Los Angeles, home for the film, music, and fashion, is definitely a place almost everyone has on their visit wishlist. Even just for a day. But planning the Los Angeles trip it’s so overwhelming. There are so many places and things to see, and the city is so big, that in the end you just end up running around and miss the true vibe. In the end, I got the same feeling about LA as I got about Las Vegas. Didn’t hate it, but didn’t love it either. We were there for two days, didn’t actually see everything I would want. Although we have seen some great things, I just have a feeling there is more to it. Maybe it’s better to stay a little bit longer, so you take it easy and enjoy. And maybe get some locals to show you some less touristy places. Anyway, in this post, you can later find some great places to explore in Los Angeles.

→Before you go

RESEARCH – As I said, planning a visit to Los Angeles can be overwhelming. It’s good to know what you want to see there, plan to see different spots in the same location, so you don’t spet time just running around. But it’s also good to include some spontaneous things you just see on the way.

TRANSPORTATION – If you are on a road trip like we were, you will probably already have a car and suffer some time to get to the city and your accommodation. But when you get there, just park your car and use public transportation instead. You will save some money on gas and parking, but most importantly, you will save time and nerves. I found this great post HOW TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN LOS ANGELES from World of Lina. She explained everything in details, so just hop on her page to get all the info you need.
WHEN TO GO – In summer can get quite hot, so the best time to easily stroll around is in spring and fall. Also a little less crowded than in the summer.

→Where to stay

Los Angeles is divided into a few areas with different neighborhoods. West (Santa Monica, Venice, Beverley Hills), Central (Hollywood, West Hollywood), Downtown (Koreatown, Little Tokyo, Chinatown), East (Los Feliz, Pasadena, East LA), The Valley (Burbank, Studio City, North Hollywood) and South (Long Beach, Manhattan Beach).
Everywhere you’ll stay, you’ll have a long way to sights that are not in your area. So it is probably best to stay somewhere where are most of the places you want to see, and close to public transportation.

There are so many accommodations to choose from, so I’ll just make a short list of some hotels with an interesting design.
MAMA SHELTER LOS ANGELES – There are other Mama Shelter hotels around the World, this one just as amazing as the others. Located in Hollywood, Mama Shelter Los Angeles is 600 meters away from the Capitol Records Building, Dolby Theater is 800 meters from the hotel, while the Hollywood Bowl is 1.6 km away.
PodShare Hollywood – This property is 1.2 km away from Hollywood Walk of Fame and Dolby Theater. There are also other PodShare hostels around LA, besides this one in Hollywood, you can find others in Venice, Downtown LA, and Los Feliz. And they all look amazing. It’s all about co-living, so if you are very extrovert and outgoing, this is a great place for you.
AVALON HOTEL BEVERLY HILLS – Avalon Hotel is a boutique hotel located in Beverly Hills adjacent to Los Angeles’ most famous restaurants, shopping, and cultural attractions. The retro palette of seafoam green and cream runs through the lobby to the rooms and includes strong accents of azure blue. A perfect place for a relaxing stay.
HOTEL BEVERLY TERRACE – Another one in Beverly Hills, a great design with an amazing terrace.
THE KINNEY VENICE BEACH – Located in a walking distance to Venice Beach and Abbot Kinney’s artsy commercial strip. A great artsy and playful place to explore and fell the Venice beach vibe.

→What to explore in LA

GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY

The Griffith Observatory is a facility located on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park. You can look through telescopes, explore exhibits, see live shows in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium and enjoy a spectacular view of the Los Angeles Basin, Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, and the Pacific Ocean. You can also enjoy the closer view to Hollywood sign. Go there in the early evening to catch the sunset and watch the city in lights. There is parking available nearby.

HOLLYWOOD SIGN

Oh, the iconic Hollywood sign! Everyone has to go there. It’s kind of a tourist trap. But still interesting to see. There are different places where you can enjoy the view of the sign. One is previously mentioned, Griffith Park. Another point, where we have been, is the Hollywood Sign viewpoint on Canyon Lake Dr. There is also parking available. We were driving through tiny, narrow, crooked roads, and I thought how annoying it must be for people who live there, watching so many tourists driving by daily. I felt horrible. We didn’t have a need to go any closer. Just to take some photos and catch a glimpse.
There are some other options, find out more about the sign on HollywoodSign.

SANTA MONICA

Santa Monica is a perfect beach city and one of the good places to explore while in LA. There is a variety of places to see and things to do. The first thing that comes to your mind is definitely Santa Monica Pier and amusement park Pacific Park. Santa Monica also offers some great places to eat & drink, and of course shopping. There is also an iconic beach in California, Santa Monica Beach which offers a variety of activities and attractions. Check out the Santa Monica page to get a lot of useful information.

VENICE BEACH

Venice is a residential, commercial, and recreational beachfront neighborhood located in the West LA. Definitely one of the best places to spend some time while you are staying in Los Angeles. Either you want to eat shop and party, or just stroll along and relax on the beach, you can’t go wrong. You can visit the Venice Canals. Find out more about in on Venice Beach site.

HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME

And, here it is, the most overrated spot in LA. It’s not so glamorous, you’ll not see all the famous stars there, it crowded with tourists and homeless people, and not too clean. But still, have you been to LA, if you didn’t go to see the Walk of Fame? If you don’t expect anything special from it, and just take it as a simple stroll through the streets, then you’ll be just fine. And if you try to find beauty in everything, you can get some nice things from it. Maybe you’ll find a star from your favorite celebrity. Maybe you’ll even see some in real life. Besides the stars, along Hollywood Boulevard, you can find some other architecturally interesting buildings, museums, shops and many more. Some of the more known places are Madame Tussauds, Chinese Theater, Dolby Theater, Hollywood Wax Museum, Museum of Broken Relationships…

THE BROAD

The Broad is a contemporary art museum offering free general admission and an active program of rotating exhibitions. One of the most famous or most instagrammable artwork is Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirror rooms. Even the building itself looks fantastic. Get more info on The Broad.

LACMA

LACMA – Los Angeles County Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the western United States. Besides the Chris Burden’s Urban Light exhibition, 202 street lamps staged outside of the entrance to LACMA, it offers a collection of nearly 140,000 objects that illuminate 6,000 years of artistic expression across the globe.

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL

Another architecturally interesting building worth visiting at least from outside, but you can also do a short tour inside. To get a better experience better book a concert or some other event on LA Phil.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD

Universal Studios Hollywood is the only authentic, working movie studio and theme park in the world. Definitely, a place to be for every movie lover. Best to book your ticket online.

THE LAST BOOKSTORE

The Last Bookstore is California’s largest used and new book and record store. A heaven for a book lover! Or for someone looking for a good photo opportunity. I just love this place!

BRADBURY BUILDING

The Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark in downtown LA. This five-story office building is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, and their ornate ironwork. It also has been featured in many movies, like Blade Runner.

MALIBU

Malibu is just around half an hour driving away from Santa Monica. It’s way less stressful than LA life and there are some pretty nice spots to go to. There are so many gorgeous beaches and even some great hiking spots. Also, a lot of great restaurants and bars, check out some of the Best Places to Eat in Malibu. Definitely worth visiting at least for a day.