What are the best/most interesting places to go the first time in Los Angeles, and what are the best ways to get there?
Limitations:
1. I don't want to go to Disneyland.
2. Everything should be easy enough to reach with public transport (subway is best), or reasonable taxi fares.
3. I'm travelling in the last week of August 2009.
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M$9 Answers
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/California/Los_Angeles-753836/Things_To_Do-Los_Angeles-Universal_Studios-BR-1.html
* Hollywood: Hollywood Boulevard is ready for its closeup, thanks to years of urban renewal and renovation. Enjoy the Walk of Fame, Grauman's Theatre and more.
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/California/Los_Angeles-753836/Things_To_Do-Los_Angeles-Hollywood-BR-1.html
* Rodeo Drive: Packed with exclusive shops, full of gawkers. They all came to enjoy the excess.
http://www.losangeleslogue.com/rodeo-drive.html
* Venice Beach: Los Angeles kitsch and over-the-top culture at its best. Here you'll find Muscle Beach, street performers and tacky shops galore.
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/California/Los_Angeles-753836/Things_To_Do-Los_Angeles-Venice_Beach-BR-1.html
* Sunset Boulevard: Perhaps one of the world's most famous streets, it began as a route between the stars' posh neighborhoods and the Hollywood studios. It runs from downtown to the ocean, passing through the "Sunset Strip" on its way.
* The Beaches: The Southern California beach scene is almost iconic for Los Angeles, and you'll find a selection to choose from. Our favorites are the "South Bay" beach towns: Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. The beach scene and a classic seaside amusement park at Santa Monica Beach and Pier are also popular.............................................
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/California/Los_Angeles-753836/Things_To_Do-Los_Angeles-Beaches-BR-1.html
* Knott's Berry Farm: Knotts' Southern California Resort includes Soak City U.S.A. and a theme park-full of family shows and rides.
* Queen Mary: Once the largest ship afloat, she's been docked in Long Beach for longer than she sailed, and her elegance never fails to impress. Photos
* Six Flags Magic Mountain: Roller coaster heaven.
* Santa Monica:Santa Monica is a separate city from its neighbor, the City of Los Angeles. It is basically a coastal city. Its charming and unique character reflects this geographical fact................................................
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/California/Los_Angeles-753836/Things_To_Do-Los_Angeles-Santa_Monica-BR-1.html
There are plenty of other things to do in Los Angeles besides the ones on this list. If you're looking for something else, or something different, start with the Best of the Rest. If you are very interested in a specific sight or activity, and you have plenty of information about it, don't skip it because of my recommendations. However, if you don't know much about it, there may be a reason why it's not listed. Research it carefully before you go to be sure you spend your vacation time and money wisely.
Go to the given website. You will get all the information, how u can travel and then plan ur trip. I am not the right person to comment. I have listed the place. So select the places ur own.
Enjoy your trip.................................
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M$
1. Venice Beach - while it may not be the first thing that people bring up when they talk about LA, it's definitely one of the best! Venice beach features real LA culture and you won't really get a sense of what LA is like until you've walked it. The Venice Board Walk is a GREAT place to get some grub, sample some ocean fun, and witness some of the strangest people in LA. It's very colorful and the nightlife is excellent too! You should hit up Jody Maroni's Sausage Kingdom. It's a nice quick bite. Also, if you really want to take advantage of the beach, visit the piers that are south of Venice Blvd. You're bound to bring home an awesome story or two. It's that bizarre. If you want to party a little, scope it out.
2. If you're into art, the Getty Museum is a great collection. It's free except for the parking. It's in West LA and if you pick up a Brochure, you'll probably get a better idea of what to look for while you're in the museum. It's on almost a 1000 acres of beautiful California land. The sunsets are great too. You might get carried away and lose track of time.
3. Attend a TV show taping. It usually costs a bit of money to get in depending on the shows, but it's worth it. It's great to see all the work behind the scenes and to watch actors do their thing. To find out more about how to do this....go to this site: http://golosangeles.about.com/od/thingstodoinlosangeles/ss/TV-Tickets.htm
4. Hollywood walk of Fame, by far, is the coolest thing you'll see while you're there. It's a great thing to cross off your list of things to do before you kick the can. You can take your picture next to any star you want along Hollywood Blvd. It's a great experience. below, I put a link in so you can locate the stars that you want to see on Hollywood Blvd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stars_on_the_Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame
5. Check out some bars and have a good time...below I've listed some excellent bars and clubs where you're sure to have a good time:
Medusa Lounge
3211 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Echo
1822 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Roof Bar at the Standard Downtown
550 S Flower St
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Hope this helps! Have fun...LA is the perfect summer getaway no matter what time of the season you go!
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M$LA has really good public transportation system, there are several bus lines and subway station that will be useful during your sightseeing.
I would recommend going to maps.google.com and search for the attractions you want to visit and get directions from your hotel by public transport. Do not go in downtown on saturday and sundays as there is no public building working and drug dealers come out.
For LA events in august 2009 please go to http://eventful.com/shreveport/events/august
In Hollywood, go up to Griffith Park where James Dean drove his car off the cliff in Rebel Without a Cause, then walk past the 1920s Grauman's Chinese Theatre along the (literally) star-studded Walk of Fame or drive up Mulholland Drive for full views of the city from the hills. Don’t neglect art – the world-class Getty Center overlooks LA from north of Santa Monica, the LA County Museum of Art is a standout on Wilshire Boulevard’s "Museum Row." Head down Santa Monica Boulevard to get to the beach. If you need more glitz with your sand, go north to Malibu (where the stars live); for tattoos, go south to flamboyant Venice Beach. Hotels conjure different eras – the Chateau Marmont’s early Hollywood grace, the Highland Gardens Hotel (where Janis Joplin died in 1970), or 21st-century boutique hotels like Santa Monica’s Viceroy or West Hollywood's Sofitel. If you need a break from stars, low-key hipster locals go for booze and brunch in unassuming Silver Lake, several miles east of Hollywood.
