Contents

QuickStart Guide

Welcome to Los Angeles

Top Sights

Local Life

Day Planner

Need to Know

Los Angeles Neighborhoods

Explore

Hollywood

Griffith Park, Silver Lake & Los Feliz

Cruising Echo Park

West Hollywood & Beverly Hills

Getty Center

Miracle Mile & Mid-City

Gallery Hopping in Culver City

Santa Monica

Malibu

Venice

Manhattan Beach, Beyond the Sand

Downtown

Exposition Park

Pasadena

Burbank & Universal City

Disneyland & Disney California Adventure

Best

The Best of Los Angeles

The Venice Stroll

The Downtown Hustle

Food

Drinking

Live Music

Gay & Lesbian Los Angeles

Shopping

Kids

Outdoor Adventure

Beaches

Celebrity-Spotting

Museums

Tours

Survival Guide

Survival Guide

Before You Go

Arriving in Los Angeles

Getting Around

Essential Information

Behind the Scenes

Our Writer

Welcome to Los Angeles

LA runs deeper than her blonde beaches and celebrified hills would have you believe. She’s a beacon for small-town dreamers, an open-minded angel best defined by simple, life-affirming moments – a cracked-ice, Jazz Age cocktail on Beverly Blvd, or a hike high into the Hollywood Hills sagebrush. And her night music. There is always night music.

Amoeba Music store, Hollywood

JAMES KIRKIKIS/GETTY IMAGES ©

1

Los Angeles

Top Sights

Hollywood Boulevard & the Walk of Fame

In LA stars are more visible on-screen, in high-end restaurants and embedded in this speckled sidewalk than they are in the hazy night sky. Click here

Hollywood Boulevard & the Hollywood Walk of Fame

TM and DESIGN © 2014 HCC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; IMAGE: IAN DAGNALL/ALAMY ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

Griffith Observatory & Hollywood Sign

Two iconic sights dominate the Hollywood Hills ridgeline. One is a stylish window onto the universe. The other needs no introduction. Click here

Griffith Observatory & Hollywood Sign

FOTOVOYAGER/GETTY IMAGES ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

Getty Center

The Getty Center presents triple delights: a stellar art collection (Renaissance to David Hockney), Richard Meier’s cutting-edge architecture and truly captivating seasonal gardens. Click here

Getty Center

J PAUL GETTY TRUST ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum

Deep beneath Wilshire Blvd is a gooey treasure trove of crude oil and tusks and bones, where thousands of ice-age creatures perished between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago. Click here

La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum

LONELY PLANET/GETTY IMAGES ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

LACMA

LACMA is not just LA’s premier museum, it’s a vortex of art, jazz, film and culture not to be missed. Click here

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

URBAN LIGHT BY CHRIS BURDEN: IMAGE BY RICHARD CUMMINS/GETTY IMAGES ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

Santa Monica Pier & Beach

Santa Monica’s one essential landmark is absolutely unmissable and best experienced at its very edge, where waves lap against the barnacled pylons, as golden sand unfurls north and south. Click here

Santa Monica Pier & Beach

GLENN VAN DER KNIJFF/GETTY IMAGES ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

Venice Boardwalk

There is only one Venice Beach, and the Boardwalk is where she lets her freak flag fly. Be prepared to encounter the bohemian and the bizarre. Click here

Venice Boardwalk

RICHARD CUMMINS/GETTY IMAGES ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Where brilliant music meets virtuoso architecture. Take a bow, Mr Gehry. You make the LA Philharmonic look and sound so very good. Click here

Walt Disney Concert Hall

ARCHITECT: FRANK GEHRY; IMAGE: PETER SCHICKERT/GETTY IMAGES ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

Universal Studios

The magic of movie making gets its due at ever-popular Universal, one of the world’s oldest continuously operating motion picture studios and theme parks. Click here

Universal Studios

DPA PICTURE ALLIANCE/ALAMY ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

Malibu

A moneyed but still laid-back beach town, Malibu rambles along the Pacific Coast Hwy for 27 gorgeous miles blessed with stunning coastal mountains, pristine coves and epic waves. Click here

Malibu

ALBERT VALLES/GETTY IMAGES ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

Exposition Park

A rose garden, vintage rocket ships, a space shuttle, dozens of dinosaurs and more can be found in this wonderful collection of museums and grounds near the USC campus. Click here

Exposition Park

LONELY PLANET/GETTY IMAGES ©

Los Angeles Top Sights

Disneyland & Disney California Adventure

The Happiest Place on Earth is an ‘imagineered’ utopia where both staff and visitors are forever upbeat, the thrills are wholesome and there’s a parade every day. Click here

Disneyland & Disney California Adventure

© DISNEY

l

Los Angeles

Local Life

Insider tips to help you find the real Los Angeles

LA is more a neighborhood quilt than a traditional metropolis, so in your haste to explore LA’s best-known barrios, don’t forget to sample her out-of-the-way corners, too. Hidden treasures await.

Shopping the Fashion District

A Sample sales

A People watching

Bargain hunters love this 100-block warren of fashion. Deals can be found but the district’s size and selection can be as bewildering as seeing sassy fashionistas wandering among mumbling drunks with neck tattoos in a perma-haze.

Cruising Echo Park

A Echo Park Lake

A Short Stop

Echo Park is one of LA’s old-school, working-class, multi-ethnic neighborhoods, and home to an emerging and intriguing creative subculture.

Echo Park Lake

MITCH DIAMOND/GETTY IMAGES ©

Gallery Hopping in Culver City

A Art galleries

A Sidewalk cafes

A decade ago Culver City bloomed from its bland, quasi-suburban, studio-town roots into a stylish yet unpretentious destination for fans of art, culture and food. The recession was a stumbling block, but these days it's better than ever.

Manhattan Beach, Beyond the Sand

A Beach living

A Gastropubs

The wide beach dotted with string bikinis and bronzed surfers riding consistent waves will lure you in, but the area's surprising kitchens will nourish your soul.

Manhattan Beach

ANDREA WELLS/GETTY IMAGES ©

Getting Wise in Pasadena

A Museums

A Local history

Pasadena is a brainy, preppy small town in a big city that will open your mind and touch your soul if you let it. Hit the museums, see a jazz combo, grab a bite. Repeat.

Other great places to experience the city like a local:

Dodger Stadium

Peace Yoga

Downtown Art Walks

Uncle Bill’s Pancake House

Broome Street General Store

Nate ̓n Al

Grill on the Alley

Harvard & Stone

Bay Cities

R

Los Angeles

Day Planner

Short on time?

We’ve arranged LA’s must-sees into these day-by-day itineraries to make sure you see the very best of the city in the time you have available.

Day One

M Begin your day in West Hollywood with a quick breakfast at Joan’s on Third before perusing the boutiques on Beverly Blvd, Melrose Pl and Melrose Ave.

R Drive north on Laurel Canyon, then head west on Mulholland Dr and stop at the Getty Center, where you can glimpse fine art, stunning gardens and epic views. Then keep pushing west to the Venice Boardwalk for sunset.

N After a sunset beach stroll, find your way to Venice’s trendy Abbot Kinney shopping district, where you can hit Gjelina for a fantastic dinner of creative small plates and thin-crust pizza. Then double back to Hollywood for rum and burlesque at La Descarga.

Day Two

M Day two is all about the east side, so start with breakfast downtown at Eggslut before hitting the Grammy Museum for some harmonic time-travel. Then it’s on to MOCA, where you may lose yourself in color and form, before a stunning lunch at Sushi Gen in Little Tokyo.

R Shop your way through Sliver Lake and Los Feliz. You'll enjoy exploring the many edgy fashion and vintage boutiques on Hillhurst, Vermont and Sunset, and don't forget to pause at Spitfire Girl.

N Grab a bite at Jitlada in Thai Town, before catching a show at the Upright Citizens Brigade or swilling craftsman cocktails at No Vacancy.

Day Three

M It’s time to soak up the sun, sand and the Pacific blue, so fuel up with a proper American breakfast at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in Manhattan Beach before making your way up the coast and onto the Venice Boardwalk.

R The Santa Monica Pier should be coming into view, so take a picture among the anglers at the edge then stroll along Santa Monica Beach, or continue up the coast and into Malibu, where you can watch the sun set beyond Point Dume at Westward Beach.

N Now that the sun has dropped, it’s time to loop south back into Santa Monica, where you can get a superb meal at Rustic Canyon before stopping for a drink at Basement Tavern.

Day Four

M Day four is about filling the gaps, so after an indie industry breakfast at Square One, take your time and appreciate the greatness that is LACMA. If the kids get bored, consider a diversion to the La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum before lunching at the original Farmers Market.

R Hit Rodeo Dr for a blast of Beverly Hills bling before exploring the (much!) less sophisticated jumble that is Melrose Ave, between Fairfax and La Brea. Skaters should head south on Fairfax to where skate culture and hip-hop collide.

N After dark, see a show at the El Rey, Hollywood Bowl or the Echo.

For more information, see Survival Guide

Need to Know

Currency

US dollar ($)

Visas

The US Visa Waiver Program allows visitors from 38 countries to arrive without a visa. Visitors from elsewhere must secure a tourist visa in advance.

Money

ATMs are widely available and credit cards are accepted in all hotels and most restaurants.

Cell Phones

International cell (mobile) phones will work with roaming. Some unlocked GSM phones will work with local SIMs.

Time

Pacific Standard Time (PST; UTC/GMT minus 8 hours) Nov-Mar; Pacific Daylight Savings Time (PDT; UTC/GMT minus 7 hours) Mar-Oct.

Plugs & Adaptors

LA area outlets demand the North American 20A/120V grounded plug.

Tipping

Tipping is considered mandatory for sit-down, full-service meals. The minimum tip should be 15-20%. Tip bartenders, too ($1 per drink will suffice).

1Before You Go

Your Daily Budget

Budget less than $100

A Dorm beds from $35

A Excellent supermarkets for self-catering

A Ample free concerts and events

Midrange $150–$250

A Midrange sleeping options from $120

A Two-course dinner and glass of wine $40

A Night out with live music from $50

Top end from $250

A Sleeping options from $250

A Lunch and drinks at industry haunt $75 and up

Useful Websites

A Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/los-angeles) Destination information, hotel bookings, traveler forum.

A Los Angeles Downtown News (www.ladowntownnews.com) If it works, eats, drinks, or sleeps downtown, they have the scoop.

A LA Weekly (www.laweekly.com) LA’s trusted indie news and culture rag.

Advance Planning

Three months before Book your hotel and rental car, and secure concert tickets.

One month before Buy tickets for exhibition openings at LACMA or MOCA.

One week before Reserve a table at any top-tier restaurant, and make reservations for high-demand bars and clubs such as No Vacancy.

2Arriving in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is more spread out than most major cities, and although there is a vibrant downtown, it's rather compact and LA is not. In fact, the city is a quilt with several self-contained neighborhoods knitted together, and transport details within and between them varies.

A From Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

3Getting Around

LA has an automobile pathos. Meaning almost everyone who lives here owns a car, and wishes they had a better one. However, there are multiple public transport options that link up and overlap throughout the LA area.

m Metro & Metrolink

The Metro subway system is ever-expanding and links downtown LA with Hollywood, Koreatown, Pasadena, Long Beach, LAX, Culver City and, beginning in 2015, Santa Monica. It also connects with Metrolink light-rail service to Burbank and Orange County.

J Bus

The best bus services are offered by LA’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, which has a handy trip planner on its website, and Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus (%310-451-5444; www.bigbluebus.com; fares from $1).

K Taxi

Taxis are quite expensive and should only be used between nearby destinations. Uber (www.uber.com), the on-demand car service which allows you to order and pay for a ride via a smartphone app, is quite popular and useful here.

Los Angeles Neighborhoods

Hollywood

Griffith Park, Silver Lake & Los Feliz

West Hollywood & Beverly Hills

Miracle Mile & Mid-City

Santa Monica

Venice

Downtown

Burbank & Universal City

Hollywood

The neighborhood most synonymous with LA, Hollywood’s rise to stardom began with a 1920s ad campaign for Hollywoodland, a residential hillside development with its name announced to the world with towering white letters. Here are red carpet premieres, bustling restaurants and bars, and a funky, endearing Thai Town.

Hollywood

FEARGUS COONEY/GETTY IMAGES ©

The Sights in a Day

M Grab a gourmet breakfast at Square One, then follow the stars on Hollywood Blvd with mandatory photo ops at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Dolby Theatre and the Hollywood Wax Museum.

R Break for lunch at Jitlada, where you can also get a whiff of Hollywood’s incredibly authentic Thai Town. If it’s a sunny day, enjoy an outdoor beverage at the Cat & Fiddle.

N Order a Mario Batali imagined pizza at Pizzeria Mozza, before catching a superb sketch-comedy show at Upright Citizens Brigade. Unless, of course, you have tickets for a show at the Hollywood Bowl – a Hollywood evening that trumps all others.

1  Top Sights

Hollywood Boulevard & the Walk of Fame

x  Best of Los Angeles

Eating

Jitlada

Pizzeria & Osteria Mozza

Drinking

No Vacancy

Harvard & Stone

Entertainment

Hollywood Bowl

Fonda Theatre

Getting There

m Metro Hollywood is well connected to downtown and Universal City by the Metro Red Line.

m Metro The most centrally located Red Line stops are Hollywood/Vine and Hollywood/Highland.

g Bus MTA, LA’s principal transit authority, connects Hollywood with all other parts of town.

1

Top Sights

Hollywood Boulevard & the Walk of Fame

Hollywood Blvd is one of the most famous of LA’s avenues thanks to the glitterati embedded into that speckled sidewalk. Big Bird, Bob Hope and Marilyn Monroe are among the stars worshipped, photographed and stepped on on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Since 1960 more than 2400 performers – from legends to long-forgotten players – have been honored with a pink-marble sidewalk star. The galaxy extends from Hollywood Blvd and La Brea Ave to Gower St, and south along Vine St.

MAP GOOGLE MAP

www.walkoffame.com; Hollywood Blvd

Sidewalk star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

LAARA CERMAN/LEIGH RIGHTON/GETTY IMAGES ©

y Top Tips

A You can explore the boulevard by day, but it feels so much richer at night, when the stars glitter and the sidewalk stains are (somewhat) hidden.

A New stars are born every two or three months, and include a public unveiling by the stars themselves.

A There’s plenty of kitsch and worse to wade through on what scientists have determined to be among the cheesiest boulevards known to man, but there is also greatness lurking. Exhibit A: Musso & Frank's martinis. Exhibit B: Loteria Grill's tequila bar.

5 Take a Break

- Thai Town – a small section of Hollywood Blvd that’s packed with tasty, spicy kitchens – is but a short drive east down the Boulevard. We love Jitlada for southern Thai specialties and Ganda for Bangkok-style street food.

Don’t Miss

Grauman’s Chinese Theatre

Stand in the footprints of silver-screen legends such as George Clooney in the courtyard of this grand movie palace, built in 1927. Grauman’s Chinese Theatre ( GOOGLE MAP ; %323-463-9576; www.tclchinesetheatres.com; 6925 Hollywood Blvd; tours & movie tickets adult/child/senior $13.50/6.50/11.50) was inspired by Chinese imperial architecture, and the decor extends from the intricate courtyard to the ornate interior.

Dolby Theatre

The Academy Awards are handed out at the Dolby Theatre ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.dolbytheatre.com; 6801 Hollywood Blvd; tours adult/child, senior & student $19/15; h10:30am-4pm), which also hosts other big events such as the American Idol finals. On the tour you get to sniff around the auditorium, admire a VIP room and see Oscar up close.

Janes House

The Janes House ( GOOGLE MAP ; 6541 Hollywood Blvd) is the last remaining Victorian home on Hollywood Blvd. It was built in 1903 and was the former site of Miss Janes’ School, which was attended by the children of old Hollywood icons such as Cecil B DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin. Now? Um, it’s a down-market mini-mall.

1 Top Sights

Hollywood Boulevard & the Hollywood Walk of Fame  C3

1 Sights

1Hollywood Bowl  C1

2Hollywood Bowl Museum  C1

3Hollywood Forever Cemetery  F5

4Capitol Records Tower  E3

5Hollywood Museum  C3

6Hollywood Heritage Museum  C2

7Hollywood Wax Museum  C3

8Hollywood & Vine  E3

9Hollywood & Highland  C3

10Guinness World Records Museum  C3

11TMZ Tours  B3

5 Eating

12Pizzeria & Osteria Mozza  C5

13Loteria  D3

14Jitlada  H3

15Providence  D5

16Little Fork  D3

17Pikey  A3

18Square One  H4

19Oaks Gourmet  F2

20Hollywood Farmers Market  D3

21Life Food Organic  D3

Ganda  H3

6 Drinking

22No Vacancy  D3

23La Descarga  G4

24Dirty Laundry  D3

25Good Times At Davey Wayne's  E3

26Sayers Club  D3

27Emerson Theatre  B3

28Cat & Fiddle  D4

29Harvard & Stone  H3

30Javista  C3

31Real Raw Live  F2

3 Entertainment

32Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre  F2

33Fonda Theatre  E3

34Pantages Theater  E3

35Arclight Cinemas  D4

36El Floridita  E4

37Bardot  E3

38American Cinematheque  C3

39Ford Amphitheatre  D1

40Hotel Cafe  D3

41Improv Olympic West  D3

42Catalina Bar & Grill  C3

43El Capitan Theatre  C3

7 Shopping

44Amoeba Music  D4

45Mush  G3

46Bhan Kanom Thai  H3

Counterpoint  F2

47Space 1520  D3

Frederick's of Hollywood  C3

Sights

3Hollywood BowlLANDMARK

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Summers in LA just wouldn’t be the same without this chill spot for music under the stars, from symphonies to big-name acts such as Baaba Maal, Sigur Ros, Radiohead and Paul McCartney. A huge natural amphitheater, the Hollywood Bowl has been around since 1922 and has great sound.

(%323-850-2000; www.hollywoodbowl.com; 2301 N Highland Ave; rehearsals free, performance costs vary; hJun-Sep)

1Hollywood Bowl MuseumMUSEUM

MAP GOOGLE MAP

The Bowl, as it's affectionately known around town, enjoys a glamorous history, and this is where you can literally listen to it and watch it. Classic Bowl moments are yours thanks to audio and video footage of folks like the Beatles, the Stones and Mr James Hendrix.

(www.hollywoodbowl.com/event/museum.cfm; h10am-showtime Mon-Sat & 4pm-showtime Sun Jun-Sep, 10am-5pm Tue-Fri Oct-May)

1Hollywood Forever CemeteryCEMETERY

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Next to Paramount, Hollywood Forever boasts lavish landscaping, over-the-top tombstones, epic mausoleums and a roll call of departed superstars. Residents include Cecil B DeMille, Rudolph Valentino, femme fatale Jayne Mansfield and punk-rock icons Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone. For a full list of residents, pick up a map ($5) at the flower shop (9am to 5pm).

(%323-469-1181; www.hollywoodforever.com; 6000 Santa Monica Blvd; h8am-5pm; p)

1Capitol Records TowerLANDMARK

MAP GOOGLE MAP

You’ll recognize this iconic 1956 tower, one of LA’s great modern-era buildings. Designed by Welton Becket, it resembles a stack of records topped by a stylus blinking out ‘Hollywood’ in Morse code. Garth Brooks and John Lennon have their stars outside.

(1750 N Vine St)

1Hollywood MuseumMUSEUM

MAP GOOGLE MAP

We quite like this musty temple to the stars, crammed with kitsch posters, costumes and rotating props. The museum is housed inside the handsome 1914 art deco Max Factor Building, where the make-up pioneer once worked his magic on Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland.

(%323-464-7776; www.thehollywoodmuseum.com; 1660 N Highland Ave; adult/child $15/5; h10am-5pm Wed-Sun)

Hollywood Museum

AGE FOTOSTOCK SPAIN S.L./ALAMY ©

1Hollywood Heritage MuseumMUSEUM

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Hollywood’s first feature-length film, Cecil B DeMille’s The Squaw Man, was shot in this building in 1913–14, originally set at the corner of Selma and Vine Sts. DeMille went on to co-found Paramount and had the barn moved to the lot in the ‘20s. Now the Hollywood Heritage Museum, it’s filled with a great collection of costumes, projectors and cameras from the early days of movie making.

(www.hollywoodheritage.org; 2100 N Highland Ave; adult/senior/child under 12 $7/5/free; hnoon-4pm Wed-Sun)

1Hollywood Wax MuseumMUSEUM

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Starved for celeb sightings? Don’t fret: at this museum Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry and other red-carpet royalty will stand still – very still – for your camera. This retro haven of kitsch and camp has been around for over 40 years.

(%323-462-5991; www.hollywoodwax.com; 6767 Hollywood Blvd; adult/child/senior $17/9/15; h10am-midnight; c)

1Hollywood & VineLANDMARK

MAP GOOGLE MAP

If you turned on the radio in the 1920s and '30s, chances were you’d hear a broadcast ‘brought to you from Hollywood and Vine.’ These days a W hotel and a metro stop, and occasional block parties hosted by Jimmy Kimmel Live, keep this corner relevant.

1Hollywood & HighlandMALL

MAP GOOGLE MAP

It’s apropos that a Disneyfied shopping mall would be the spark for Hollywood Blvd’s rebirth. A marriage of kitsch and commerce, the main show piece is a triumphal arch inspired by DW Griffith’s 1916 movie Intolerance, which frames the Hollywood sign.

(www.hollywoodandhighland.com; 6801 Hollywood Blvd; h10am-10pm Mon-Sat, to 7pm Sun)

1Guinness World Records MuseumMUSEUM

MAP GOOGLE MAP

You know the drill: the Guinness is all about the fastest, tallest, biggest, fattest and other superlatives.

(www.guinnessmuseumhollywood.com; 6764 Hollywood Blvd; adult/child/senior $17/9/15; h10am-midnight; c)

1TMZ ToursBUS TOUR

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Cut the shame, do you really want to spot celebrities, glimpse their homes, and gawk and laugh at their dirt? Join this branded tour imagined by the paparazzi made famous. Tours are two hours long, and you will likely meet some of the TMZ stars and perhaps even celebrity guests on the bus!

(%855-486-9868; www.tmz.com/tour; 6925 Hollywood Blvd; adult/child $55/45; happrox 10 tours daily)

y

Top Tip

Hollywood Bowl

The Hollywood Bowl is the summer home of the LA Philharmonic and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Eavesdrop on free rehearsals usually held from 9am to noon on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday during the season.

Parking is free during the day, but expensive and limited on performance nights. Save yourself the headache and take a shuttle, such as the one running from Hollywood & Highland, which costs $5 per person round-trip.

Come early to claim a table for a pre-show picnic (alcohol permitted). There are concessions if you don’t want to lug your own grub.

Eating

5Pizzeria & Osteria MozzaITALIAN $$$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Osteria Mozza is all about fine cuisine crafted from market-fresh, seasonal ingredients. Being a Mario Batali joint, you can expect adventure (squid-ink chitarra freddi with Dungeness crab, sea urchin and jalapeno) and consistent excellence. Pizzeria Mozza next door is (much) more laid-back and less expensive. Thin-crust pies come with squash blossoms and mozzarella, among other delights. Reservations are recommended.

(%323-297-0100; www.mozza-la.com; 6602 Melrose Ave; pizzas $11-19, dinner mains $27-38; hpizzeria noon-midnight daily, osteria 5:30-11pm Mon-Fri, 5-11pm Sat, 5-10pm Sun)

5Loteria GrillMEXICAN $$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Spawned from the long-running, widely loved Farmers Market taco stand of the same name. This version offers elegant ambience, a ceviche bar, and a range of classic Mexican mains. The barmen pour over 80 premium tequilas.

(%323-465-2500; www.loteriagrill.com; 6627 Hollywood Blvd; tacos $3-9, appetizers $6-12, mains $16-23; h11am-11pm Mon-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat, 9am-11pm Sun; p)

Loteria Grill

DEEDEE DEGELIA/GETTY IMAGES ©

5JitladaTHAI $$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

A transporting taste of southern Thailand. Its crab curry and fried som tum (fried papaya salad) are fantastic, and they even have a Thai-style burger that regulars dream about between visits. The vivacious owner-operator counts Ryan Gosling and Natalie Portman among her loyal, mostly farang (non-Thai) customers. Look for the wall of fame near the bathrooms.

(%323-667-9809; jitladala.com; 5233 W Sunset Blvd; appetizers $5-10, mains $11-30; hlunch & dinner; p)

5ProvidenceNEW AMERICAN $$$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Blinged out with two Michelin stars, this has long been one of LA’s finest. Dishes include scallop tartare, veal sweetbreads and a lobster with roasted porcini mushrooms and spiced hazelnuts. To truly sample the goods, splurge for the nine-course tasting menu.

(%323-460-4170; www.providencela.com; 5955 Melrose Ave; appetizers $6-26, mains $40-49; hnoon-2pm Fri, 6-10pm Mon-Fri, 5:30-10pm Sat, to 9:30pm Sun; p)

5Little ForkSOUTHERN $$$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

A converted studio, the stucco exterior is a horror show, but inside is all dark and moody, with a kitchen that churns out plates of house-smoked trout, brick-roasted chicken, a one-pound lobster roll and potato gnocchi cooked in bacon lard, tarragon and cream.

(%323-465-3675; www.littleforkla.com; 1600 Wilcox Ave; dishes $9-28; h11am-3pm Sat & Sun, 5-10pm Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat; p)

5PikeyPUB FOOD $$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

This tasteful kitchen began life as Coach & Horses, one of Hollywood's favorite dives, before it was reimagined into a place where you can get broccoli roasted with bacon, arctic char crudo with grapefruit and jalapeños, seared squid with curried chickpeas, and a slow roasted duck leg. The cocktails rock.

(%323-850-5400; www.thepikeyla.com; 7617 W Sunset Blvd; dishes $12-28; hnoon-2am Mon-Fri, from 11am Sat & Sun)

5Square OneDINER $$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

In the shadows of the sprawling Scientology campus, you'll find this adorable breakfast and lunch spot where they braise mustard and collard greens to serve with baked eggs and grits. Tacos are filled with scrambled eggs, jalapeños and chorizo, and they serve a range of gourmet salads and sandwiches too.

(%323-661-1109; www.squareonedining.com; 4854 Fountain Ave; mains $9-14; h8:30am-3pm)

5Oaks GourmetDELI $

MAP GOOGLE MAP

A hipster deli and wine shop with a devoted following, its ultimate BLT combines heirloom tomato, creamy Camembert cheese, avocado and black-forest bacon on toasted sourdough, and specialty nights feature grilled sausages, grilled cheese and tacos. Their breakfast burrito is special.

(%323-871-8894; www.theoaksgourmet.com; 1915 N Bronson Ave; mains $8.95-11.95; h7am-midnight; p)

5Hollywood Farmers MarketMARKET $

MAP GOOGLE MAP

On the shortlist for the city’s best farmers market. This Sunday-morning culinary sprawl offers organic and specialty produce from over 90 farmers, as well as 30 vendors selling tasty prepared food, from smoothies to tamales to crepes to grilled sausages. It’s a great event for the family.

(www.farmernet.com; cnr Ivar & Selma Ave; h8am-1pm Sun; c)

5Life Food OrganicRAW $

MAP GOOGLE MAP

This place serves the healthiest fast food around. Have a chocolate shake made with almond milk, a veggie chili burger with a sesame seaweed salad on the side, and a chocolate cream pie for dessert. None of it cooked! You can dine in, but most take it away.

(www.lifefoodorganic.com; 1507 N Cahuenga Ave; dishes $4-14; h7:30am-9pm)

5GandaTHAI $

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Get a whiff of real Thai street food. Its pick-and-mix steam table has the same selection of stewed, fried and broiled seafood, chicken and veggie dishes as you’d find in any Bangkok night market. It stays open until 2am during the week and 3am on weekends.

(5269 Hollywood Blvd; dishes $6-8; h11am-2am Sun-Thu, to 3am Sat & Sun; p)

l

Local Life

The Hollywood Farms

LA’s farmers markets supply artisanal kitchens and nourish families across the city. Hollywood has two of the best.

The Hollywood Farmers Market is very much a culinary sprawl with specialty produce from over 90 farmers and over 30 savory prepared-food stalls.

Yamashiro Farmers Market ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.yamashirorestaurant.com; 1999 N Sycamore Ave; h5-9pm Thu May-Sep; p) is really more about the views from Yamashiro’s spectacular perch. Gourmet food stalls serve up delights such as miso cod tacos, grilled bratwurst and Bulgarian gelato. There’s a wine-tasting bar and live music, too.

Drinking

6No VacancyBAR

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An old, shingled Victorian has been converted into LA's hottest night out. Even the entrance is theatrical: you'll follow a rickety staircase into a narrow hall and enter the room of a would-be madame dressed in fishnet, who will soon press a button to reveal another staircase down into the living room and out into a courtyard.

(%323-465-1902; www.novacancyla.com; 1727 N Hudson Ave; h8pm-2am)

6La DescargaLOUNGE

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This tastefully frayed, sublimely sweaty rum-and-cigar lounge is a revelation. Behind the marble bar are over 100 types of rum from Haiti, Guyana, Guatemala and Venezuela.

(%323-466-1324; www.ladescargala.com; 1159 N Western Ave; h8pm-2am Wed-Sat)

6Dirty LaundryBAR

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Under a cotton-candy-pink apartment block of no particular import is a funky den of musty odor and great times, low ceilings, exposed pipes, good whiskey, groovy funk on the turn tables and plenty of pretty people with low inhibitions. There are velvet rope politics at work here, so reserve a table to make sure you slip through.

(%323-462-6531; dirtylaundrybarla.com; 1725 N Hudson Ave; h10pm-2am)

6Good Times At Davey Wayne'sBAR

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Enter a faux garage stocked with vintage items for sale, walk through the refrigerator door and emerge in a wood-panelled, soft-rocking ode to 1970s Californication. Craft beer on tap, superb cocktails and there's even a barbecue and a bar (housed in a camper) on the deck out back. Happy hour begins here.

(www.goodtimesatdaveywaynes.com; 1611 N El Centro Ave; h5pm-2am Mon-Fri, from 2pm Sat & Sun)

6Sayers ClubCLUB

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When rock royalty such as Prince, established stars such as the Black Keys, and even movie stars such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt decide to play secret shows in intimate environs, they come to the back room at this brick-house Hollywood nightspot, where the booths are leather, the lighting moody and the music always satisfies.

(%323-871-8416; www.sbe.com/nightlife/locations/thesayersclub-hollywood; 1645 Wilcox Ave; cover varies; h8pm-2am Tue, Thu & Fri)

6Emerson TheatreCLUB

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A mash-up of prohibition cocktails, scantily clad burlesque dancers, hip-hop, velvet ropes and VIP sections. The pretty people who enjoy their LA glitz party here.

(%323-525-2453; www.sbe.com/nightlife/brands/emersontheatre; 7080 Hollywood Blvd)

6Cat & FiddlePUB

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Morrissey to Frodo, you never know who might be popping by for Boddingtons, Sunday-night jazz or Tuesday-night trivia. Fortunately, this Brit pub staple with leafy beer garden is more about friends and conversation than faux hawks and working the deal.

(www.thecatandfiddle.com; 6530 W Sunset Blvd; h11:30am-2am)

6Harvard & StoneBAR

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The thing here is craft whiskey, bourbon and cocktail specials that rotate daily. It lures hipsters with live bands, burlesque troops and solid DJs. Especially on Sunday where a rockabilly theme and the sexy crowd will make you certainly twist and possibly shout.

(www.harvardandstone.com; 5221 Hollywood Blvd; h8pm-2am)

6JavistaCAFE

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Easily the coolest coffee joint in this stretch of Hollywood. Here you'll find hipsters with lap dogs and slackers sipping organic tea and leaden coffee to keep the blood pumping. The pastries are tasty, too.

(www.javistacafe.com; 6707 Sunset Blvd; h7am-8pm Mon-Sat, to 7pm Sun; W)

6Real Raw LiveJUICE BAR

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OK, we agree that there are far too many juice bars in LA these days, but we'd like this one to stick around. Here, all the slimming, toning, invigorating superfoods (like maca, goji berries, hemp protein etc) are combined and blended into tasty concoctions. They can even set you up with a multi-day juice cleanse.

(%323-461-4545; www.realrawlive.com; 5913 Franklin Ave; elixir shots from $4, juices from $8; h8am-9pm)

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Local Life

Legendary Lair

Hollywood history hangs thick in the air at Musso & Frank Grill ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.mussoandfrankgrill.com; 6667 Hollywood Blvd).

