I love it when friends come visit me in Los Angeles. The more than 4,000 square miles that make up Los Angeles County are jam-packed with diverse communities, world-renown restaurants and museums, pristine beaches and top-of-the-line entertainment, and my husband and I enjoy crafting the perfect itinerary to show our guests the best of this great area. We’ve developed a pretty comprehensive list over the past five years, but here are my top 10 must-see spots:
Take a drive along this gorgeous coastline, which stretches 21 miles along the Pacific Ocean, and stop at one of many sandy beaches, including Zuma, Surfriders and Point Dume. One of our favorites to take visitors to is El Matador, a picture-perfect place to put your toes in the sand and climb through rugged rock formations. If hiking is your thing, drive north on PCH and make a right on Yerba Buena Road to the Sandstone Peak trailhead. Begin with the Backbone Trail, which then connects to the Mishe Mokwa Trail for vista views of the Santa Monica Mountains as you make your way toward the peak. It’s a worthy hike that can be well-rewarded with a stop at famous seafood spot Neptune’s Net or oceanside Duke’s Malibu. The Getty Villa and its ancient art is another notable attraction in this area.
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A trip to Los Angeles would not be complete without a visit to Santa Monica’s iconic pier. The 100-year-old landmark is home to games, rides and a solar-powered, LED-lit Ferris wheel as well as a trapeze school and an aquarium; it also marks the end of historic Route 66. Nearby Third Street Promenade is a three-block-long pedestrian street filled with shops, restaurants and street performers. At one end of the promenade is the open-air Santa Monica Place, a shopping mall with mid- to upscale stores plus restaurants, a food court overlooking the ocean and an indoor marketplace featuring gourmet goods. Dining options in this area are numerous; our go-tos include Mercado for upscale Mexican dishes, Tar & Roses for globally inspired cuisine and Ye Olde King’s Head for British pub fare.
The historic canals that run through this city inspired the name, but Venice’s nickname, Muscle Beach, stems from the bodybuilders who show off their stuff at the beachside outdoor gyms. The boardwalk attracts street performers, artists and craftsmen and a wide variety of other characters in a place where the counterculture meets the beach. We usually start at the end of Washington Boulevard and walk along Ocean Front Walk to take it all in, ending at On the Waterfront Cafe for a pint of Erdinger Weizenbier and a giant Bavarian pretzel with sweet mustard. Dive-y but burger-licious Hinano Cafe and famous fish taco joint James’ Beach are also oft-visited dining spots.
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Known for its stunning views of Los Angeles, this museum also displays European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture and decorative arts as well as American and European photographs and outdoor sculpture displays. It’s a spacious campus that takes a few hours to fully explore. Entry to the museum is always free; parking is $15 ($10 after 4 p.m.). There is a fine-dining restaurant and two cafés on the museum grounds, or you can grab a meal before or after visiting the Getty Center in nearby Brentwood (we’re partial to Pizzicotto, Bru Haus, Bar Food and Bandera).
This shopping mecca and celeb favorite is another Los Angeles must-see, although my advice is to just drive down Rodeo while counting how many big-name brands you can spot. If you feel like stopping, park on nearby North Beverly or Canon Drives and walk through the Beverly Canon Gardens (connected to the Montage) and Two Rodeo. Stop at chef Thomas Keller’s casual French bistro and bakery Bouchon for lunch or dinner then head to Sprinkles for dessert (where there’s even a cupcake ATM!).
The Grove & the Original Farmers Market
This retail and entertainment marketplace is a prime spot for people watching and is also known for its animated fountain, which performs a choreographed show every hour. Electric-powered trolley cars and pedestrian pathways link the Grove to the Original Farmers Market, a gathering of food stalls and sit-down eateries that first in opened in 1934. The permanent installation features more than 100 shops, restaurants and grocers and is open seven days a week. When hunger strikes, we’ll usually head to Bar Verde at Nordstrom for farm-to-table dining and a great view of the Art Deco-style shopping complex.
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LACMA & the LA Brea Tar Pits
The largest art museum in the western US is home to more than 120,000 works of art, from Greek, Roman and Etruscan to Modern and Contemporary. LACMA also frequently hosts interesting exhibitions. An iconic museum installation (and excellent photo op) is the “Urban Light” sculpture by Chris Burden; the multi-tiered display consists of 202 antique cast-iron streetlights gathered from cities in and around the Los Angeles area. Ray’s & Stark Bar appease hungry museumgoers.
Next to LACMA is the Page Museum, part of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The museum was built to research the La Brea tar pits, pools of natural asphalt that have preserved bones of prehistoric animals, including a saber-toothed cat and a mammoth. Visitors can walk around the park to view the tar pits and life-size models of the animals found there.
There’s a lot of Hollywood packed into this one historic spot! Follow the stars along the Hollywood Walk of Fame past the Madame Tussaud’s to the TCL Chinese Theatres (formerly Grauman’s Chinese Theatre), where entertainment icons including Marilyn Monroe, Fred Astaire, Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt have had their hands and feet cemented into Hollywood history. At the Hollywood & Highland shopping center entrance, walk up the red-carpeted staircase to the doors of the Dolby Theatre, host venue for the Academy Awards. Chado Tea Room is a lovely spot for afternoon tea, while the Grill on Hollywood serves up steaks and classic American dishes. Walk down Cahuenga to stop for gourmet burgers at Stout or continue to Sunset for pizza at Stella Barra and a browse through the famed Amoeba Music record store.
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If you want to find some of the best views of Los Angeles and Hollywood, this is the place to go. The observatory is located on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, a prime spot to see and take pictures with the Hollywood sign, downtown Los Angeles and, on a super clear day, the Pacific Ocean. Inside the observatory, a free attraction open since 1935, are cool space- and science-related displays. Pack a picnic and enjoy it on the lawn in front of the observatory. Parking spaces here fill up fast, so your better bet is to park on the hill leading up to the venue and enjoy the hike (be sure to wear comfortable shoes!).
Famous for its New Year’s Day Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game, this beautiful city is a charming place to take visitors. Take a walk through Old Pasadena, where you’ll find boutique and brand-name shopping, cafés, restaurants, pubs and a movie theater. The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in adjacent San Marino was founded by Henry E. Huntington in 1919 and features a collection of rare books and manuscripts, 18th- and 19th-century British and French art and more than a dozen specialized gardens covering 120 acres.
What are your favorite places to take visitors to Los Angeles? Share them with me in the comments!
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