This might just be me, but I'd take a day trip to Santa Barbara or San Diego. Anything to get out of LA. In fact I think I'd get my butt to Tijuana ASAP, even if that means wasting half the day driving. Sorry, I know this isn't very constructive ... it's just how I feel about LA
i have to agree with this, la is overrated however if you are staying here then you have to go to the hollywood sign santa monica beach then venice beach, followed by a trip to east la . no but the beaches are nice there are night clubs that you can go to as long as you're over 21, you might also consider a tour of the studios as well as a nice road trip to san diego.
-In LA there is the Getty Museum, very inexpensive. -If I were you I wouldn't go to Hollyweird... -The 3rd street Promenade in Santa Monica is perfect for shopping, dining and socializing. -The Grove and Farmers Market on 3rd Street. -Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles. -Universal City and Studios. -Eat at Pinks, you might see a celeb plus the hot dogs are pretty good...
dont listen to the haters... l.a. is one of the greatest cities in the world if it's a nice day, head out to santa monica. check out the beach and the pier. and then drive or walk a mile south to venice and check out the boardwalk. theres tons of weird little places to shop and cool little restaurants at night, if you feel like some trendy bars, restaraunts, and clubs check out the sunset strip, its packed saturday nights. or u could just go to hollywood or universal citywalk
santa barbara is nice, san diego isnt really worth the drive if youre only gonna be out here one day.
This is a big and wonderful country. There are weird little places, trendy bars, restaurants and clubs in lots of towns that aren't polluted and traffic-ridden. Seriously, L.A. is a nice place to visit for about 2 days but it would take a lot of money to make me consider living there. For example, I would live in Asheville, NC before I'd live in L. A. Hell, I'd live in Butte, MT before I'd live in L.A.
catalina island is beautiful... take the ferry from long beach and leave your car parked in the garage across from the ferry terminal. from what i remember round trip tix are like 75 bucks. you can go parasailing, ocean kayaking, snorkeling (dont recommend it) horseback riding, hiking, take glass bottom boat tours, or just hang out and enjoy the sights and i call l.a. home and wouldnt dream of moving anyplace else. you cant beat the rich culture and diversity this place has to offer, the weather is beautiful almost every single day of the year, we have great hiking, cool urban locales, you can go snowboarding and skiing like an hour and a half drive away, great beaches in malibu and farther north, some of the greatest restaraunts here too for every kind of cuisine you can imagine. besides that pretty much every weekend theres someone good playing a concert, or some really good sporting event. smog isnt too bad by the beach where i live and i can deal with the traffic, small price to pay for everything else this place has to offer... but i guess to each his own the women are gorgeous too, a lot of aspiring models and actresses. and that whole stereotype of fake tits and bleached hair does exist but only in pockets (beverly hills lol)
montakristo - you obviously live in a beach community somewhere North. In that case - yes you do live in paradise compared to 95% of the rest of America. But other then that strip of beach from Venice to Malibu, the rest of LA sucks. Same for SD ... if you live somewhere West of Interstate 5 between Point Loma and Cardiff - you got it made.
If one wants to put a little effort and do some research into an LA vacation than one will find LA has an incredible variety of sights to see. Too many to put a comprehensive list on. Just in terms of museums a wide variety of conservatively over 20 all within a few miles of each other. But, If one wants to be get lazy about it by not doing any research and just go to the same old, tired tourist attraction then LA is a miserable place to visit. In that case one might as well not leave the house at all and just watch an old episode of CHiPs on DVD. Just don't expect 'knock your socks off pizza' despite what other may say. Everything else is superb.
To me, honestly, the best thing about living in LA is the cultural diversity... which means, there's tons of great things to eat... and you'd still need a lot of time to discover all the great restaurants that dot the LA landscape For me, i could stay in touch with my Brasilian or Korean gastronomical roots anytime of the year, or go explore other tastes i've never tried before That's the fun of LA; you could explore the world without having to travel very far
Actually if I was in LA right now, I'd go to the nearest authentic taco shop and order a California burrito with a horchata to wash it down.
boston and dc are historically rich cities, but when you wanna talk about culture, diversity and GOOD FOOD, theyre not even in the same league as l.a. new york is another story... but new york doesnt have our weather or scenery
I don't mean to get off topic but I have to call you on this ... DC Culture : Kennedy Center, National Museum of Art, National Theater, Warner Theater, Ford's Theater, the Smithsonian, the Hirshhorn etc... We have 6 elite universities in a city of 600,000. We have countless movie theaters and concert venues. Art galleries per capita can compete with any US city. We have representation in every major sport in the US. Diversity : DC is every bit as diverse as any US city, just on a smaller scale. Don't forget that this city is home to tens of thousands of diplomats from every country in the world (except a couple like Iran). In addition to that you have the World Bank, NIH and other employers that employ from all over the world. On top of that we are the seat of government which means we have politicians from every corner of the country. Those politicians hire their staffs from their hometowns from everywhere in the US. This results in tens of thousands of new interns flocking to the city each summer. And then there are the countless immigrant communities in and around the city. We have huge populations from Bolivia, Peru, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Jamaica, Russia, South Korea, China, India, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Mexico, Vietnam etc... Food : If you can't find a 5 star restaurant in DC it's because you are blind. One of the premier chefs in the US, Jose Andres has a small collection of absolutely brilliant restaurants here in DC. In addition to that restaurants like Old Ebbitt Grill, Sequoia and the Caucus Room are consistantly ranked in various top 100 lists.
^^ youre right, dc is very diverse.. and its does have great nightlife and cuisine etc. for the size that it is.
I can't believe none of you guys have said "go watch a Dodgers/Angels" game. Tickets are like $8-$11 (for the lame seats) and you could always take your own lunch. Lookie: http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/ticketing/index.jsp?c_id=ana http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/ticketing/index.jsp?c_id=la Angles are playing the Dodgers anyway. You may as well go.
Yes, of course. Why not head down to MI in North Hollywood and admire my photo? After that the plane trip out is pretty cool. Someone will take that seriously :-0 :-0 and start crying so my advice is keep it to West LA. If you're only there for a night I hardly see how it matters. Some great clubs along Santa Monica, Venice etc ...Up further the Whiskey still gets some ok groups apparently.