Charlie Chaplin used to slam gimlets at the bar and Raymond Chandler penned scripts in the high-backed booths. Word is, Mick Jagger remains a fan of the noir ambience, gentlemen bartenders and icy martinis served in small stems.

Entertainment

3Upright Citizens Brigade TheatreCOMEDY

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Founded in New York by SNL alums Amy Poehler and Ian Roberts along with Matt Besser and Matt Walsh, this sketch-comedy group cloned itself in Hollywood in 2005 and is arguably the best improv theater in town. Most shows are $5 or $8, but Sunday’s ‘Asssscat’ is freeeee.

(%323-908-8702; http://franklin.ucbtheatre.com; 5919 Franklin Ave; tickets $5-10)

3Fonda TheatreCONCERT VENUE

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The old Henry Fonda Theatre has been restored, and remains one of Hollywood’s best venues for live music. It’s an intimate, general-admission space with an open dance floor and balcony seating. It books progressive rock bands (think Mumford & Sons and Broken Bells), groove masters like Chromeo and can lure all-time greats like Tom Petty for intimate residencies.

(%323-464-6269; www.fondatheatre.com; 6126 Hollywood Blvd)

3Pantages TheaterTHEATER

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The splendidly restored Pantages Theater is an art deco survivor from the golden age and a fabulous place to catch a play or Broadway musical. Oscars were handed out here between 1949 and 1959, when Howard Hughes owned the building. The uber noir Frolic Room bar next door was featured in LA Confidential. Recent shows include Book of Mormon.

(www.pantages-theater.com; 6233 Hollywood Blvd)

3Arclight CinemasCINEMA

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Assigned seats and exceptional celeb sighting potential make this 14-screen multiplex the best around. If your taste dovetails with its schedule, the awesome 1963 geodesic Cinerama Dome is a must. Bonuses: age 21-plus screenings where you can booze it up, and Q&As with directors, writers and actors. Parking is $3 for four hours.

(%323-464-1478; www.arclightcinemas.com; 6360 W Sunset Blvd; tickets $14-16)

Arclight Cinemas

BRENT WINEBRENNER/GETTY IMAGES ©

3El FloriditaLATIN

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The place for grown-up salseros. Order a mojito and watch the beautiful dancers do their thing (or join in if you feel you’ve got the moves). The Monday night jams led by Johnny Polanco y su Orquesta Amistad are legendary; make reservations at least a week in advance.

(%323-871-8612; www.elfloridita.com; 1253 N Vine St; cover $10, with dinner free; hMon, Wed, Fri & Sat)

3BardotCLUB

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On Monday Nights, KCRW’s Chris Douridas brings School Night (www.itsaschoolnight.com), a free live-music club featuring buzz-worthy talent to the atmospheric top floor of the old Avalon theater. There is no exclusivity here, but you do have to RSVP and show up early enough to get in prior to max capacity.

(www.bardothollywood.com; 1735 N Vine St; hMon-Sat)

3American CinemathequeCINEMA

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A non-profit screening tributes, retrospectives and foreign films in the Egyptian Theatre. Directors, screenwriters and actors often swing by for post show Q&As.

(www.americancinematheque.com; 6712 Hollywood Blvd; adult/senior & student $11/9)

3Ford AmphitheatreCONCERT VENUE

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Every seat is within 100ft of the stage at this up-close-and-personal outdoor amphitheater. With the Hollywood Hills as a backdrop, catch indie bands, foreign movies and dance troupes from June to October. Picnics welcome.

(%323-461-3673; www.fordamphitheatre.com; 2580 Cahuenga Blvd E; admission $5-45; hMay-Oct)

3Hotel CafeLIVE MUSIC

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An anomaly on glittery Cahuenga Corridor, this intimate venue is the place for handmade music by message-minded singer-songwriters. Big names like Suzanne Vega show up on occasion but mostly it’s a stepping stone for newbie balladeers. Get there early and enter from the alley.

(%323-461-2040; www.hotelcafe.com; 1623 N Cahuenga Blvd; tickets $10-20)

3Improv Olympic WestCOMEDY

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Second only to the Upright Citizens Brigade in the frequency and quality of shows. It has at least three daily, starting on the hour. The Armando Show ($5) on Monday nights is hosted by a celebrity guest and hinges on suggestions from the audience.

(http://west.ioimprov.com; 6366 Hollywood Blvd; admission $5-10; h8-11pm)

3Catalina Bar & GrillJAZZ

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LA’s premier jazz club is now tucked in a ho-hum office building (enter through the garage), but once inside the spacious yet sultry room, all is forgiven. Expect top talent such as Barbara Morrison, Kenny Burrell and Chick Corea. Two shows (almost) nightly; times vary.

(%323-466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com; 6725 W Sunset Blvd; cover $15-40 plus dinner or 2 drinks)

3El Capitan TheatreCINEMA

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Disney rolls out family-friendly blockbusters at this movie palace, often with costumed characters putting on the Ritz in live pre-show routines. The best seats are on the balcony in the middle of the front row. VIP tickets allow you to reserve a seat and include popcorn and a beverage.

(%800-347-6396; elcapitan.go.com; 6838 Hollywood Blvd; VIP $25, general admission adult/senior & child $15/12; c)

Shopping

7Amoeba MusicMUSIC

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When a record store not only survives but thrives in this techno age, you know they're doing something right. Flip through half-a-million new and used CDs, DVDs, videos and vinyl at this granddaddy of music stores. Handy listening stations and its outstanding Music We Like booklet keep you from buying lemons. Name bands perform live in-store regularly.

(%323-245-6400; www.amoeba.com; 6400 W Sunset Blvd; h10:30am-11pm Mon-Sat, 11am-9pm Sun)

Interior of Amoeba Music

LONELY PLANET/GETTY IMAGES ©

7MushGIFTS

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An inspiring gift, antique and home-decor boutique filled with color (dig those resin lanterns), style (you’ll love the silver jewelry and mod furniture) and soul (stone Buddha anyone?). The music and the owner-operator are warm and groovy.

(www.m-u-s-h.com; 5651 Hollywood Blvd; h11am-6pm Tue-Sun)

7Bhan Kanom ThaiTHAI SWEETS

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Next door to Ganda is a remarkable sweet shop. It has all manner of Thai desserts including candy, dried fruit, gummies, sours, crisps and cakes.

(www.bhankanomthai.com; 5271 Hollywood Blvd; h10am-2am)

7CounterpointMUSIC & BOOKS

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Woodblock stacks are packed high with used fiction, while crude plywood bins are stuffed with soul, classical and jazz vinyl. The real gems (the rare 1st editions and vintage rock posters) are in the collectible wing next door.

(www.counterpointrecordsandbooks.com; 5911 Franklin Ave; h11am-11pm)

7Space 1520MALL

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The hippest mini-mall in Hollywood, this designer construct of brick, wood, concrete and glass is home to classic and trend-setting mini-chains like Umami Burger, Hennesy & Ingalls and Free People.

(www.space1520.com; 1520 N Cahuenga Blvd; h11am-9pm Mon-Fri, 10am-10pm Sat, to 9pm Sun)

7Frederick’s of HollywoodLINGERIE

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This famous purveyor gave us the cleavage-enhancing push-up bra and the G-string but, in 2005, competition forced it to abandon its original flagship store and move down the street to Hollywood & Highland. The new, smaller branch still sells everything from chemises to crotchless panties, all tastefully displayed with no need to blush.

(www.fredericks.com; 6751 Hollywood Blvd; h10am-9pm Mon-Sat, 11am-7pm Sun)

Griffith Park, Silver Lake & Los Feliz

Los Feliz, founded by mining mogul Griffith J Griffith, is one of LA’s oldest, most affluent neighborhoods. Swingers spotlit its hipster haunts (and traits) in the mid '90s, when high rents chased up-and-comers to Silver Lake’s revitalized modernist homes, boho bistros and bars. But for for all the history and palpable urban cool, the highlight here remains the 4210-acre Griffith Park.

Griffith Park, Silver Lake & Los Feliz

RICHARD CUMMINS/GETTY IMAGES ©

The Sights in a Day

M Take your breakfast at the Alcove, alongside hipsters, yuppies and the occasional local celeb, then spend the rest of the morning breezing through boutiques and thrift shops on Hillhurst and Vermont – don’t miss Spitfire Girl or Skylight Books. Then check out Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterful Hollyhock House.

R Grab lunch at Forage in Silver Lake, before exploring the bohemian boutiques that define the area, such as Matrushka Construction. Then double back to Griffith Park and spend the late afternoon and early evening exploring the Griffith Observatory and enjoying some of the city’s most magnificent views.

N If it’s a clear, dark night, linger along the lawns around the Observatory and peer into telescopes toward heavenly bodies. Then join the crowds gabbing and grubbing at L&E Oyster Bar or Thirsty Crow for late-night drinks. Or if your timing is impeccable, ditch the cocktails and see a show at the Greek Theatre.

1  Top Sights

Griffith Observatory & Hollywood Sign

x  Best of Los Angeles

Eating

Elf Cafe

Forage

Drinking

Short Stop

Thirsty Crow

Shopping

Spitfire Girl

Wacko

Getting There

m Metro The area is well connected to Hollywood, Downtown and Universal City by the Metro Red Line.

m Metro The most centrally located Red Line stop is Vermont/Sunset.

g Bus MTA, LA’s principal transit authority, connects Los Feliz and Silver Lake with all other parts of town. The LADOT Observatory Shuttle operates on weekends.

1

Top Sights

Griffith Observatory & Hollywood Sign

Two world-famous landmarks loom from either end of Griffith Park in the Hollywood Hills. The 1935 Griffith Observatory opens a window onto the universe from its perch on the southern slopes of Mt Hollywood. LA’s most famous landmark is just west of the park, and first appeared in 1923 as an advertising gimmick for a real-estate development called ‘Hollywoodland.’ The last four letters were lopped off in the ‘40s. Alice Cooper and Hugh Hefner joined forces with fans to save the famous symbol in the 1970s.

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%213-473-0800; www.griffithobservatory.org; 2800 E Observatory Rd; admission free, planetarium shows adult/child $7/3; hnoon-10pm Tue-Fri, from 10am Sat & Sun; pc

Griffith Observatory

BRENT WINEBRENNER/GETTY IMAGES ©

y Top Tips

A It helps to have a car to explore Griffith Park, but you can access the observatory via public transport on weekends (10am to 10pm). Take the Metro to Vermont/Sunset and hop the LADOT shuttle (25¢, 35 minutes) from there.

A Stay after dark to peer into the Zeist Telescope on the eastside of the roof; staff wheel additional telescopes out to the front lawn if you can’t be bothered to wait in line for the Zeist.

A If you’d rather not hike up to the fenced-off letters themselves, good viewing spots include from Hollywood & Highland, the top of Beachwood Dr and the Griffith Observatory.

5 Take a Break

Both the Hollyridge Trail and Griffith Observatory lawn demand a picnic, and there’s no better place to stock up than the Oaks Gourmet, a five-minute drive away.

Don’t Miss

Samuel Oschin Planetarium

Featuring a state-of-the-art star projector and laser projection systems, and one of the largest planetarium domes in the world, the observatory’s planetarium shows (adult/child under 12 $7/5) are one of the biggest draws. Shows bounce from the origins of the universe and our place within it, to the search for water in the solar system, to an exploration of Viking cosmology featuring a Northern Lights display that will blow your mind.

Rooftop Vistas

Head to the roof to peek through the refracting and solar telescopes housed in the smaller domes. The sweeping views of the Hollywood Hills and the gleaming city below are just as spectacular, especially at sunset.

Hollyridge Trail

OK, so you desperately, compulsively, must hike to the Hollywood Sign where in 1932 a struggling young actress named Peggy Entwistle leapt her way into local lore (and her own death) from the letter ‘H.' Take Beachwood Dr from Franklin until its end at the Hollyridge Trailhead. Follow the trail (don’t worry, there are signs), make a left at the first fork and a right at the second fork. Expect spectacular views along the way. You’ll wind up below the letters, which are fenced off to preserve them from would-be vandals. Bring plenty of water. The hike takes about an hour one way.

1 Top Sights

Griffith Observatory  B4

Hollywood Sign  A2

1 Sights

1Hollyhock House  C6

2Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens  D1

3Autry National Center  D1

4John Marshall High School  D5

5 Eating

5L&E Oyster Bar  E7

6Elf Cafe  E8

7Café Stella  D7

8Alcove  C5

9Little Dom's  C5

10Ramekin  C6

11Mess Hall  C5

12Forage  D7

13Yuca's  C5

14Blossom  D7

15Heywood  D7

6 Drinking

16Short Stop  E8

17The Virgil  C7

18Thirsty Crow  D8

19Good  D7

20Bru  C5

3 Entertainment

21Greek Theatre  C4

22Bootleg Theater  D8

7 Shopping

23Skylight Books  C5

Matrushka Construction  D7

24Spitfire Girl  C5

25Wacko  C6

26Broome Street General Store  E5

Sights

1Hollyhock HouseLANDMARK

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Oil heiress Aline Barnsdall commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design this hilltop home in 1919. As happens with rich eccentrics and stubborn geniuses, the project ended sourly and was finished by architect Rudolph Schindler. Due to Wright’s Romanza-style design there’s an easy flow between rooms and courtyards. Note abstract imagery of the hollyhock, Aline’s preferred flower, throughout.

(%323-644-6269; www.hollyhockhouse.net; 4800 Hollywood Blvd; adult/student/child $7/3/free; htours hourly 12:30-3:30pm Wed-Sun; p)

Hollyhock House

JOSHUA WHITE/BARNSDALL ART PARK ©

1Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical GardensZOO

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The Los Angeles Zoo, with its 1100 finned, feathered and furry friends from over 250 species, rarely fails to enthrall the little ones. What began in 1912 as a refuge for retired circus animals now brings in over a million visitors each year.

(%323-644-4200; www.lazoo.org; 5333 Zoo Dr; adult/senior/child $18/15/13; h10am-5pm, closed Christmas; pc)

1Autry National CenterMUSEUM

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Want to know how the West was really won? Then mosey over to this excellent museum – its exhibits on the good, the bad and the ugly of America’s westward expansion rope in even the most reluctant cowpokes. Kids can pan for gold and explore a stagecoach. Year-round gallery talks, symposia, film screenings and other cultural events spur the intellect.

(%323-667-2000; www.autrynationalcenter.org; 4700 Western Heritage Way; adult/seniors & students/child $10/6/4, 2nd Tue each month free; h10am-4pm Tue-Fri, to 5pm Sat & Sun; p)

1John Marshall High SchoolNOTABLE BUILDING

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A 1931 historic brick-and-stone beauty with peaked windows, exterior moldings and a fantastic athletic field visible from the street. Leo – you know the one – suffered through high school here.

(www.johnmarshallhs.org; 3939 Tracy St)

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Local Life

Griffith Park

A gift to the city in 1896 by mining mogul Griffith J Griffith, Griffith Park ( GOOGLE MAP ; %323-913-4688; www.laparks.org/dos/parks/griffithpk; 4730 Crystal Springs Dr; h5am-10:30pm, trails sunrise-sunset; pc) is LA’s playground with facilities for all age levels and interests. At five times the size of New York’s Central Park, it is one of the country’s largest urban green spaces and its 53 miles of hiking trails are the domain of local families whenever the sun shines. Stop by the ranger’s office for a map and list of attractions.

Eating

5L&E Oyster BarSEAFOOD $$$

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Silver Lake's seafood house opened to rave reviews in 2012, and is still a neighborhood darling. Locals and celebs claim tables in the intimate dining room and heated porch to feast on raw and grilled oysters, smoked mussels and whole roasted fish dressed in miso, pickled ginger, chili and garlic. There's a raw bar upstairs.

(%323-660-2255; www.leoysterbar.com; 1637 Silver Lake Blvd; mains $17-28; h5-10pm Mon-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat)

5Elf CafeVEGETARIAN $$

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One of the best – if not the very best – vegetarian (not vegan) restaurants in LA. Start with feta wrapped in grape leaves and some spiced olives and almonds, then move onto a kale salad dressed with citrus, wild mushroom risotto and a fantastic kebab of seared oyster mushrooms.

(%213-484-6829; www.elfcafe.com; 2135 Sunset Blvd; mains $12-20; v)

5Café StellaFRENCH $$$

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As charming as it gets. Here is a cloud of clinking glasses, red wine, good jazz and classic French bistro cuisine under a tented patio and rambling into an antiquated dining room. Artful and inviting, it bustles at lunch and is packed for dinner.

(%323-666-0265; www.cafestella.com; 3932 W Sunset Blvd; mains $10-36; h9am-3pm & 6-11pm Tue-Sat, to 10pm Sun; p)

5AlcoveCAFE $$

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Hillhurst’s choice breakfast hangout, this sunny cafe spills onto a multilevel, streetside brick patio. It’s housed in a restored 1897 Spanish-style duplex, and the food is quite good. There’s crab-cake Benedict, bison chili omelettes, and crepes stuffed with espresso-infused cream.

(%323-644-0100; www.thealcovecafe.com; 1929 Hillhurst Ave; mains $10-17; h6am-midnight; pc)

5Little Dom’sITALIAN $$

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An understated yet stylish Italian deli and restaurant with deep booths, marble tables and wood floors. It does a dynamite kale salad and good thin-crust pizza. But it’s beloved for its antipasti and sandwiches – especially the fried oyster po’boy. If you don’t want full service, pop into its deli next door.

(%323-661-0055; www.littledoms.com; 2128 Hillhurst Ave; pizza $11, mains $15-41; h8am-3pm & 5:30-11pm Mon-Thu, to midnight Fri, 8am-midnight Sat, to 11pm Sun; p)

5RamekinDESSERTS $

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A sweet addition to Vermont Ave, Ramekin specializes in made-to-order desserts such as pumpkin cheesecake, persimmon tarts, passion-fruit panna cota, berry cobbler, chocolate bread pudding and strawberry brick toast. They also offer homemade ice creams and some tasty sandwiches, if you're in a savory mood.

(%323-667-9627323-667-9627; www.ramekinla.com; 1726 N Vermont Ave; dishes $5-8)

5Mess HallPUB FOOD $$

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Formerly The Derby, a swing dance spot made famous by the film Swingers, it is now a gastropub where you'll find $1 oysters and $5 beers on Tuesdays. It's been written up for having one of the best burgers in LA, and they also do a pulled-pork sandwich and a kale Caesar.

(%323-660-6377; www.messhallkitchen.com; 4500 Los Feliz Blvd; mains $15-31; h11:30am-3pm & 4-11pm Mon-Thu, to midnight Fri, 10am-3pm & 5pm-midnight Sat, 10am-3pm & 4-11pm Sun)

5ForageCAFE $$

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Ignore the somewhat soulless design and pair a protein (jidori chicken or flank steak) with a couple of gourmet deli salads. Or just nibble on a quiche or crostini. It’s all delicious here. Hence the packed house.

(www.foragela.com; 3823 W Sunset Blvd; meals $10-15; h11:30am-3pm & 5:30-9:30pm Tue-Fri, 11:30am-4pm & 5:30-9:30pm Sat)

5Yuca’sMEXICAN $

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Location, location, location…is definitely not what lures people to this parking-lot snack shack. It’s the tacos, stupid! And the tortas, burritos and other Mexi faves that earned the Herrera family the coveted James Beard Award in 2005.

(%323-662-1214; www.yucasla.com; 2056 Hillhurst Ave; items $4-10; h11am-6pm Mon-Sat)

5BlossomVIETNAMESE $$

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The Silver Lake edition of the Downtown favorite, Blossom serves pho with your choice of rare steak, brisket, tendon, tripe, chicken, shrimp or tofu. They also simmer a handful of curries and stir-fry vermicelli noodles. Seafood lovers should consider the crab noodle soup: Dungeness crab and Manila clams, eggs, vermicelli noodles and red cabbage in tomato broth.

(%323-953-8345; www.blossomrestaurant.com; 4019 W Sunset Blvd; mains $9-12; hnoon-4pm & 5:30-11pm; W)

5HeywoodSANDWICHES $$

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If you enjoy that good ol' American staple, the grilled cheese sandwich, then stop at this popular concrete-floor cafe where they do 'em all gourmet like. Try the house special, Heywood: it comes with aged English cheddar and caramelized onion confit on fresh sourdough. Bonus fact: they stay open until 3am on party nights!

(www.heywoodgrilledcheese.com; 3337 W Sunset Blvd; sandwiches $10-12; h11am-10pm Sun-Wed, to 3am Thu-Sat)

Drinking

6Short StopCLUB

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Echo Park's beloved and deceptively sprawling dive has a dance floor in one room, a bar strobing ballgames on flat screens in another, and a pool table and pinball machines in still another section. Longtime Echo Park locals and new breed hipsters bump shoulders and more here, especially on Motown Mondays when vintage jams fill the room with joy.

(%213-482-4942; 1455 W Sunset Blvd; h5pm-2am Mon-Fri, from 2pm Sat & Sun)

6The VirgilBAR

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A local joint serving craft cocktails. A stocked calendar of entertainment from live comedy to bands and DJs takes it from feeling like a neighborhood spot early in the evening to something wilder late at night.

(www.thevirgil.com; 4519 Santa Monica Blvd; h7pm-close)

6Thirsty CrowBAR

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A loving ode to the fiery sweetness that is a classic small-batch Kentucky bourbon (it has more than 60 kinds). Yes, the bartenders can mix and muddle fresh craft cocktails, but puleeeze, do Uncle Jessup proud and sip yours neat. It has live music every Sunday.

(www.thirstycrowbar.com; 2939 W Sunset Blvd; h5pm-late Mon-Fri, from 2pm Sat & Sun)

6GoodMICROBREW

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Think: 500 microbrews from California, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic. It serves flights, table-side draft towers, and on Wednesday it’s Mystery Beer Night. The bartender will pour the beer of his choosing for just $3.

(www.goodmicrobrew.com; 3725 W Sunset Blvd; h11am-10pm Mon-Thu, to 11pm Fri, 9am-11pm Sat, to 10pm Sun)

6BruCAFE

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Los Feliz's uber-cool coffee bar comes with naturally lit loft environs, exposed rafters, rotating local art on the walls, and a marble slab common table where locals camp out, suck down coffee and tap their feet to indie rock.

(%323-664-7500; www.brucoffeebar.com; 1866 N Vermont Ave; coffee drinks $3-5; h7am-8pm Mon-Sat, from 8am Sun; W)

Entertainment

3Greek TheatreLIVE MUSIC

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A more intimate version of the Hollywood Bowl, this 5800-seat outdoor amphitheater tucked into a wooded hillside of Griffith Park is much beloved for its vibe and variety, featuring acts from Los Lobos to MGMT to Willie Nelson. Parking is stacked, so plan on a post-show wait.

(%323-665-5857; www.greektheatrela.com; 2700 N Vermont Ave; hMay-Oct)

3Bootleg TheaterVENUE

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Part progressive-rock and folk venue, part theater space, part multidisciplinary arts foundation and laboratory. This restored 1930s warehouse hosts one-off shows and long-term residencies for edgy indie bands and up and comers. It also supports spoken word, dance and dramatic artists pushing boundaries.

(www.bootlegtheater.org; 2220 Beverly Blvd)

Shopping

7Skylight BooksBOOKS

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Like so many moths, bookworms are drawn to this skylight: a loft-like indie bookstore focusing on local, non-traditional and foreign authors. It also hosts several book groups and runs meet-the-author events.

(%323-660-1175; www.skylightbooks.com; 1818 N Vermont Ave; h10am-10pm)

7Matrushka ConstructionFASHION

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Who says fashion has to be superficial? Lara Howe crafts her sublime, tailored designs from remnant fabrics personally and locally sourced by the owner-operator. The fabrics are still top notch, but are simply either vintage or discarded by large corporate manufacturers.

(www.matrushka.com; 3822 W Sunset Blvd)

7Spitfire GirlGIFTS

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One of our favorite gift boutiques in the Southland trades in a take on quirk. Expect gift and photography books, its own stuffed-gnome and throw-pillow line (that’s how the business launched), and organic and aromatic candles and soaps.

(www.spitfiregirl.com; 1939 Hillhurst Ave)

7WackoCOLLECTIBLES

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Billy Shire’s giftorium of camp and kitsch has been a fun browse for over three decades. Pick up a dashboard Jesus, or a Frida Kahlo mesh bag. It has a great selection of comics, books by California authors like Ray Bradbury and Philip K Dick, and in back is La Luz de Jesus, one of LA’s top lowbrow art galleries.

(%323-663-0122; www.soapplant.com; 4633 Hollywood Blvd; h11am-7pm Mon-Wed, to 9pm Thu-Sat, noon-6pm Sun)

Wacko store

BRENT WINEBRENNER/GETTY IMAGES ©

7Broome Street General StoreBOUTIQUE

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Locals love this cozy boutique-cum-cafe set in a converted house for its generous, leafy front patio, designer denim, wool sweaters and upmarket organic beauty products. And caffeine. Mostly they're here for caffeine.

(www.broomestgeneral.com; 2912 Rowena Ave; h8am-7pm Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm Sun)

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Local Life

Cruising Echo Park

If you dig the uneasy interface of edgy urban art, music and culture in multi-ethnic neighborhoods, you’ll love Echo Park, punctuated by the fountain lake featured in Polanski’s Chinatown. True, the artists and hipsters have arrived, but the panaderías and cevicherías happily remain.

Getting There

u Just west of Downtown, Sunset Blvd is the main thoroughfare. You may also access Echo Park from I-101.

g Metro bus line 2 serves the district.

1 Echo Park Lake

A former reservoir to homesteading families in the late 19th century, Echo Park Lake ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.laparks.org; 751 Echo Park Ave; p) is best known as the setting for Jake Gittis’ surreptitious rowboating shenanigans in Polanski’s classic film, and for its keyhole vistas toward downtown. Find the boathouse and rent a pedal boat or a canoe with the kids.

2 I Am 8 Bit

Echo Park’s funkiest art space, I Am 8 Bit ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.iam8bit.com; 2147 W Sunset Blvd; h1-8pm Thu, to 9pm Fri, noon-9pm Sat, noon-6pm Sun) offers stellar art shows at its expansive 4500-sq-ft gallery in the heart of Echo Park.

3 Deepest Dish

Chicago deep-dish pizza is served at Masa ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.masaofechopark.com; 1800 W Sunset Blvd; mains $13-17; h11am-11pm Mon-Thu, to midnight Fri, 8am-midnight Sat, to 11pm Sun; p) in whimsical environs that recall the wild, colorful swirl of New Orleans, right down to the swing music. They do brunch on weekends.

4 Night Music

Eastsiders hungry for an eclectic alchemy of sounds pack the Echo ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.attheecho.com; 1822 W Sunset Blvd; cover varies). It books indie bands like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and also has regular club nights in the larger Echoplex Theater.

5 826 LA

At first glance, the Time Travel Mart (%213-413-3388; www.826la.org; 1714 W Sunset Blvd; hnoon-8pm Mon-Fri, to 6pm Sat & Sun) is a convenience store for time travelers, stocked with anything a time traveler might need. But it’s really just a front for a drop-in tutoring and writing program, the brainchild of McSweeney’s founder and author Dave Eggers.

6 Kind Kreme

Sage ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-456-1492; www.sageveganbistro.com; 1700 W Sunset Blvd; mains $10-14; h11am-10pm Mon-Wed, to 11pm Thu & Fri, 9am-4pm & 5-11pm Sat, to 10pm Sun; vc) is an organic vegan kitchen with sandwiches and veggie burgers, crafted with love and talent and served in heaped portions. And the menu is the second-best thing here. The best? That would be Kind Kreme’s (www.kindkreme.com) good-for-you, raw ice cream. Taste to believe.

7 Dodger Stadium

Built in 1962 and one of Major League Baseball’s classic ballparks, Dodger Stadium ( GOOGLE MAP ; %866-363-4377; www.dodgers.com; 1000 Elysian Park Ave; hApr-Sep) is now offering regular behind-the-scenes tours through the press box, the Dodger dugout, the Dugout Club, the field and the Tommy Lasorda Training Center. Of course, the best way to experience it is to catch a ballgame.

West Hollywood & Beverly Hills

In West Hollywood, rainbow flags fly proudly over Santa Monica Blvd and the set-piece Sunset Strip is where Hollywood has mingled for decades. Of course, ever since Will Rogers founded it, Beverly Hills has been the standard-bearer of Angelino wealth and power. And there remains ample bling on her boulevards.

West Hollywood & Beverly Hills

GRETA GABAGLIO/GETTY IMAGES ©

The Sights in a Day

M Breakfast at Luca on Sunset, then hike Runyon Canyon before it gets too hot. Afterwards, meander down to Melrose Ave to enjoy a long shop that starts off high end with Reformation and Nudie Jeans and ends in that mosh pit of kitsch between Fairfax and La Brea.

R Make like Larry King and grab a classic deli sandwich at Nate ̓n Al in Beverly Hills or head down the block for a Mediterranean lunch with a twist at Momed, a stroll along Rodeo Dr and a digression into Barneys.

N Begin with a cracked-ice cocktail at Comme Ca, where the menu will likely be inviting, but if you manage to put off dinner consider a reservation at Hakkasan or industry haunt Grill on the Alley. Unless you plan on catching a show at Groundlings, after dinner make the drive to the legendary Bar Marmont and stay awhile.

x  Best of Los Angeles

Eating

Connie & Ted's

Drinking

Bar Marmont

Comme Ca

Shopping

Barneys New York

Reformation

Fred Segal

Diane von Furstenberg

Melrose Trading Post

Getting There

g Bus MTA, LA’s principal transit authority, connects West Hollywood with all other parts of town.

1 Sights

1Melrose Ave  G3

2Museum of Tolerance  A5

3Pacific Design Center  C3

4Runyon Canyon  F1

5Nick Metropolis  H4

6Ace Gallery  A5

5 Eating

7Connie & Ted's  F2

8Hart and the Hunter  F3

9Dan Tana's  B3

10Blu Jam  G3

11Fresh Corn Grill  D2

12Grill on the Alley  A5

13Hamburger Habit  C3

14Night + Market  B2

15Luca on Sunset  F1

16Juliano's Raw  C3

17Momed  A5

18Nate ̓n Al  A5

19Bouchon  A5

20Hakkasan  A5

21Comme Ca  D3

22Pingtung  G3

6 Drinking

23Bar Marmont  E1

24Comme Ca  D3

25Abbey  C3

26Formosa Cafe  H2

3 Entertainment

27House of Blues  E1

28Sundance Sunset Cinema  F1

29Roxy  C2

30Groundlings  H3

31Troubadour  B3

32Comedy Store  D1

33Laugh Factory  F1

7 Shopping

34Reformation  E3

35Rodeo Drive  A5

36Book Soup  C2

37Fred Segal  E3

38Wall Street Gallery  C4

39Chucks Vintage  F3

40Diane von Furstenberg  D3

41Joyrich  G3

42Slow  G3

43Melrose Trading Post  F3

44Pleasure Chest  G2

45Nudie Jeans  F3

46Barneys New York  A5

Sights

7Melrose AvenueFASHION

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A popular shopping strip as famous for its epic people-watching as it is for its consumer fruits. You’ll see hair (and people) of all shades and styles, and everything from Gothic jewels to custom sneakers to medical marijuana to stuffed porcupines available for a price. The strip is located between Fairfax and La Brea.

(Melrose Ave)

1Museum of ToleranceMUSEUM

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Run by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, this museum uses interactive technology to engage visitors in discussion and contemplation around racism and bigotry, with particular focus given to the Holocaust. You can study various Nazi-era memorabilia, including bunk beds from the Majdanek camp and Göring’s dress-uniform cap.

(%info 310-553-8403310-553-8403, reservations 310-772-2505310-772-2505; www.museumoftolerance.com; 9786 W Pico Blvd; adult/seniors/students $15.50/12.50/11.50, Anne Frank Exhibit adults/seniors/students $15.50/13.50/12.50; h10am-6:30pm Sun-Wed, to 9:30pm Thu, 10am-5pm Fri; p)

1Pacific Design CenterLANDMARK

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Interior design is big in WeHo, with over 120 trade-only showrooms at the Pacific Design Center and dozens more in the surrounding Avenues of Art & Design (Beverly Blvd, Robertson Blvd & Melrose Ave). PDC showrooms generally sell only to design pros, but often you can get items at a mark-up through the Buying Program.

