When packing your suitcase and anticipating a trip to Los Angeles – California, what to see, it’s best to plan ahead. There are too many sights and temptations. The City of Angels is the capital of celebrities and the film industry of the world; a place where you can try fast food without departing from the principles of proper nutrition; see celebrities sunbathing on the beach; ride the unique attractions in Disneyland; touch the art, visiting museums.
Where is Los Angeles
The City of Angels is located in California, one of the states of the United States. The location of the capital of the film industry is a hilly plain on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. There are mountains on one side and ocean waves on the other.
The climate in this area of the country can be called favorable for travel: summer is hot and dry, winter is very mild and wet, reminiscent of the European early autumn.
Peculiarities of visiting the city
Before you go to California, you will have to go through a kind of interview with the officers who inspect you at the border. During the conversation they try to identify possible emigrants. If tourists are traveling, having received an invitation from relatives or friends, you will need to show evidence of communication, such as correspondence. If you travel independently, you must show a paid hotel reservation. The answers to the questions must match the information on the questionnaire.
What to see in Los Angeles, California
The itinerary of sightseeing is better to make before the trip. The city is famous and rich, combining industrial culture and historical heritage while looking like a big village. You can meet some of the country’s most interesting people and buy things they once used.
Griffith Park and Observatory
Those who have already been to the City of Angels recommend leaving a visit to the park for dessert, to take a break from the crowds. Here you can take a leisurely stroll through the alleys and breathe the fresh air, go to the zoo, enjoy a performance in the outdoor Greek theater, and in the evening you can admire the stars through telescopes and view the city in the lights. The complex was built in 1935 and has only been developing ever since.
Getty Center
The museum was created by one of the richest men in the world, Paul Getty. The oil tycoon began assembling an art collection in 1953 and established the J. Paul Getty Trust to exhibit it. Paul Getty Trust.
A hovercraft will help you get to the center, which is located at the top of Brentwood Hill. Riding it is already an adventure. And then you can enjoy the most famous works of art: “The Abduction of Europe” by Rembrandt, “Iris” by Van Gogh, etc.
Disneyland
It’s not just a park – it’s a fairytale town. It is the dream of many children not only in the United States, but all over the world, to come here. Disney built one of California’s main attractions back in 1955, when he was realizing his dream of an entertainment empire. Since its opening, the complex has been visited by more than 700 million people.
The central avenue begins at the entrance and leads to the square with the Castle of the Sleeping Beauty. From there you can get into one of the 4 thematic zones – the worlds of dreams and fantasy, adventure, future and reality. You don’t have to move on foot – it’s too vast an area. Visitors are taken by 2-story buses with panoramic windows. Children and adults ride the rides and take pictures with actors dressed up as fairy tale characters and cartoon characters.
Disneyland is located in the town of Anaheim, an hour from downtown Los Angeles.
Universal Studios Hollywood Park
In this place to relax you can not. Rides are based on the themes of famous blockbusters – from “Waterworld” to “King Kong”. The world of Harry Potter has already been built – it is now the most popular visiting area, where you can fly, though not on a broomstick, but on slides, and buy accessories for magic – a broomstick and a wand.
Tourists are offered guided tours of the set, an introduction to the life behind the scenes. Meetings with celebrities are organized here. Even at the entrance to the park is a red carpet.
Walk of Fame
The idea of adding glamour by presenting peculiar monuments to celebrities began in the 1950s. Since then, 2,500 stars have already appeared on Hollywood Boulevard. Thousands of tourists stroll through here every day, looking for mentions of their idols. Opposite the alley is the Chinese Theater, where you can watch movies with celebrities.
La Brea Ranch and Page Museum
Going to the park and seeing a tar lake is already interesting, especially when the tar pits are a natural feature. While extracting the resin, a whole cemetery of preglacial animals was discovered here. This find was the beginning for the creation of the Page Museum. The oldest specimens are 38,000 years old.
The skeletons of mastodons, mammoths, and saber-toothed tigers were recreated from fragments. There is a demonstration in one of the halls explaining why the animals could not get out of the tar trap. A stick is immersed in the bitumen and offered to be pulled out. It becomes clear why the animals were dying.
Santa Monica Pier
If you have time, it is better to rent bikes and ride along the beach. Then you can admire the dolphins jumping out of the water, and seals swimming up to warm on the shore rocks, and then examine the multiliter aquarium with sea creatures.
Next to the pier is Pacific Park. There you can ride the carousel, built in 1922, and the country’s largest Ferris wheel.
Rodeo Drive
People come here to touch luxury. The shopping quarter offers designer clothes and beautiful accessories, shoes and jewelry. An avenue with boutiques is called the “Golden Triangle” of the city. However, tourists are unlikely to be able to buy something of the exhibited – too high prices.
A local landmark is the Mini Mall. It has many boutiques, entertainment centers, cafes and restaurants, cinemas, rest rooms.
Museum of Contemporary Art Broad
The building itself is impressive. Because of the lattice shell with elongated cells, it seems that it is irregular geometric shape, with a beveled roof. The exterior of the museum prepares guests to meet the impressive works of artists of the second half of the 20th century.
The collection was assembled by local billionaire Eli Broad. It has works by Kara Walker, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol, and others. The exhibit is new – it only opened in 2015.
