My Travel guide to Los Angeles
*All work including photos and writing on this page is my own, except the link to the Expedia video, freely available on Youtube.
Los Angeles - The city of angels. The city where dreams can come true. A multicultural melting pot of a city. People are drawn here from all over the world to chase their dreams. Some make it, most don't, but people are still drawn here. It is really a magnet of possibilities. If you are only just visiting, there is something here for everyone as well. With such a multicultural population you have a vast array of restaurants to try from all over the world.
The best time of year to visit Los Angeles is April - November. It can get a bit chilly in the winter but rarely below 10c. The hottest weather in the summer rarely gets above the high 20s, so it never really gets too hot or too cold!
If you wish to drive in or out of LA be prepared for traffic like below! It takes so long to get anywhere, so allow plenty of time.
Los Angeles - The city of angels. The city where dreams can come true. A multicultural melting pot of a city. People are drawn here from all over the world to chase their dreams. Some make it, most don't, but people are still drawn here. It is really a magnet of possibilities. If you are only just visiting, there is something here for everyone as well. With such a multicultural population you have a vast array of restaurants to try from all over the world.
The best time of year to visit Los Angeles is April - November. It can get a bit chilly in the winter but rarely below 10c. The hottest weather in the summer rarely gets above the high 20s, so it never really gets too hot or too cold!
If you wish to drive in or out of LA be prepared for traffic like below! It takes so long to get anywhere, so allow plenty of time.
Food
LA is a cosmopolitan city, so you can find a range of restaurants here. One of the largest communities is the Iranian community and Persian restaurants can be found everywhere! There is a very tasty kebab place in the shopping mall in Santa Monica if you want to try this food cheaply before venturing to one of the more expensive Persian restaurants. There are a plethora of Michelin Star restaurants here too.
Other popular things to try are French dipped sandwiches, ice cream sandwiches (Another Persian influence with my favourite saffron Ice cream!), Pho, chicken noodle soup, strawberry donuts, Tacos, burgers.
Popular restaurants:
- n/naka, Japanese
- Providence, Seafood
- Langer's, American Deli/restaurant.
- Maccheroni Republic, Italian
- Pampas Grill, Brazilian BBQ
- Lemonade, American, Healthy
- Republique, French
- Musso & Frank Grill, Steakhouse
- Aliki's Greek Taverna
- Ayara Thai Cuisine
- Genwa Korean BBQ
- Jino's Pars, Persian restaurant
- Shamshiri Grill, Persian restaurant
- Darya Restaurant Santa Monica, Middle Eastern
- Safir Santa Monica, Middle Eastern.
- Guelaguetza Restaurant, Mexican
LA is a cosmopolitan city, so you can find a range of restaurants here. One of the largest communities is the Iranian community and Persian restaurants can be found everywhere! There is a very tasty kebab place in the shopping mall in Santa Monica if you want to try this food cheaply before venturing to one of the more expensive Persian restaurants. There are a plethora of Michelin Star restaurants here too.
Other popular things to try are French dipped sandwiches, ice cream sandwiches (Another Persian influence with my favourite saffron Ice cream!), Pho, chicken noodle soup, strawberry donuts, Tacos, burgers.
Popular restaurants:
- n/naka, Japanese
- Providence, Seafood
- Langer's, American Deli/restaurant.
- Maccheroni Republic, Italian
- Pampas Grill, Brazilian BBQ
- Lemonade, American, Healthy
- Republique, French
- Musso & Frank Grill, Steakhouse
- Aliki's Greek Taverna
- Ayara Thai Cuisine
- Genwa Korean BBQ
- Jino's Pars, Persian restaurant
- Shamshiri Grill, Persian restaurant
- Darya Restaurant Santa Monica, Middle Eastern
- Safir Santa Monica, Middle Eastern.
- Guelaguetza Restaurant, Mexican
Beaches
My favourite part of L.A is without doubt the beaches. There are so many beautiful beaches to explore. My favourite is Santa Monica Beach, pictured to the right. This is because it has everything for everyone. There are shops and restaurants on the beach, life guards, sports facilities, a huge beach area stretching for miles! It also feels safe. We walked from here to Venice Beach and back.