(PDC; www.pacificdesigncenter.com; 8687 Melrose Ave; h9am-5pm Mon-Fri)

Pacific Design Center

BARRY WINIKER/GETTY IMAGES ©

1Runyon CanyonHIKING

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A chaparral-draped cut in the Hollywood Hills, this 130-acre public park is as famous for its beautiful, bronzed and buff runners as it is for the panoramic views from the upper ridge. Follow the wide, partially paved fire road up, then take the smaller track down the canyon where you’ll pass the remains of the Runyon estate.

(www.lamountains.com; 2000 N Fuller Ave; hdawn-dusk)

1Nick MetropolisANTIQUES

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There's nothing quite like this street corner occupied with a pack rat's extravagance. Here are any manner of decommissioned neon and street signs, collectible antique furniture and cartoon character statues – a hodgepodge of the commercial and the bizarre.

(www.nickmetropolis.com; 100 S La Brea Ave; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat, from 11am Sun)

1Ace GalleryGALLERY

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Two floors of top-level, modern, large-format art in an iconic converted bank building. Expect everything from post-modern, almost steampunk, pen-and-ink drawings from Laurie Lipton, to flat circular spirals of color and mayhem from Gary Lang. The sculpture is amazing too.

(%310-858-9090; www.acegallery.net; 9430 Wilshire Blvd; h10am-6pm Tue-Sat)

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Local Life

The Hammer

Once a vanity project of the late oil tycoon Armand Hammer, his eponymous museum ( GOOGLE MAP ; http://hammer.ucla.edu; 10899 Wilshire Blvd; h11am-8pm Tue-Fri, to 5pm Sat & Sun) has become a widely respected art space. Selections from Hammer’s personal collection include relatively minor works by Monet, Van Gogh and Mary Cassat, but the museum really shines when it comes to cutting-edge contemporary exhibits featuring local, under-represented and controversial artists. Best of all, it's free.

Eating

5Connie & Ted'sSEAFOOD $$$

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The design is an instant classic, and there are always up to a dozen oyster varieties at the stocked raw bar. Fresh fish is pan-fried or grilled to order. The lobster roll can be served cold with mayo or hot with drawn butter, and the shellfish marinara is a sacred thing.

(%323-848-2722; www.connieandteds.com; 8171 Santa Monica Blvd; mains $12-26; h5-11pm Mon & Tue, noon-11pm Wed-Sun)

5Hart and the HunterSOUTHERN $$$

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This spare, Southern-inspired kitchen with a small rotating menu is based at one of our favorite new hotels, the Pali. The shrimp and grits awash in a bacon vinaigrette is a staple at lunch and brunch, but they also serve a kale salad and smoked trout on toast; the biscuits are legit too. Book ahead.

(%323-424-3055; www.thehartandthehunter.com; 7950 Melrose Ave; mains $10-32; h7am-10pm Tue-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat, to 9pm Sun)

5Dan Tana’sITALIAN $$$

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There are three reasons this exclusive yet somehow still laid-back 46-year-old Italian chophouse remains packed with Hollywood celebrities and sports stars on a near nightly basis: the steaks, the service and the hours. It serves late supper until 1:30am.

(%310-275-9444; www.dantanasrestaurant.com; 9071 Santa Monica Blvd; mains $23-39; h5pm-1:30am; p)

5Blu JamCAFE $$

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Yes, it serves lunch, but you should come for the all-day breakfast with organic coffee and tea. There are two pages of mains that include four kinds of Benedict and a popular Corn Flakes–crusted 'crunchy French toast.'

(www.blujamcafe.com; 7371 Melrose Ave; mains $7-15; h8am-4pm; pvc)

5Fresh Corn GrillGRILL $$

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A fantastic, fresh, all-natural joint with affordable grilled veggie salads, semi-authentic tacos, home-baked desserts and good coffee. It's a perfect choice for quick healthy eats, and the side of grilled corn is fantastic.

(%310-855-9592; www.freshcorngrill.com; 8714 Santa Monica Blvd; mains $10-13; h11:30am-10pm; W)

5Grill on the AlleyCONTINENTAL $$$

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A back-alley marble, oak and leather steakhouse where Hollywood heavyweights – who flock here from nearby agencies – slug it out over lunch. They're known for their steaks, but the grilled ahi, salmon and whitefish are divine, and they do a terrific Joe's special if you'd rather have brunch.

(%310-276-0615; www.thegrill.com; 9560 Dayton Way; mains $16-39; h11:30am-9pm Mon, to 10pm Tue-Thu, to 10:30pm Fri & Sat, 5-9pm Sun)

5Hamburger HabitBURGERS $

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The greasy burgers are middling at best, but the after-sundown scene, which may include restaurant sing-alongs and topless men dancing on tables, can be wonderful if you time it right.

(%310-659-8774; 8954 Santa Monica Blvd; mains $5-8; h10am-midnight)

5Night + MarketTHAI $$

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Set behind Talesai, a long-running Thai joint on the strip, this related kitchen is dedicated to authentic Thai street food and Thai-inspired fusion (we're thinking of you, catfish tamale!). Start with the pork satay or larb lanna (chopped pork salad), then move onto the tom yum; chiengrei herb sausage is a winner too.

(%310-275-9724; www.nightmarketla.com; 9041 W Sunset Blvd; dishes $7-12; h6-10:30pm Tue-Sun)

5Luca on SunsetCAFE $$

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A fun brick-wall, wood-floor market kitchen that's family owned and run. Luca does pastas, pizzas, roast chicken and turkey burgers and a range of salads and sandwiches, but the breakfasts are the thing. From artichoke and goat cheese scrambles to breakfast calzones to challah French toast, you will be satisfied.

(%323-822-2900; www.lucaonsunset.com; 7950 Sunset Blvd; mains $10-17; h7am-midnight)

5Juliano's RawRAW $$

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Chef Juliano closed Santa Monica's first raw kitchen and moved to this location, where he still serves his brand of all raw, veggie organic cuisine (and the best smoothies on earth) which has earned him rave reviews and a spot on Oprah. Sit by the fountain on the patio or in the cozy, glass-box dining room.

(%310-288-0989; www.planetraw.com; 8951 Santa Monica Blvd; mains $9-25; h9am-midnight)

5MomedMEDITERRANEAN $$

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Yes, it has the traditional Mediterranean dishes covered, but it also melts avocado into its hummus, crafts shawarma from duck breast, oven-dried tomatoes and fig confit, and loads flat breads with shredded jidori chicken, Turkish apricots and spicy tomato spread.

(%310-270-4444; www.atmomed.com; 233 S Beverly Dr; dishes $5-24; h11am-9:30pm Mon-Thu, to 10pm Fri, 10am-10pm Sat & Sun)

5Nate ̓n AlDELI $$

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Dapper seniors, chatty girlfriends, busy execs and even Larry King have kept this New York–style nosh spot busy since 1945. The huge menu brims with corned beef, lox and other old-school favorites, but we’re partial to the pastrami, made fresh on-site.

(%310-274-0101; www.natenal.com; 414 N Beverly Dr; dishes $6.50-13; h7am-9pm; c)

5BouchonFRENCH $$$

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Quiche and salad, oysters on the half-shell, mussels steamed in white-wine sauce, steak-frites and roast leg of lamb with artichoke, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon empire brings you classic French bistro cuisine in classy but not stuffy environs. You can taste the goods at a discount at Bar Bouchon downstairs.

(%310-279-9910; www.bouchonbistro.com; 235 N Cañon Dr; mains $17-59; h11:30am-9pm Mon, to 10:30pm Tue-Fri, 11am-10:30pm Sat, to 9pm Sun; p)

5HakkasanCHINESE FUSION $$$

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Beverly Hills' fancy new Chinese spot in the ground floor of the MGM Building serves wok-fried tenderloin and lobster, claypot chicken, truffle-braised noodles, and jasmine-tea smoked short rib. It's pricey but an experience. The decor, from the marble hostess bar to leather booths paired off by labyrinthine-like Chinese screens, exudes swanky sexy.

(%310-888-8661; www.hakkasan.com; 233 N Beverly Dr; mains $26-68; hnoon-2:30pm & 5-11pm Mon-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat)

5Comme CaFRENCH $$$

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The dining is French bistro classic. Think: steak- or moules-frites, braised short rib, roasted beet salads and bouillabaisse, served to white-leather booths as jazz wafts over you in the sleek throwback space. The burger earns raves (though it better for $18), and that bar... Cocktails do not get much better.

(%310-782-1178; www.commecarestaurant.com; 8479 Melrose Ave; mains $18-29; h6-10pm Tue-Thu, to 11pm Fri, 11am-2:30pm & 6-11pm Sat, 11am-2:30pm Sun; p)

5PingtungASIAN $

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Our new favorite place to eat on Melrose is this pan-Asian market cafe where the dim sum (wild crab dumplings), seaweed and green papaya salads, and rice bowls piled with curried chicken and BBQ beef are all worthy of praise. They have an inviting back patio with ample seating, wi-fi and good beer on tap.

(%323-866-1866; www.pingtungla.com; 7455 Melrose Ave; dishes $6-12; h11:30am-10pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat; W)

l

Local Life

Grill Master

An easy 15-minute drive from Beverly Hills, Yakitoriya ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-479-5400; 11301 W Olympic Blvd; dishes $2.50-27; h6-10:30pm Mon, Wed-Sun; c) is a chef-owned and family-operated yakitori (Japanese grilled chicken) joint that elevates simple grilled chicken skewers to unimaginable culinary heights. It’s one of several tasty Asian joints in an area known as Little Osaka – a two block stretch of Sawtelle north of Olympic. We love the wings, the neck, chicken skin, meatballs and the minced-chicken bowl topped with quail egg. It does livers, kidneys and hearts too.

Drinking

6Bar MarmontBAR

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Elegant, but not stuck up. Been around, yet still cherished. With high ceilings, molded walls and terrific martinis, the famous, and wish-they-weres, still flock here. If you time it right you might see Thom Yorke, or perhaps Lindsay Lohan? Come midweek. Weekends are for amateurs.

(%323-650-0575; www.chateaumarmont.com/barmarmont.php‎; 8171 Sunset Blvd; h6pm-2am)

6Comme CaBAR

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The brainy barmen serve prohibition-era cocktails – meaning they only use what was available during the 1920s and 1930s. No tropical fruits and, as one particularly surly barman says, ‘no effing cranberry juice.’ Penicillin blends scotch with ginger, honey and lemon strained over block ice, and the Mexican Firing Squad mixes tequila, muddled lime and grenadine.

(www.commecarestaurant.com; 8479 Melrose Ave; h5:30-11pm)

6AbbeyCLUB

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Once a humble coffee house, the Abbey has developed into WeHo’s bar/club/restaurant of record. Always fun, it has so many different flavored martinis and mojitos that you’d think they were invented here, plus a full menu. Match your mood to the many different spaces, from outdoor patio to goth lounge to chill room. On weekends they’re all busy.

(www.abbeyfoodandbar.com; 692 N Robertson Blvd; mains $9-13; h11am-2am Mon-Thu, from 10am Fri, from 9am Sat & Sun)

6Formosa CafeBAR

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Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable used to knock ̓em back at this dark railcar of a watering hole. It's so authentically noir that scenes from LA Confidential were filmed here. Skip the Chinese food.

(%323-850-9050; 7156 Santa Monica Blvd; h4pm-2am Mon-Fri, 6pm-2am Sat & Sun)

Formosa Cafe

BRENT WINEBRENNER/GETTY IMAGES ©

Understand

The Pink Palace

The Beverly Hills Hotel (   www.beverlyhillshotel.com; 9641 Sunset Blvd) has served as unofficial hobnobbing headquarters of the industry elite since 1912. In the 1930s, its Polo Lounge was a notorious hangout of Darryl F Zanuck, Spencer Tracy, Will Rogers and other lords of the polo crowd. Elizabeth Taylor bedded six of her eight husbands in various bungalows. Marilyn is reported to have ‘bungalowed’ both JFK and RFK here. After years of neglect, the Sultan of Brunei coughed up almost $300 million to reclaim her blush, lurid wink and ability to seduce the power players. For a time, scripts were once again read and deals cut in the Polo Lounge. Then Brunei adopted sharia law – despite the sultan's well-chronicled playboy exploits – and Hollywood outrage, given voice by noted feminist, Jay Leno, pinned it to the industry blacklist. Stay tuned.

Entertainment

3House of BluesLIVE MUSIC

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Frankly, there ain’t much blues playing these days at this faux Mississippi Delta shack, but at least its small size and imaginative decor make it a neat place to catch bands of all stripes: headliners and up-and-comers, rock, reggae or hip-hop.

(%323-848-5100; www.hob.com; 8430 W Sunset Blvd)

3Sundance Sunset CinemaCINEMA

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First there was a festival, then a channel, and now there is a burgeoning art-house cinema chain bearing the name of one of Redford's most famous characters. Enjoy a glass of wine and beer while you take in the latest un-blockbuster. Screenings are all 21 and over.

(%323-654-2217; www.sundancecinemas.com; 8000 W Sunset Blvd; tickets $11-14)

3RoxyMUSIC VENUE

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A Sunset fixture since 1973, the Roxy has presented everyone from Miles Davis to David Bowie to Jane’s Addiction, and still occasionally manages to book music that matters today. It’s a small venue, so you’ll be up close and personal with the bands.

(%310-276-2222; www.theroxyonsunset.com; 9009 W Sunset Blvd)

3GroundlingsCOMEDY

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This improv school and company has launched Lisa Kudrow, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph and other top talent. Their sketch comedy and improv can be belly-achingly funny, especially on Thursdays when the main company, alumni and surprise guests get to riff together in Cookin’ with Gas.

(%323-934-4747; www.groundlings.com; 7307 Melrose Ave; tickets $10-20)

3TroubadourLIVE MUSIC

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The celebrated 1957 rock hall launched a thousand careers, those of James Taylor and Tom Waits included, and was central to John Lennon's 'Lost Weekend in 1973.' It’s still a great spot for catching tomorrow’s headliners and appeals to beer-drinking music aficionados that keep attitude to a minimum. Come early to snag a seat on the balcony. No age limit.

(www.troubadour.com; 9081 Santa Monica Blvd)

3Comedy StoreCOMEDY

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There’s no comedy club in the city with more street cred than Sammy and Mitzi Shore’s Comedy Store on the strip. Sammy launched the club, but Mitzi was the one who brought in hot young comics such as Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams and David Letterman. These days her son, Pauly, runs it.

(www.thecomedystore.com; 8433 W Sunset Blvd)

3Laugh FactoryCOMEDY

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The Marx Brothers used to keep offices at this long standing club. It still gets some big names from time to time.

(%323-656-1336; www.laughfactory.com; 8001 W Sunset Blvd)

Understand

Sole Music

Jeremy Sole, a working-class kid and former graffiti artist from Chicago, seems to be everywhere these days. He’s producing original artists, editing old tracks and spinning at clubs and at his own monthly dance parties – theLift – which he hosts along with DJ Wiseacre. His base of operations is a funky Chinatown loft and his Wednesday night/Thursday morning midnight-to-3am shift on KCRW, an award-winning independent music oasis, is his springboard. Before electronic music had arrived, it was bumping on 89.9 FM (they also have a terrific smartphone app). But Sole doesn’t cling to genre. His musical choice is wide reaching, fresh and funky and his voice intimate and inviting. Tune in, then find him somewhere out late spinning live. He’s the guy with the bald head, yogi beard, bright smile and infectious grooves.

Shopping

7ReformationFASHION

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Here's classic, retro-inspired, fashionable outerwear that's eco-conscious without the granola. Their tag line is 'change the world without changing your style.' They get it done by using only pre-existing materials, which means no additional dying of fabrics and half the water use of other fashion brands. Everything is made locally downtown.

(www.thereformation.com; 8253 Melrose Ave; h11am-7pm)

1Rodeo DriveSTREET

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It’s pricey and pretentious, but no trip to LA would be complete without a saunter along Rodeo Dr, the famous three-block ribbon of style where sample-size fembots browse for Escada (www.escada.com; 250 N Rodeo Dr) and Prada ( GOOGLE MAP ; 343 N Rodeo Dr). The latter’s flagship store at No 343 is a Rem Koolhaas–designed stunner lidded by a pitched-glass roof.

(btwn Wilshire & Santa Monica Blvds)

Shopper on Rodeo Drive

CHRISTINA LEASE/GETTY IMAGES ©

7Book SoupBOOKS

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A bibliophile’s indie gem, sprawling and packed with entertainment, travel, feminist and queer studies, and eclectic and LA-based fiction, plus appearances by big-name authors.

(%310-659-3110; www.booksoup.com; 8818 W Sunset Blvd; h9am-10pm Mon-Sat, to 7pm Sun)

7Fred SegalFASHION

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Celebs and beautiful people circle for the very latest from Babakul, Aviator Nation and Robbi & Nikki at this warren of high-end boutiques under one impossibly chic but slightly snooty roof. The only time you’ll see bargains (sort of) is during the two-week blowout sale in September.

(%323-651-4129; www.fredsegal.com; 8100 Melrose Ave; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun)

7Wall Street GalleryART

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This new gallery is the domain of Mr Brainwash of Exit Through the Gift Shop fame. Whatever you may think of Banksy, Mr Brainwash or the film, it's worth stopping in to take a look for yourself.

(%424-279-9404; www.wall-streetgallery.com; 302 N Robertson Blvd; hnoon-6pm & by appt)

7Chucks VintageVINTAGE

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Easily the coolest – though not cheapest – vintage shop on Melrose. The hand-picked selection here is less about quantity and all about quality, from soft cotton tees and tasteful flannel to lace dresses and rugged denim and leather. The vintage signage on the walls is dope too.

(%323-653-5386; www.chucksvintage.com; 8012 Melrose Ave; hnoon-6pm Mon-Sat)

7Diane von FurstenbergFASHION

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The LA flagship of the great and grand dame of fashion. Belgian born, von Furstenberg married into German royalty, divorced it, and became an American fashion icon thanks to – among other imagineerings – her signature wrap dress. If you be a fashion slave or spy, it's worth a wander.

(%323-951-1947; www.dvf.com; 8407 Melrose Ave; h11am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun)

7JoyrichFASHION

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A bright and funky boutique selling sportswear – blinged up and fashion-forward. There's Simpsons gear, leather shirts and jackets, reimagined football jerseys for girls, and cool handbags, clutches and backpacks.

(www.joyrich.com; 7700 Melrose Ave; h11am-8pm Mon-Sat, to 7pm Sun)

7SlowVINTAGE

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Worth a stop for vintage shoppers. There’s specs and hats, sun dresses from the ‘60s, some groovy tweeds and ragged old army threads. It specializes in one-of-a-kind pieces and leather goods. Prices are reasonable.

(7474 Melrose Ave; hnoon-8pm Mon-Sat, to 7pm Sun)

7Melrose Trading PostMARKET

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Here you’ll find threads, jewelry, housewares and other offbeat items proffered by over 100 purveyors. It’s held in the Fairfax High parking lot and proceeds help fund school programs.

(http://melrosetradingpost.org; Fairfax High School, 7850 Melrose Ave; admission $2; h9am-5pm Sun)

7Pleasure ChestEROTICA

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LA’s kingdom of kinkiness is filled with sexual hardware catering to every conceivable fantasy and fetish. Please, who doesn’t need a penis beaker and a blow-up doll? Yeah, there’s more naughty than nice.

(%323-650-1022; www.thepleasurechest.com; 7733 Santa Monica Blvd; h10am-midnight Sun-Wed, to 1am Thu, to 2am Fri & Sat)

7Nudie JeansDENIM

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This is the only branded shop in North America from the Swedish-owned Nudie denim line. Jeans come in a variety of colors and range in price from $180 to $310, including free hemming and repair. The shop itself is a converted house outfitted with blackboard walls, one of which offers suggestions on when to wash your new denim. Short answer: every five to six months. Seriously.

(www.nudiejeans.com; 710 N Edinburgh Ave; h11am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun)

7Barneys New YorkDEPARTMENT STORE

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Four floors of straight up chic. Prices are steep, so keep any eye out for one of its twice-annual warehouse sales for some cheap threads. There's a deli on the top floor that's worth trying, too.

(%310-276-4400; www.barneys.com; 9570 Wilshire Blvd; h10am-7pm Mon-Wed, Fri & Sat, to 8pm Thu, noon-6pm Sun)

1

Top Sights

Getty Center

In its billion-dollar in-the-clouds perch, high above the city grit and grime, the Getty Center presents triple delights: a stellar art collection (Renaissance to David Hockney), Richard Meier’s cutting-edge architecture (you’ll love the jutting, cut-limestone bricks) and the visual splendor of seasonally changing gardens. On clear days, you can add breathtaking views of the city and ocean to the list.

Getting There

* Car The Getty Center is best accessed from the I-405, exit Getty Center Dr.

* Bus You can also take the bus (Metro 761), which stops at the main gate.

Getty Center

J PAUL GETTY TRUST ©

GOOGLE MAP

%310-440-7300; www.getty.edu; 1200 Getty Center Dr, off I-405 Fwy; h10am-5:30pm Tue-Fri & Sun, to 9pm Sat; p

y Top Tips

A A great time to visit is in the late afternoon after the crowds have thinned.

A Children can take a Family Tour, visit the interactive Family Room, borrow a kid-oriented audio guide or browse the special kid bookstore.

A Although most people drive (parking is $15) you can also take the bus (Metro 761), which stops at the main gate.

5 Take a Break

The Getty Center is just 15 minutes from downtown Beverly Hills where you'll find LA’s best Jewish deli, Nate ̓n Al, and, arguably, its best Mediterranean kitchen, Momed.

Don't Miss

Central Garden

More than a few visitors spend more time outside the museum’s hallowed halls than inside, thanks to the magnificent, Robert Irwin–designed central garden. The 134,000-sq-ft design includes a stream that winds through and past 500-plus plant varieties that twist into a labyrinthine swirl.

Permanent Collection

Although not everyone is captivated by the Getty’s collection of European art, which spans the 17th to 20th centuries, there are some gems. Pieces from the Baroque period can be found in the east pavilion, the west pavilion features neoclassical and Romantic sculpture and decorative arts, while the north pavilion is stuffed with medieval and Renaissance pieces. Must-sees include Van Gogh’s Irises, Monet’s Wheatstacks, Rembrandt’s The Abduction of Europa and Titian’s Venus and Adonis.

Rotating Exhibitions

Of course, if moldy old Euro art bores you, you’ll almost certainly find something edgy and contemporary floating through on an exhibition basis. The center often hosts mind-bending installations and unique photography or multimedia exhibits.

Miracle Mile & Mid-City

The amorphous area we have called Mid-City encompasses the funky Fairfax District – once the domain of LA’s Jews who moved here after WWII from Boyle Heights – Miracle Mile with Museum Row, and old-money Hancock Park with its grand mansions. This is where LA’s history (or even pre-history) and its onrushing, creative, entrepreneurial future collide.

Miracle Mile & Mid-City

DAVID PEEVERS/GETTY IMAGES ©

The Sights in a Day

M Enjoy a pastry and a coffee at Republique then hit LACMA to explore the permanent collections, rotating exhibitions and installations. If the kids get bored stroll them over to the gooey La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum or step across the street to the Petersen Automotive Museum.

R Grown-ups should grab a New American lunch at Ray’s. Grown-ups with kids should head up to the Grove and the original Farmers Market for sustenance. Hipsters will appreciate the stylings of American Rag Cie on La Brea, and the stunning Fahey/Klein Gallery. Skate punks and hip-hop freaks should make way to the Fairfax showrooms.

N At dinner, seafood lovers enjoy Son of a Gun. Carnivores will want to descend on Animal. Grab craft tequila at El Carmen, then watch a show at El Rey or Mint.

1  Top Sights

La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum

LACMA

x  Best of Los Angeles

Eating

Ray's

Son of a Gun

Gallery Gazing

Wall Project

Drinking

El Carmen

Getting There

g Bus MTA, LA’s principal transit authority connects Mid-City with all other parts of town.

g Bus Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus is also a useful network to the Westside and downtown.

1

Top Sights

La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum

Even if you’re not a fan of the Ice Age series, you’ll likely have a ball at the unique Page Museum, an archaeological trove of skulls and bones unearthed at La Brea Tar Pits, one of the world’s most famous fossil sites. Thousands of ice age critters met their maker between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago in crude oil bubbling from deep below Wilshire Blvd. A life-size mammoth family outside the museum dramatizes their fate.

MAP GOOGLE MAP

www.tarpits.org; 5801 Wilshire Blvd; adult/child/student & senior $12/5/9, 1st Tue of month Sep-Jun free ; h9:30am-5pm; pc

American mastodon display at the Page Museum

JULIE DERMANSKY/GETTY IMAGES ©

y Top Tips

A Although the museum does cost money, you can stroll through the park and admire the outdoor tar pits for free. Parking is $7.

A The Rancho La Brea tar pit is well known for preserving the largest and most diverse collection of ice age plant and animal species ever discovered.

A Take your visit a step further and join one of the Page Museum’s Family Overnight Trips, where the whole family can take part in fun educational games and activities and spend a night with the sabre-toothed tigers and woolly mammoths of the mind.

5 Take a Break

Top off a visit to the tar pits with a meal at another family-friendly stopover, the original Los Angeles Farmers Market. There’s something here to satisfy even the fussiest mini-eaters among us.

Don’t Miss

Project 23

During the construction of LACMA’s new underground parking complex, 16 new fossil deposits were discovered, including a nearly complete skeleton of an adult mammoth. Paleontologists at the Page Museum helped preserve the fossilized bones, creating 23 fossil blocks. In 2008 excavation began and the fossils are now on public view, while excavators work seven days a week with hand tools such as dental picks, chisels, hammers and brushes to preserve and clean their bounty. This project will keep the lab busy for years.

Pit 91

Located just west of the Page Museum is the Pit 91 excavation site; before Project 23, this was the only active excavation site at Rancho La Brea during the past 40 years. Discovered during the 1913–15 excavations it was decided that this large cluster of fossils would be left in the tar as a ‘showpiece.’ Unfortunately, the site suffered repeated cave-ins and floods, and it was ultimately abandoned, with thousands of fossils still awaiting excavation. In the summer of 2014, paleontologists began digging back in!

Page Museum Collections

While all the giddy paleontologists and curious visitors converge around Pit 91 and Project 23, don’t forget that within the Page Museum itself are 3.5 million fossil specimens of over 10,000 individuals representing 600-plus species of prehistoric mammals (90% of which were carnivores), birds (one of the largest collections of its kind in the world), flora, invertebrates, fish, amphibians and reptiles.

1

Top Sights

LACMA

A Renzo Piano–designed transformation made the 20-acre Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) campus, already the city's top art museum, even sexier. Here’s an Aladdin’s cave of paintings, sculpture and decorative arts stretching across ages and borders. Galleries are stuffed with all the major players – Rembrandt, Cézanne, Magritte, Mary Cassatt, Ansel Adams and David Hockney, to name a few – plus several millennia worth of global treasures.

MAP GOOGLE MAP

LACMA; %323-857-6000; www.lacma.org; 5905 Wilshire Blvd; adult/child $15/free; h11am-5pm Mon, Tue & Thu, to 9pm Fri, 10am-7pm Sat & Sun; p

Urban Light by Chris Burden outside LACMA

RICHARD CUMMINS/GETTY IMAGES ©

y Top Tips

A Short on cash? Visit on the second Tuesday of the month and you can have access to all collections and exhibits for free.

A Friday nights are all about jazz. Throughout the year, world-class jazz musicians hold court in the plaza starting at 6pm. The sound and vibe are magnificent.

A LACMA also hosts film premieres, retrospectives, and public ‘conversations’ with heavyweight authors, filmmakers and thinkers.

5 Take a Break

Once you pay the relatively steep admission, odds are you won’t want to stray too far from campus when your stomach grumbles. Just step over to Ray’s for New American cuisine, or find a cheap and cheerful food truck across the street.

Don’t Miss

Japanese Art Pavilion

Pieces in this oh-so-Zen pavilion range in origin from 3000 BC to the 21st century. Here are Buddhist and Shinto sculpture, ancient ceramics and lacquerware, textiles and armor, and the epic Kasamatsu Shiro woodblock print, Cherry Blossoms at Toshogu Shrine.

Modern Art Collection

LACMA’s permanent modern art collection is no slouch. Masterworks from luminaries like Picasso, Pissaro, Miró, Matisse, Magritte and Kandinsky are all here; some of them are from the notable Janice and Henri Lazarof Collection.

Rotating Exhibitions

In addition to its stellar permanent collections, LACMA rotates some fabulous special exhibitions. Recently it hosted a tremendous James Turrell exhibit featuring mind-bending fields of light that played on the brain and had Tinseltown buzzing.

1 Top Sights

La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum  E4

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)  E4

1 Sights

1Petersen Automotive Museum  D5

2CBS Television City  E2

3Craft & Folk Art Museum  E5

4Wall Project  E5

5A+D Museum  D5

5 Eating

6Ita Cho  F2

7Son of a Gun  B3

8Animal  D2

9Milk Jar Cookies  F5

10Yuko Kitchen  F5

11Joan's on Third  C3

12AOC  A3

13Republique  G4

14Mercado  D3

15Mama's Secret  C3

16Plan Check  D2

17Ray's  E4

18Original Farmers Market  D3

6 Drinking

19El Carmen  C3

20Roger Room  B2

21Churchill  B3

22Beverly Hills Juice Club  B2

3 Entertainment

Largo at the Coronet  B2

23El Rey  F5

24Mint  B5

25Acme Comedy Theatre  G2

26Pacific Theatres at the Grove  E3

7 Shopping

27Grove  E3

28Fahey/Klein Gallery  G2

29DL Rhein  C3

30Espionage  F2

31Lotta Boutique  B3

32Le Labo  B3

33Gibson  F2

34Polkadots & Moonbeams  A2

35American Rag Cie  G3

36OK  C3

37Supreme  D2

38Kayo  D1

Sights

1Petersen Automotive MuseumMUSEUM

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A four-story ode to the auto, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a treat even to those who can’t tell a piston from a carburetor. Start by ambling along a fun streetscape that reveals LA as the birthplace of gas stations, billboards, strip malls, drive-in restaurants and drive-in movie theaters. Then head upstairs to the hot rods, movie cars and celebrity-owned rarities.

(www.petersen.org; 6060 Wilshire Blvd; adult/seniors & students/child $15/10/5; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun; p)

1CBS Television CityTV STUDIO

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North of the Farmers Market is CBS, where game shows, talk shows, soap operas and other programs are taped, often before a live audience.

(www.cbs.com; 7800 Beverly Blvd)

1Craft & Folk Art MuseumMUSEUM

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Zulu ceramics, Japanese katagami paper art, Palestinian embroidery – cultural creativity takes infinite forms at this well-respected museum where exhibits change every few months. Also check for upcoming kid-oriented workshops and storytelling sessions, usually on Saturdays. The gift store is one of the best in town.

(www.cafam.org; 5814 Wilshire Blvd; adult/student & senior/under 12yr $7/5/free, 1st Wed of month free; h11am-5pm Tue-Fri, noon-6pm Sat & Sun; c)

1Wall ProjectMUSEUM

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Slabs of the old Berlin Wall – augmented by known street artists – are on display on the lawn of a Wilshire high-rise across the street from LACMA as part of the global Wall Project, curated by the fabulous Wende Museum (www.wendemuseum.org) in Culver City.

(www.wallproject.org; 5900 Wilshire Blvd)

1A+D MuseumMUSEUM

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A small Getty-sponsored space that keeps its finger on the pulse of emerging trends, people and products in the design and architecture community from its base near the Petersen Automotive Museum.

(www.aplusd.org; 6032 Wilshire Blvd; adult/senior & student $5/2.50; h11am-5pm Tue-Fri, noon-6pm Sat & Sun)

Understand

Hancock Park

There’s nothing quite like the old-money mansions flanking the tree-lined streets of Hancock Park, a genteel neighborhood roughly bounded by Highland, Rossmore, Melrose and Wilshire. LA’s founding families, including the Dohenys and Chandlers, hired famous architects to build their pads in the 1920s, and to this day some celebrities, including Kiefer Sutherland, make their homes here.

Eating

5Ita ChoJAPANESE $$

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Simply put, some of the best Japanese available in Los Angeles. Order any of their small plates, but don’t miss the nasu miso (eggplant coated in sweet miso sauce), the buttery enoki, the broiled unagi (eel) and anything sashimi. Celeb sightings happen here.

