Los Angeles : What To See And Do

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For all of us having grown up on a culture of movies, and vast majority of them being Hollywood ones, Los Angeles has a special ting of excitement. The original movie town, Los Angeles literally means the City Of Angels. In Sunny California, this city is one big party and at the same time is the business and financial center of Southern California. And here we present our simple Los Angeles trip guide…

To make the best of this wonderful multi-cultural city, try and stay as central as possible. We chose Hotel Hollywood on Yucca Street, which has Marilyn Monroe amongst its guest list. Located one block away from the famous Hollywood Boulevard, we found this place to be a good balance between a central location and affordability.

One of the best things we discovered was the Farmers’ Market, held at Ivar Avenue on Sundays starting 8am till 1pm. Hang around, buy produce directly from farmers, eat amazing food and generally feel the good vibe on a pleasant sunny Sunday morning. If your trip includes a Sunday, be sure to catch up on the Farmers’ Market in Los Angeles.

Step out of the Farmers’ Market and take a walk around. One of the best ways to soak in a city is by a slow walk around. From Ivar Avenue, walk into the Hollywood Boulevard towards the Hollywood Walk of Fame. More than 2600 brass stars are embedded in the sidewalk here celebrating the achievements of the entertainment industry. Take a slow walk here observing the neighbourhood and you will notice many iconic theaters, eateries and buildings. The Dolby Theater is here on Hollywood Boulevard too. You can head over to the Hollywood & Highland complex which has many top brand retail chains as well as the TCL Chinese Theater, another star attraction. Plus Hollywood Boulevard is well connected via public transport and the metro rail has a station here called Hollywood/Highland.

We spent a day at Sunset Boulevard meeting friends at the lovely Intelligentsia Coffee. The effervescent atmosphere at this place goes well with the excellent coffee and outdoor seating in Los Angeles’ dream like weather. Coffee was followed by a delicious lunch at Flore Vegan, serving organic, vegan and gluten free food. If coffee is your thing, also head out to LAMILL at Silver Lake, Coffee Bar Downtown, Paper and Plastik in Mid-City. We also loved Pie Hole Cafe on Hollywood Boulevard.

For experiencing the heritage part of Los Angeles, head out to Olvera Street. The Plaza District, as this part of town is known, marked out around 1781 by Gov. Felipe de Neve as the central part of Los Angeles. Olvera Street is also known as the birth-place of Los Angeles and now has a pretty Mexican style market place. Shop, hang around, head over to cafes here and also to Father Serra Park. Then there is the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles and the American Tropical Interpretive Center.

There are plenty of museums in Los Angeles and a quick search will tell you which ones are free.

Worth noting is the Getty Center. With great exhibits, amazing architecture and a cafe with locally sourced food, its definitely worth a visit.

If you feel like being at the beach, head out to Santa Monica. Go hang out at the beach and the pier, shop and laze around in its many cafes and restaurants.

What To Eat In Los Angeles: For a multi-cultural city that Los Angeles is, there is plenty of choice in eating out. From the extremely upmarket Roku on Sunset Boulevard to the more affordable Jitlada on Sunset Strip. One of the best eat out options is Sushi which is available just about everywhere. Do not miss Musso & Frank’s Grill at Hollywood Boulevard. Opened in 1919, it still serves a classic anachronistic menu like Lobster Thermidor and Chicken Pot Pie.

Los Angeles is also rich in art and museums. Check out the Museum of Contemporary Art at Grand Avenue. Or the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City. The Broad is a contemporary art museum founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad. The architecture itself is worth visiting for, not to mention the fabulous collection of art. Taschen is a famous publisher of books and head over to Beverly Boulevard to check out the Taschen Gallery.

Los Angeles has lovely weather throughout the year and any time is a great time to visit this amazing city!

That’s entering Hollywood like…

Farmer’s Market at Ivar Avenue, Los Angeles

Try locally produced food, veggies, sea food etc.

The buzz in this place is amazing. So much fresh food and so much variety!

Intelligentsia Coffee on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles is an excellent place to hang out, have coffee, meet people and general people watching.

The Promise at Pie Hole Coffee

A delicious vegan meal at Flore Vegan on Sunset Boulevard will recharge you for the second half of the day.

Sometimes I feel vegetarian food is more delicious than meats

Walking the streets is the best way to explore a city.

Walking Sunset Boulevard

Exploring the culture of Los Angeles on foot.

 

Vibrant Graffiti always livens up an otherwise regular lane.

Getting a feel of the ‘art’ side of Los Angeles.

The Griffith Observatory definitely deserves a visit. Do check out their show timings at the Planetarium.

Do check out a demo of the Tesla Coil at the Griffith Observatory

 

Get a fantastic night time view of Los Angeles from the Griffith Observatory

The Hotel Hollywood, where we stayed

Love the sunny feel of Los Angeles and those blue skies…

A little panic while unloading at the hotel…

There are plenty of eat out options in Los Angeles

Walking the Hollywood Boulevard

Opened in 1939, the fabulous Union Station in Los Angeles is worth a visit too.

The Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles also known as Plaza Church was built in 1822.

Olvera Street was one of the first addresses in Los Angeles

Plenty of heritage, history and shopping at Plaza District…

At the Plaza District. This is where Los Angeles was originally settled at. Now find heritage homes, cafes, restaurants and shops.

At the Sepulveda Block on Olvera Street

One of the office spaces in Culver City

There is excellent connectivity from Hollywood Boulevard to Santa Monica Beach area via the Metro.

The Beach Pier at Santa Monica is a fun place to hang out.

The Pier at Santa Monica is abuzz with energy…

A civilisation is known by how it treats its Animals : Gandhi

The ticketing system is self explanatory and simple to use.

And plenty of public transport options…

Waiting for our transport and looking at the architecture..

Looks like the architects had plenty of fun designing these buildings…

Celebrating Kate Winslet at the Hollywood Walk Of Fame

There is a hint of the movies everywhere in Los Angeles

The entire run of Hollywood Boulevard is an entertainment hub.

Amongst the gliiter, a Ghirardelli Chocolate Store. They are the quintessential American chocolatiers.

Museum of Broken Relationships in Los Angeles.

The Hollywood Boulevard is a favourite with the tourists.

Sushi can be found very easily everywhere in Los Angeles and it was really our comfort food.

A gorgeous old villa on Orange Street, Los Angeles

 

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