Watts Towers
There are 17 skyscrapers of different designs communicating with each other. In appearance, they resemble Gaudi’s fantastic buildings. The architect, Italian Sabato Rodia, shared with Americans the atmosphere of the sunny homeland, using for the design seashells, pieces of tile, metal, etc. The author himself collected materials for his brainchild. The height of the structures with a sharp spire reaching the sky is about 30 meters. Each has its own name, such as “Marco Polo’s Ship.
There is an arts center nearby that hosts a variety of cultural events.
Runyon Canyon Park
There are no attractions and entertainment – only pristine wildlife: canyons, tall trees of different species with a predominance of palm trees, fresh air. You can walk along trails and paths made of quality asphalt, enjoying the views of the city.
It is offered to test their strength on routes of varying difficulty – from the “Hero’s Path” to “Runyon Canyon”. You should buy a hat before you go out: on clear days in California it is easy to get sunstroke.
Gamble House.
The mansion was built in 1908 for the heir to the Procter & Gamble empire by brother architects Henry and Charles Green. Seventeen types of wood and art glass were used to create the design.
The structure is reminiscent of both Chinese pagodas and the homes of farmers in the Wild West. The interior has preserved the furnishings of the early 20th century.
Hollywood Bowl.
It is advisable to visit this place in the evening – it will not make an impression during the day. The most important events and concerts have been held in the amphitheater for 70 years, and famous performers have performed here. In the fall of 2022, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra can be heard in the Hollywood Bowl. There is a tradition – before the start of the performance, the audience is given a picnic outdoors.
Recommendation for tourists: Bring warm clothes. Even in the hot summer, the nights in California are cool.
American Channels
The wonder of Los Angeles is little Venice, a neighborhood near the airport. Narrow streets, neat houses, greenery, four small canals perpendicular to the ocean and one large one, the Grand. Near each dwelling a gondola is tethered, though more to create a unique design, and ducks swim on the water surface.
When visiting the area, the hardest part is parking. The price for a paid seat is $10-$20.
El Matador Beach
Many directors shoot pictures on the beaches of Malibu. Here the finest fine sand, clear water, sandstone cliffs, from which you have to go down to the coast on winding paths. In the bays sunbathe and swim holidaymakers, and in the open space surfers conquer the waves.
Chinatown
Chinatown is located in the heart of Angel City and is known primarily for food outlets with a national flavor:
- General Lee’s bar offers cocktails with the most modern recipes;
- Yang Chow restaurant – Chinese food;
- Howlin’ Ray’s is seafood and tobacco chicken.
You can take a lot of beautiful pictures in the narrow alleys and near the statue of Bruce Lee, and visit galleries with interesting exhibitions – The Good Luck Gallery and Coagula Curatorial. Exposures change frequently.
Grauman’s Chinese Theater
It shows both modern and old films made in all parts of the world. At the time of its opening in the distant 1927, the theater screened “Sun Valley Serenade,” an all-time cult movie.
So there is no need to fear that the 1,162-seat hall is only for Chinese residents. The cinema got its name because of the original architecture. It is a building in the shape of a Chinese pagoda.
During the intermission you can visit one of the cafes or listen to music in the lobby.
Pacific Highway
There are no special tours to see the highway. It is visited when intending to go out of town to see Santa Monica or Malibu. The length of the autobahn is several thousand kilometers.
On one side of the road are bushy cliffs and cliffside mansions, and on the other is the Pacific Ocean. You can drive down the specially equipped leads, sunbathe, swim, eat in many restaurants and pubs.
Tourists who have already been to Los Angeles recommend the biker bar Neptune’s Net, the patio cafe or the Malibu Seafood Market with outlets where they can cook any fish they want.
Sunset Boulevard
When taking a walk around the city in the evening, you should definitely visit the street that crosses downtown Los Angeles. There tourists dip into the neon lights, look at the bright billboards, visit restaurants with live music. In the ’60s and ’80s, this place was considered the center of musical life.
Don’t turn down the opportunity to stop by the Chateau Marmont Hotel. Fans of movie actors and writers of yesteryear will enjoy walking through the building where Billy Wilder, Hunter Thompson, and Dorothy Parker stayed. And in 1982, John Belushi died in this hotel from an overdose of illegal substances.
Not far from the boulevard is the richest neighborhood in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.
When is the best time to go to Los Angeles?
Life in the city depends largely on the season:
- Spring is one of the best times to travel. This is the time of the Oscar ceremony, festivals – book, Poppy, music – jazz and reggae, and the City Marathon.
- Summer is hot, the tourist season is at its highest. Europeans unaccustomed to the heat will be uncomfortable. During this time there are festivals of LGBT, independent film, Japanese culture, souvenir exhibition, Independence Day celebration.
- The weather in Los Angeles in the fall is comfortable. Good opportunities for surfing and other beach activities. There is the Downtown Film Festival in September, the National Color Street Fair and Halloween in October, and Day of the Dead in November.
- The weather is rainy in the winter. This time is better to devote to hiking in museums and shopping malls. In winter, tourists attend Christmas sales and celebrate the New Year several times – the American way, the European way and the Chinese way. Many guests come to the Golden Dragon Parade in February.
What to look at first
The variety of cultural life allows travelers to make their own sightseeing itinerary around the city. In addition to the attractions already described, you can visit:
- The Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels;
- Peterson, Hollywood, Natural History, and Modern Art museums;
- California Science Center and more.
Los Angeles attracts celebrities and tourists with beach vacations, opportunities to touch the arts and visit theme parks.