(%323-938-9009; www.itachorestaurant.com; 7311 Beverly Blvd; dishes $6-20; h11:30am-2:30pm & 5:30-10:30pm Mon-Fri, from 6pm Sat, 5-10pm Sun; p)

5Son of a GunSEAFOOD $$$

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If you love seafood, head straight for this creative kitchen where they glaze and grill kampachi collars, sear octopus with chiles, make a mean lobster roll, a terrific linguine and clams, and plate their burrata with uni (sea urchin).

(%323-782-9033; www.sonofagunrestaurant.com; 8370 W 3rd St; dishes $8-27; h11:30am-2:30pm Mon-Fri, 6-11pm Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat)

5AnimalMEAT $$$

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Begin with chicken-liver toast or spicy beef tendons (which may be dipped in a pho sauce), then get the gnocchi drenched in six-hour, slow-cooked bolognese, or crispy pig's head, veal tongue or rabbit legs. We know it sounds intimidating, but carnivorous foodies pray at the Animal altar.

(%323-782-9225; www.animalrestaurant.com; 435 N Fairfax Ave; dishes $3-68; h6-11pm Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat)

5Milk Jar CookiesCOOKIES $

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Once you get over the deliciously stunning scent of freshly baked cookies (it takes a moment) you can get around to the business of choosing a chocolate chip, rocky road, banana split, chocolate pecan caramel or white chocolate raspberry cookie. Pair it with milk, coffee or salted caramel ice cream.

(www.milkjarcookies.com; 5466 Wilshire Blvd; cookies $3; h11am-8pm Tue-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat, noon-5pm Sun)

5Yuko KitchenJAPANESE $$

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This adorable Japanese cafe just off Wilshire Blvd serves sashimi salads, udon and rice bowls piled with taco-seasoned ground beef, grilled tofu, spicy salmon and smelt eggs, or albacore sashimi. They also make terrific desserts. Staff are lovely; there is seating inside and out.

(%323-933-4020323-933-4020; www.yukokitchen.com; 5484 Wilshire Blvd; mains $10-15; h11am-9:30pm Mon-Sat)

5Joan’s on ThirdCAFE $$

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One of the first market cafes in the LA area is still one of the best. The coffee and pastries are divine and the deli churns out tasty gourmet sandwiches and salads. Hence all the happy people eating alfresco on buzzy Third St.

(%323-655-2285; www.joansonthird.com; 8350 W 3rd St; mains $10-16; h8am-8pm Mon-Sat, to 7pm Sun; vc)

5AOCITALIAN $$$

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It's moved slightly west, but the small plates and terrific wines (over 50 of which can be ordered by the glass) are all here. Expect artisanal cheeses, homemade terrines and roast clams with green garlic. They even roast whole chickens ($42) and racks of lamb ($70), which serve two or more.

(%323-653-6359; www.aocwinebar.com; 8700 W 3rd St; small plates $9-17, mains $28-40; h11:30am-11pm Mon-Fri, from 10am Sat, 10am-10pm Sun; p)

5RepubliqueCONTINENTAL $$$

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A design gem with the gourmet ambition to match. The old Campaline interior is still an atrium restaurant with stone arches, a brightly lit front end scattered with butcher-block tables, and a marble bar peering into an open kitchen. The menu changes daily but may include a pumpkin agnolotti, crab risotto, pig's head and lentils, and braised short rib.

(%310-362-6115; www.republiquela.com; 624 S La Brea; mains $18-32; h8am-4pm Mon-Sat, 6-10pm Mon-Wed, to 11pm Thu-Sat)

5MercadoMEXICAN $$

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Terrific nuovo-Mexican food served in white-washed brick environs, with dangling bird-cage chandeliers and a terrific marble tequila bar. The slow-cooked carnitas (braised pork) melt in your mouth. They also spit-roast beef, grill sweet corn, and fold tasty tacos and enchiladas. Their hora feliz (happy hour) is among the best in the city.

(%323-944-0947; www.mercadorestaurant.com; 7910 W 3rd St; dishes $9-26; h5-10pm Mon-Wed, to 11pm Thu & Fri, 11am-3pm & 4-11pm Sat, 11am-3pm & 4-10pm Sun)

5Mama's SecretTURKISH $

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A delightful Turkish cafe where tables spill from a cheery interior onto the sidewalk. The gyro is wrapped in freshly baked lavash, the burger is made with a Mediterranean meatball patty and gozleme (flat breads) are filled with spinach and feta or spicy soujouk (sausage) and ground beef. They do all the typical mezzes (hummus, tabouleh etc) too.

(%323-424-3482323-424-3482; www.mamassecretbakery.com; 8314 W 3rd St; mezzes $5-8, mains $10-14; h8am-8pm Mon-Sat, to 6pm Sun)

5Plan CheckPUB FOOD $$

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Modern American comfort food is their jam: think portobello mushrooms stuffed with crispy kale, salmon pastrami, short-rib pot roast and damn good fried chicken. The burgers rock, too. Check the blackboards for specials before you order. That's also where you'll find the current beer list. Eight of their taps are taken over by a single buzz-worthy microbrew each month.

(%323-288-6500; www.plancheck.com; 351 N Fairfax Ave; mains $9-15; h11:30am-11pm Sun-Thu, to 1am Fri & Sat)

5Ray’sMODERN AMERICAN $$$

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They change the menu twice daily, but if they offer it, order the shrimp and grits. It's rich and buttery floating with chunks of andouille sausage, okra and two king prawns. Their burrata melts with tang, the yellowtail collar is crisp and moist, and the bacon wrapped rabbit sausage will wow you.

(%323-857-6180; www.raysandstarkbar.com; 5905 Wilshire Blvd; dishes $11-27; h11:30am-3pm & 5-10pm Mon-Fri, from 10am Sat & Sun; p; gMTA 20)

5Original Farmers MarketMARKET $

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The Farmers Market is a great spot for a casual meal any time of day, especially if the rug rats are tagging along. There are lots of options here, from gumbo to Singapore style noodles to tacos.

(www.farmersmarketla.com; 6333 W 3rd St; mains $6-12; h9am-9pm Mon-Fri, to 8pm Sat, 10am-7pm Sun; pc)

Food stand inside the Original Farmers Market

BRUCE YUANYUE BI/GETTY IMAGES ©

l

Local Life

Larchmont Ave

Who dropped Mayberry in the middle of Los Angeles? With its stroller-friendly coffee shops, locally owned boutiques and low-key patios, Larchmont is an oasis of square normality bordering a desert of Hollywood hipness. Gourmet sandwiches from Larchmont Village Wine, Spirits & Cheese Shop ( GOOGLE MAP ; %323-856-8699; www.larchmontvillagewine.com; 223 N Larchmont Blvd; h10am-7pm Mon-Wed, to 8pm Thu-Sat) are perfect for a Hollywood Bowl picnic.

Drinking

6El CarmenBAR

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A pair of mounted bull heads and lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) masks create an over-the-top ‘Tijuana North’ look and pull in an industry-heavy crowd at LA’s ultimate tequila and mezcal tavern (over a hundred to choose from).

(8138 W 3rd St; h5pm-2am Mon-Fri, from 7pm Sat & Sun)

6Roger RoomBAR

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Cramped but cool. Too cool even to have a sign out front. When hand-crafted, throwback cocktails first migrated west and south from New York and San Fran, they landed here.

(www.therogerroom.com; 370 N La Cienega Blvd; h6pm-2am Mon-Fri, 7pm-2am Sat, 8pm-2am Sun)

6ChurchillPUB

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Set on the ground floor of the Orlando hotel, this fun pub has an inviting outdoor patio, seating upstairs and down, and they pour craft suds and cocktails. The food is a slight step above pub grub, and it can catch a fun crowd day or night.

(%323-655-8384; www.the-churchill.com; 8384 W 3rd St; h7am-midnight Sun-Thu, to 2am Fri & Sat; W)

6Beverly Hills Juice ClubJUICE BAR

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This hippie classic, and the first on the LA health-food, raw-power bandwagon, started out on Sunset when Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones used to stumble in between shows. It still attracts an in-the-know crowd craving wheatgrass shots and banana-manna shakes. Get yours with a shot of algae. No, seriously.

(www.beverlyhillsjuice.com; 8382 Beverly Blvd; h7am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat)

Entertainment

3Largo at the CoronetLIVE MUSIC, PERFORMING ARTS

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Largo, ever since its early days on Fairfax Ave, has been progenitor of high-minded pop culture (it nurtured Zach Galifinakis to stardom). Now part of the Coronet Theatre complex, they bring edgy comedy (Sarah Silverman, Jon Hodgman), and nourishing night music (Brad Meldau and his jazz piano to Andrew Bird’s acoustic ballads).

(%310-855-0530; www.largo-la.com; 366 N La Cienega Blvd)

Largo at the Coronet

ALBERTO E RODRIGUEZ/GETTY IMAGES ©

3El ReyLIVE MUSIC

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An old art deco dancehall decked out in red velvet and chandeliers and flaunting an awesome sound system and excellent sightlines. Although it can hold 800 people, it feels quite small. Performance-wise, it’s popular with indie acts like Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, and the rockers who love them.

(www.theelrey.com; 5515 Wilshire Blvd; cover varies)

3MintVENUE

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Built in 1937, Mint is an intimate, historic venue. Legends such as Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder played here on the come up and axeman Ben Harper got his start here too. Expect a packed slate of terrific jazz, blues and rock shows, sensational sound, and you’ll never be more than 30ft from the performance stage.

(www.themintla.com; 6010 W Pico Blvd; cover $5-25)

3Acme Comedy TheatreCOMEDY

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Not the most famous sketch-comedy theater, but big names like Adam Corolla, Joel McHale and Russell Brand have appeared on stage.

(www.acmecomedy.com; 135 N La Brea Ave; tickets $15-30; hThu-Sat)

3Pacific Theatres at the GroveCINEMA

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This is a fancy all-stadium, 14-screen multiplex with comfy reclining seats, wall-to-wall screens and superb sound. The Monday Morning Mommy Movies series (11am) gives the diaper-bag brigade a chance to catch a flick with their tot but without hostile stares from non-breeders.

(www.pacifictheatres.com; 189 The Grove Dr; adult/senior/child $13/9/9.50; c)

Understand

The Revivalist

For years, serious cinephiles and megaplex foes put up with the worn seats and musty smell of the    New Beverly Cinema ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.newbevcinema.com; 7165 W Beverly Blvd; adult/senior & child $8/6), a locally beloved double-feature revival house that started out as a vaudeville theater in the ‘20s and went porno in the ‘70s. In 2007, Quentin Tarantino, a patron since 1982, held the world premier of Grindhouse here, shortly before the cinema’s long-time owner suddenly passed away. Then with the cinema on the verge of closure, Tarantino bought it just to keep the doors open.

Shopping

7GroveOUTDOOR MALL

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This faux-Italian palazzo is one of LA’s most popular shopping destinations with 40 brand-name stores, a fountain and a trolley rolling down the middle.

(%888-315-8883; www.thegrovela.com; 189 The Grove Dr; h10am-9pm Mon-Thu, to 10pm Fri & Sat, 11am-8pm Sun; gMTA 16)

7Fahey/Klein GalleryGALLERY

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The best in vintage and contemporary fine-art photography by icons like Annie Leibovitz, Bruce Weber and the late, great rock 'n' roll shutterbug, Jim Marshall. It even has his lesser-known civil rights catalog in its vast archives.

(www.faheykleingallery.com; 148 S La Brea Ave; h10am-6pm Tue-Sat)

7DL RheinANTIQUES

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A cluttered den of interior delights from antique glass to furniture, including special limited-edition pieces. There's silver and crystal, scented candles and baking trays stuffed with jewelry. The entire shop, owned by a noted interior designer, is a terrific browse.

(%323-653-5590; www.dlrhein.com; 8300½ W 3rd St; h10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 11am-6pm Sat, to 5pm Sun)

7EspionageVINTAGE

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A fabulous boutique blessed with a tasteful melange of new and vintage goods. Their jewelry is fantastic, as are the chunky vintage perfume bottles and ashtrays. The leather chairs work perfectly with the brass-and-glass end tables, and they offer a collection of vintage couture clothing sold on consignment.

(%323-272-4942; www.espionagela.com; 7456 Beverly Blvd; h11am-6pm Mon, to 7pm Tue-Fri, 10:30am-7pm Sat, to 6pm Sun)

7Lotta BoutiqueFASHION

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Boho-chic style is served at this single-label shop where you'll find handmade Lotta Stensson gowns and baby doll dresses, unique jewelry and hats popular among such glitterati as Beyoncé.

(www.lottanyc.com; 8372 W 3rd St; h11am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-5pm Sun)

7Le LaboPERFUMERY

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The West Hollywood branch of this noted fragrance lab based in New York offers 14 fragrances, including one you may only purchase here. All are alchemized with natural oils such as patchouli, vetiver, iris and ylang-ylang. Simply pick the one you like and they'll make a bottle fresh for you. They have addictive shower gel, body lotion, massage oil and balm, too.

(%323-782-0411; www.lelabofragrances.com; 8385 W 3rd St; h11am-7pm Mon-Sat, to 5pm Sun)

7GibsonVINTAGE INTERIORS

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If you love vintage interiors, step into this gem of a gallery, where (almost) everything from vintage baseball bats to armchairs and desks to the art on the walls was birthed in another era (or reproduced to look that way). It's owned and operated by noted designer Gary Gibson, who operates his interior-design studio out back.

(%323-934-4248; www.garygibson.com; 7350 Beverly Blvd; h9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat)

7Polkadots & MoonbeamsBOOKS

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Like a burst of sunlight on a cloudy day, enjoy this whimsical yet exceptional vintage women’s wear shop, stocked with affordable designer dresses, shades, scarves and hats. There’s another branch with some new labels a few doors down, but the vintage shop is where it’s at.

(%323-655-3880; www.polkadotsandmoonbeams.com; 8367 W 3rd St; h11am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun)

7American Rag CieVINTAGE

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This industrial-flavored warehouse-sized space has kept trend-hungry stylistas looking fabulous since 1985. Join the vintage vultures in their hunt for secondhand leather, denim, T-shirts and shoes. It also has some new gear. It’s not cheap, but it is one hell of a browse. We particularly enjoyed the period homewares in the Maison Midi wing.

(%323-935-3154; www.amrag.com; 150 S La Brea; h10am-9pm Mon-Sat, noon-7pm Sun)

7OKGALLERY

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A concrete-floor emporium of quirky cool, OK has art and cookbooks, bar kits and paper lanterns, glass radiometers (measures light), pens and notebooks. But you might enjoy the jewelry and glassware most of all.

(www.okthestore.com; 8303 W 3rd St; h11am-6:30pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun)

7SupremeFASHION

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When we rolled by, this beloved skate/punk/hip-hop mash-up of a label had just reopened their doors with fans lined up for half a block to get a taste of the new line. So yes, it's a thing. Also, they have a half-pipe in the store, and that's maybe the best of things.

(%323-655-6205; supremenewyork.com; 439 N Fairfax Ave)

7KayoFASHION

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This hip-hop skater retailer on Fairfax is set in a converted bank building and they have the vault to prove it. They deal in labels such as Organika and have some of the best and most interesting T-shirt designs on the block. They also hock decks, trucks and wheels if you need a ride.

(www.thekayostore.com; 464 N Fairfax Ave; h11am-7pm Mon-Sat, from noon Sun)

l

Local Life

Gallery Hopping in Culver City

A decade ago Culver City bloomed from its bland, semi-suburban studio-town roots into a stylish yet unpretentious destination for fans of art, culture and food, and it happened organically. Then the 2008 recession hit, and Culver City buckled. But the roots of groovy stayed alive, and this 'hood has come back stronger than ever.

Getting There

u Culver City is accessible via Robertson Blvd from Mid-City and from Washington Blvd in Venice.

g The Culver City bus line serves areas in the city, Santa Monica, Venice and West LA.

1 Gallery Gazing

A major US art player and juggernaut of the Culver City arts district, Blum & Poe ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.blumandpoe.com; 2727 S La Cienega Blvd; h10am-6pm Tue-Sat) reps international stars Takashi Murakami, Sam Durant and Sharon Lockhart.

2 Roaming the District

The Helms complex marks the beginning of Culver City’s vital Arts District (www.ccgalleryguide.com; La Cienega Blvd), which runs east along Washington to La Cienega and up one block to Venice Blvd.

3 Something Strange

Arguably LA’s most intriguing exhibition space, the Museum of Jurassic Technology (MJT; GOOGLE MAP ; %310-836-6131; www.mjt.org; 9341 Venice Blvd; suggested donation adult/student & senior/under 12yr $5/3/free; h2-8pm Thu, noon-6pm Fri-Sun) has nothing to do with dinosaurs and even less with technology. Instead, you’ll find madness nibbling at your synapses as you try to read meaning into mind-bending displays about Cameroonian stink ants and microscopic pope sculpture.

4 Eames on LSD

Like Eames on acid, the Greg Fleishman Studio ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.greggfleishman.com; 3850 Main St; h11am-7pm Wed-Sat) puts the ‘fun’ in functional with his ingenious solid birch plywood furniture bent, carved and spiraled into springy forms. Lumbar support never looked or felt so…mind-opening.

5 Taste of the Town

There's no shortage of creative kitchens in Culver. Akasha ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-845-1700; www.akasharestaurant.com; 9543 Culver Blvd; mains $8-22; h11:30am-2:30pm & 5:30-9:30pm Mon-Thu, to 10:30pm Fri & Sat, 10:30am-2:30pm & 5-9pm Sun; c) takes all-natural ingredients and turns them into tasty small plates, such as bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with chorizo, and big ones like the zinfandel-braised short rib. Lukshon ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-202-6808; www.lukshon.com; 3239 Helms Ave; dishes $9-31; hnoon-3pm & 5:30-10pm Tue-Thu, to 10:30 Fri & Sat) serves upscale Southeast Asian flavors in high design environs, and you can get craft beer and sourdough crusted pizza at the slab marble bar at Wild Craft ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-815-8100; www.wildcraftpizza.com; 9725 Culver Blvd; mains $11-16; hnoon-9pm Sun & Mon, to 10pm Tue-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat).

6 Kirk Douglas Theatre

An old-timey movie house has been recast as the 300-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.centertheatergroup.org; 9820 Washington Blvd). Since opening in 2004, it has become an integral part of Culver City’s growing arts scene, showcasing new plays by local playwrights.

Santa Monica

Here’s where real-life Lebowskis sip White Russians alongside martini swilling Hollywood producers. Where surf rats, skate punks, soccer moms, yoga freaks and street performers congregate along a sublime coastline, lapping at the heels of a chaparral-draped mountain range. Welcome to Santa Monica – LA’s cute, alluring, hippie-chic little sister, its karmic counterbalance and, to some, its salvation.

Santa Monica

GLENN VAN DER KNIJFF/GETTY IMAGES ©

The Sights in a Day

M Enjoy breakfast at the beloved Huckleberry, where the bakery is always rocking and the coffee is sublime. Then walk down Wilshire to the bluffs at Palisades Park and take it all in. Continue staring out to sea as you stroll south to the Santa Monica Pier. If you have kids, hop the Ferris wheel at Pacific Park. Otherwise walk to the end of the pier with the anglers, then down to the sand on Santa Monica Beach, where you can stick your toes in cool Pacific blue or rent a bicycle or Rollerblades from Perry’s.

R Hit Tacos Por Favor for authentic taqueria flavor then stroll and shop the Third Street Promenade. As the afternoon grows late, make your way to Main St and the California Heritage Museum then back to the beach for sunset.

N When dinner beckons, make your way to Bar Pintxo, where the tapas and wine are transcendent. If it’s Wednesday, head to Harvelle’s for the House of Vibe All-Stars. Otherwise, pile into the Basement Tavern on Main St.

1  Top Sights

Santa Monica Pier & Beach

x  Best of Los Angeles

Eating

Bar Pintxo

Huckleberry

Milo & Olive

Real Food Daily

Sipping

Copa d’Oro

Basement Tavern

Sights

Jadis

Getting There

g Bus MTA, LA’s principal transit authority, connects Santa Monica with all other parts of town.

g Bus Big Blue Bus is the best choice for transport within Santa Monica, south to Venice and east to Westwood, and downtown.

1

Top Sights

Santa Monica Pier & Beach

Dating back to 1908, the Santa Monica Pier is the city’s most compelling landmark. There are carnival games, a vintage carousel, a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster and an aquarium, but the thing here is the view. Walk to the edge, lose yourself in the rolling blue-green sea or make your way to the golden sand that extends in a gentle arc for miles.

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%310-458-8900; www.santamonicapier.org; c

Santa Monica Pier & Beach

S GREG PANOSIAN/GETTY IMAGES ©

y Top Tips

A The pier comes alive with the Twilight Dance Series, a free concert program on Thursday nights in summer. The lineup is generally eclectic and usually satisfying.

A A section of the South Bay Bicycle Trail runs along the beach – pick it up under the pier and ride all the way down to Redondo Beach if you’re feeling strong.

A For cerebral pursuits, settle in at a first-come, first-served chess table at the International Chess Park, just south of the pier.

5 Take a Break

Native Angelenos are familiar with the following summer pairing: Bay Cities sandwiches and the Santa Monica Beach. Here’s what to do. Hit LA’s best deli early (before the crowds become unmanageable) and tote your grub, beach blanket and beverages to the golden sand for a classic beach picnic.

Don’t Miss

Pacific Park

A small amusement park popular with kids, Pacific Park ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-260-8744; www.pacpark.com; h11am-9pm Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat Jun-Aug, shorter hours Sep-May; c) has a solar-powered Ferris wheel, kiddie rides, midway games, a trapeze school and food concessions. Check the website for discount coupons.

Original Muscle Beach

South of the pier is the Original Muscle Beach, where the Southern California exercise craze began in the mid-20th century, and new equipment now draws a new generation of fitness fanatics.

Beach Sports

Grab a bike, board, and a pair of blades or hit a beach-volleyball court and enjoy the beach like most Californians do, by getting active. Perry’s Café ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-939-0000; www.perryscafe.com; Ocean Front Walk; mountain bikes & Rollerblades per hr/day $10/30, bodyboards per hr/day $7/17; h9:30am-5:30pm) is the place to seek rentals. Its locations provide immediate access to the South Bay Bicycle Trail.

1 Top Sights

Santa Monica Pier & Beach  A4

1 Sights

1Bergamot Station Arts Center  E4

2Palisades Park  B2

3California Heritage Museum  B7

4Jadis  B7

5Streetcraft LA  B8

6Tongva Park  B4

5 Eating

7Bar Pintxo  B3

8Milo and Olive  E2

9Rustic Canyon  D3

10Huckleberry  C3

11Blue Plate Oysterette  B3

12Bay Cities  C4

13Sugarfish  B3

14Tacos Por Favor  D5

15Real Food Daily  C4

16Mercado  B4

M Street Kitchen  B6

17Stella Barra  B6

18Sunny Blue  B7

6 Drinking

19Basement Tavern  B7

20Galley  B7

21Copa d'Oro  B4

22Bar Chloe  B4

23Chez Jay  B5

24Zanzibar  B3

3 Entertainment

25Harvelle's  B4

26McCabe's Guitar Shop  E6

27Magicopolis  B4

7 Shopping

28Planet Blue  B8

29Paris 1900  B7

Aura Shop  B8

30Blues Jean Bar  D1

31Hundreds  B4

32Third Street Promenade  B3

33Santa Monica Place  B4

34Hennessey & Ingalls  B3

35Undefeated  B7

36Fred Segal  C4

Sights

1Bergamot Station Arts CenterART GALLERY

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Art fans gravitate inland toward this avant-garde center, which houses 35 galleries and the progressive Santa Monica Museum of Art ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.smmoa.org; 2525 Michigan Ave; donation adult/seniors & students $5/3; h11am-6pm Tue-Sat) in a former trolley stop.

(www.bergamotstation.com; 2525 Michigan Ave; h10am-6pm Tue-Fri, 11am-5:30pm Sat; p)

1Palisades ParkOUTDOORS

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Perhaps it’s appropriate that Route 66, America’s most romanticized byway, ends at this gorgeous cliffside park perched dramatically on the edge of the continent. Stretching 1.5 miles north from the pier, this palm-dotted greenway is tops with joggers and people-watchers.

(%800-544-5319; cnr Colorado Blvd & Ocean Ave, southern terminus; admission free; h5am-midnight)

Palisades Park

WENDY CONNETT/GETTY IMAGES ©

1California Heritage MuseumMUSEUM

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For a trip back in time, check out the latest exhibit at this museum housed in one of Santa Monica’s few surviving grand Victorian mansions – this one was built in 1894. Curators do a fine job presenting pottery, colorful tiles, craftsman furniture, folk art, vintage surfboards and other fine collectibles in as dynamic a fashion as possible.

(www.californiaheritagemuseum.org; 2612 Main St; adult/student & senior/under 12yr $10/5/free; h11am-4pm Wed-Sun; p)

1JadisMUSEUM

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Don’t miss this homespun, steampunk paradise. It's a museum grinding with old gears and spare-part robots, antique clocks, concept planes and cars, old globes and lanterns – most of which were once film props. The prized piece is the robot from the famed 1927 film Metropolis.

(2701 Main St; per person $1; hnoon-5pm Sun)

1Streetcraft LAGRAFFITI GALLERY

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A cooperative of street artists, it started as a non-profit taking vandal artists and teaching them the skills to become working artists. They do occasional art openings, live graffiti demonstrations and offers street art tours (per person $40) of Santa Monica and Venice.

(www.streetcraftla.com; 2912 Main St)

1Tongva ParkPARK

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A new green space that connects Ocean Ave to the Santa Monica Civic Center area. Well-lit and maintained, here are palms and agave groves, cascading fountains and amphitheater seating, trim lawns and an ergonomic playground for tots.

(1615 Ocean Ave; h6am-11pm)

Eating

5Bar PintxoSPANISH $$

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Here's a classic Barcelona-inspired tapas bar. It's small, it's cramped, it's a bit loud and a lot of fun. Tapas include pork belly braised in duck fat, lamb albondigas (meatballs), a tremendous seared calamari, and the paella is can't-miss – it's served as a tapas ($9) on Tuesdays.

(%310-458-2012; www.barpintxo.com; 109 Santa Monica Blvd; tapas $4-16, paella $30; h4-10pm Mon-Wed, to 11pm Thu, to midnight Fri, noon-midnight Sat, to 10pm Sun)

5Milo & OliveITALIAN $$

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We love them for their small batch wines, incredible pizzas and terrific breakfasts (creamy polenta and poached eggs anyone?), breads and pastries, all of which you may enjoy at the marble bar or shoulder to shoulder with new friends at one of two common tables. It's a cozy neighborhood joint, so they don't take reservations.

(%310-453-6776; www.miloandolive.com; 2723 Wilshire Blvd; dishes $7-20; h7am-11pm)

5Rustic CanyonCALIFORNIAN $$$

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Almost all the ingredients come from local organic producers, which means the menu shifts with availability, but count on two handmade pasta dishes and an assortment of stunning small plates. The burger is divine.

(%310-393-7050; www.rusticcanyonwinebar.com; 1119 Wilshire Blvd; dishes $12-33; h5:30-10:30pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat)

5HuckleberryCAFE $$

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The second in a growing epicurean family from the couple behind Rustic Canyon, and arguably its most popular, here Zoe Nathan devises some of the most exquisite pastries available in the city. Think crostatas bursting with blueberries, maple bacon biscuits, and pumpkin-and-ginger tea cakes.

(www.huckleberrycafe.com; 1014 Wilshire Blvd; mains $10-14; h8am-8pm Mon-Fri, to 5pm Sat & Sun)

5Blue Plate OysteretteSEAFOOD $$

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There’s only one reason to ignore a raw bar that includes a ceviche of the day, delectable oysters, prawns and clams – you’ve ordered the lobster roll or the lobster mac ‘n’ cheese.

(%310-576-3474; www.blueplatesantamonica.com; 1355 Ocean Ave; dishes $9-22; h11:30am-10pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat)

5Bay CitiesDELI, ITALIAN $

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Not just the best Italian deli in LA, this is arguably the best deli, period. With sloppy, spicy godmothers (piled with salami, mortadella, coppacola, ham, prosciutto, provolone, and pepper salad), house-roasted tri-tip, tangy salads, imported meats, cheeses, breads, oils and extras. Get your sandwich with the works. And, yes, it’s worth the wait.

(www.baycitiesitaliandeli.com; 1517 Lincoln Blvd; sandwiches $5-9; h9am-7pm Tue-Sat, to 6pm Sun)

5SugarfishSUSHI $$

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The Santa Monica shingle of a popular sushi chain imagined by LA’s reformed Sushi Nazi, Chef Nozawa. You can order a la carte or one of the three Trust Me menus which are reasonably priced, fulfilling and delicious. Their special rice recipe offers just a hint of sweetness, and don't miss out on the blue crab roll. Phenomenal.

(sugarfishsushi.com; 1345 2nd St; meals from $20; h11:30am-10pm Mon-Sat, noon-9pm Sun)

5Tacos Por FavorMEXICAN $

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This is a no-nonsense taco joint, a dingy hole-in-the-wall, smoky, hot and crowded. It also happens to serve the best shrimp, chicken and carne asada tacos and burritos in town. Hence the lunchtime crush.

(www.tacosporfavor.net; 1406 Olympic Blvd; dishes $4.50-11; h8am-8pm)

5Real Food DailyVEGAN $$

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Vegan-cooking guru Ann Gentry gives meat and dairy substitutes an interesting inflection. The lentil-walnut pâté is a complex starter and classics like the Salisbury seitan (a wheat gluten-based dish) and tempeh tacos feed the body and soul.

(%310-451-7544; www.realfood.com; 514 Santa Monica Blvd; appetizers $9-11, mains $12-15; hlunch & dinner; v)

5MercadoMEXICAN $$

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Our favorite happy hour cabana, this downtown Santa Monica location was their first, and it's only at happy hour when they do exquisite carnitas tacos that melt in your mouth. But they mix excellent margaritas and have a killer tequila list all the time. This is upscale Mexican: expect dishes such as arracherra (flank steak) skewers and scallops encrusted with pumpkin seeds.

(%310-526-7121; www.mercadorestaurant.com; 1416 4th St; small plates $9-17 large plates $17-25; h5-10pm Mon-Wed, to 11pm Thu & Fri, 4-11pm Sat, to 10pm Sun)

5M Street KitchenCALIFORNIAN $$

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A wildly popular breakfast and lunch choice, with abundant sunshine patio seating, that transforms farmers market produce and all natural ingredients into comfortable creations like pulled chicken nachos, terrific fried egg sandwiches at breakfast, housemade veggie burgers at lunch and soft taco platters that have their own devout cult following.

(%310-396-9145; www.mstreetkitchen.com; 2000 Main St; mains $7-21; h8am-10pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat; p)

5Stella BarraPIZZA $$

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One of our favorite places on Main, they do a white pizza loaded with crispy kale, and another with prosciutto and egg on a bed of mozzarella and gruyere. They make their own pork sausage and the salads are tasty. Even the breakfast pizzas work. So do the $5 bloodies. The sleek but well-lit interior, rectangular island bar and fun-loving staff lure a great weekend and after-work crowd, especially if there's a big game on.

(%310-396-9250; www.stellabarra.com; 2000 Main St; salads $10-11, pizzas $13-16; h5pm-midnight Mon-Thu, 11am-1am Fri, from 10:30am Sat, 10:30am-11pm Sun)

5Sunny BlueJAPANESE $

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A new omusubi joint and the first of its kind in LA. What is omusubi you ask? It's a Japanese sandwich-cum-handroll where fillings like chicken curry, albacore with diced cucumber, or miso beef are stuffed in rice balls wrapped in seaweed. Sides include edamame, sunomono and kimchi. They also serve tasty black-sesame frozen yogurt.

(%310-399-9030; www.sunnyblueinc.com; 2728 Main St; omusubi from $3)

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Local Life

Farm Fresh

You haven’t really experienced Santa Monica until you’ve explored one of the four weekly outdoor farmers markets stocked with organic fruits, vegetables, flowers, baked goods and freshly shucked oysters. The Wednesday and Saturday market ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.smgov.net/portals/farmersmarket; 3rd & Arizona; h9am-1pm Wed & Sat) is the biggest and arguably the best for fresh produce in all of LA, which is why it’s so often patrolled by local chefs, but the Sunday morning market ( GOOGLE MAP ; 2612 Main St; h9am-1pm Sun) is more of a community scene with live music, pony rides, a half-dozen cooked-food stalls and a bicycle valet (um, yes, we know, but it is free). Relax with the locals on the luscious green lawn.

