal Studios and doing the tram tour, tickets to Universal are pretty pricey though

 

[Laserdisk]

Live and die

 

[Feep]

Din. Tai. Fung.

You'll thank me later.

 

[UltraMagnus]

This. It's overrated and really not fun at all. Maybe on the edges of Hollywood it is fine, and there are cool places to explore but the city is trash and overcrowded.

Click to shrink...

If you're only going once as a tourist it's worthwhile to check out. The Graumann's Theater, Pantages, etc. still do have a rich history. Just keep one's expectations in check.

 

[Prolepro]

It's a collection of cheap, where you can get everything better at other places. T.O.T. Has better donburi, all the other Ramen places are better, Curry House has better curry, Suehiro Cafe is better for bento, hell even Kura Sushi is cheaper and better for Sushi.

Click to shrink...

Good to know, ty

 

[Slipknot666]

Hotel hopping seems like a nightmare waiting to happen is you are only visiting one city.

 

[thermopyle]

Drop by Smorgasburg on Sunday. You could do Last Bookstore/Little Tokyo/Arts District/Smorgasburg for an afternoon. Go get some tacos at Avenue 26 (search yelp) if you two have some late night munchies and want cheap tasty street tacos. You can also take the Expo Line through Culver City to Santa Monica and make a day of it.

Avoid Hollywood unless you've never been and fascinated to see it regardless. Was there yesterday for an Oscar panel and it just reminded me why I hate the area. Bum also threw food at me but it's still a shithole even without that lol

 

[PersonAndStuff]

Go see a show or two at one of the UCBs. Franklin is usually the better of the two.
Do a hike in Griffith Park.
Eat at a taco truck or taco stand. Al Pastor life.

 

[Lkr]

Whatever you end up doing, make sure to get some tacos

Click to shrink...

You haven't had a taco unless you've had a taco in LA

smoke weed

 

[Telecinision]

Go to Grand Central Market for food, you'll have a bunch of options right there. You can check out stuff like Angel's Flight and the Bradbury building. Then, you could jump on the RED LINE to Pershing Square and visit The Last Bookstore.

The only relatively easy thing to do / get to that I would recommend in Hollywood would be visiting Amoeba Records before they move then catching a movie at the Cinerama Dome.

 

[Lil Peanut Brotha]

Hit up Soowan Galbi for KBBQ in k town. Not cheap but not expensive , but really solid spot IMO. Or Brothers is another good spot that does reservations!

 

[Weeats]

WEEEEED.

 

[just_myles]

Dude, everything. I don't know where to even start.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

The Comedy Store. The Magic Castle. Grand Central Market. Arts District. Abbot Kinney. Karaoke in Koreatown. A music venue (Fonda, Troubadour, Palladium, etc.), Sunset Strip.

 

[Lylo]

When i was in LA two years ago i went to see a musical at the Pantages (The Book of Mormon), i don't know what they have right now, but it was the best thing my wife and i did in LA. I cannot recommend it enough, i heard a lot of good things about Hamilton.

 

[Kotto]

Go to the Hollywood Sign.

 

[Stinkles]

If you want to try being in the thick of it - Andaz on sunset (formerly known as the "riot hyatt ") The Tower and Mondrian often gave really good rates- (try calling and asking for the "insert super huge corporation oir movie studio" rate, or Santa Monica Le Meridien and Loews - to be CLEAR that''s like -$250 versus $700 - so we're not talking objective bargains, just relatively. Also Mondrian room means you get into the Skybar for "people watching" which nowadays is mostly other people trying to spot celebrities, but you do see hot people and the occasional star. If you want to actually see someone famous, have lunch at the Ivy, or the Beverly Wilshire or Chateau Marmont or the Soho House (if you know a member in which case you may not care).

Also you CAN (terrible risk) ask the desk manager if they have any rooms late at night at most places on Sunset and if you get someone with any kind of authority there's real bargains to be had. But eh... yeah if you fail you're sleeping in the Dumpster from Mulholland Drive with the monster hobo.