Other popular beaches are: Venice Beach (More for youngsters and it didn't feel as safe to me), the beautiful beaches around Malibu, then Manhattan and Hermosa beaches. Life in L.A is focused on the beaches really, with year round sun shine and temperatures that rarely get too hot, it isn't surprising. There is also low humidity here unlike Florida for example. It certainly has a very appealing climate. |
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Where to stay.
Los Angeles isn't really one city, but a collection of small towns. They are all quite different. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Marina Del Rey. This is a small harbour town just 10 minutes drive from the airport, so perfect after a long flight. From our hotel we could walk to Venice Beach. ( I wouldn't recommend walking at night though.) For us this was a great base to explore Los Angeles, although anywhere along this coast would be a good location.
The top attractions not to be missed:
1) The Hollywood sign
This was one of my favourites, driving up the hills and seeing a beautiful view over L.A as well as getting close to the Hollywood sign. This is the view I took from the location listed here:
This was one of my favourites, driving up the hills and seeing a beautiful view over L.A as well as getting close to the Hollywood sign. This is the view I took from the location listed here:
Follow your GPS to Canyon Lake Drive and drive to the top of the hill to Innsdale Drive 6300 W. When you reach this area you will see a dusty trail road. Just walk around the bend and you get this view, plus a great view of the Hollywood sign as featured on the title of this page. You can take all your photos in front of the sign here.
It is worth the drive just to admire the views as much as to see the sign. |
2) The Hollywood Walk of Fame
This is another must see part of LA. Drive past the Beverley Hills and Bel Air homes to get there or take one of the many tours of the stars homes that they try to sell you when you get to Hollywood Boulevard. This is a fun way to get some exercise with your family, as to see all the stars you will walk quite a way. They now cover several streets. It is fun to find the stars of your favourite celebrities. There are lots of shops and restaurants here too for any family members that might prefer to sit in a cafe while the rest of the family do the walk of fame.
3)The Getty Centre and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
These are great places for any art lovers to visit and very popular.
4)Universal Studios
This is a must see attraction as it is really what LA is all about!
5)The Nethercutt Museum
This is one of the best museums in the Los Angeles area.
6) UCLA
The University of California Los Angeles Campus is a beautiful campus to explore, especially if you have teenagers with aspirations of going there one day to study.
7)Disneyland
This is in Anaheim, but a huge attraction for people visiting LA. It is smaller though than Disneyworld in Orlando, but if you haven't been to any other Disney Park and have young children, then it is worth visiting.
This is another must see part of LA. Drive past the Beverley Hills and Bel Air homes to get there or take one of the many tours of the stars homes that they try to sell you when you get to Hollywood Boulevard. This is a fun way to get some exercise with your family, as to see all the stars you will walk quite a way. They now cover several streets. It is fun to find the stars of your favourite celebrities. There are lots of shops and restaurants here too for any family members that might prefer to sit in a cafe while the rest of the family do the walk of fame.
3)The Getty Centre and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
These are great places for any art lovers to visit and very popular.
4)Universal Studios
This is a must see attraction as it is really what LA is all about!
5)The Nethercutt Museum
This is one of the best museums in the Los Angeles area.
6) UCLA
The University of California Los Angeles Campus is a beautiful campus to explore, especially if you have teenagers with aspirations of going there one day to study.
7)Disneyland
This is in Anaheim, but a huge attraction for people visiting LA. It is smaller though than Disneyworld in Orlando, but if you haven't been to any other Disney Park and have young children, then it is worth visiting.
Safety
My first thoughts when visiting LA, was to stick only to the tourist areas, as I heard everywhere else was dangerous. This wasn't really the case. Yes South Central LA has a lot of crime and you wouldn't really have any desire to go there, so don't worry too much, but everywhere else we visited was ok. We did drive through some neighbourhoods that I didn't really feel safe to stop in, but these areas didn't have anything really worth stopping for, so we didn't stop there and were fine. Like all cities there is crime, just don't go out walking at night and stick to the tourist areas for your evening entertainment, but during the day you can go just about anywhere.
Malibu beach.