Drinking

6Basement TavernBAR

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A creative speakeasy, housed in the basement of the Victorian, and our favorite well in Santa Monica. We love it for their craft cocktails, intimate booths, island bar and nightly live-music calendar that features blues, jazz, bluegrass and rock bands. It gets way too busy on weekends for our taste, however. Weeknights can be special.

(www.basementtavern.com; 2640 Main St; h5pm-2am)

6GalleySTEAK

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A long-running and much beloved steak and seafood house has occupied this boat-themed restaurant since 1934 and we love the bar here. It's strung with Christmas lights, staffed by no-nonsense but fun barkeeps and is almost always packed with regulars. This is old Santa Monica, folks.

(www.thegalleyrestaurant.net; 2442 Main St; h5-11pm Mon-Sat, to 1am Sun)

6Copa d'OroBAR

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The cocktail menu was created by the talented Vincenzo Marianella – a man who knows his spirits, and has trained a team to concoct addictive cocktails from a well of top-end liquor and a produce bin of fresh herbs, fruits, juices and a few veggies, too. The rock tunes and the smooth, dark ambience don’t hurt.

(www.copadoro.com; 217 Broadway; h5:30pm-midnight Mon-Wed, to 2am Thu-Sat)

6Bar ChloeLOUNGE

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Dark and elegant with dangling chandeliers, twinkling candles, intimate booths, crisp white tablecloths, and a Chamomile Mai Tai that has earned rave reviews. We wouldn't know, we ordered a whiskey neat. The tapas and sliders are decent, too.

(www.barchloe.com; 1449 2nd St; h6pm-midnight Mon, to 1am Tue, to 2am Wed-Fri, 7pm-2am Sat)

6Chez JayBAR

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Rocking since 1959, here's another nautical-themed dive that's dark and dank and all the more glorious for it. The food's not bad either.

(www.chezjays.com; 1657 Ocean Ave; h2pm-midnight Mon, 11:30am-2am Tue-Fri, 9am-2am Sat & Sun)

6ZanzibarCLUB

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Beat freaks will be in heaven at this groovetastic den dressed in a sensuous Indian-African vibe with a shape-shifting global DJ lineup that goes from Arabic to Latin to African depending on the night. The crowd is just as multiculti.

(www.zanzibarlive.com; 1301 5th St; cover $5-10; h9pm-2am Tue-Sun)

Entertainment

3Harvelle’sBLUES

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This blues grotto has been packing ‘em in since 1931 but somehow still manages to feel like a well-kept secret. There are no big-name acts here, but the quality is usually high. Sunday’s Toledo Show mixes soul, jazz and cabaret, and Wednesday night brings the always funky House of Vibe All-Stars.

(%310-395-1676; www.harvelles.com; 1432 4th St; cover $5-15)

3McCabe's Guitar ShopLIVE MUSIC

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Sure, this mecca of musicianship sells guitars and other instruments, but you want to come for concerts in the back room or at their nearby bar & grill ( GOOGLE MAP ; 2455 Santa Monica Blvd; h11am-2am), where the likes of Jackson Browne, Charlie Hunter and Liz Phair have performed.

(%310-828-4497; www.mccabes.com; 3101 Pico Blvd; tickets $15-30)

McCabe’s Guitar Shop

DEEDEE DEGELIA/GETTY IMAGES ©

3MagicopolisMAGIC

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You don't have to be an aspiring Harry Potter to enjoy the comedy-laced sleight-of-hand, levitation and other illusions performed by Steve Spills and cohorts in this intimate space. Escapes from reality last about 90 minutes, and there’s even a small shop for all your wizard supplies.

(%310-451-2241; www.magicopolis.com; 1418 4th St; tickets $24-34; h8pm Fri & Sat, 2pm Sat & Sun; c)

l

Local Life

Annenberg Community Beach House

Like a beach club for the rest of us, this sleek and attractive public beach club ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.annenbergbeachhouse.com; 415 Pacific Coast Hwy; November - March: $3/hour, $8/day April - October: $3/hour, $12/day. Pool admission fee- adult/senior/child $10/5/4 ; hHours seasonal - see website for more details ) is built on actress Marion Davies’ estate (she had a thing with William Randolph Hearst). It has a lap pool, lounge chairs, yoga classes, beach volleyball, a fitness room, photo exhibits and even poetry readings. There’s a cafe nearby, and it’s set on a sweet stretch of Santa Monica Beach.

Shopping

7Planet BlueFASHION

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Everyone from moneyed hipsters to soccer moms to Hollywood royalty peruses the racks at this expansive and stylish boutique stocked with tremendous denim and contemporary casual collections, as well as high-end beauty essentials and some sexy silver, too. Men's gear can be found on Montana Ave ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.shopplanetblue.com; 800 14th St; h10am-6pm).

(www.shopplanetblue.com; 2940 Main St; h10am-6pm)

7Paris 1900VINTAGE

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An exquisite collection of vintage French fashion from 1900 to 1930, and a few new vintage-inspired garments. Expect the finest jewelry and lace with an emphasis on period bridal. Look for the Montmartre-inspired art-nouveau entry.

(www.paris1900.com; 2703 Main St)

7Aura ShopNEW AGE

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Well, you are in California. You may as well get your aura read. Yes, auras do exist (it’s that heat energy radiating off your skin) and the color trails they leave behind signify…something, or so we’re told. Just get the aura photo and the reading and believe it or not. Also sells books, candles and crystals.

(www.aurashop.com; 2914 Main St; h11am-6pm Mon-Sat, to 5pm Sun)

7Blues Jean BarDENIM

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Belly up to the rustic wood bar and order yours by style (boot cut, skinny or straight), size and wash (dark, light, medium or distressed) and they'll find you something from their well of denim, which includes the likes of Henry and Bell, Fidelity, Hudson and more. Jeans range from $150 to $250.

(%855-341-0073; www.thebluesjeanbar.com; 1409 Montana Ave; h10am-6pm Mon-Sat, 11am-5pm Sun)

7HundredsURBAN

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A 10-year-old LA-based, urban skate culture and hip-hop-inspired label with tailored T-shirts, hoodies, sweaters and jackets. It’s all stylish and affordable. Lately they've collaborated with the artist James Jean, whose work graces some of their tees and skateboards. The boards are especially cool. They'll fully construct any of their decks for $135.

(www.thehundreds.com; 416 Broadway Ave; h11am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun)

7Third Street PromenadeMALL

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Stretching for three long blocks, it offers carefree and car-free strolling and shopping accompanied by the sound of flamenco guitar or hip-hop acrobatics courtesy of street performers.

(3rd St btwn Wilshire & Broadway)

7Santa Monica PlaceMALL

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The mall at the south end of the Promenade is considerably posher than elsewhere along the strip. Think All Saints, Juicy Couture, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom, Michael Kors, and there's a Nike flagship too, along with epic views from the dining deck.

(www.santamonicaplace.com; 395 Santa Monica Pl; h10am-9pm Mon-Thu, to 10pm Fri & Sat, 11am-8pm Sun)

7Hennessey & IngallsBOOKS

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LA’s best art and architecture bookstore features work from Matisse, Renzo Piano and all the giants of architecture, as well as lesser known volumes on sustainable design and graffiti. All in a cavernous yet spare warehouse space with exposed beams and patrolled by staff who have forgotten more about design than most will ever know.

(%310-458-9074; www.hennesseyingalls.com; 214 Wilshire Blvd; h10am-8pm)

7UndefeatedSHOES

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Get your kicks at this slammin’ sneaker store specializing in vintage and limited editions, hand selected from the manufacturer by the manager. When new shipments arrive, expect sidewalk campouts.

(www.undeftd.com; 2654b Main St; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat, 11am-6pm Sun)

7Fred SegalFASHION

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Celebs and beautiful people circle this impossibly chic but slightly snooty warren of high-end boutiques, which straddles 5th St and dominates an entire block.

(www.fredsegal.com; 500 Broadway; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun)

1

Top Sights

Malibu

Everyone needs a little Malibu. Here’s a moneyed, stylish yet laid-back beach town and celebrity enclave that rambles for 27 miles along the Pacific Coast Hwy, blessed with the stunning natural beauty of its coastal mountains, pristine coves, wide sweeps of golden sand and epic waves. Lucky for you, it’s all just a drive away.

Getting There

u The I-10 becomes the California Hwy 1 north in Santa Monica. Follow it to paradise.

g MTA’s Malibu Express line 534 leaves from Fairfax Ave and Washington Blvd.

Malibu at sunset

LORENZO MONTEZEMOLO/GETTY IMAGES ©

y Top Tips

A It’s best to explore Malibu midweek, especially in summer. That way you’ll have the roads and the beaches mostly to yourself.

A Malibu is an ideal family destination. Kids can get busy getting dirty on the beach or in the hills, and mom can shop and celebrity-spot in the swanky shops off Cross Creek Rd.

A Parking on the PCH is free, and same goes for the road that links Zuma with Westward Beach, but if you park in a self-pay lot, make sure you pony up the cash or you will earn a $60 fine.

5 Take a Break

A Malibu favorite, Café Habana ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-317-0300; www.habana-malibu.com; 3939 Cross Creek Rd; mains $14-22; h11am-11pm Sun-Wed, to 1am Thu-Sat; pc) does tacos, burritos and some Cuban classics like ropa vieja (shredded beef) and a pulled-pork sandwich.

Don’t Miss

Explore the Getty Villa

Getty Villa ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-430-7300; www.getty.edu; 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy; h10am-5pm Wed-Mon; p) is an original Getty Museum set in a replica 1st-century Roman villa, and is a stunning 64-acre showcase for exquisite Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities amassed (legally and otherwise) by oil tycoon J Paul Getty.

Bask in Liberation at El Matador State Beach

Arguably Malibu’s most stunning beach, El Matador ( GOOGLE MAP ; 32215 Pacific Coast Hwy; parking $8; p) is where sandstone rock towers rise from emerald coves, topless sunbathers stroll through the tides, and dolphins breech the surface beyond the waves.

Get Barefoot on Zuma & Westward Beach

Zuma ( GOOGLE MAP ; 30000 Pacific Coast Hwy; p; gMTA 534) owns a blonde sweep of sand that has been attracting valley kids to the shore since the 1970s, but we prefer adjacent Westward Beach (6800 Westward Rd; p; gMTA 534), where rip currents can be strong but the water is crystal clear much of the year and migrating whales buzz the break.

Ride the Swell at Surfrider Beach

Surf punks descend in droves to a point that shapes tasty waves. There are several breaks at Surfrider ( GOOGLE MAP ; 26000 Pacific Coast Hwy; p). The closest is well formed for beginners; the others demand short boards and advanced-level skill.

Cruise Cross Creek

Across from Surfrider Beach, the high-end mall Malibu Country Mart ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.malibucountrymart.com; 3835 Cross Creek Rd) spans both sides of Cross Creek Rd.

Venice

If you were born too late, and have always been a little jealous of the hippie heyday, come down to the boardwalk and inhale an incense-scented whiff of Venice, a boho beach town and long-time haven for artists, New Agers, road-weary tramps, freaks and free spirits.

Venice

ARTIST: JILL SUTHERLAND – LIVINLARGEPHOTO.COM; IMAGE: ROBERT LANDAU/ALAMY ©

The Sights in a Day

M Line up with the disheveled masses at Intelligentsia, for what is arguably the best morning Joe in town. Sip it slowly as you stroll Abbot Kinney Blvd, stepping into shops and galleries and becoming one with the artsy, boho vibe.

R The prix-fixe lunch at Joe’s is too good to ignore. Afterward, wander the Venice Canals before heading for the Venice Boardwalk where you can watch the muscle heads get pumped at Muscle Beach, spy graffiti and watch the groms tear it up at the skate park.

N After nightfall head to Rose Ave, where you can sip wine and nosh on charcuterie at Venice Beach Wines, or opt for killer cocktails and sensational pasta at Tasting Kitchen. Then double back to Abbot Kinney, especially if it’s a First Friday night, or even if it’s a plain old Sunday or Monday when Hal’s offers free live jazz.

1  Top Sights

Venice Boardwalk

x  Best of Los Angeles

Eating

Tasting Kitchen

Drinking

Venice Beach Wines

Shopping

Abbot Kinney Blvd

Getting There

g Bus MTA, LA’s principal transit authority, connects Venice with most other parts of town. Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus connects Venice with Santa Monica.

1

Top Sights

Venice Boardwalk

Life in Venice moves to a different rhythm, and nowhere more so than on the famous Venice Boardwalk, officially known as Ocean Front Walk. It’s a freak show, a human zoo, a twisted carnival, but as far as LA experiences go, it’s a must. Encounters with budding Schwarzeneggers, hoop dreamers, a Speedo-clad snake charmer and a roller-skating Sikh minstrel jamming like Hendrix are almost guaranteed.

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Ocean Front Walk; Venice Pier to Rose Ave; h24hr

Venice Boardwalk

LHB PHOTO/ALAMY ©

y Top Tips

A During the summer the Boardwalk is always alive. Off-season, there is still life around sunset when crowds gather at cafes, bars and on the bike path.

A The Sunday-afternoon drum circle draws hundreds of revelers for tribal jamming and spontaneous dancing on the grassy mounds beyond the skate park.

A South of the Venice Pier at Washington Blvd, the throng dissipates and the golden sands unfurl in a more pristine manner. Waves roll in consistently and are ideal for body surfing, and volleyball games tend to erupt at a moment’s notice.

5 Take a Break

If you’re in need of a psychic shower, head to the groovy cafes and galleries on upscale, yet still boho, Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Don’t Miss

Venice Beach Skate Park

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Local skate punks have shredded the Boardwalk for generations, but one particular patch of concrete has now been officially molded into the steel-fringed Venice Beach Skate Park ( ; 1800 Ocean Front Walk; hdawn-dusk). Expect 17,000 sq ft of vert, tranny and street terrain with unbroken ocean views. The old-school-style skate run and the world-class pool lure spectators.

Muscle Beach

Gym rats with an exhibitionist streak can get a tan and a workout at Muscle Beach ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.musclebeach.net; 1800 Ocean Front Walk; per day $10; h8am-7pm May-Sep, to 6pm Oct-Apr), the famous outdoor gym right on the boardwalk where Arnold once bulked up.

Graffiti Park

Venice Beach has long been associated with street art, and for decades there was a struggle between outlaw artists and law enforcement. Art won out and now the Venice Beach Graffiti Park ( GOOGLE MAP ; 1800 Ocean Front Walk; hdawn-dusk), a conglomeration of tagged-up towers and a free standing concrete wall near the skate park, is forever open to aerosol Picassos.

1 Top Sights

Venice Boardwalk  A3

1 Sights

1Abbot Kinney Boulevard  B2

2LA Louver  A4

3Venice Canals  B4

5 Eating

4Gjelina  C4

5Tasting Kitchen  C4

6Scopa  D5

7Superba  C1

8Joe's  B2

9Axe  B2

10Abbot's Pizza Company  C3

11Lemonade  C4

12Oscar's Cerveteca  C1

13Wurstkuche  D2

14Fig Tree's Café  A1

15Pork Belly's  C3

16Gratitude Cafe  C1

17Casa Linda  C3

6 Drinking

Venice Beach Wines  C1

18Townhouse & Delmonte Speakeasy  A3

19Hal's Bar & Grill  C3

20Brig  C4

Intelligentsia Coffeebar  C3

21Tom's  C3

3 Entertainment

22Venice Beach Freakshow  A2

7 Shopping

23A + R Store  C3

Alternative  C3

24Will  C3

25Nightcap  C3

26Arbor  A1

27Alexis Bitar  C4

28Strange Invisible  B3

29Warakuku  C3

Sights

1Abbot Kinney BoulevardSHOPPING DISTRICT

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The impossibly hip and beautiful mile-long stretch of Abbot Kinney Blvd between Venice Blvd and Main St is chock-a-block with unique boutiques, galleries, lofts, vintage clothing stores and sensational restaurants.

1LA LouverGALLERY

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The best art gallery in Venice, and arguably the best in the entire city, LA Louver was established by Peter Gouls established in 1975, and since 1994 has been housed in a landmark building designed by Frederick Fisher. A contemporary art gallery, they feature rotating, museum-quality exhibitions that show for five to six weeks.

(www.lalouver.com; 45 N Venice Blvd; h10am-6pm Tue-Sat)

1Venice CanalsNEIGHBORHOOD

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Even many Angelenos have no idea that just a couple of blocks away from the Boardwalk madness is an idyllic neighborhood that preserves three miles of Kinney’s canals. The Venice Canal Walk threads past eclectic homes, over bridges and waterways where ducks preen and locals lolly gag in little rowboats. It’s best accessed from either Venice or Washington Blvds.

Venice Canals

WENDY CONNETT/GETTY IMAGES ©

Understand

Art is All Around Us

Who needs galleries when you’ve got outdoor art? Just ask Jonathan Borofsky’s 30ft sad-faced ballerina clown at the corner of Main St and Rose Ave. Or walk one block south to ponder Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s massive binoculars, flanking the Frank Gehry–designed Chiat/Day building. As for murals, Venice has a plethora, so be sure to look up while you walk. Along Ocean Front Walk, check out Rip Cronk’s    Venice Reconstituted and Homage to a Starry Night, a tribute to Vincent Van Gogh.

y

Top Tip

Walk this Way

Abbot Kinney Blvd is frequently celebrating…something. In late September, the Abbot Kinney Festival (www.abbotkinney.org) draws thousands of revelers, as does the now institutionalized First Friday (www.abbotkinney1stfridays.com) art walks, when the galleries and shops stay open late and you can roam all night with the tramps, hippies, weirdos, fashionistas, yuppies, hotties and squares.

Eating

5GjelinaITALIAN $$$

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Carve out a slip on the communal table between the hipsters and yuppies, or get your own slab of wood on the elegant, tented stone terrace, and dine on imaginative small plates (raw yellowtail spiced with chili and mint and drenched in olive oil and blood orange), and sensational thin-crust, wood-fired pizza. They serve until midnight.

(%310-450-1429; www.gjelina.com; 1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd; dishes $8-26; h11:30am-midnight Mon-Fri, from 9am Sat & Sun; c)

5Tasting KitchenITALIAN $$$

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From the salt-roasted branzino to the porcini-crusted hanger steak to the burger and the quail, it's all very good here. Especially the pastas (that bucatini is a gift from the gods), and the cocktails, of course. Which is why it's almost always packed. Book ahead.

(%310-392-6644; www.thetastingkitchen.com; 1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd; mains $16-40; h10:30am-2pm Sat & Sun, 6pm-late daily)

5ScopaITALIAN $$$

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Venice cool has leaked into the Marina Del Rey border regions with wonderful results. This place is big and open with polished concrete floors and an expansive marble L-shaped bar. The crudo bar serves scallops and steak tartare, four varieties of oysters, uni and mussels, while mains include a whole roasted branzino and a 24oz T-bone.

(%310-821-1100; www.scopaitalianroots.com; 2905 Washington Blvd; dishes $6-49; h5pm-2am)

5SuperbaNEW AMERICAN $$

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A sleek glass box of culinary goodness, this is where you order plentiful small plates and pastas and dine family style. Start with one of their toasts – braised bacon and tomato marmalade perhaps? Move onto fried chicken in a red wine vinegar glaze or the ocean trout crudo, and finish with a pasta.

(%310-399-6400; www.superbasnackbar.com; 533 Rose Ave; dishes $8-19; h10:30am-2:30pm Fri-Sun, 6-10:30pm Sun-Thu, 6-11:30pm Fri & Sat)

5Joe’sCALIFORNIAN, FRENCH $$$

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Joe’s was one of the first restaurants on Abbot Kinney’s restaurant row and, like a fine wine, only seems to get better with age. It’s casual yet stylish with gimmick-free Cal-French food. The best deal here is the three-course, prix-fixe lunch for $19. No cell phones allowed!

(%310-399-5811; www.joesrestaurant.com; 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd; mains $10-32; hnoon-2:30pm & 6-10pm Tue-Fri, from 11am Sat & Sun; p)

5AxeASIAN FUSION $$

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One of our favorite kitchens in Venice offers light, healthy and tasty Asian fusion. At lunch get the basic bowl, which combines brown rice, marinated cucumber, sprouts and other veggies with grilled chicken, salmon or tofu. At dinner they do a range of seafood mains, braised rabbit and delicious housemade pork sausage served in chic, minimalist environs.

(%310-664-9787; www.axerestaurant.com; 1009 Abbot Kinney Blvd; mains $12-24; h9am-11am & 11:30am-3pm Wed-Fri, 6-10pm Wed & Thu, 6-10:30pm Fri & Sat, 6-9:30pm Sun; p)

5Abbot’s Pizza CompanyPIZZA $

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Join the flip-flop crowd at this shoebox-sized pizza kitchen for habit-forming bagel-crust pies tastily decorated with tequila-lime chicken, portobello mushrooms, goat cheese and other gourmet morsels served up at tummy-grumbling speed.

(%310-396-7334; www.abbotspizzaco.com; 1407 Abbot Kinney Blvd; slices $3-5, pizzas $12-29; h11am-11pm Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat; c)

Abbot’s Pizza Company

DEEDEE DEGELIA/GETTY IMAGES ©

5LemonadeCALIFORNIAN $

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The first incarnation of an imaginative, local-market cafe with a lineup of tasty salads (think watermelon radish and chili or tamarind pork and spicy carrots), stockpots bubbling with lamb and stewed figs or miso-braised short ribs, and it has six kinds of lemonade augmented with blueberries and mint or watermelon and rosemary. Yummy sweets, too.

(http://lemonadela.com; 1661 Abbot Kinney Blvd; meals $8-13; h11am-9pm)

5Oscar’s CervetecaMEXICAN FUSION $$

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A gourmet Mexican kitchen with fusion digressions (like the chorizo burger and the mac 'n' cheese with bacon). The patio is inviting, but so is the stylish interior, with that wide marble bar, craftsman drafts (this is a cerveteca, or beer bar, after all), and global tunes on the sound system.

(www.cervetecala.com; 523 Rose Ave; mains $12-21; h5-11pm Mon-Thu, 5pm-midnight Fri, 2pm-midnight Sat, 2-11pm Sun)

5WurstkucheGERMAN $

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Set in a brick-house loft, but sealed off from the on-rushing madness of Lincoln Blvd, this German sausage and beer haus specializes in three things: gourmet and classic grilled sausages; fine Belgian, German and North American beers; and Belgian fries with ample dipping sauces.

(www.wurstkuche.com; 625 Lincoln Blvd; dishes $4-8; h11am-midnight, bar to 2am)

5Fig Tree’s CaféCALIFORNIAN $$

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The best eats on the Boardwalk. Here you can munch shitake omelettes made with organic eggs, ginger noodles, or a pesto-brushed, arugula-dressed salmon sandwich. The veg-heads will appreciate the spinach nut burger. Meals come with complimentary sea views.

(www.figtreescafe.com; 429 Ocean Front Walk; appetizers $8-11, mains $12-16; h8am-8pm; v)

5Pork Belly'sBARBECUE $

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It's always been a BBQ joint, but it's been reimagined in the kind of place that serves new-school chopped chicken and brisket sandwiches, and a slow-smoked pork belly topped with BBQ sauce or in a stripped down BLT sandwich on sourdough with aioli. They also fry pickles and serve sweet potato tots.

(%424-777-8875; www.porkbellysla.com; 1146 Abbot Kinney Blvd; mains $9-14; h11am-9pm)

5Gratitude CafeVEGETARIAN

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The menu is dotted with affirmations like Magical (that's a housemade veggie burger), Gracious (a seasonal grain salad), Pure (a marinated kale salad), and Whole (a bowl of macrobiotic sea vegetables, braised yams, adzuki beans, sautéed kale and marinated kimchi). We'd roll our eyes too if the portions weren't so huge and they didn't have such a succulent coconut cream pie.

(%424-231-8000; cafegratitudevenice.com; 512 Rose Ave; mains $10-14; h8am-10pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat)

5Casa LindaMEXICAN $

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Consider the chicken mole plate, contemplate the tacos and tamales, then order an authentic torta (Mexican sandwich), smeared with black bean paste, and piled with avocado, onions and your choice of chicken, pork or tongue. The best part is it's affordable, which is saying something on this boulevard.

(www.casalindamexicangrill.com; 1357 Abbot Kinney Blvd; mains $6-10; h11:30am-9:30pm)

Drinking

6Venice Beach WinesWINE BAR

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A sweet and cozy hideaway with louvered benches and tables so close together you'll commune with strangers. Sip international wines by the glass or bottle (including a complex and invigorating French Syrah) and munch charcuterie, pizzettas and the like. For dessert try the pot de crème: it’s 75% cacao and 100% orgasmic.

(www.venicebeachwines.com; 529 Rose Ave; h4-11pm Mon-Thu, to midnight Fri, 10:30am-midnight Sat, to 11pm Sun)

6Townhouse & Delmonte SpeakeasyBAR

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Upstairs is a cool, dark and perfectly dingy bar with pool tables, booths and good booze. Downstairs is the speakeasy, where DJs spin pop, funk and electronic music, comics take the mic and jazz players set up and jam. It's a reliably good time almost any night.

(www.townhousevenice.com; 52 Windward Ave; h5pm-2am Mon-Thu, noon-2am Fri-Sun)

6Hal’s Bar & GrillBAR

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The name may evoke brass and wood, but Hal’s dining room is an industrial loft brightened by revolving art and buzzing with locals who treat the place like an extended living room. They have free live jazz on Sunday and Monday.

(%310-396-3105; www.halsbarandgrill.com; 1349 Abbot Kinney Blvd)

6BrigBAR

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Old-timers remember this place as a pool hall dive owned by ex-boxer Babe Brandelli (that’s him and his wife on the outside mural). Now it’s a bit sleeker, and attracts a trendy mix of grown-up beach bums, arty professionals and professional artists. On First Fridays, the parking lot attracts a fleet of LA’s famed food trucks.

(www.thebrig.com; 1515 Abbot Kinney Blvd; h6pm-2am)

6Intelligentsia CoffeebarCAFE

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In this hip, industrial, minimalist monument to the coffee gods, skilled baristas – who roam the circle bar and command more steaming machines than seems reasonable – never short you on foam or caffeine, and the Cake Monkey scones and muffins are addictive.

(www.intelligentsiacoffee.com; 1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd; h6am-8pm Mon-Wed, 6am-11pm Thu & Fri, 7am-11pm Sat, 7am-8pm Sun; W)

6Tom'sCAFE

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You know Tom, the one-for-one entrepreneur who made his name selling fun, slip-on canvas shoes and giving a pair away to under privileged kids overseas for each one he sells in the States. Now he's doing the same with shades and coffee. His flagship store includes a wonderful back patio area that's wired with wi-fi.

(www.toms.com; 1344 Abbot Kinney Blvd; h6am-8pm Mon-Fri, 7am-9pm Sat, 7am-8pm Sun; W)

Entertainment

3Venice Beach FreakshowSIDESHOW

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Here's a circus-style sideshow, including a live 20-minute performance where you’ll watch a Fire Eater, a Rubber Girl and an Electric Lady who gets shot up with 100,000 volts of electricity with nary a twitch. Her secret? She survived a lightening strike. There’s also a gallery where you can observe 60 of the strangest creatures on earth, including ten two-headed animals.

(%310-314-1808; www.venicebeachfreakshow.com; 909 Ocean Front Walk; admission $5; h10am-6pm Sat & Sun)

Shopping

7A + R StoreGIFTS

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This is top-end industrial design and a great browse, with interesting ceramic speakers, ergonomic headphones, chairs, wooden toys and strange-yet-alluring high-format cameras.

(%800-913-0071; www.aplusrstore.com; 1121 Abbot Kinney Blvd; h11am-7pm Tue-Sun)

7AlternativeCLOTHING

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Alternative, close to Hal’s Bar & Grill, built its name on organic cotton and recycled poly hoodies and tees, but has expanded its collection to include beachy flannels, cardigans, skirts and slacks.

(www.alternativeapparel.com; 1337 Abbot Kinney Blvd; h11am-7pm)

7WillLEATHER GOODS

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A terrific leather-goods store out of Portland, and one of just three nationwide. They do fine leather bags, briefcases, backpacks, belts, wallets and sandals for men and women. Our favorite was the bike messenger bag inlaid with colorful remnant Oaxacan wool.

(www.willleathergoods.com; 1360 Abbot Kinney Blvd; h10am-8pm)

7NightcapLACE

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A branded store from a locally designed and made label known for their stretch lace, a material sourced from French and Italian textiles. They started with lounge wear, so you know it's comfortable, then transitioned into a full ready to wear line. Every girl needs a nice black dress, and they have a lace variety that is special.

(https://nightcapclothing.com; 1225 Abbot Kinney Blvd; h11am-6pm Tue-Sat, from noon Sun)

7ArborSKATEBOARDS

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A Venice homegrown label since 1995, they started on Lincoln Blvd as a snowboard shop. The snowboards have since moved to a new shop ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.arborcollective.com; 102 Washington Blvd; h11am-7pm) south of the Venice pier. This skate shop is on the north end. In addition to decks they sell chinos, hoodies and T-shirts.

(www.arborcollective.com; 305 Ocean Front Walk; h11am-7pm)

7Alexis BittarJEWELRY

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High-end jewelry known for Bittar's use of lucite, which is handcarved and painted in his Brooklyn studio. Some of it looks like stone. He started by selling it on the streets in Manhattan, where he was picked up by the MOMA store.

(%310-452-6901; www.alexisbittar.com; 1612 Abbot Kinney Blvd; h11am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun)

7Strange InvisibleAPOTHECARY

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Organic perfumes crafted from wild and natural ingredients and blended into intoxicating perfumes with names like Aquarian Rose and Fair Verona, although some are gender neutral. It also sells dark chocolate.

(%310-314-1505; www.siperfumes.com; 1138 Abbot Kinney Blvd; h11am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun)

Strange Invisible perfumery

DEEDEE DEGELIA/GETTY IMAGES ©

7WarakukuSHOES, FASHION

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Warakuku is a compact Japanese-owned shop for shoe lovers. It blends Far East couture with mainstream street brands such as Puma and Converse. Some 60% of the shoes are imported from Japan, the rest are domestic limited editions.

(www.warakukuusa.com; 1225 Abbot Kinney Blvd; h10am-7pm)

l

Local Life

Manhattan Beach, Beyond the Sand

A bastion of surf music and the birthplace of beach volleyball, Manhattan Beach may have gone chic, but that salty-dog heart still beats. Yes, the downtown area along Manhattan Beach Blvd has seen an explosion of trendy restaurants and boutiques, but the real action is beach-side, where the bikinis are small, the waves kind and the smiles are as oversized as those sunglasses.

Getting There

u Two exits off I-405 serve Manhattan Beach, including Rosecrans Blvd and Inglewood Ave, which merges with Manhattan Beach Blvd.

g MTA 109

Oceanfront strand, Manhattan Beach

IAN LOGAN/GETTY IMAGES ©

1 Sweat & Tumble at Sand Dune Park

Sand Dune Park ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.citymb.info; cnr 33rd & Bell Ave; h6am-9pm Apr-Oct, 6am-8pm Nov-Mar; c) requires reservations if you wish to access the long, deep 100ft-high natural sand dune. Adults enjoy their requisite running/suffering here. The kids will love hurling themselves down the dune again and again.

2 Uncle Bill’s Pancake House

Sexy surfers, tottering toddlers and gabbing girlfriends – everybody comes to Uncle Bill’s ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-545-5177; www.unclebills.net; 1305 N Highland Ave; dishes $8-15; h6am-3pm Mon-Fri, from 7am Sat & Sun; c) for the famous pancakes and big fat omelettes.

3 Photo Bomb

No surf, sport or music nut should miss the dazzling work on display at Bo Bridges Photography ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-937-3764; www.bobridgesgallery.com; 112 Manhattan Ave; h11am-5pm Sat & Sun, varies Mon-Fri). Bridges made his name in the water shooting the likes of Kelly Slater at Pipeline, and parlayed that into mainstream sport and pop culture success. You'll see plenty of famous faces on the wall.

4 Hit the Beach

Ditch the shoes on this wide sweep of golden sand, where you'll find pick-up volleyball courts, a pier with breathtaking blue sea views from the edge, consistent sandy bottom surf and a giddy, pretty population that still can't believe they get to live here.

5 MB Post

Trendy but friendly and unvarnished, MB Post ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-545-5405; www.eatmbpost.com; 1142 Manhattan Ave; small plates $9-13, mains $11-39; h5-10pm Mon-Thu, 11:30am-10:30pm Fri, 10am-10:30pm Sat, 10am-10pm Sun; c) offers globally inspired tapas. Walk in and dine at the long communal tables in the bar, or make a reservation and get close at a small table in the dining room.