Hope this is useful. Stay out of trouble and have a great time!:-)
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M$
>Do not go in downtown on saturday and sundays as there is no public building working and drug dealers come out.
Downtown businesses and the city have worked hard to clean up downtown over the last ten years to make downtown shopping and visiting a better experience.
You'll see thousands of people walking through Toy Town, Banking District, Jewelry District during the week AND on weekends.
The "purple shirts" from BID patrol constantly to offer assistance and work with police.
While there are a number of homeless wandering downtown, they are a fraction of what it used to be. Too many people call these homeless "druggies" or "drug dealers", when they are not.
They are part of our society, whether we like it or not. If you design your vacation around avoiding homeless people, you'd miss out on other places like NYC, Chicago, Vancouver...or any other major city in the world.
I work downtown every day, sometimes on weekends.
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M$http://www.couturecentral.com/2008/04/13/shopping-in-los-angeles/
http://www.couturecentral.com/2008/04/03/celeb-hot-spots-in-los-angeles/
http://www.couturecentral.com/2007/09/01/los-angeles-beaches/
Enjoy!
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M$Public transportation takes a lot of time. Most people don't understand just how big the "L.A. Area" really is. Ignore Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. Just take Los Angeles and Orange counties: over 5,000 square miles. That's over 10x the size of New York City.
Nothing in the Los Angeles area is centralized. It's a commuter community. Unlike New York, I don't know of any adults who don't have a car (or more than one).
From Disneyland to Universal Studios is 36 miles. That's about 45 minutes driving time...at two in the morning. During summer daytime, it's two hours. For public transportation budget at least three hours (bus to Anaheim Stadium train station, Metrolink train to Union Station, Metro Red Line subway to Universal City station).
Disneyland to Venice Beach is similar in distance drive time. Bus travel is over three hours.
Driving rush "hour" is from 6:30am - 10am. At night, 4pm-7:30pm.
Commuter trains don't run much between 10am and 4pm, so if you miss the 8:56a train out of Anaheim, you'll need to consider the bus. Next train to Los Angeles leaves at 4:42pm.
http://www.metrolinktrains.com/schedules/html.php?id=241
Best to pick one daytime visit and one nighttime visit. So, Venice Beach in the morning...maybe lunch and nap until 1pm. Then Universal Studios until it closes at 8pm. Dinner at a nice restaraunt at Universal City Walk (closes at midnight). Try Karl Strauss Brewery, then head over to the IMAX theatre to catch Transformers on the giant screen.
Caveat: metro.net trip planning site is terrible. If it can't find the time you want (say leave at 11:45pm) it will not show options or schedule.
Southern California is still terrible for public transit.
With a car...wouldn't matter if you had dinner and a movie and midnight. Hop in your car and head home. Otherwise, you're looking at a $40-80 taxi ride.
To estimate taxi fare, here are the L.A. City regulations. There are more rules regarding LAX.
All Passengers Ride for Price of One
$2.85 flag drop (first 1/9th mile).
$0.30 for each additional 1/9th mile ($2.70 per mile).
$0.30 for each 37 seconds waiting/delay ($29.19 per hour).
Check my math, but a 40 mile trip for 1.5 hours would be around $55. At that rate, one taxi ride pays for 1-2 days of car rental.
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M$
Ok, it seems like I have to rent a car.
If I do, does that change your recommendations?
you would be better off with a rental car but this person mentioned public transit or taxis which are expensive, I gave advice that allowed for minimal taxi usage, I would advise if all possible rent a car, some people cant,but if you can do it. taking public transit here is maddening and you dont really get anything done here on buses. but the Wilshire Bus comes every few minutes and there are a lot of famous sites that are walkable from Wilshire.
Public transportation is terrible when you are on limited time. I gave up after taking the train for a few years. Got tired of being stranded in Union Station at night...waiting over an hour for the next train. Or...working late and missing the 10:10 train, getting the wife to wake up the kids and pick you up so you were'nt blowing $50 on cab fare.
This area is just too spread out, and limited services.
http://www.dearlydepartedtours.com/DDT/index.html
Also visit Pink's Hot Dogs. It's simply a must.
http://www.pinkshollywood.com/pgz/greeting.htm
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M$The many options to having a fun vacation in Los Angeles are not only endless but very memorable. Have a great time !!
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M$
1. J. Paul Getty Center
Spectacular museum boasts a most impressive collection by such luminaries as Van Gogh, Monet and Cezanne, along with the architectural triumph of its six buildings and gardens.
The address is 1200 Getty Center Dr Los Angeles, CA 90049. http://www.getty.edu/ PLUS IT IS FREE WHEN YOU GET THERE!
2. Griffith Observatory
A non-profit space observatory located in Griffith Park whose purpose is to provide the public with information on astronomy and related sciences.
The Address 2800 E. Observatory Rd.
In Griffith Park, at the end of Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027
http://www.griffithobs.org/
Tons more
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g32655-Activities-Los_Angeles_California.html has 470 attractions listed!
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M$
