LA - Any must dos/must avoids??

Mouth11

I'm heading to Los Angeles for 10 days in May has anyone got any tips of what is a must do/must avoid while I'm there??
Travelling as a couple in mid 20's

sturll

Must:

Universal, Santa Monica.

Must Not:

Everywhere else.

And Must have a car - Well depending on where you're staying.

neilbond007

sturll wrote: »

Must:

Universal, Santa Monica.

Must Not:

Everywhere else.

And Must have a car - Well depending on where you're staying.

agree with most of that.
i also enjoyed long beach. certainly better than most areas!

you've got to do hollywood, rodeo drive, (take her at 9.30am on a sunday when all the shops are closed. that was my plan )

that's 2 days sorted.
once you've done that drive to Vegas or up/down coast.

Mouth11

going to vegas beforehand for the Hatton fight, was thinking of going to San Francisco or maybe Mexico, anyone done either??

sturll

Mouth11 wrote: »

going to vegas beforehand for the Hatton fight, was thinking of going to San Francisco or maybe Mexico, anyone done either??

Done both and ill be at the Hatton fight too :beer:

Im just hanging about in Vegas mate, San Francisco is worth the drive for a couple days or LA for a couple of days, San Diego another couple.

Depending on what you want you'd be just as well driving out to the Grand Canyon and then back to Vegas via Laughlin.
LA is only worth the hassle and cost if you're flying home from LAX.

neilbond007

san fran is a long drive from vegas - 10+ hours. great city.
palm springs is cool. great golf and a huge outlet mall close by.

Mouth11

yep we are flying back from LAX and the missus wants to see Hollywood and Bev

sturll

Mouth11 wrote: »

yep we are flying back from LAX and the missus wants to see Hollywood and Bev

Hollywood is essentially a street with cheesy gift shops on it, the walk of fame is just a normal dog sh*t riddled street and Beverley hills is like a posh estate with all the nice houses out of view behind huge gates. In terms of shopping most shops are ridiculous.

neilbond007

sturll wrote: »

Hollywood is essentially a street with cheesy gift shops on it, the walk of fame is just a normal dog sh*t riddled street and Beverley hills is like a posh estate with all the nice houses out of view behind huge gates. In terms of shopping most shops are ridiculous.

Sturll - You paint such a pretty picture. I'd hate to hear you talk about somewhere you don't like

hollywood is the blackpool of LA. But you have to have a picture outside the chinese theatre and then go, quickly. I was in LA last year when there was a film premier there. "Eagle Eye" I think it was called. Spent 30 minutes saying "who's that then?". I was with a yank collegaue and she seemed to enjoy it
And I never saw any doggie do's... just plenty of used needles

pcg2001

Last year we were "stationed" in Anaheim (Disneyland) for a conference and did as follows:

- there was a hotel door to door bus from and to LasVegas LuxBus

- there were several tours of LA from Anaheim including Universal, Hollywood, etc. Universal is mostly a theme park, with a studio tour that feels mostly like a theme park tour. Next time I will try to see a real studio, like Warner. If you really want to see movies in action, it might be better to consider something else.

- one of the days I did a tour from Anaheim while OH was in conference, for shopping. The morning was something called Santee Alley, which is the LA fake headquarters. I was alone so never venture through the alleys and went to Macys in downtown LA instead. In the afternoon we went to the wonderful citadels outlet mall. totally worth the trip for me. http://www.citadeloutlets.com/

- Disneyland was just like Disneyland Paris. So we ended up going to California Disney adventure next door, which was smaller but at least different.

- we actually enjoyed Anaheim a lot. We could walk anywhere and there was a tram between hotels and Downtown Disney, which is free and you have several restaurants available. Nearby is a new development with lots of californian chain reataurants, like cheesecake factory, bubba gump, california pizza, etc. If you get a cheap price for Anaheim it might be worth staying there and taking tours to LA. It may also be more expensive, not sure.

Hope this helps.

pcg2001

Agree with the previous posters about Hollywood. It is pretty bad. The gift shops look old and dusty, there are derelict buildings, parking lots, and greasy diners. The Kodak theatre has a new open space mall next to it where you can take nice photos of the Hollywood sign, so it is worth it. The walk of fame is mostly through dubious areas. I was on the bus and was shocked. Marilyn Monroe's star is in front of McDonald's and that is one of the nicest stores on the street!! The pavements with the hands and signatures is relatively small, so I guess the concrete with the palms impressions must be removed regularly... A disappointment as much of LA was for me. LV (so BE PREPARED!!), on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise!!