6 Indulge Your Ice Cream Addiction

There's a damn good reason the hordes are lined up along the wall and out the door of Manhattan Beach Creamery ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.mbcreamery.com; 1120 Manhattan Ave; ice creams $4-6; h10am-10pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat). It's for gourmet housemade creams, served in a cup, cone or smashed between two freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies.

7 Ercole’s

A funky counterpoint to the HD-inundated, design-heavy sports bars on Manhattan Beach Blvd. Ercole’s ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-372-1997; 1101 Manhattan Ave; h10am-2am) is a dark, chipped, well-irrigated hole with a barn door open to everyone from salty barflies to yuppie pub crawlers to volleyball stars.

Downtown

Downtown Los Angeles has gone from derelict to fascinating in a decade. Here’s stunning architecture from 19th-century Beaux Arts to futuristic Frank Gehry, world-class music, top-notch art, superb dining and sinful cocktails. It’s a power nexus and a gritty hipster haven for indie artists and designers. Don’t expect Manhattan, but the momentum is here, and now is the time to explore.

Downtown

ARCHITECT: ARATA ISOZAKI; IMAGE: RICK GERHARTER/GETTY IMAGES ©

The Sights in a Day

M Have breakfast at Eggslut before meandering down Broadway past the old theaters to the Fashion District, where even if there isn’t a sample sale on you can explore the California Market Center, and absorb the general fashionista vibe. Hit the epic Grammy Museum before heading north.

R Grab lunch among suits, designers and artists at Bar Ama' before strolling north past Pershing Square and into the Financial District. From here it’s an easy walk two blocks north to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, where you can catch the last tour of the day. Then walk southeast to the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Grand Central Market.

N If it’s a summer Friday night, you can start your evening with free live music at the California Plaza. Otherwise, head to the Ace Hotel rooftop for a sundowner, then head around the corner to Woodspoon for dinner and over to Las Perlas for a nightcap.

1  Top Sights

Walt Disney Concert Hall

l  Local Life

Shopping the Fashion District

For a local’s day in [neighbourhood/area] see Click here.

x  Best of Los Angeles

Eating

Bar Ama'

Bestia

Sushi Gen

Woodspoon

Drinking

Las Perlas

Varnish

Sights

Grand Central Market

Grammy Museum

MOCA

Getting There

m Metro Downtown is well connected to Hollywood by the Metro Red Line, while Metrolink connects downtown with Long Beach and Burbank.

g Bus MTA connects downtown with all parts of town. Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus connects downtown with the shore.

1

Top Sights

Walt Disney Concert Hall

A molten blend of steel, music and psychedelic architecture, Frank Gehry pulled out all the stops for his iconic concert venue that’s the home base of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but also hosts contemporary bands such as Phoenix and classic jazz men such as Sonny Rollins. The building is a gravity-defying sculpture of heaving and billowing stainless-steel walls that conjure visions of a ship adrift in a rough sea.

MAP GOOGLE MAP

%info 213-972-7211, tickets 323-850-2000; www.laphil.org; 111 S Grand Ave; hguided tours usually noon & 1pm Tue-Sat; p

Walt Disney Concert Hall

RICHARD CUMMINS/GETTY IMAGES ©

y Top Tips

A Self-guided tours narrated by John Lithgow are offered most days, but 60-minute docent-led tours may also be available. Consult the schedule online.

A To save money on parking, find a cheaper lot in Little Tokyo or the Jewelry District and walk.

A Tours do not include a glimpse of the auditorium, so the best way to experience the concert hall is to buy tickets and see a show.

5 Take a Break

Little Tokyo is about six blocks away. If you’re hungry, grab an epic udon bowl at Marugame Monzo or a sushi lunch at Sushi Gen.

Don’t Miss

Los Angeles Philharmonic

The only way to experience the auditorium is to buy tickets. The Los Angeles Philharmonic ( GOOGLE MAP ; %323-850-2000; www.laphil.org; 111 S Grand Ave) curates the calendar and, in addition to classical shows, it often hosts jazz luminaries. The room feels like the inside of a finely crafted cello, clad in walls of smooth Douglas fir. Even seats below the giant pipe organ offer excellent sight lines.

Red Cat

Red Cat ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.redcat.org; 631 W 2nd St), an acronym for Roy and Edna Disney/Cal Arts Theater, is the curious name of LA's most avante garde theater company, which is based in the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex. Admission to their art gallery, which rotates exhibitions every six weeks, is free.

Pipe Organ

The stunning pipe organ, a gift to LA county from the Toyota Corporation, incorporates 6134 pipes and took over 2000 hours to tune. The longest pipe is more than 32ft long and weighs upwards of 800 pounds. Shipped by sea from Germany, the instrument’s total weight is over 40 metric tons. And it sounds just that big.

l

Local Life

The Fashion District

Bargain hunters love this frantic 100-block warren of fashion. Deals can be amazing, but first-timers are often bewildered by the district’s size and immense selection. And by the sheer juxtaposition of sassy fashionistas in minis, knee-high boots and new-school cardigans wandering among drunks with neck tattoos and a perma-haze.

1 Back to School

Technically it’s a bit west of the district, but the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM; GOOGLE MAP ; www.fidm.edu; 919 S Grand Ave; h10am-4pm Tue-Sat), a private college with an international student body, is very much part of its soul. The gallery has some interesting rotating exhibits, including costumes worn in Academy Award–nominated movies.

2 Sample Sales

Every last Friday of the month from 9am to 2pm, clued-in fashionistas descend upon the corner of 9th and Olympic armed with cash and attitude to catfight it out for designer clothes priced below wholesale. Their destinations: the showrooms at the Gerry Building ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.gerrybuilding.com; 910 S Los Angeles St), the Cooper ( GOOGLE MAP ; %213-627-3754; www.cooperdesignspace.com; 860 S Los Angeles St) and the New Mart ( GOOGLE MAP ; %213-627-0671; www.newmart.net; 127 E 9th St).

3 Bargain District

One of the most laid-back and festive corners of the district, there are over 150 shops and stalls crammed into this single laneway. Santee Alley ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.thesanteealley.com; Santee St & 12th St; h9:30am-6pm) is known for its designer knockoffs.

4 Quick Fix

Need that quick fix to sate you through the sample-sale madness? Head to the Market ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.marketrestaurants.com; 862 S Los Angeles St; mains $9-12; h8am-4pm Mon-Fri; vc) for a pressed Cuban (citrus-glazed pork, ham and manchego) or a seared-ahi and soba-noodle salad. Eat at common, brushed-metal tables with fellow shoppers and steely-eyed designers.

5 The Hub

Although it’s no longer the hippest building in the district, the California Market Center ( GOOGLE MAP ; %213-630-3600; www.californiamarketcenter.com; 110 E 9th St) remains its axis, and resident designers hold sample sales here.

6 Om Hour

Yoga does not get any louder or more effing fun than the variety you'll find at Peace Yoga ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.peaceyogagallery.com; 903 S Main St; per class $10-20), where Cheri Rae, the resident, foul-mouthed guru, has a local DTLA following based on her brash yet tender personality, her kick-ass classes and her yummy raw kitchen.

7 Clink of the Glass

A popular Fashion District well, Pattern Bar ( GOOGLE MAP ; %213-627-7774; www.patternbar.com; 100 W 9th St; hnoon-midnight Mon-Thu, to 2am Fri, 5pm-2am Sat, closed Sun) comes with pebbled marble floors, vintage bar stools and a classic rock soundtrack. Cocktails are christened for fashion icons like DVF and McQueen, and it serves tapas and arepas (flatbreads).

8 Art for the People

A massive, mad swirl of art lovers invades downtown once a month for free, self-guided, liberally lubricated Downtown Art Walks ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.downtownartwalk.org; hnoon-9pm 2nd Thu of month) that link more than 40 galleries and museums across the downtown grid. You’ll find most between 3rd and 9th and Broadway and Main.

1 Top Sights

Walt Disney Concert Hall  E2

1 Sights

1Grand Central Market  D3

2Grammy Museum  A1

3Museum of Contemporary Art  E2

4Union Station  G4

5Pueblo de Los Angeles  G4

6Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels  F3

7California Plaza  D2

8Chinatown  G3

9United Artists Theatre  B3

10Broad  E2

5 Eating

11Bar Ama'  D3

12Q Sushi  C2

13Woodspoon  B3

Thai Street Food  D3

14Baco Mercat  D4

15Bestia  B5

16Cole's  C4

Eggslut  D3

17Gorbals  D3

18Sushi Gen  E5

19Marugame Monzo  E4

20Maccheroni Republic  D3

21Nickel Diner  C3

6 Drinking

Varnish  C4

22Las Perlas  C4

Association  C4

23One-Eyed Gypsy  F5

24Wolf & Crane  E5

25Crane's Bar  B3

26La Cita  D3

27Upstairs at the Ace Hotel  B3

28Club Mayan  A3

3 Entertainment

29Nokia Theatre  A1

30Music Center of LA County  E2

31Orpheum Theatre  B3

7 Shopping

Robert Reynolds Gallery  D3

32Jewelry District  C3

33Hive  C3

34Last Bookstore in Los Angeles  D3

Sights

1Grand Central MarketMARKET

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On the ground floor of a 1905 beaux-arts building where architect Frank Lloyd Wright once kept an office. Stroll along the sawdust-sprinkled aisles beneath old-timey ceiling fans and neon signs, past stalls piled high with mangoes, peppers and jicamas, and glass bins filled with dried chilies and nuts.

(www.grandcentralmarket.com; 317 S Broadway; h8am-6pm Sun-Wed, to 9pm Thu-Sat)

Grand Central Market

ASHOK SINHA/GETTY IMAGES ©

1Grammy MuseumMUSEUM

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The highlight of LA Live. Music lovers will get lost in interactive exhibits, which define, differentiate and link musical genres, while live footage strobes. You can glimpse such things as GnR’s bass drum, Lester Young’s tenor, Yo Yo Ma’s cello and Michael’s glove (though exhibits and collections do rotate).

(%213-765-6800; www.grammymuseum.org; 800 W Olympic Blvd; adult/child $13/11, after 6pm $8; h11:30am-7:30pm Mon-Fri, from 10am Sat & Sun; c)

1Museum of Contemporary ArtMUSEUM

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A collection that arcs from the 1940s to the present and includes works by Mark Rothko, Dan Flavin, Joseph Cornell and other big-shot contemporary artists is housed in a postmodern building by Arata Isozaki. Galleries are below ground, yet brightened with skylights.

(MOCA; %213-626-6222; www.moca.org; 250 S Grand Ave; adult/child $12/free, 5-8pm Thu free; h11am-5pm Mon & Fri, to 8pm Thu, to 6pm Sat & Sun)

1Union StationLANDMARK

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Built on the site of LA’s original Chinatown, the station opened in 1939 as America’s last grand rail station. It’s a glamorous exercise in Mission Revival with art deco accents. The marble-floored main hall, with cathedral ceilings, original leather chairs and grand chandeliers, is breathtaking.

(www.amtrak.com; 800 N Alameda St; p)

1El Pueblo Historical MonumentLANDMARK

GOOGLE MAP

LA was a full-blown community a good 100 years before DW Griffith showed up. Grab a map at restored Firehouse No 1 (the Plaza Firehouse) then wander through narrow Olvera St’s vibrant Mexican-themed stalls. For LA’s oldest building, see Avila Adobe then walk through the Sepulveda House and its visitor center to see a restored 1800s-era kitchen and bedroom.

(%213-628-1274; www.lacity.org/elp; btwn Main & Alameda Sts; admission free; htour office 10am-3pm; #; mUnion Station)

1Cathedral of Our Lady of the AngelsCHURCH

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José Rafael Moneo mixed Gothic proportions with contemporary design for his 2002 Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which exudes a calming serenity achieved by soft light filtering through its alabaster panes. Wall-sized tapestries as detailed as a Michelangelo fresco festoon the main nave.

(%213-680-5200; www.olacathedral.org; 555 W Temple St; h6:30am-6pm Mon-Fri, from 9am Sat, from 7am Sun; p)

1California PlazaLANDMARK

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California Plaza hosts Grand Performances (www.grandperformances.org), one of the best free summer performance series.

(www.grandperformances.org; 350 S Grand Ave)

1ChinatownNEIGHBORHOOD

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Walk north from El Pueblo and you'll breach the dragon gates. After being forced to make room for Union Station, the Chinese resettled a few blocks north along Hill St and Broadway. Chinatown is still the community’s traditional hub, even though most Chinese Americans now live in the San Gabriel Valley.

(www.chinatownla.com)

1United Artists TheatreTHEATER

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This gorgeous Spanish Gothic theater, with ornate stone work and stained glass, was built in 1927 and bankrolled by bygone heavyweights Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin. Once the second-tallest building in the city next to City Hall, the Ace Hotel recently restored it with passionate attention to detail and now uses it to host modern dance shows and rock concerts.

(%213-623-3233; www.acehotel.com/losangeles/theatre; 929 S Broadway)

1BroadMUSEUM

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Due to be completed in 2015, this new museum promises to be both an architectural marvel and a deep and nourishing well of modern art.

(www.thebroad.org; 221 S Grand Ave)

Understand

The Broad

The forthcoming museum The Broad is named after eighty-year-old billionaire entrepreneur turned philanthropist Eli Broad (rhymes with 'road'), who has long been a noted art collector. He owns some 200,000 works, much of it locked away in vaults when not on loan to various museums of the world – including LACMA and MOCA. Stand-outs from his collection include 42 works by Jasper Johns, 20 of Gregory Crewdson’s exquisitely lit photographs, and several pieces from Neo Rauch, an artist who merges social realism with surrealism. He also has pop art by Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, and works by Jeff Koons, Christopher Wool, Jackson Pollock, Cindy Sherman, and Damien Hirst. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface.

The building itself, designed by Liz Diller of the firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, is a modern, mind-melding marvel that will be perfectly at home down the block from the Disney Concert Hall.

Eating

5Bar AmáMEXICAN, FUSION $$$

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One of three exquisite downtown restaurants with profound Mexican influences offered by Josef Centeno. This one fries pig ears, braises short rib, and smothers enchiladas with mole sauce. Brussel sprouts are garnished with pickled red onions, and the roasted cauliflower and cilantro pesto, served with cashews and pine nuts, is a tremendous veggie choice.

(%213-687-8002; www.bar-ama.com; 118 W 4th St; dishes $8-25, dinners $32-36; h11:30am-2:30pm & 5:30-11pm Mon-Thu, 11:30am-3pm & 5:30pm-midnight Fri, 11:30am-midnight Sat, to 10pm Sun)

5Q SushiSUSHI $$$

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A slender wedge of exquisite sushi. This stunning dark- and blonde-wood sushi bar is all omakase (chef's selection) all the time. Highlights include a blow-torched toro with chili paste, and a tender octopus that's been braised in sake and brown sugar for two to three hours. They even brew their own soy sauce.

(%213-225-6285; www.qsushila.com; 521 W 7th St; per person lunch/dinner $75/165)

Sushi chef in Little Tokyo

NIK WHEELER/ALAMY ©

5WoodspoonBRAZILIAN $$

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We love it all: the hand-picked china, the vintage pyrex pots of black beans and rice, and the Brazilian owner-operator who still chefs it up in the back. Her pork ribs fall off the bone in a bath of grits and gravy. Her take on steak frites incorporates wedges of fried yucca and her pot pie put this place on the map.

(%213-629-1765; www.woodspoonla.com; 107 W 9th St; mains $11-20; h11am-2:45pm & 5-10pm Tue-Fri, noon-3pm & 6-11pm Sat, closed Sun)

5Thai Street FoodTHAI $

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Well-prepared Thai street food is crafted from organic and free-range ingredients and quality oils in downtown's fabulous Grand Central Market. They always do three set meals: a BBQ chicken served with sticky rice and som tom (green papaya salad), a Hainan chicken served with garlic rice and chicken soup, and a beef Paneng with coconut rice.

(317 S Broadway; meals $9-10; h11am-6pm)

5Baco MercatFUSION $$$

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At lunch it's an upscale torta (Mexican sandwich) joint – think beef tongue schnitzel or lamb meatballs – but at dinner it's a Mexican-Asian fusion dynamo. Seafood dishes include squid stuffed with shrimp and pine nuts, and a popular yellowtail collar. They also do intriguing veggie dishes, including a crispy eggplant and baby yellow beet salad.

(%213-687-8808; www.bacomercat.com; 408 S Main St; dishes $9-25, dinners $29-58)

5BestiaITALIAN $$$

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The most sought-after reservation in town can be found at this new and splashy Italian kitchen in the Arts District. There are tasty pizzas and pastas, roasted chops and whole fish, and squid-ink risotto stuffed with chunks of lobster, mussels, clams and calamari. A worthy splurge indeed.

(%213-514-5724; http://bestiala.com; 2121 7th Pl; dishes $10-29; h5-11pm Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat)

5Cole'sSANDWICHES $

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A funky old basement tavern known for originating the French dip sandwich way back in 1908, when those things cost a nickel. You know the drill – French bread piled with sliced lamb, beef, turkey, pork or pastrami, served au jus (with gravy).

(www.213nightlife.com/colesfrenchdip; 118 E 6th St; sandwiches $6-9; h11am-10pm Sun-Wed, to midnight Thu, to 1am Fri & Sat)

5EggslutDINER $

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A classic breakfast counter has been brought back to life by local foodie punks who, among other things, stuff housemade turkey sausage, eggs and mustard aioli in brioche, and make a dish known only as 'the slut': a coddled egg nestled on top of potato purée poached in a glass jar and served with a toasted crostini.

(www.eggslut.com; Grand Central Market, 317 S Broadway; dishes $6-10; h8am-4pm)

5GorbalsEASTERN EUROPEAN $$

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An Eastern European tapas joint set in the old Alexandria Hotel lobby. Menu mainstays include duck latkes with apple sauce, bacon-wrapped matzo balls served with pink-hot horseradish mayo and boneless lamb neck roasted with Ethiopian spices.

(%213-488-3408; www.thegorbalsla.com; 216 5th St; dishes $6-30; hlunch & dinner)

5Sushi GenJAPANESE $$

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Come early to grab a table, and know that they don't do the "look at me" kind of rolls. This is a classic Japanese sushi spot where seven chefs stand behind the blonde wood bar, carving thick slabs of melt-in-your-mouth salmon, buttery toro and a wonderful Japanese snapper, among other staples. Their sashimi special at lunch ($18) is a steal.

(%213-617-0552; www.sushigen.org; 422 E 2nd St; sushi $11-21; h11:15am-2pm & 5:30-9:45pm)

5Marugame MonzoJAPANESE $

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If you care to step up from ramen to udon, come to this special dark-wood udon emporium where they make their noodles fresh in the open kitchen. Appetizers include tempura-fried chicken skin and raw, sliced scallops dolloped with flying-fish roe. But the udon is what draws the raves.

(www.facebook.com/marugamemonzo; 329 E 1st St; mains $7-12; h11:30am-2:30pm, 5-10pm daily)

5Maccheroni RepublicITALIAN $$

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Tucked away on a still ungentrified corner is this gem with a lovely heated patio and tremendous Italian slow-cooked food. Don't miss the polpettine di gamberi (flattened ground shrimp cakes fried in olive oil) and their range of delicious housemade pastas. They don't have beer or wine, but you're welcome to bring your own.

(%213-346-9725213-346-9725; 332 S Broadway Ave; mains $10-14; h11:30am-3pm & 5:30-10pm Mon-Fri, 5:30-10pm Sat, 4:30-9pm Sun)

5Nickel DinerDINER $$

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Named for the intersection of 5th and Main, termed ‘the Nickel’ by nearby skid-row residents who used to come to this corner for their daily meds, this kitschy red-vinyl joint reimagines American diner fare. Avocados are stuffed with quinoa salad. Burgers piled with poblano chilies, and don’t sleep on the maple-glazed bacon donut.

(%213-623-8301; www.nickeldiner.com; 524 S Main St; mains $7-14; h8am-3:30pm Tue-Sun, 6-10pm Tue-Sat)

Drinking

6VarnishBAR

GOOGLE MAP

If you like your cocktails precision-prepared with the freshest ingredients, look no further than this intimate, speakeasy-style, wood-panelled hipster hangout, a regular top-finisher at Tales of the Cocktail, the annual nationwide competition. Aficionados recommend you ask for the bartender's choice. It's located in the back of Cole's restaurant.

(%213-622-9999; www.213nightlife.com/thevarnish; 118 E 6th St; h7pm-2am)

6Las PerlasBAR

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With Old Mexico whimsy, a chalkboard menu of over 80 tequilas and mezcals, and friendly barkeeps who mix things like egg whites, blackberries and port syrup into new-school takes on the classic margarita, there’s a reason we love downtown’s best tequila bar. But if you truly want to dig tequila, select a highland variety and sip it neat.

(107 E 6th St; h7pm-2am Mon-Sat, 8pm-2am Sun)

6AssociationBAR

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This hip basement bar flashes old-school glamour with leather bar stools and lounges tucked into intimate coves. But the bar is the thing. We’re talking dozens of whiskeys, ryes, rums and tequilas.

(www.theassociation-la.com; 110 E 6th St; h7pm-2am)

6One-Eyed GypsyBAR

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Set just off the Little Tokyo swirl, this oh-so-dark carnival-themed joint comes with ten craft beers on tap, peaked Arabic arches, a ski-ball arcade-game concession, a stage blessed with a circus curtain and live music nightly. Oh, and it serves a deep-fried Chocodile. Hence the hipster following.

(www.one-eyedgypsy.com; 901 E 1st St; h6pm-2am Wed-Sat)

6Wolf & CraneBAR

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A fun, new Little Tokyo bar with waxed concrete floors, a blonde-wood slab bar, common tables and built-in bench seating. They have flat screens for the ball games, Japanese art on the walls and nine locally crafted draught beers. But we prefer the house special, Wolf & Crane: a shot of Johnnie Red and a Sapporo.

(%213-935-8249; www.wolfandcranebar.com; 366 E 2nd St; h5pm-2am Mon-Fri, 3pm-2am Sat & Sun; W)

6Crane's BarDIVE BAR

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From the graffed up concrete floor to the butcher-block bar (carved from a 130-year-old Douglas fir) to the red vinyl booth to the underground bank vault location (yes, this was a vault in another life), we love everything about DTLA's newest, sweetest and hottest dive.

(%323-787-7966; www.facebook.com/CranesDowntown; 810 S Spring St; h5pm-late)

6La CitaCLUB

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The perfect setting for an afternoon that lasts until midnight or a wild soul-infused dance party, this red-vinyl Mexican dive bar alternates between a dance club and music venue for downtown hipsters, when DJs whip the crowd into a frenzy with hip-hop, soul, punk and whatever else gets people moving, and a live-band salsa party.

(www.lacitabar.com; 336 S Hill St; h10am-2am Mon-Fri, from 11am Sat & Sun)

6Upstairs at the Ace HotelBAR

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Either lovingly cool, a bit too hip or a touch self-conscious depending upon your purview, there is no denying that Downtown's newest rooftop bar – replete with magnificent views – opened to universal acclaim.

(www.acehotel.com/losangeles; 929 S Broadway Ave; h11am-2am)

View of downtown from a rooftop bar

HENDRIK HOLLER/GETTY IMAGES ©

6Club MayanCLUB

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Kick up your heels during Saturday’s Tropical Nights when a salsa band turns the heat up against the faux Mayan temple backdrop. Don’t know how? Come early for lessons, but there is a dress code. On Fridays it’s house and hip-hop, and the club also hosts its share of wrestling events, indie rockers like Jack White, and DJs with a following.

(www.clubmayan.com; 1038 S Hill St; cover $10-25; h9pm-3am Fri & Sat, varies Sun-Thu)

Entertainment

3Nokia TheatrePERFORMANCE VENUE

GOOGLE MAP

A 7100-seat theater, christened by the Eagles and the Dixie Chicks when it opened in 2007, has since hosted Neil Young, Anita Baker and Bill Maher. Check the website for upcoming shows.

(%213-763-6030; www.nokiatheatrelive.com; 777 Chick Hearn Ct)

Nokia Theatre

MITCH DIAMOND/GETTY IMAGES ©

1Music CenterVENUE

GOOGLE MAP

At this linchpin of the downtown performing arts scene, splashy musicals play to capacity at the Ahmanson Theatre, while the more intimate Mark Taper Forum premieres high-caliber plays. With Placido Domingo at the helm, the LA Opera has fine-tuned its repertory of classics by master composers, with performances at the Dorothy Chandler pavilion.

(www.musiccenter.org; 135 N Grand Ave; htours depart 10:30am & 12:30pm Tue & Sat; p)

3Orpheum TheatreLIVE MUSIC

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The 1920s Orpheum Theater has been fully restored to host screenings and parties. Jam band gods Widespread Panic and younger phenoms MGMT played here recently.

(%877-677-4386; www.laorpheum.com; 842 S Broadway)

l

Local Life

How’s About a Little Round Ball?

Staples Center ( GOOGLE MAP ; %213-742-7340; www.staplescenter.com; 1111 S Figueroa St; p), aka the House that Shaq Built (and then bequeathed to one Kobe Bryant), is the vortex of pro basketball in LA. It is here that the Los Angeles Lakers (%213-742-7340; www.nba.com/lakers; tickets $50-250) once reigned, and these days suffer in the shadow of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and the Donald Sterling–stained Los Angeles Clippers (%888-895-8662; www.nba.com/clippers; tickets $25-175).

Shopping

7Robert Reynolds GalleryGALLERY

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An incredible loft art space owned and operated by the artist himself. He specializes in mixed-media canvases and sculpture, and uses bamboo, Japanese paper and fiberglass to create fantasy boats and decaying lanterns, and crafts evocative landscapes from nails, straw, grass and wildflowers. Wow!

(%323-599-8485; www.robertreynolds.com; 408 S Spring St; h11am-5pm Mon-Sat)

7Jewelry DistrictJEWELRY

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For bargain bling head to this bustling district, between 6th and 8th, where you can snap up watches, gold, silver and gemstones at up to 70% off retail. The mostly traditional designs are unlikely to be seen on the red carpet, but the selection is unquestionably huge. Quality varies.

(www.lajd.net; Hill St)

7HiveART GALLERY

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Nestled in a decidedly not-yet-gentrified stretch of Spring St is a seemingly small but surprisingly deep artist-owned gallery, where the art always delivers and the openings rock.

(www.thehivegallery.com; 729 S Spring St; h1-6pm Wed-Sat)

7Last Bookstore in Los AngelesBOOKS

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Who said the inky page is dead? What started as a one-man operation out of a Main St storefront is now nearly an entire ground floor of an old bank building, and it's stuffed with used books of all stripes as well as a terrific vinyl collection for musicologists.

(www.lastbookstorela.com; 453 S Spring St; h10am-10pm Mon-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat, to 6pm Sun)

1

Top Sights

Exposition Park

A quick jaunt south of downtown via DASH bus, the family-friendly Exposition Park began as an agricultural fairground in 1872 and became the burgeoning city's public green space in 1913. The draws here are three high-quality museums and a robust, rambling rose garden. Not to mention the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the USC Trojans play (American) football.

u From downtown take I-110 S to I-10 W and exit at Vermont. Head south on Vermont and make a left on Exposition Blvd.

d Metro Silver Line trains serve Exposition Park from their downtown hub.

Natural History Museum

ROBERT ROSENBLUM/ALAMY ©

www.expositionpark.org; 700 Exposition Park Dr

y Top Tips

A Admission to the museums is free on the first Tuesday of most months.

A Roam the Natural History Museum at night on First Fridays when the hipsters, and some families, invade for a lineup of live music and stellar DJs in the hallowed halls.

A When the butterfly and spider pavilions are up, it's best to buy your tickets in advance to ensure entry.

5 Take a Break

Care for a blast of African American culture? Head to Leimert Park (Degnan Blvd & 43rd St), the community's cultural hub, where you can sample decadent barbecue, catch live jazz and comedy and peruse Pan-African handicrafts.

Don't Miss

Natural History Museum

Dinos to diamonds, bears to beetles, hissing roaches to African elephants – the Natural History Museum ( GOOGLE MAP ; %213-763-3466; www.nhm.org; 900 Exposition Blvd; adult/students & seniors/child $12/9/5; h9:30am-5pm; c) will take you around the world and back millions of years in time. It’s all housed in a beautiful 1913 Renaissance-style building that stood in for Columbia University in the first Toby McGuire Spider-Man movie – yup, this was where Peter Parker was bitten by the radioactive arachnid.

California Science Center

The enormous California Science Center ( GOOGLE MAP ; %film schedule 213-744-2109, info 323-724-3623; www.californiasciencecenter.org; 700 Exposition Park Dr; IMAX movie adult/child $8.25/5; h10am-5pm; c) is divided into themed areas. Hitch a ride with a red blood cell for a computer fly-through of the human body. Explore human transportation and telecommunication systems as they evolve over time and visit desert, river, island, urban and forest habitats.

Astro Vintage

Technically part of the Science Center, aircraft and space travel take center stage in the adjacent Sketch Foundation Gallery.

Spaced Out

The Science Center is also home to Space Shuttle Endeavour. It's permanent home will be in a new gallery called the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, but while that's under construction you can see the beast in the Samuel Oschin Pavillion.

l

Local Life

Pasadena

One could argue that there is more blue-blood, meat-eating, robust Americana in Pasadena than in all other LA neighborhoods combined. Here is a community with a preppy old soul, a historical perspective, an appreciation for art and jazz and a slightly progressive undercurrent.

Getting There

d Metrolink’s Gold Line serves Pasadena and connects it to downtown.

u Take I-110 from downtown or the I-134 from Burbank.

1 Circumnavigate the Rose Bowl

One of LA’s most venerable landmarks, the 1922 Rose Bowl Stadium ( GOOGLE MAP ; %626-577-3100; www.rosebowlstadium.com; 1001 Rose Bowl Dr, Pasadena) can seat up to 93,000 spectators and has its moment in the sun every New Year’s Day when it hosts the famous Rose Bowl postseason college football game. It is surrounded by Brookside Park, which is a nice spot for hiking, cycling and picnicking. Many locals run or pedal around the stadium each afternoon.

2 Tour the Gamble House

It’s the exquisite attention to detail that impresses most at the Gamble House ( GOOGLE MAP ; %info 626-793-3334, tickets 800-979-3370; www.gamblehouse.org; 4 Westmoreland Pl, Pasadena; tours adult/child $15/free; htours noon-3pm Thu-Sun, gift shop 10am-5pm Tue-Sat, 11:30am-5pm Sun; p), a 1908 masterpiece of Craftsman architecture built by Charles and Henry Greene for Proctor & Gamble heir David Gamble.

3 Enjoy World Class Art

Rodin’s The Thinker is only a mind-teasing overture to the full symphony of art in store at this exquisite museum. The highly accessible, user-friendly galleries at Norton Simon ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.nortonsimon.org; 411 W Colorado Blvd, Pasadena; adult/child $10/free; hnoon-5pm Mon, Wed & Thu, 11am-8pm Fri-Sat; p) teem with choice works by Rembrandt, Renoir, Raphael, Van Gogh, Botticelli and Picasso.

4 California Style

The Pasadena Museum of California Art ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.pmcaonline.org; 490 E Union St, Pasadena; adult/student & senior/child $7/5/free, 1st Fri of month free; hnoon-5pm Wed-Sun; p) is a progressive gallery dedicated to art, architecture and design created by California artists since 1850. Shows change every few months. The museum is free on the first Friday of every month.

5 A Steampunk Scene

An amazing boutique with a steampunk vibe, Gold Bug ( GOOGLE MAP ; %626-744-9963; www.goldbugpasadena.com; 22 E Union St, Pasadena; h10am-5pm Mon, 10am-6pm Tue-Sat, noon-5pm Sun) shows work and collections created or curated by 100 area artists. We saw one robotic metallic Cheshire Cat, exquisite vintage jewelry and lamps, raw crystals and selenite and a terrific art book collection.

6 Dinner & Music

Dine on acclaimed Basque cuisine at the chef-owned Racion ( GOOGLE MAP ; %626-396-3090; www.racionrestaurant.com; 119 W Green St, Pasadena; dishes $5-45; h6-10pm Mon, 11:30am-3pm & 6-10pm Tue-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat, 5:30-10pm Sun), then enjoy some of the best LA-area jazz talent doing their thing in the brassy Old Town environs of Red White & Bluezz ( GOOGLE MAP ; %626-792-4441; www.redwhitebluezz.com; 37 S El Molino Ave, Pasadena; h10:30am-9pm Sun, from 11am Mon-Wed, 11am-11pm Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat). The latter also serves dinner.

