Los Angeles – quick travel guide

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Get real LA travel tips from a true (and proud) Los Angeles native.

I’m from here, I lived here for most of my life and in many different neighborhoods. Will happily give you the most biased (and unbiased) breakdown as best as I can. The kind of info you can only get from a true LA native.

This info is absolutely necessary because I consider Los Angeles to be the absolute most difficult tourist city in the world. You may think it’s fun, you might even come here and find fun things. But most of you won’t, as most people complain it’s not pretty, not fun, and too much driving, or impossible to get in there. It’s all true.

But indeed, many people do live here happily and for a reason…because they KNOW how to visit and get around LA. So let me teach you how to explore it properly (and not like a fucken tourist).

What makes Los Angeles so hard to visit?

It’s freaken big and the trends move fast. Remember….Los Angeles is a city of trends. So what’s cool one week may not be cool the next week. And reading online guides may not help you stay up to date. (Yes, including mine.)

Basic rules to visit LA properly:

  • Get a car
  • Get a local friend
  • Make a proper list of destinations – instead of ____, do ____. Trust me. Trust me. TRUST ME!

Itinerary:

  • DAY 1 (Westside) – brunch in Venice Beach at Butcher’s Daughter (or anywhere nearby on Abbot Kinney St), then walk Venice Beach boardwalk to Santa Monica (beach or Main St, both are nice). Catch sunset on Santa Monica pier. Spend night in Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Playa Vista.
  • DAY 2 (Valley & Melrose) – brunch in North Hollywood or Atwater Village, walk Melrose street in the afternoon, head to The Grove for busy area, dinner nearby or in Silver Lake, Echo Park, Highland Park.
  • DAY 3 (Beverly & Westwood) –
  • DAY 4 (Downtown)-
  • DAY 5 (OC) –
  • DAY 6 (Long Beach) –
  • DAY 7 (San Diego) –

Only got a few days?

  • First day should be Venice Beach boardwalk siteseeing and Abbot Kinney for brunch. Then head to Santa Monica pier and 3rd street promenade for afternoon and sunset time. Still wanna go out more? Stay in Santa Monica for bars, then head over to Hollywood or West Hollywood for clubbing.
  • 2nd day is walk around Melrose during the day (squeezing in downtown LA if you can). Or start in Downtown LA and head over to Melrose. At night, you eat and chill in North Hollywood.
  • 3rd day is visit south bay area (Manhattan Beach) or orange county (Hungtington Beach, Newport Beach) for more beach vibes. Or spend it hiking at Griffith Park, Temescal Canyon, Runyon Canyon, or Rancho Palos Verdes. Look up trails online. Runyon is known for lots of celebrities and beautiful people (if you’re into that).

Where to stay?

  • Westside – West LA, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Mar Vista, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey. Beach vibes, sun and sea. Vibe ranges from surfer bum to west coast posh.
  • Valley – Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood. Think of a crowded “suburb” with lots of strip malls. People and businesses stay here because it’s cheap-er-ish.
  • Central – Hollywood, West Hollywood, Melrose, Koreatown, Mid-city. Big buildings with bits of green here and there. Lots of “industry” and “entertainment” people in these areas.
  • Hills – Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, Bel Air. Super rich live here. Outside of an afternoon of walking around fancy shops and maybe one of those “celebrity home tours”, there isn’t much to do or see.
  • East Valley – Glendale, Silver Lake, Atwater Village, Echo Park, Pasadena, Highland Park. Another crowded suburb but with much more charm and character. More green as well. Lots of industry and artists in the more hipster parts as well.
  • Long Beach –
  • Orange County – Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Newport Beach, Laguna Niguel.
  • Downtown LA – walt disney, grand park, central market food court, chinatown, olivera street.

There are many awesome places but I pick these as being most geographically convenient as a central point for seeing the rest of Los Angeles.

Where to live:

For those who want to stay longer, or want to settle down in Los Angeles.

