LA - Any must dos/must avoids??

wolfehouse

the getty museum has to be booked (free though) beforehand.
you park down below and take the free tram up. don't know about parking fees though.
great view
nice museum
but...they don't have any american painters represented (and get snooty if you ask).
there is an older getty villa at malibu more to my taste...- free but ticketed
http://www.getty.edu/visit/events/villa.html

Pssst

When we travelled that way,we didnt actually stay in LA. We stayed here

http://www.georgianhotel.com/

We did a bus tour of LA which picks up in Santa Monica. We got to see all the sights plus time to ourselves,time for lunch etc and didnt feel rushed.

In reality,LA isnt all that and I'm glad i didnt stay there. Beverly hills is another story.

Santa Monica is a nice Californian Seaside town with a pier,a beach and plenty of nice restaurants.

A drive from LA to SFO is quite a run and you might want to overnight half way there. This would allow you to stop off along the way at various places on the pacific coast highway.

Dont expect great things of LA which is why i dont recommend staying there.

In the end,its just a city with lots of shops and some grotty bits on the strip.

I'd much prefer the understated and calm sophistication of Santa monica.

realised

I loved Venice beach... we found a nice quiet spot

Also theres some nice places to shop. Try the Grove, Westfields century city and obviously rodeo drive (although rodeo drive can be far too expensive.. still nice to see!)

Try to stay away from places like compton and inglewood

pazza2000

LA is my favourite place in the States, maybe even the World. Its not Iconic like NY or pretty like SF but it has what many cities dont, buzz.... & thats why many want to visit and live there. 4 Theme Parks, many beaches from Hawaii like Laguna Beach in the south to one of a kind Santa Monica to the West. Hollywood is tacky but its till worth seeing and if you know where to go it lives up to its expectations. Beverly Hills, The Grove/Farmers Market, Hollywood Hills, Dodgers or a Lakers game.... all of these places worth a visit. Easily spend 10days in LA, and it only seems to be us lazy brits to sometimes say other. Lazy in the sense that we dont do much planning and head straight to Hollywood with pre set expectations....

laughing_cow

trets77 wrote: »

I don't do nightclubs , but watch the film Swingers where they say the best nightclubs in LA have to be almost hidden and not advertised.

You can go to the bar featured in Swingers (amongst other films) and see Marty and Elayne singing. It's weird, kitsch and funny :
http://www.thedresden.com/lounge

I don't remember the names of most other bars I've been to, apart from the Cat and Fiddle, in Hollywood I think, which is where some of the Brit actors hang out, and the well known Chateau Marmont. However, because LA is so spread out one person usually has to drive so we tend to go to restaurants rather than out drinking.

Time Out guides are sometimes worth checking for bar and restaurant listings, although for some reason I can't get the site to work tonight:
http://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/
And Conde Nast traveller often has the glitzier 'in' places:
http://www.cntraveller.com/Guides/USA/Los_Angeles/

BTW, as LA is so big and spread out, we found it worth the extra to get sat nav with our car.

dannyrado

Good god people can be harsh on the place!

Don't believe half of the rubish that's been written in this thread, guess it's either a love or hate kinda place, and me and the gf love it. (Both in our mid-twenties)

Amazing restaurants (even the breakfasts and lunches are amazing)
Brilliant sights.
Lovely weather.
Nice people (mostly) (even the freaks are highly entertaining)

We're going back in June, cos we love it so much, and are going to do some of the fantastic bar culture this time.

All the peeps that say it's the pits or like Blackpool, been to Orlando lately? Now that is the pits!!

Anyway, don't be put off, expore and enjoy.

living2xl

try to avoid greasy steaks with extra fat

"online music players"

pazza2000

dannyrado wrote: »

Good god people can be harsh on the place!

Don't believe half of the rubish that's been written in this thread, guess it's either a love or hate kinda place, and me and the gf love it. (Both in our mid-twenties)

Amazing restaurants (even the breakfasts and lunches are amazing)
Brilliant sights.
Lovely weather.
Nice people (mostly) (even the freaks are highly entertaining)

We're going back in June, cos we love it so much, and are going to do some of the fantastic bar culture this time.

All the peeps that say it's the pits or like Blackpool, been to Orlando lately? Now that is the pits!!

Anyway, don't be put off, expore and enjoy.

Yeh, you need to sample the 'fantastic' nightlife. My mates and I are our mid twenties also and sampled it for the first time last year...amazing, albeit it a little pretentious. If Celeb hotspots are your thing here is a Tip: Stay in one of the top hip hotels: Standard, W, Mandarin for one night only and whilst there get them to guestlist you into any of the places-to-be that take your fancy, and the Brit appeal helps to work its charm alongside this. We ended up at a Celebrity party randomly in the Hollywood Hills -which is one of those experiences you will never forget

We now go dedicated holidays to LA everyear and Vegas, SD, SF are side trips within this.

Also...

Anyone notice that alot of the the Channel 4 intro's seem to be in LA. One is def at Six Flags MM, one is Def at Downtown, one is Def at Santa Monica Pier....

Other places worth visiting are California Adventure(Disneys neighbouring park), worth visiting for 'California Soaring' alone!!

Hunington Beach-Newport Beacg -good way to spend a day flitting between the two...

Griffith Park or Mt Olympus for amazing views if LA -makes a great photo...