Co-signing on versailles restaurant, Hamilton (try getting day of cancellation tickets at box office) Peterson auto Museum AND La Brea tarpits and museum (right next to each other) and don't forget there's LOADS of amazing hikes in the canyons and closer to Santa Monica and Bev Hills - there's amazing hosues to gape at.

Rodeo Drive is ludicrous but sort of funny - if you want to see unbelievably out of touch rich people and plastic surgery (and tourists) and exotic cars.

Little Tokyo/J-Town and Koreatown are amazing places to eat. You can't ]really go wrong. Downtown LA is waaaaaaay better than it used to be but still one of those most amazingly week downtowns for a city of its scale. It used to basically turn intoa 70s sci-fi dystopia after 6pm but now there's food and stuff to do. Still fantastic and growing homeless problem too so depressing and a reminder of the underbelly of the glitz.

 

[cheebdragonite]

Hey, just the thread I needed! I'm also going to LA, but in May with some friends, and I do have some questions as well:

1. I read that the average temperature in May in LA is a low of 55 to a high of 75. I live in Atlanta, so it gets pretty hot that time already (not as bad as August though), and to me LA in May seems pretty cool still? Maybe not the best time to go to the beach then, perhaps?
2. I booked an AirBnb in Hawthorne, and there won't be AC since it's apparently not common in that area. There will be standing fans. So since it'll be cool in May, it shouldn't be bad then, right?
3. Any opinions on these museums? https://museumofselfies.com | https://laillusions.com

 

[Titik]

Hey, just the thread I needed! I'm also going to LA, but in May with some friends, and I do have some questions as well:

1. I read that the average temperature in May in LA is a low of 55 to a high of 75. I live in Atlanta, so it gets pretty hot that time already (not as bad as August though), and to me LA in May seems pretty cool still? Maybe not the best time to go to the beach then, perhaps?
2. I booked an AirBnb in Hawthorne, and there won't be AC since it's apparently not common in that area. There will be standing fans. So since it'll be cool in May, it shouldn't be bad then, right?
3. Any opinions on these museums? https://museumofselfies.com | https://laillusions.com

Click to shrink...

Apart from some muggy days, LA and SoCal in general tend to have really cool nights even when daytime temperatures soar to the upper 80s. Nighttime temps will usually dip to the 60s.

But oh boy on those muggy days you'll be glad to have AC. We can sometimes have those muggy days in May but they tend to happen in July, August and September.

May and June, we tend to have the marine layer on top of the city. It tends to cool average temps on those months. They tend to burn off throughout the day but sometimes nearer the coasts, you won't see the sun at all. We call them May Grays and June Glooms. So yeah don't make going to the beach a priority on those months.

Don't know about those particular museums but The Broad has a lot of 'instagrammable art' that looks good on selfies if that's what you are after. The best part? It's free and the collections are really awesome.

 

[Wiseguy]

Try to see some TV shows. Jimmy Kimmel Live has free tix.

1iota - Free Tickets for Fans

1iota.com

I also recommend taking a drive up in the Hollywood Hills and Mullholland Drive. Stop at the overlooks.

Driving Mulholland Scenic Parkway & Stopping At Overlooks

Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer W...

youtu.be

Phillipe's is a fun place to experience. Free parking in the back. Freinds saw Kiefer Sutherland in line right in front of them, when they went last year.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/philippe-the-original-los-angeles

 

[neemmss]

Whatever you end up doing, make sure to get some tacos

Click to shrink...

Go to the Leo's Taco Truck. BEST adobada tacos.

There are a couple of them in LA:

Leo's Tacos Truck

★★★★★ · Taco restaurant · 1515 South La Brea Ave

goo.gl

 

[StopMakingSense]

Eat a pastrami sandwich at Langer's.

Agreed on Curry House, but Hurry Curry of Tokyo on Sawtelle is even better.

Click to shrink...

Hurry Curry is best of LA Japanese Curry, hands down.