Areas to visit:

  • Westside
  • Hollywood
  • Hipster valleys
  • Melrose
  • Venice Beach
  • Santa Monica
  • Malibu
    • Zuma Beach
    • Malibu creek hike to rock lagoon (30 mins) – at state park, i think
    • El Matador Beach

Activities to do:

  • Viewpoints, landmarks, sunsets,
    • Griffith Observatory – you get a view of LA annnnd the Hollywood sign. A must for tourists.
  • Hikes:
    • Temescal Canyon
    • Runyon Canyon – celebrities
    • West Ridge – easy views
    • Rancho Palos Verdes (Smuggler’s Cove)
    • Stoney Point Park – night hike
    • Hollywood Hike – touristy
  • Buildings & architecture:
    • Walt Disney
  • Parks, gardens, green spaces:
    • Huntington Botanical Gardens
  • Beaches, bridges, water-points:
    • Zuma beach
    • Santa Monica
    • Venice Beach
    • El Segundo
    • El P
    • Manhattan Beach
    • Hermosa Beach
    • Redondo Beach
  • Arts, museums, culture:
  • Markets, shopping:
  • Tours:

Restaurants,

  • Brunch – Blu Jam Cafe, Republiq. America is huge on brunch scene. People get dressed and “network” in line.
  • Fancy restaurant – Cassia, Republiq, Major Domo, Mastros Beverly Hills, Blu Jam Cafe
  • Ethnic – LA has an amazing ethnic food scene since we’re so diverse. American, European, Latin, Asian, African, you name it…we got it! Ethiopian, jamaican, Korean
  • Late night – Crave Cafe, taco trucks, Koreatown (BCD Tofu & pho), late night thai, hong kong or taiwanese cafe (JJ Cafe), Denny’s/IHOP/Mel’s as last resort.
  • MajorDomo
  • Leo’s Tacos
  • Late night food – Koreatown (best quality options), Crave Cafe (chain), taco trucks, Denny’s, fast food drive-through.
  • Holcomb
  • Crave Cafe
  • HOPE Thai
  • Ruen Par, Krua Thai, the 2 in south torrance
  • chinese in san gabriel
  • raffi’s, other mediterranean
  • In N Out
  • Misfit
  • Ko
  • Valley – local peasant, HOPE thai,

Bars & Clubs:

  • Hollywood – sunset, cahuenga…also in West Hollywood.
  • Santa Monica – Bungalow, Shangri La
  • Downtown – Edison, International, Exchange, Edison/Library, The Perch
  • Cool bars can be found anywhere.
  • Apotheke
  • Bacari Silverlake

Shopping:

  • The Grove, Americana –
  • Rodeo Drive
  • Costa Mesa (South Coast Plaza)
  • Melrose
    • Wasteland – most pricey, most higher end designer stuff, and also weird stuff.
    • Crossroads – more normal type everyday stuff, and better prices.
    • Goodwill – cheap and maybe some gems in here.
    • Salvation Army – absolute lowest tier stuff
  • Hollywood thrift shops / secondhand
  • Outlets – camarillo
  • Downtown Fashion District

Miscellaneous tips:

  • Spotting celebrities – they can be seen everywhere, especially in fancy neighborhoods. Pay attention to anybody in glasses and hats, and/or walking with a big male security guard (who might be dressed in casual clothes).
  • Eating in ultra-fancy restaurants – when you call to make a reservation and they ask, “Is this a special occasion?”…you say “NO!” Act like you’re a regular and just catching a quick bite. Acting casual boosts your chances of being seated in the back areas where the celebrities, politicians, and other famous/wealthy people are. If you say “yes”, they basically sit you in the regular “poor people section”.
  • Airport transfer – from LAX airport, you can take the “Flyaway” shuttle available at all arrival terminals. It goes to Van Nuys airport or Union Station for only $10-15 (much cheaper than Uber and leaves often). And once arrived, you can then Uber to your final destination as needed.
  • Public transportation – generally, Los Angeles has horrible or inadequate public transportation. It’s just so big that buses and metros can’t possibly cover every area efficiently. You can look up the public transportation maps beforehand to see if you can stay near important stops.

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