Burbank & Universal City

Home to most of LA’s major movie studios – including Warner Bros, Disney and Universal – the sprawling grid of suburbia known as ‘the Valley’ also has the dubious distinction of being the original world capital of porn, memorably captured in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 Boogie Nights.

Burbank & Universal City

RICHARD CUMMINS/GETTY IMAGES ©

The Sights in a Day

M Breakfast at Bob’s Big Boy, Burbank’s original drive-in diner, before heading over to Warner Bros for a working studio tour without the theme park attractions.

R Grab lunch among the producers, aspiring writers and actors at Daichan, then take the family to Universal Studios for an afternoon and evening of movie-loving adventure. The whole family will enjoy the 3-D Transformers ride and the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. If you’ve had your fill of the theme park disco, blitz over to It’s a Wrap! before closing time.

N If it’s a balmy evening, stroll the Universal Citywalk. Otherwise, head over to Sushi Row for dinner at the undercover heaven that is Asanebo before letting the night fall around your shoulders at Firefly.

1  Top Sights

Universal Studios

x  Best of Los Angeles

Eating

Asanebo

Getting There

m Metro Universal City is well connected to Hollywood and downtown by the Metro Red Line, while Metrolink connects Burbank with downtown and Long Beach, and the Orange Line heads west into the San Fernando Valley.

m Metro The most centrally located Red Line stop is Universal City.

1

Top Sights

Universal Studios

The magic of movie making gets its due at ever-popular Universal, one of the world’s oldest continuously operating movie studios and theme parks, where thrill rides, live performances, interactive shows and back-lot tram tours perpetually draw the masses. Although it is a working studio, the chances of seeing any action, let alone a star, are slim.

MAP GOOGLE MAP

www.universalstudioshollywood.com; 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City; admission from $87, under 3yr free; hopen daily, hours vary; pc

Universal Studios

RICHARD CUMMINS/GETTY IMAGES ©

y Top Tips

A Try to budget a full day, especially in summer. To beat the crowds, get here before the gates open or invest in the Front of Line Pass ($139) or the deluxe guided VIP Experience ($349).

A First-timers should head straight for the 45-minute narrated Studio Tour.

A The most popular thrill ride is Jurassic Park.

5 Take a Break

There are plenty of dining choices at Universal Citywalk, but we suggest heading to Ventura Blvd’s Sushi Row, where you can splurge or have sneaky-good affordable fare at Daichan.

Don’t Miss

Dive Into 3-D Mania

Shrek 4-D takes you from Lord Farquaad’s dungeon into a theater where you’ll don ogre-vision 3-D glasses and become immersed in the action. Nab a flight simulation thrill on the 3-D Transformers ride, or get lost in giggles on Dispicable Me Minion Mayhem.

Water World Show

The movie may have bombed, but the Water World show is a runaway hit. There are mind-boggling stunts such as giant fireballs and a crash-landing sea plane.

Universal Citywalk

With flashing video screens, oversized facades and garish color combinations, Citywalk hovers beside Universal Studios like a reject from the Blade Runner-meets-Willy Wonka school of architecture. Its 65 shops, restaurants and entertainment venues offer a mix of attractions, including the iFly vertical wind tunnel that mimics the feeling of skydiving.

1 Top Sights

Universal Studios Hollywood  E5

1 Sights

1Warner Bros Studios  G4

2NoHo Arts District  C2

3Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills  H3

5 Eating

4Asanebo  A4

5Kazu Sushi  C4

6Daichan  C4

7La Ventura  B4

8Suck It  C3

9Caitoti Pizza Cafe  C3

10Aroma Coffee & Tea  C3

11Bob's Big Boy  F3

6 Drinking

12Firefly  B4

7 Shopping

13It's a Wrap!  F1

14Psychic Eye  A4

Sights

1Warner Bros StudiosGUIDED TOUR

MAP GOOGLE MAP

This tour offers the most fun and authentic look behind the scenes of a major movie studio. The 2½-hour romp kicks off with a video of WB’s greatest film hits (Rebel Without a Cause, Harry Potter etc) before a tram whisks you to sound stages, back-lot sets andsuch departments as wardrobe and make-up. Reservations are required; bring photo ID. No children under 8 years.

(%877-492-8687, 818-972-8687; www.wbstudiotour.com; 3400 W Riverside Dr, Burbank; tours from $54; h8:15am-4pm Mon-Sat, hours vary Sun)

1NoHo Arts DistrictNEIGHBORHOOD

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Situated at the end of the Metro Red Line, North Hollywood (NoHo) was a down-on-its-heels neighborhood of artists, but thanks to a redevelopment it now boasts some 20 stage theaters in one sq mile and a burgeoning community of galleries, restaurants and vintage clothing stores that surround them.

(www.nohoartsdistrict.com)

1Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood HillsCEMETERY

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Pathos, art and patriotism rule at this humongous cemetery next to Griffith Park. A fine catalog of old-time celebrities – including Lucille Ball, Bette Davis and Stan Laurel – rests within the manicured grounds strewn with paeans to early North American history. Download maps from the internet (eg www.seeing-stars.com), but be discreet or risk having them confiscated.

(www.forestlawn.com; 6300 Forest Lawn Dr; h8am-5pm; p)

Understand

Car Culture Begins Here

Nobody is suggesting you should blame Burbank for things like smog, gridlock and global warming, but you can blame it for the mini-mall. In fact, Burbank proudly claims to be the inventor of not just the ubiquitous park-and-shop strips that dominate American suburbia, but also the drive-in movie theater, the drive-through restaurant and the drive-in bank.

Understand

The ‘Industry’

From the moment film – and later TV – became the dominant entertainment medium, LA took center stage in the world of popular culture. It’s also been the best (and sometimes the worst) ambassador of LA to the world. You might know it as entertainment, but to Angelenos it’s simply the ‘Industry.’

Entrepreneurial movie makers – most of them European immigrants – established studios here in the first decade of the 20th century. German-born Carl Laemmle built Universal Studios in 1915, selling lunch to curious guests coming to watch the magic of movie making; Polish immigrant Samuel Goldwyn joined with Cecil B DeMille to form Paramount Studios; and Jack Warner and his brothers arrived a few years later from Poland via Philadelphia. Perpetually sunny weather meant that most outdoor locations could be easily shot, and movie making flourished.

Fans loved early film stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, and the first big Hollywood wedding occurred in 1920, when Douglas Fairbanks wed Mary Pickford. What’s more, the proximity of the Mexican border enabled filmmakers to rush their equipment to safety when challenged by the collection agents of patent holders such as Thomas Edison.

Although Hollywood became the cultural and financial hub of the movie industry, only Paramount Pictures is in Hollywood proper. Studios were built in Culver City (MGM, now Sony Pictures), Studio City (Universal Studios Hollywood) and Burbank (Disney and Warner Bros). The first big movie palaces were not on Hollywood Blvd but on Broadway in Downtown LA.

Although LA sometimes feels like a company town, only about 150,000 people in LA County are employed in film, TV and radio production. That doesn’t tell the whole story, though, because the Industry produces more jobs than that, from high-powered attorneys to cater-waiters. Still, there's more to LA than pretty moving pictures. Even if it doesn't always feel like it.

Eating

5AsaneboSUSHI $$$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Asanebo is a Michelin-star standout thanks to dishes such as halibut sashimi with fresh truffle, and kanpachi (yellow tail) with miso and serrano chilies.

(%818-760-3348; www.asanebo-restaurant.com; 11941 Ventura Blvd, Studio City; dishes $3-21; hnoon-2pm & 6-10:30pm Tue-Fri, 6-10:30pm Sat, to 10pm Sun)

5Kazu SushiJAPANESE $$$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Stuck in a cramped and otherwise nondescript split-level mini-mall that's easy to miss, Kazu is one of the best-kept secrets among LA’s sushi aficionados. It’s Michelin rated, very high-end, has a terrific sake selection and is worth the splurge.

(%818-763-4836; 11440 Ventura Blvd, Studio City; dishes $10-19; hnoon-2pm & 6-10pm Mon-Sat; p)

5DaichanJAPANESE $$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Pasted with posters and staffed by the sunny and sweet owner-operator, this offbeat Japanese diner offers the best (and one of the tastiest) deals on Sushi Row. The fried seaweed tofu gyoza are divine and so are the bowls – especially the negitoro bowl, where fatty tuna is served over rice, lettuce and seaweed.

(11288 Ventura Blvd, Studio City; mains $8.50-19; h11:30am-3pm & 5:30-9pm Mon-Sat; p)

5La VenturaMEXICAN $$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

There is one dish that makes Jeffrey Saad's latest upscale Mexican kitchen a destination all on its own. The lobster chorizo fundido incorporates crumbled layers of housemade chorizo and chunks of lobster, sautéed together then smothered in tequila cheese sauce and oven broiled. It's oily, it's spicy, it is culinary crack.

(%818-358-3423; www.laventurarestaurant.com; 11929 Ventura Blvd; mains $10-27; hnoon-11pm)

5Suck ItFROZEN DESSERTS $

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Don't you dare call them popsicles! These are frozen deserts on a stick. The key-lime-pie flavor really is pie frozen on a stick. Same goes for coconut cream, Mexican hot chocolate and strawberry cheesecake. Everything is made in house by the millennial owner and 'chief suckologist' (her words!).

(%818-980-7825818-980-7825; www.suckitsweets.com; 4361 1/2 Tujunga Ave, Studio City; desserts $4; h1-8pm)

5Caitoti Pizza CafeITALIAN $$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Once set in Laurel Canyon, this long-time, long-loved Italian cafe does beet and spinach salads, bison burgers, Italian sausage sandwiches and some terrific pizzas and pastas. All served in an attractive concrete floor cafe where it can be tough to get a table at dinner time.

(%818-761-3588; www.caiotipizzacafe.com; 4346 Tujunga Ave, Studio City; mains $9-14; h11am-10pm Mon-Thu, to 11pm Fri, 9am-11pm Sat, to 10pm Sun)

5Aroma Coffee & TeaCAFE $$

MAP GOOGLE MAP

A popular cafe set in a converted house where wood tables crowd heated patios on both sides and the line runs out the door thanks to goat cheese and walnut salads, popular turkey burgers, and breakfasts like chilaquiles (fried tortillas) and breakfast enchiladas, and a spinach puff pastry topped with scrambled eggs.

(%818-508-7377; www.aromacoffeeandtea.com; 4360 Tujunga Ave, Studio City; mains $9-14; h6am-11pm Mon-Sat, from 7am Sun)

5Bob’s Big BoyDINER $

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Bob, that cheeky pompadoured kid in red checkered pants, hasn’t aged a lick since serving his first double-decker in 1936. This Wayne McAllister–designed Googie-style 1950s coffee shop is the oldest remaining Big Boy’s in America. On Friday at about 4pm hot-rods roar into the parking lot and stay all night, while the weekend car-hop service (5pm-10pm Sat & Sun) brings in families and love doves.

(%818-843-9334; www.bigboy.com; 4211 Riverside Dr, Burbank; burgers & sandwiches $7-10; h24hr; pc)

Drinking

6FireflyLOUNGE

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Firefly has the sexiest library this side of an Anne Rice novel – bordello-red lighting, low-slung couches and flickering candles, all surrounded by shelves of somber tomes. Not that anyone’s opened one. This upwardly mobile crowd are too busy reading each other.

(www.fireflystudiocity.com; 11720 Ventura Blvd, Studio City; h5pm-2am; gMTA 150, gMTA 240)

y

Top Tip

Be the Laugh Track

Half the fun of visiting LA is hoping you might see a star, so up the odds with a visit to the set of a prime-time sitcom. Multi-camera shows such as Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory are shot before a live audience. That’s you.

To nab tickets, check the website for Audiences Unlimited at www.tvtickets.com; to see what’s taping, call 818-753-3470, or stop by the booth at Universal Studios.

Shopping

7It’s a Wrap!VINTAGE

MAP GOOGLE MAP

Here are fashionable, post-production wares worn by TV and film stars. What that means to you is great prices on mainstream designer labels, including racks of casual and formal gear worn on such shows as Nurse Jackie, The Office and Scandal. The suits are a steal, and so is the denim. New arrivals are racked by show affiliation.

(www.itsawraphollywood.com; 3315 W Magnolia Blvd, Burbank; h10am-8pm Mon-Fri, 11am-6pm Sat & Sun)

7Psychic EyeNEW AGE

A longtime pipeline of psychics, astrologers, amulets, idols, pentacles, books, candles and potions. If there’s a spell you’d like to cast or break, if you need intuitive advice or would otherwise like to peer into the past or the future, find this strange vortex of the occult.

(%818-906-8263; www.pebooks.com; 13435 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks; readings 15/30/60min $20/30/50; h10am-10pm Mon-Sat, to 8pm Sun)

1

Top Sights

Disneyland & Disney California Adventure

Mickey is one lucky mouse. Created by animator Walt Disney in 1928, this irrepressible rodent is a multimedia juggernaut, and he lives in the ‘Happiest Place on Earth.’ The land of Disney is a slice of ‘imagineered’ hyper-reality, where the streets are always clean, the park employees – called cast members – are always upbeat, and there’s a parade every day of the year. Even cynics must admit that since opening his home to guests in 1955, he’s been a pretty thoughtful host to millions of blissed-out visitors.

u Anaheim is 25 miles southeast of downtown LA on I-5, exit Disneyland Dr.

d Orange County line from Union Station to Anaheim Regional Transit Intermodal Center, then transfer.

Disneyland & Disney California Adventure

© DISNEY

GOOGLE MAP

%714-781-4565; disneyland.disney.go.com; 1313 Disneyland Dr; adult/child $99/93, 1-day pass to both parks $155/149; c

y Top Tips

A Disneyland Resort consists of three main areas: Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, both theme parks, and Downtown Disney, an outdoor pedestrian mall.

A Stay overnight (%800-225-2024, reservations 714-956-6425; www.disneyland.com) for maximum exposure. Try Disneyland Hotel or the stunning Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel.

A On Main St there’s a parade every evening.

5 Take a Break

Mediocre fast-food and family restaurants are all over both parks. Staying hydrated is crucial; bring water bottles.

Don’t Miss

Main Street, USA

Fashioned after Walt’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri, bustling Main St resembles the classic turn-of-the-20th-century, all-American town. It’s an idyllic, relentlessly upbeat representation, complete with barbershop quartet, penny arcades, ice-cream shops and a steam train. Great Moments with Mr Lincoln, a 15-minute audio-animatronic presentation, sits inside the fascinating Disneyland Story exhibit. Main St ends in the Central Plaza, lorded over by the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Understand

Fastpass Attractions

Disneyland and DCA's Fastpass system can significantly cut your wait times.

A Walk up to a Fastpass ticket machine – located near the entrance to select theme park rides – and insert your park entrance ticket or annual passport. You’ll receive a slip of paper showing the ‘return time’ for boarding (it’s always at least 40 minutes later).

A Show up within the window of time on the ticket and join the ride’s Fastpass line. There’ll still be a wait, but it’s shorter (typically 15 minutes or less). Hang on to your Fastpass ticket until you board the ride.

A If you’re running late and miss the time window printed on your Fastpass ticket, you can still try joining the Fastpass line, although showing up before your Fastpass time window is a no-no.

A The catch? When you get a Fastpass, you will have to wait at least two hours before getting another one – so make it count.

Tomorrowland

To the right of the plaza is Tomorrowland, a vision of what imagineers back in the 1950s thought the future might look like – monorails, rockets and Googie-like architecture. Today, most of the attractions have been updated, and the biggest thrills come from Star Wars–inspired Star Tours, with its buffeting StarSpeeder rocketing through the big-screen desert canyons of Tatooine. Space Mountain, with its tight turns, screaming drops and blaring music, remains one of the park’s most adrenaline-filled attractions. Finding Nemo’s Submarine Voyage is an upcycled Disneyland classic, as are Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster and the tribute film Captain EO, starring Michael Jackson.

Monorail at Tomorrowland, Disneyland

© DISNEY

Fantasyland

Classic stories and characters dwell in Fantasyland, where the canal ride through multilingual versions of It’s a Small World still charms. For a surprisingly irreverent little trip, hop aboard Mr Toad’s Wild Ride, inspired by The Wind in the Willows, for a loopy jaunt through Mr Toad’s mansion, underground London, Winky’s Pub and, sadly, the courthouse. Younger kids love whirling around the Mad Tea Party teacup ride.

Frontierland, New Orleans Square & Adventureland

The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster awaits in Frontierland, where pioneers, miners and pirates live on. New Orleans Square houses the spooky but not too scary Haunted Mansion as well as the ever-popular 17-minute Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride. Yes, the ride was here first! Indiana Jones beckons from Adventureland with a lurching drive in an oversized jeep through an archaeologist’s worst nightmare, or is it really his own twisted fantasy?

Do The Whammy

Have you gotten the Disneyland whammy yet? Don’t worry, it’s not a hex that cast members put on you for cutting in line. It’s what fanatics call riding all three of Disneyland’s ‘mountain’ rides – Splash Mountain (Critter Country), Space Mountain and the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – in one day. Overachievers can jump on the Matterhorn Bobsleds (Fantasyland) for extra credit.

Disney California Adventure

Across the plaza from Disneyland’s monument to make-believe is Disney California Adventure (DCA), an ode to California's geography, history and culture – or at least a sanitized G-rated version. DCA, which opened in 2001, covers more acres than Disneyland and feels less crowded, and it has more modern rides and attractions.

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

The big attraction of Hollywood Land, if not the entire park, is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a 13-story drop down an elevator chute situated in a haunted hotel – eerily resembling the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. From the upper floors of the tower, you’ll have views of the Santa Ana Mountains, if only for a few heart-pounding seconds. The less brave can navigate a taxicab through ‘Monstropolis’ on the Monsters, Inc: Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! ride.

Golden State

Golden State is the adrenaline-addled sector of Disney California Adventure. Its main attraction, Soarin’ over California, is a virtual hang-glide using Omnimax technology that lets you float over landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite Falls, Lake Tahoe, Malibu and, of course, Disneyland itself. The Grizzly River Run takes you ‘rafting’ down a faux Sierra Nevada river – you will get wet, so come when it’s warm. While fake flat-hatted park rangers look on, kids can tackle the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, with its ‘Big Sir’ redwoods, wooden towers and lookouts, and rock slide and climbing traverses.

Paradise Pier

If you like carnival rides, you’ll love Paradise Pier, designed to look like a combination of all the beachside amusement piers in California. The state-of-the-art California Screamin’ roller coaster resembles an old wooden coaster, but it’s got a smooth-as-silk steel track: it feels like you’re being shot out of a cannon. Just as popular is Toy Story Midway Mania, a 4D ride where you earn points by shooting at targets while your carnival car swivels and careens through an oversize, old-fashioned game arcade.

Need for Speed

Based on the Pixar franchise, Cars Land is more than a ride, it’s the newest section of DCA, complete with rides, shopping and dining options. You can glide through the air aboard Luigi’s Flying Tires, and race through 6 acres of red-rock landscapes reaching speeds of up to 40mph at the Radiator Springs Racers.

Ariel’s Undersea Adventure

Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, patterned after Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion ride, begins in a Victorian mansion where you’ll hop aboard a clamshell that will transport you through underwater scenes of the classic film. All the stars – Ariel, Prince Eric, Sebastian and Flounder – will be there to greet you.

Understand

Fireworks, Parades, Oh My!

Remember – Dreams Come True, the fireworks spectacular above Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, happens nightly around 9:25pm in summer. In Mickey's Soundsational Parade, floats glide down Main Street USA with bands playing a variety of music from Latin to Bollywood, accompanying costumed characters.

At the Princess Fantasy Faire in Fantasyland, your little princesses and knights can join the Royal Court and meet some Disney princesses. Storytelling and coronation ceremonies happen throughout the day in summer. Younglings can learn to harness ‘The Force’ at Jedi Training Academy, which accepts Padawans several times daily in peak season, at Tomorrowland Terrace.

Fantasmic!, an outdoor extravaganza on Disneyland’s Rivers of America, may be the best show of all, with its full-size ships, lasers and pyrotechnics, pink elephants, princesses and an evil queen. Arrive early to scope a spot – the best are down front by the water – or reserve balcony seats in New Orleans Square. Book reserved seating (714-781-7469, adult/child $60/50) up to 30 days in advance.

x

The Best of

Los Angeles

The Venice Stroll

The Downtown Hustle

Food

Drinking

Live Music

Gay & Lesbian Los Angeles

Shopping

Kids

Outdoor Adventure

Beaches

Celebrity-Spotting

Museums

Tours

2

Best Walks

The Venice Stroll

2The Walk

Step into the Venice lifestyle and rub shoulders with folks who believe that certain truths will only be revealed to those who disco-skate in a Speedo-and-turban ensemble. And, while such people may exist largely in their own universe, they happen to know that there are more moments of Zen packed into this tiny beach community than in most other ‘hoods combined.

Start Ocean Front Walk and Washington Blvd; Bus BBB 1

Finish Abbot Kinney Blvd; Bus MTA 33

Length 3.5 miles; two hours

5Take a Break

The best place to put your feet up is one of the many cafes and restaurants along Abbot Kinney Blvd. If you’re hungry for a quick bite, consider Abbot’s Pizza ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %310-396-7334; www.abbotspizzaco.com; 1407 Abbot Kinney Blvd; slices $3-5, pizzas $12-29; h11am-11pm Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat; c), or tuck into something more substantial at Joe’s ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %310-399-5811; www.joesrestaurant.com; 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd; mains $10-32; hnoon-2:30pm & 6-10pm Tue-Fri, from 11am Sat & Sun; p).

1 Sights

1South Venice Beach

2Venice Canals

3Venice Boardwalk

4Muscle Beach

5Venice Graffiti Park

6Venice Skate Park

7Fig Tree's Cafe

8Ballerina Clown & Chiat/Day Building

1 South Venice Beach

South of the Venice Pier is the untrammeled beach of South Venice.

2 Venice Canals

Even many Angelenos have no idea that just a couple of blocks away from the boardwalk madness is an idyllic neighborhood that preserves 3 miles of canals of the late developer and tobacco mogul Abbot Kinney.

3 Venice Boardwalk

The famed Venice Boardwalk is a vortex for the loony, the free-spirited, the hip and athletic. Here are outdoor gyms, beach rentals, skate parks and drum circles.

4 Muscle Beach

Gym rats with an exhibitionist streak can get a tan and a workout at this famous outdoor gym right on the Venice Boardwalk where Arnold once bulked up alfresco.

5 Venice Beach Graffiti Park

Keep your camera at the ready as you approach the tagged-up towers and free standing concrete wall of Venice Beach Graffiti Park, forever open to aerosol artists to curb vandalism.

6 Venice Beach Skate Park

Long the destination of local skate punks, the concrete at Venice Beach Skate Park has been molded and steel-fringed into 17,000 sq ft of vert, tranny and street terrain with unbroken ocean views.

7 Fig Tree’s Café

If you’re hungry already, Fig Tree’s Café serves the best eats on the Boardwalk.

8 Ballerina Clown & the Chiat/Day Buildings

On Main St are two of Venice’s more captivating buildings. The ballerina clown rises like a twisted god/goddess from the corner of Main and Rose on an otherwise pedestrian building. Across the street is Gehry’s epic Chiat/Day building.

9 Abbot Kinney Boulevard

Abbot Kinney, the man who dug the canals and christened the town, would probably be delighted to find the stretch of his namesake boulevard stacked with unique, individually owned boutiques, galleries and sensational restaurants.

2

Best Walks

The Downtown Hustle

2The Walk

Downtown is the most historical, multi-layered and fascinating part of Los Angeles. There’s great architecture, from 19th-century beaux arts to futuristic Frank Gehry. There’s world-class music at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, top-notch art at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), superb dining and a Fashion District. You’ll see it all as you explore this power nexus, creative vortex and ethnic mosaic.

Start LA Live; Metro Pico

Finish Union Station; Metro Union Station

Length 3.8 miles; three hours

5Take a Break

When you’re doing the downtown hustle, the Grand Central Market ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.grandcentralmarket.com; 317 S Broadway; h8am-6pm Sun-Wed, to 9pm Thu-Sat) is a good reason to pause. Both for its byzantine wholesale market and recently updated food stalls.

1 The Grammy Museum

Music lovers will get lost in interactive exhibits that define, differentiate and link musical genres, while live footage strobes from all corners at the Grammy Museum. Easily the highlight of LA Live.

2 Fashion District

The axis of the Fashion District, this 90-block nirvana for shopaholics is the intersection of 9th and Los Angeles Sts, where fashionistas and designers congregate.

3 Broadway Theater District

Highlighted by the still-running Orpheum Theatre, built in 1926, and the recently redone United Artists Theatre, Broadway was LA’s entertainment hub with no fewer than a dozen theaters built in a riot of styles.

4 Pershing Square

The hub of downtown’s historic core, Pershing Sq was LA’s first public park, and is now enlivened by public art and summer concerts.

5 Grand Central Market

The ground floor of the 1905 Beaux-Arts Grand Central Market is where architect Frank Lloyd Wright once kept an office.

6 Museum of Contemporary Art

The Museum of Contemporary Art, housed in a building by Arata Isozaki, has a collection that arcs from the 1940s and includes works by Mark Rothko and Dan Flavin.

7 Walt Disney Concert Hall

A molten blend of steel, music and psychedelic architecture, Gehry pulled out all the stops for the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall.

8 Pueblo de Los Angeles

Here’s where LA’s first colonists settled in 1781. Pueblo de Los Angeles preserves the city’s oldest buildings.

9 Union Station

A glamorous Mission Revival achievement with art deco accents, Union Station opened in 1939 as America’s last grand rail station. Bukowski worked at the historic Terminal Annex post office just north of the station.

Union Station

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Food

As recently as a decade ago, Los Angeles was often overlooked when it came to the world's best eating cities. Yet it was here that celebrity chefs such as Nobu Matsuhisa and Wolfgang Puck rose to stardom, where market-fresh health food first morphed into cuisine, and where the diversity of culture and community have converged into some of the best ethnic kitchens in America.

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The Big Shots

OK, so somewhere along the way chefs became celebrities, and the kitchen became a stage, and that arguably all started in Beverly Hills with Wolfgang Puck and Spago in the 1980s. It’s also true that ever since then the world’s best chefs have flocked to these celebrified streets to serve power lunches and dinners, and bask in the glow of Hollywood stars, and then partner with them. These days, chefs such as the aforementioned Matsuhisa, Thomas Keller, Mario Batali, Brooke Williamson and Michael Voltaggio are among the culinary celebs ready to serve you.

Ethnic Pride

The pride we speak of is not simply the kind inherent in any proud, culturally awake and aware chef poised to share his or her tradition with their ravenous public. It’s the kind of pride that Angelenos often feel when they’ve tasted flavors that explode in new directions, when the food they eat tells some other kind of story that gets their mind bounding around the world. And it’s the pride in sharing their discovery over a long, wine-drenched meal with family and friends.

yTop Tips

A Check Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Gold’s column in the LA Times for more off the beaten ethnic kitchens and gourmet prose.

A LA restaurants fill up between 7pm and 9pm, but if you don’t mind dining late, arrive after 9pm and you won’t wait long for a table.

Best Deli & Market Cafes

Forage Think bread pudding to pear-and-frangipani galettes, and pork belly sandwiches, too.

Huckleberry Crowds keep coming for the turkey meatball sandwich and deli salads.

Tasting Kitchen A terrific destination restaurant serving equally marvelous cocktails.

Ray's Where culinary art meets fine art at the LACMA.

Milo and Olive Baked eggs at breakfast and pizzas and small plates at dinner.

Best Celeb Kitchens

Pizzeria Mozza Thin-crust pies come with squash blossoms and mozzarella among other delights.

Bestia LA's hot new table serves up artful, Italian-inspired cuisine.

Bar Ama' Everything from pig ears to enchiladas with mole sauce.

Bar Pintxo Tapas, paella, great wine and a shot of Spanish soul.

Best Ethnic Eateries

Sushi Gen Thick slabs of melt-in-your-mouth salmon, buttery toro and a wonderful Japanese snapper.

Jitlada A transporting taste of southern Thailand.

Woodspoon Pork ribs that fall off the bone, fried yucca and pot pies.

Asanebo Michelin-starred sushi with truffles and serrano chiles.

Best Seafood

Son of a Gun Less classic, more edge at this tasty seafood haunt.

Connie & Ted's A throwback, festive East Coast seafood house.

Best Veggie Vortex

Elf Start with feta wrapped in grape leaves then move on to a fantastic kebab of seared oyster mushrooms.

Sage & Kind Kreme An organic vegan cafe serving fantastic raw, vegan ice cream.

Real Food Daily Ann Gentry’s famous kitchen still satisfies even devout carnivores.

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Drinking

Dry and dusty LA may be, but you will not go thirsty. After all, this is the town of Lebowski and Bukowski, and where Kiefer Sutherland and Gary Oldman’s legendary long lunch led to Oldman’s DWI arrest in the wee small hours. LA is where Slash discovered Jack Daniels, and where some of America’s most creative bartenders mix and muddle craft cocktails with a smirk or a smile.

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The Brothers Houston

The Houston Brothers, a pair of 35-year-old fraternal twins, practically grew up behind a bar. Their mother, who emigrated from Thailand, owned her share of restaurants and watering holes, so they had the hospitality business in their blood. Still, when they bought the Piano Bar in Hollywood, nobody could have predicted their rise to the top of LA's nightlife scene. But thanks to a melding of set piece design, live burlesque dancers and top-shelf cocktails and spirits – first unveiled at La Descarga and replicated at Harvard & Stone and No Vacancy – that's exactly where they've landed. Their latest is the fun throwback Good Times At Davey Wayne's, a perfect place to start the night.

Simple & Straight

Some of us prefer not to have complexities such as pomegranate or grapefruit juice; simple syrup and freshly snipped herbs get in the way of a fine spirit. Does this mean we lack taste? It simply suggests that when we go out drinking, we seek establishments that serve only the best rums, tequilas, mezcals, whiskeys and bourbons distilled from this sweet earth, and when we finally arrive at the bar, we peruse the selection, order something generally high end, usually aged, and always neat.

yTop Tips

A To minimize mortal injury to yourself and others, get to know an LA niche by strategically sampling bars within walking distance of one another. Cab or Uber it back to the hotel and do it all over again tomorrow.

A Downtown offers countless hip and tasty scenes within a short stroll.

Best Muddlers

Copa d’Oro Addictive cocktails crafted from a well of top-end spirits and a produce bin of fresh herbs, fruits, juices and a few veggies too.

Comme Ca The brainy barmen serve prohibition-era cocktails – meaning they only use what was available during the 1920s and 1930s.

No Vacancy Tightrope walkers, creative cocktails, burlesque dancers and lots of pretty people.

Basement Tavern Quasi speakeasy beneath a historic Victorian in Santa Monica with live music.

Varnish A backroom downtown speakeasy with live music.

Best Hard Stuff

El Carmen LA’s ultimate tequila and mezcal tavern with over a hundred to choose from.

Las Perlas Old Mexico whimsy and a chalkboard menu of over 80 tequilas and mezcals.

Harvard & Stone Craft whiskey, bourbon and daily cocktail specials.

Bar Marmont A Sunset Strip classic that still delivers midweek.

Best Wine & Beer Bars

Venice Beach Wines Intimate indoor-outdoor neighborhood wine bar.

Best Dives

Short Stop Laid back, funky and sprawling with a sweaty dance floor.

Thirsty Crow Where bourbon is the preferred poison.

Venice Beach Wines

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Live Music

Live music should be considered a natural resource. Like nature, its presence affects moods and circumstance; it can also inspire new creativity, technology and economies. It’s a nourishing flow that fertilizes the seeds of catharsis, loosens the intellect and enlivens the spirit. So go get some!

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Night Music

Just like the perfect set of waves, or that first spring rain you can never be quite sure when, or if, it will happen. You do know that if your fellows are open of mind, and the musicians of the moment are generous of heart, that there will be the possibility of greatness; of feeling new and alive in the Southern California night.

Whether they be the hippie rockers and electronic mixologists of Echo Park, or the jazz cats of LACMA, whether they belong to the local philharmonic or are simply blasting through town and exploding on legendary stages like the global pop virtuosos they have become, there will be night music in Angel City. Download the Bandsintown smart phone app for daily listings.

Best Stages

Hollywood Bowl LA's greatest gift to musicians and their fans.

Greek Theatre Almost as perfect as the Bowl.

El Rey A converted movie theater which hosts terrific indie acts.

Echo & Echoplex An edgy mix of DJ-driven dance parties and new rockers.

Fonda Theatre Hosts rising acts and residencies from legends like Tom Petty.

Best Free Concert Venues

LACMA Friday means live jazz on the plaza for six months a year.

California Plaza World music delights a packed plaza during the summer.

Getty Center Around 405 events bring in alt rockers and world music.

Santa Monica Pier Thursday nights bring live music throughout the summer.

Bardot Their Monday 'It's A School Night' club is a curated showcase for up and comers.

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Gay & Lesbian Los Angeles

LA is one of the country’s gayest cities. Your gaydar may well be pinging throughout the county, but the rainbow flag flies especially proudly in Boystown, along Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood (WeHo), flanked by dozens of high-energy bars, cafes, restaurants, gyms and clubs. Most cater to gay men, but there’s plenty for lesbians and mixed audiences. Thursday to Sunday nights are prime.

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Scoping the Scene

Beauty reigns supreme among the buff, bronzed and styled of Boystown. Elsewhere, the scene is more laid-back and less body-conscious. The crowd in Silver Lake runs from cute hipsters to leather-and-Levi’s bears and an older contingent. Venice and Long Beach have the most relaxed, neighborly scenes.

Except for the hardcore places, LA’s gay spots get their share of opposite-sex and straight patrons, drawn by gay friends, the fabulousness of the venues and abundant eye candy.

The Arts

There’s gay theater all over town, but the Celebration Theatre ranks among the nation’s leading stages for LGBT plays. West Hollywood’s annual Halloween Carnival draws a crowd of 500,000 to Santa Monica Blvd. June’s LA Gay Pride parade and festival (www.lapride.org) is a celebration of diversity that attracts huge crowds to the neighborhood with exhibits and shows.

The annual AIDS walk brings thousands of fundraisers to the starting line at the Pacific Design Center.

Best Nightspots

Abbey ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.abbeyfoodandbar.com; 692 N Robertson Blvd; mains $9-13; h11am-2am Mon-Thu, from 10am Fri, from 9am Sat & Sun) Match your mood to the many different spaces, from outdoor patio to Goth lounge to chill room.

Eleven ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.eleven.la; 8811 Santa Monica Blvd; h5pm-2am Mon-Thu, to 3am Fri, noon-3am Sat, 11am-2am Sun) A glam spot in a historic building hosting high energy dance parties.

Micky's ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.mickys.com; 8857 Santa Monica Blvd; h5pm-2am Sun-Thu, to 4am Fri & Sat) Quintessential WeHo dance club, with go-go boys, expensive drinks and plenty of eye candy.

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Shopping

There’s no other way to really say it. Angelenos are compulsive shoppers. You can buy anything here. A human skull? Check. A three-speed vibrator with multiple attachments? Check. A vintage, turn-of-the-century Parisian baby doll dress? Check. Japanimation action figures for grown-up hipsters? Yes! Not to mention some of the best and worst fashion hits to come out of any workshop at any point in human history.

CHRISTIAN THOMAS/GETTY IMAGES ©

High End, Darling

Heavyweight fashion houses cluster around Melrose Pl, and Fred Segal has two such outposts. Just know that if you do enter these hallowed halls, you will want to buy everything, compulsively seek out ever more obscene price tags in a blind ‘but-I-want-these!’ rage and you may whimper, even as you fork over a week’s pay for a pair of stockings or some eyeliner. But, hey, this is LA, baby. There’s no crying at the register!

Keep it Indie, Keep it Local

Here’s the one knock on the indie shops, labels and boutiques: they’re all so damn expensive when compared to the Banana Republics of the world. But if you’re into shopping with honor, and espouse a ‘do no harm’ lifestyle, then you will seek out LA’s indie boutiques. You might make a sample sale in the Fashion District, and hunt down start-up designers on the Silver Lake streets.

House of Quirk (& Smut)

If you are partial to midnight screenings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and enjoy the strange microtastes of all-over-the-map gift shops and genre bending sex-shops, then LA is your Neverland.

yTop Tips

A Save gas and aggravation by conquering LA-area boutiques a neighborhood at a time.

A LA’s farmers markets are not just great places to brunch and people-watch – young indie designers often set up stalls offering boho wear and elegant jewelry.

Best of the Best

Barneys New York LA's best department store. They have a warehouse sale twice a year.

Reformation Accessible fashion with an ecological ethos.

Diane von Furstenberg You know the lady. She deals in high-end couture.

Fred Segal A deconstructed department store with choice fashion offerings. Celebs love it.

Lotta Boutique A breezy boutique stocked with divine dresses that have lured in Beyoncé on the regular.

Abbot Kinney Blvd Unique boutiques, galleries, lofts and vintage clothing stores.

Best Offbeat

Spitfire Girl Our favorite gift shop in the city is a quirky cute staple.

OK A brainy gift shop geared toward those with refined taste and disposable income.

Wacko A warehouse of kitsch, with a welcome literary impulse.

Best Rummage

Fashion District Sample Sales Dig for hidden gems among the indie design workshops.

Melrose Trading Post A dreamy flea market at Fairfax High School.

Espionage Tasteful melange of new and vintage goods.

Browsing a vintage shop

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Kids

Looking around Rodeo Dr, Sunset Strip and downtown’s Fashion District, it’s easy to think that LA’s children have been banished to a gingerbread cottage in the woods. But the kids are here. And they have loads of stuff to do.

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Get to Know the Nodes

The term in city planning these days is ‘nodes’ (art nodes, shopping nodes) – islands of specificity dotting the urban landscape. Kid-friendly nodes include the beaches, where parents can wear out their tykes with cycling and swimming, as well as LA’s parks, where hiking, exploring and animal-watching are top notch.

Young Animal Planet devotees can ogle humanesque chimps at Griffith Park’s LA Zoo, while future paleontologists can study skeletal sabre-toothed cats pulled from the La Brea Tar Pits. And, of course, don’t forget the kiddiest nodes of all, theme parks, with options ranging from all-day happiness at Disneyland and Universal Studios to momentary thrills at Pacific Park.

Long Beach is another wonderful node, as here you'll find the exceptional Aquarium of the Pacific, which can take a full day, as well as the Queen Mary, where you can enjoy the hokey but fun Ghost & Legends Tour, and the stunning Point Fermin Park in nearby San Pedro.

Best Animal-Watching

Los Angeles Zoo 1100 finned, feathered and furry friends from over 250 species.

Best Outdoor Fun

Griffith Park One of the country’s largest urban green spaces and one perfect carousel.

Echo Park Lake Take a pedal boat or a canoe out among the ducks, swans and the gushing fountain.

Manhattan Beach A gorgeous sweep of golden sand walking distance from an ice-cream parlor that might change your life.

Santa Monica Pier & Beach Kids love the venerable pier, where attractions include a quaint carousel, a solar-powered Ferris wheel and tiny aquarium with touch tanks. The beach ain't bad either.

Best Kid-Friendly Museums

Griffith Observatory Grab a seat in the planetarium by day, peer into telescopes on the lawn by night.

California Science Center A simulated earthquake, baby chicks hatching and a giant techno-doll named Tess bring out the kid in all of us. The spacecraft rock too!

Natural History Museum This museum will take you around the world and back millions of years in time.

Best Kid-Friendly Restaurants

Uncle Bill’s Pancake House Grab an ocean-view table among the sexy surfers, tottering toddlers and gabbing girlfriends – everybody’s here for the famous pancakes!

Abbot’s Pizza Co Kids dig pizza. Yes they do.

Original Farmers Market A jumble of stalls and restaurants. Even the most finicky eaters can find something agreeable here.

Worth a Trip

Long Beach’s most mesmerizing experience, the Aquarium of the Pacific ( GOOGLE MAP ; %tickets 562-590-3100; www.aquariumofpacific.org; 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach; adult/senior/child $29/26/15; h9am-6pm; c) is a vast, high-tech indoor ocean where sharks dart, jellyfish dance and sea lions frolic. Over 12,000 creatures inhabit four re-created habitats: the bays of Baja, the northern Pacific, tropical coral reefs and local kelp forests.

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Outdoor Adventure

With bike paths, mountain trails, pounding surf and wind-blown seas minutes away, the question isn’t whether you should enjoy the outdoors, but how?

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Get Physical

Hollywood visitors short on time can zip a loop around Runyon Canyon northwest of La Brea Ave, where a steep uphill climb, great views and a no-leash policy lures Hollywood hipsters and their pooches. Griffith Park boasts 53 miles of trails plus the iconic hike to the summit of Mt Hollywood (not the location of the sign), where stellar 360-degree views await, smog-willing. Tree-lined trails along the coastal mountains offer ocean and canyon views, while bikers bounce over the Backbone Trail on the southern spine of the Santa Monicas. Beach cruisers may prefer the flat 22-mile South Bay Bicycle Trail from Santa Monica to within a spoke of Palos Verdes.

Don’t like exercising alone? John Muir’s 110-year-old Sierra Club lets non-members join its organized, very welcoming hikes and bike rides, geared to various fitness levels. See www.angeles.sierraclub.org to choose from hundreds of options. The night hikes are especially cool. Mountain-bikers should check www.corbamtb.com and www.socalmtb.com for conditions.

Best Short Hikes with Views

Hollyridge Trail Part of Griffith Park but best accessed from Bronson Canyon, this trail leads to just below the Hollywood Sign.

Runyon Canyon It's a hike, it's a workout, it's a pick-up spot with a view.

Best Ease-of-Access Biking

South Bay Bicycle Trail Pedal from Santa Monica to Redondo Beach.

Griffith Park You can rent a bike here then ride the trails.

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Beaches

The stars of Baywatch, The OC and Laguna Beach weren’t the first photogenic faces to inspire waves of California dreamin’. Nope, that would be George Freeth – one part Irish, one part Hawaiian and one part Victorian surf god – who arrived on LA’s shores 100 years ago with a wooden surfboard to promote Hawaiian tourism. But tycoon and local booster Henry Huntington persuaded young George to stick around, paying him to surf in front of his hotel. Tourists and locals were hooked, and California surf culture was born.

MARCUS LINDSTRAM/GETTY IMAGES ©

MANHATTAN BEACH

Beach Life at its Best

Today, surfers head to Malibu’s Surfrider beach, while South Bay wave hounds check out Manhattan Beach. But it’s not all about the perfect break. Santa Monica’s wide sandy swath is perfect for quintessential beach living – volleyball, bodysurfing and sunbathing are top-notch. Same goes for Manhattan and the beach south of the Venice Pier, where the crowds are lighter.

For rambling, El Matador and Westward Beach near Point Dume offer big nature. That’s where the seals, sea lions and dolphins play and breach for lucky beachcombers. If you encounter beachside fencing, unleash your inner libertarian and defy them! According to California law, all beaches are public.

Best People-Watching

Venice Boardwalk Let your freak flag fly!

Manhattan Beach Ample sand space, tasty waves.

Santa Monica Beach The best choice for families.

Best for Beachcombing

El Matador Rocky spires in the swirling tides.

Westward Beach A wide beach, clear waters, dolphins, sea lions and migrating whales.

Surfrider If you dare not paddle out, you can at least watch the surfers do their thing as your stroll the sand.

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Celebrity-Spotting

Admit it. You want to see a celeb. Of course you do. You’re in Hollywood. So don’t apologize for it. Prophets, poets, professional actors – people are drawn to a famous face. Maybe it’s the talent we love, or feeling connected to the world through one anointed person, or thinking we’ll absorb a bit of the holy glow. Or maybe they’re just hot and cool, or… hot.

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Getting Your Star Fix

The University of Southern California published a study finding that actors tend to be more narcissistic than the rest of society. Uh, yeah, and too much cheese is fattening. That said, it suggests that fan-love sates their needs as well as your own.

So, how to fulfill two needs with one gawk? Driving past stars’ homes is a start, but it’s unlikely you’ll see anyone. As for velvet-rope clubs, you very well may not get in. So where to look for stars? In their natural habitat, of course. Restaurants are primo, especially in Hollywood, West Hollywood and Mid-City. Those with patios and hidden nooks are best. As for cinemas, spotting celebs at the ArcLight is a good bet. Shopping works too, so browse their faves on Robertson Blvd and Abbot Kinney Blvd. Finally, hillside trails are favored for exercise. Who was that jogging past in the baseball cap?

Best Celebrity-Spotting Restaurants

Dan Tana’s High-end dining and late-night supper lures big stars.

AOC A long-running gitterati favorite.

Ita Cho A staple for celebs in the West Hollywood swirl.

Popular Celeb-Spotting Spots

Fred Segal Top-shelf shopping yields top-shelf shoppers.

Barneys New York Celebs often peruse the stock and dine at the top-floor deli.

Malibu Country Mart Many stars live in 'the Bu,' and this is the only shopping and dining vortex in town.

Celeb Sighting Almost Guaranteed

Runyon Canyon Weekdays only.

Bar Marmont Weeknights only.

Warner Bros Studio VIP Tour They work here, don't they?

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Museums

Museums grand and austere, sprawling and magical, tucked away and hidden in plain sight, dot the Greater Los Angeles Area. Among them are Shinto shrines, a window into ‘Jurassic technology’, a part-time jazz hub, prehistoric remains, and a museum masterwork that is stuffed with so many of Getty’s goodies it’s almost unfathomable. If you’re not feeling culturally aware, awake or relevant in LA, you won’t be alone, but it will be your own fault.

MOCA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART TRAVEL INK/GETTY IMAGES ©

yTop Tips

A Most if not all of LA-area museums offer specific ‘free days’ to their public. Some are free all day once a week, or once or twice monthly, and still others offer a few hours free a week.

A The Anne Frank Exhibit at the Museum of Tolerance is sensational.

Best Museums

Getty Center Stunning location, groundbreaking architecture, rotating exhibits and timeless treasures.

LACMA LA's top art museum, stocked with fine art and global antiquities.

MOCA Works by Mark Rothko, Dan Flavin and Joseph Cornell housed in a postmodern building by Arata Isozaki.

Hammer Museum Minor works by Monet, Van Gogh and Mary Cassat, and cutting-edge contemporary exhibits.

Best Alternative Realities

Museum of Jurassic Technology Be warned, there is madness lurking in this rabbit hole.

Jadis A steampunk gallery of old film props and analog robots.

Grammy Museum If you’re a music nerd, come here and trace the history of American popular music.

Wall Project A fat slab of the fallen Berlin Wall blessed with work from street artists, via the Wende Museum.

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Tours

Whether you’re interested in the seeds of LA noir, ghost hunting, ethnic nibbling, soaking in neon, architecture, art, or peering at the many sides of the angel city from a road bike, beach cruiser or double-decker bus, we’ve got you covered.

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Get Deep, Get Weird, Get Real

Whatever your pleasure – dark or light, tragic or profane, sweet and tasty – there is a tour for you. There exists a tour of scandal and blood, you may gawk at the stars (and their dirt) with actual paparazzi, tour a working studio in Burbank, gaze at world-class architecture downtown, and buzz between blasts of aerosol artistry on the Metro.

Best Tours

Dearly Departed Tours Explore the Manson murders, Janis' overdose, Whitney's decline and Michael's greatness and dysfunctional sadness.

TMZ Tours ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %855-486-9868; www.tmz.com/tour; 6925 Hollywood Blvd; adult/child $55/45; happrox 10 tours daily) Join this branded tour imagined by the paparazzi made famous. Tours are two hours long, and you will likely meet TMZ stars and perhaps even celebrity guests on the bus!

Warner Bros Studio VIP Tour ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %877-492-8687, 818-972-8687; www.wbstudiotour.com; 3400 W Riverside Dr, Burbank; tours from $54; h8:15am-4pm Mon-Sat, hours vary Sun) See the inner workings of a real movie studio.

Esotouric The great capers, the notorious crimes and the best writers are all tour fodder.

Metro Rail Art Some of LA’s best contemporary art is not in a museum but in its Metro stations. Discover works by Jonathan Borowsky and Gilbert ‘Magu’ Lujan, among others.

Los Angeles Conservancy Downtown LA’s intriguing historical and architectural gems are revealed on 2½-hour walking tours.

Los Angeles skyline at night

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Survival Guide

Before You Go

When to Go

A Spring (Apr-Jun) Wildflowers bloom in the hills, rain is scarce and the sun shines warm on southern California.

A Summer (Jul-Sep) Inland temperatures begin to soar and air quality suffers. By the sea, overcast skies (aka June Gloom) can persist through July.

A Autumn (Oct-Dec) The first of LA’s two short wet seasons begins in October. Between storms temperatures stay in the 70s and the skies are blue.

A Winter (Jan-Mar) The more significant rainy season; it’s also when mountains appear snow-glazed beyond downtown and wildflowers bloom.

Book Your Stay

When choosing overnight digs in Los Angeles, pick your location wisely. Staying at a beach hotel is probably not the best choice if you’re catching a performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall or visiting Universal Studios in Burbank. Most neighborhoods have hotels in just about every price range. Expect to pay between $130 and $200 per night for a midrange room.

Useful Websites

Los Angeles Hotel Accommodations (www.losangeleshotelaccommodations.com) A local discount online booking site.

Orbitz (www.orbitz.com) It offers discounted rates, but always cross-check with the hotel’s own website to be sure.

Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com) Author-penned reviews and online booking.

Best Budget

Vibe Hotel ( GOOGLE MAP ; %323-469-8600; www.vibehotel.com; 5920 Hollywood Blvd; dm $22-25, r $85-95; piW)

USA Hostels Hollywood ( GOOGLE MAP ; %800-524-6783, 323-462-3777; www.usahostels.com; 1624 Schrader Blvd; dm $30-40, r with shared bath $81-104; aiW)

Best Midrange

Pali Hotel ( GOOGLE MAP ; %323-272-4588; www.pali-hotel.com; 7950 Melrose Ave; r from $179; piW)

Venice Beach Inn & Suites ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-396-4559; www.venicebeachsuites.com; 1305 Ocean Front Walk; r from $159; pW)

Best Top End

Petit Ermitage ( GOOGLE MAP ; %310-854-1114; www.petitermitage.com; 8822 Cynthia St; ste from $350; paiWs)

Ace Hotel ( GOOGLE MAP ; %213-623-3233; www.acehotel.com/losangeles; 929 S Broadway Ave; r from $250, stes from $400)

Arriving in Los Angeles

Top Tip For the best way to get to your accommodations, see Click here.

Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX; GOOGLE MAP ; www.lawa.org/lax; 1 World Way) is about 17 miles southwest of downtown, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the San Diego Fwy (I-405) to the east.

A All nine terminals are linked by the free Shuttle A leaving from the lower (arrival) level. Cabs and hotel and car-rental shuttles stop here as well.

A Curbside dispatchers will be on hand to summon a taxi for you. The flat rate to downtown LA is $47, while going to Santa Monica costs $30 to $35, to West Hollywood around $40, to Hollywood to $50 and to Disneyland $90.

A Public transportation has become a lot easier since the arrival of LAX FlyAway (%866-435-9529; www.lawa.org/FlyAway; one-way $8). These buses travel nonstop to Downtown’s Union Station ($8, 45 minutes), Van Nuys ($8, 45 minutes), Westwood Village near UCLA ($10, 30 minutes), and to the Expo Line Light Rail station at La Brea and Exposition Blvd ($7; 1¼ hours) for connections to South Central, Hollywood and Union Station.

A For Santa Monica or Venice, catch the free Shuttle C bus to the LAX City Bus Center & MetroRail Station ( GOOGLE MAP ; 96th St & Sepulveda Blvd), then change to the Santa Monica Rapid 3 ($1, one hour). The center is the hub for buses serving all of LA. If you’re headed for Culver City, catch Culver City bus 6 ($1, 20 minutes). For Manhattan or Hermosa Beach, hop aboard Beach Cities Transit 109 ($1), which also stops at Lot G. For Redondo Beach head to Lot C and hop the Metro Local 232 ($1.75). Trip-planning help is available at www.metro.net.

A The Disneyland Resort Express travels hourly or half-hourly from LAX to the main Disneyland resorts (adult/child one way $30/20, round-trip $48/35).

Bob Hope/Burbank Airport

Domestic flights operated by Alaska, American, Southwest, United and other major US airlines also arrive at Bob Hope/Burbank Airport ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.burbankairport.com; 2627 N Hollywood Way, Burbank), located about 14 miles northwest of downtown LA. It's handy if you’re headed for Hollywood, Downtown or Pasadena.

Long Beach Airport

To the south, on the border with Orange County, the small Long Beach Airport ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.lgb.org; 4100 Donald Douglas Dr, Long Beach) is convenient for Disneyland and is served by Alaska, US Airways and Jet Blue.

Union Station

Amtrak (%800-872-7245; www.amtrak.com), America’s national rail service, rolls into Los Angeles at historic Union Station ( GOOGLE MAP ; %800-872-7245; www.amtrak.com; 800 N Alameda St), located downtown.

Greyhound Bus Terminal

Greyhound operates extensive, if slow, routes across North America. Its main Los Angeles terminal is downtown ( GOOGLE MAP ; %213-629-8401; www.greyhound.com; 1716 E 7th St). Avoid arriving after dark.

Getting Around

Although having a car is preferable, if you confine your excursions to the Hollywood–Los Feliz–Downtown swirl you can do just fine with the Metro Red Line. And it’s only a moderate ride from West Hollywood and Beverly Hills to Santa Monica aboard buses equipped with bike racks. Bring a bicycle and your mobility and possibilities expand.

Travel Passes

The Metro Transit Authority operates about 200 bus lines as well as seven Metro Rail lines. A plastic, rechargeable Transit Access Pass can be used throughout the county in addition to cash. Currently, the MTA sells weekly ($25) passes, valid on both bus and rail lines. Tickets and passes are sold at more than 400 retail outlets around town, and at MTA customer centers including Union Station and Mid-City (5301 Wilshire Blvd; h9am-5pm Mon-Fri).

Bus

Best for... Traveling between different neighborhoods.

A A network of bus routes spans the metropolis, with most operated by Metro Transit Authority (%323-466-3876; www.metro.net). Its one-way fare starts at $1.75. Most routes operate 5am to 2am daily. Individual tickets (exact fare required) can be purchased from the bus driver.

A Fast, frequent Metro Rapid buses (numbered in the 700s) make limited stops. Bus 720 travels Downtown from Santa Monica via Westwood, Beverly Hills and Mid-City’s Miracle Mile along Wilshire in about 45 to 90 minutes, depending on departure time.

Big Blue Bus

A Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus rumbles through much of western LA including Beverly Hills, Culver City, Westwood/UCLA and Venice.

A One-way fares are $1 and transfers to a different bus or bus system are 50¢. The freeway express to Downtown LA costs $2 (from another bus, transfer is $1).

A We abbreviate Big Blue Bus routes as ‘BBB’.

Metro Rail

Best for... Traveling between downtown, the Valley, Hollywood, Culver City and Exposition Park.

A Operated by MTA, Metro subway and light-rail trains connect downtown with Hollywood, Los Feliz and Universal City (Red Line), Pasadena (Gold Line) LAX (Green Line), Long Beach (Blue Line) and Korea Town (Purple Line).

A One-way fares on most trains are $1.50. Silver Line trains cost $2.45.

A Trains run approximately 5am to midnight.

Taxi

Best for... short hops within contained neighborhoods. Crosstown cabs cost your firstborn.

Most companies charge a $2.85 base fee then $2.70 per mile. Costs can add up quickly in traffic-snarled LA. Surcharges for airport trips may apply. Call Beverly Hills Cab Co (%800-273-6611; www.beverlyhillscabco.com), Checker Cab (%800-300-5007; http://ineedtaxi.com) or Taxi Taxi (%310-444-4444; www.santamonicataxi.com) in Santa Monica.

Uber (www.uber.com), the app-based driver service, is hugely popular here and is a nice alternative to taxis.

Car & Motorcycle

Best for... Getting around under your own steam and grappling with the traffic like a local.

A If you’re planning to visit several neighborhoods, it may be wise to rent a car. Because of LA’s sprawl, public transportation can be cumbersome and time-consuming, while taxis can be expensive.

A Rental rates start at about $35 a day or from $125 a week for unlimited mileage, exclusive of taxes and insurance.

A LA’s freeways are variously referred to by number or by name. To add to the fun, the same freeway may have a different name in a different region. Here are the biggies:

I-5 Golden State/Santa Ana Fwy

I-10 Santa Monica/San Bernardino Fwy

I-110 Pasadena/Harbor Fwy

I-405 San Diego Fwy

I-710 Long Beach Fwy

US 101 Hollywood/Ventura Fwy

Hwy 1 Pacific Coast Hwy (PCH)

A Freeways should be avoided during rush hour (5am to 9am and 3pm to 7pm), although traffic jams can occur at any time. Waze is the best smartphone mapping service. It factors existing traffic into its suggested route to get you there as quickly as possible.

A Street parking spots may be metered or restricted, so obey posted signs to avoid a ticket. Private lots and parking garages cost at least $5 a day and can be more expensive downtown. Valet parking at hotels can cost as much as $40 a day.

A Municipal lots near Rodeo Dr in Beverly Hills and bordering Third St Promenade in Santa Monica are free for two hours.

Driver’s License

Visitors can legally drive in California with a valid driver’s license issued in their home country. An International Driving Permit is not compulsory.

Essential Information

Business Hours

A Normal business hours are 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Banks usually open from 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Thursday and to 5:30pm on Friday; some also open from 9am to 2pm on Saturday.

A Shops open from 10am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, though shopping malls may close later, and open from 11am to 6pm on Sunday.

A Bars are generally open from late afternoon until 2am.

A Restaurants generally serve lunch from 11am to 3pm and dinner from 5:30pm to 10pm.

Electricity

See Click here for detailed information.

Emergency

Police, Fire, Ambulance 911

Rape & Battering Hotline 213-626-3393, 310-392-8381

Rape Treatment Center, UCLA 310-319-4503

Public Holidays

New Year’s Day January 1

Martin Luther King Jr Day Third Monday in January

Presidents’ Day Third Monday in February

Easter A Friday and Sunday in March or April

Memorial Day Last Monday in May

Independence Day July 4

Labor Day First Monday in September

Columbus Day Second Monday in October

Veterans’ Day November 11

Thanksgiving Fourth Thursday in November

Christmas Day December 25

Safe Travel

A Traffic accidents are your biggest threat in Los Angeles, so make sure to buckle up, even in a taxi. It’s actually the law in California. Take care not to drink and drive; designate a driver.

A Violent crime is mostly confined to well-defined areas of East LA and South LA, as well as less-trafficked blocks in Hollywood, Venice and Downtown. Avoid these areas after dark. Downtown is the site of ‘Skid Row,’ an area roughly bounded by 3rd, Alameda, 7th and Main, where many of the city’s homeless spend the night.

Telephone

US cell phones operate on GSM 1900. If your home country uses a different standard, you’ll need a multiband GSM phone to make calls and access data in LA. If you have an unlocked multiband phone, a prepaid rechargeable SIM chip is usually cheaper than using your own network. You can also buy inexpensive pay-as-you-go phones.

City Codes

All California phone numbers consist of a three-digit area code followed by a seven-digit local number. Even local calls from cell phones require the entire number to be dialed. Toll-free numbers start with 800, 866, 877 or 888.

Anaheim (657, 714)

Beverly Hills, Culver City, Malibu, Santa Monica, South Bay (310, 424)

Burbank (747, 818)

Echo Park & Downtown LA (213)

Hollywood, Los Feliz, Mid-City, Silver Lake (323)

Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley (626)

Useful Phone Numbers

Country code (1)

International direct dial tone (011)

International operator (00)

Local directory inquiries (411)

Operator (0)

Toll-free directory inquiries (1-800-555-1212)

Tipping

Bars 15%; minimum tip $1 per order

Hotel porters $1 to $2 per item

Restaurants 15% to 20%; tip may be included as a ‘service charge’ on bill for large groups

Taxis 10% to 15%

Valet parking $2-3

Tourist Information

The main tourist offices are downtown, in Hollywood and at the Los Angeles Convention.

Downtown Los Angeles Visitors Center ( GOOGLE MAP )

Hollywood Visitor Information Center ( GOOGLE MAP ; %323-467-6412; http://discoverlosangeles.com; Hollywood & Highland complex, 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood; h10am-10pm Mon-Sat, to 7pm Sun)

Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau (% 800-228-2452, 213-624-7300; www.lacvb.com)

Travelers with Disabilities

A Under current law, public buildings, restrooms and transportation (buses, trains and taxis) are required to be wheelchair accessible. Larger hotels and motels have rooms designed for guests with a disability.

A For para-transit and door-to-door services, contact Access Services Incorporated (%800-827-0829; www.asila.org). Check with individual car rental agencies for hand-controlled vehicles or vans with wheelchair lifts. Wheelers (%800-456-1371; www.wheelersvanrentals.com) specializes in these vehicles. You must have a permit for parking at blue curbs and specially designated spots in public lots.

A If you need assistance in LA, contact LA County Commission on Disabilities (%213-974-1053, TTY 213-974-1707; www.laccod.org). On its website, the Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (TTY ; %212-447-7284; www.sath.org) provides links to numerous sources of information about traveling with a disability.

Visas

A Since the rules for entry into the US are constantly changing, check with the United States Consulate in your home country for up-to-date information as well as the visa website of the US Department of State (www.travel.state.gov).

A Under the US Visa Waiver programs (VWP), visas are currently not required for citizens of 38 countries for stays of up to 90 days (no extensions allowed) provided they have a machine-readable passport (MRP). If you don’t have an MRP, you’ll need a visa and a passport valid for six months after the date of your expected stay, and your trip must be for business or tourism. Those applying for the VWP must be approved through US Customs' Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Log on to www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/esta.

A Citizens from all non-visa-waiver countries need to apply for a visa in their home country. The process may take some time, so apply as early as possible.

Behind the Scenes

SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK

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Adam’s Thanks

Los Angeles is a city I love, full of people I love. LA is home. Still, it’s never easy to dissect your own backyard, mostly because you usually know what you’re missing. So thanks to Alma Lauer, Trisha Cole, Jessica Ritz, Nina Gregory, Burton Breznick, Tchaiko Omawale, Dan Cohn, Angel Payne, Christine Lazzaro, Liebe Geft, the folks at the Wende Museum, Michael McDowell, Alex Capriotti, and

John Moore. Thanks also to all those wild seals, sea lions, dolphins and whales that keep us entertained in the water, and to the LP staff and my cohorts Sara Benson and Andy Bender.

Acknowledgements

Cover photograph: Hollywood Hills & the Hollywood Sign from Beverly Hills Boulevard, Christian Kober/Corbis Go Metro Map © 2014 Los Angeles Metro

This Book

This 4th edition of Lonely Planet’s Pocket Los Angeles guidebook was researched and written by Adam Skolnick. The previous edition was also written by Adam Skolnick; the 2nd edition was written by Amy C Balfour. This guidebook was commissioned in Lonely Planet’s London office, and produced by the following:

Destination Editor Clifton Wilkinson

Product Editor Tracy Whitmey

Senior Cartographer Diana Von Holdt

Book Designer Clara Monitto

Assisting Editors Melanie Dankel, Christopher Pitts

Cover Researcher Naomi Parker

Thanks to Carolyn Boicos, Ryan Evans, Larissa Frost, Louise Horseman, Jouve India, Zak Lamont, Wayne Murphy, Karyn Noble, Oliver Pullen, Matthew Siegan

Ebook thanks to Anita Banh, Andrew Bigger, Ruth Cosgrove, Julie Dodkins, Craig Kilburn, Chris Love, Wayne Murphy, Jacqui Saunders, John Taufa, Chris Tsismetzis, Glenn Van der Knijff, Juan Winata.

Our Story

A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.

Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Franklin, London, Melbourne, Oakland, Beijing and Delhi, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.

Our Writer

Adam Skolnick

Adam Skolnick has written about travel, culture, health, sports, human rights and the environment for Lonely Planet, New York Times, Outside, Men’s Health, Travel & Leisure, Salon.com, BBC.com and ESPN.com. He has authored or co-authored 26 Lonely Planet guidebooks. You can read more of his work at www.adamskolnick.com. Find him on Twitter and Instagram (@adamskolnick).

Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

ABN 36 005 607 983

4th edition - July 2015

ISBN 9781743602454

© Lonely Planet 2015 Photographs © as indicated 2015

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