Whether you’ve lived in Los Angeles a long time or are new in town, there is no reason locals can’t take advantage of the best sites L.A. has to offer, especially with its extensive public transportation system. The city offers various bus services, including local buses, rapid buses, and express buses within the Metro Buses system, as well as four light rail lines and other light rail lines. Additionally, the Metro Rail system includes two subway lines and other subway lines that connect various parts of the city. Los Angeles has an extensive bus system, which includes the Metro Buses, DASH Buses, Metro Rapid Buses, small shuttle buses, and Metro Rail Trains, providing comprehensive coverage for the city. Here are a few of our favorite things to do while playing local tourist!
Hollywood Blvd./Walk of Fame – Los Angeles Attractions
Everyone needs to visit Hollywood Blvd. at least once or for locals, every time someone new is added! Hollywood Blvd. is one of the most famous tourist hotspots in Los Angeles, attracting visitors from all over the world. West Hollywood, a vital part of L.A.’s gay culture and located south of The Original Farmers Market, is also worth exploring. The Hollywood Sign, an iconic landmark in Los Angeles, is a must-see with its rich history and accessibility. Walk along the street, put your hands in the handprints of old Hollywood celebrities, find the stars on the sidewalk for your favorite actors, and tour Mann’s Chinese Theater, which is still the home of a few movie premieres every year. If there are bleachers and the theater is closed off on the day you go, there’s a movie premiere soon, and you may see more stars than the ones in the sky. The modern complex literally a few steps away is only a few years old, filled with mall-type stores, a Hardrock Café, a bowling alley, and an enormous modern Dolby movie theater. This is now the home of the Oscars.
The Hollywood Hills offer scenic views and are home to the Hollywood Bowl, a famous amphitheater known for hosting major music acts. Visitors are advised to arrive early with a picnic basket to enjoy the experience. Also located along the boulevard are Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, and plenty of long-time shops selling pictures and memorabilia that are nearly as old as the Golden Age celebrities themselves.
Venice Beach
Venice is a great excursion that will take up about half the day. Venice Beach is a vibrant area that showcases the local culture through its eclectic shops and artistic community. Venice Beach is comprised of three separate areas: residential Venice, the Boardwalk, and the Skate Park. Venice is named for the small canals that dot the city. The area also offers several hiking trails with scenic views and unique experiences for hikers to explore.
By the shore, Venice is filled with many creative little shops with items that can’t be found elsewhere. Walking the Boardwalk is not only good exercise, but also a chance to people-watch. Stereotypes come to life with plenty of blondes on roller skates, palm readers, and residents who are pretty sure it’s still 1969. Home to a small version of Muscle Beach, it’s a great place to observe bodybuilders also. Featured in dozens of movies, Venice is known for romantic strolls on the beach. Venice is a safe and fun daytime destination.
Santa Monica – Los Angeles Area
For the second half of the day, drive up the Pacific Coast Highway three miles to Santa Monica. Santa Monica, located in Los Angeles County, is approximately 15 miles from the city center and is a popular destination for local tourists. Santa Monica is a family-friendly destination with plenty of activities for visitors of all ages. Santa Monica is essentially an upscale, modern version of Venice Beach. It is also comprised of three separate areas: residential Santa Monica, the 3rd Street Promenade, and the Pier. The 3rd Street Promenade features upscale mall-type stores like Anthropologie and Zara.
The Pier features small shops, games, and a few rides, such as the old rollercoaster, still in operation. It’s still possible to fish off the Pier and take home a flounder for dinner. If a restaurant is more to your taste, there are plenty to choose from. Shutters, halfway between Venice and Santa Monica, the Lobster Pot, and Ivy on the Shore, are spendy, but feature fresh seafood you can’t find anywhere else. For more reasonable dining, dozens of charming places are located just across the street from the Pier.
If you’re looking for a place to do some serious swimming, know this isn’t it. Visitors, particularly children, will wade in, but the Pacific Ocean is cold, even in the summer (unless you’re off to Hawaii). Surfers in wet suits abound however; if you hear them mention “the men in the gray suits are out today”, Great Whites are patrolling the coast.
Zuma Beach
Zuma, up the PCH to Malibu, is the location for serious swimmers and surfers. Zuma Beach is perfect for outdoor activities, offering ample space for swimming, surfing, and sunbathing. This beach is 1.8 acres of wide-open space, though it’s pretty busy in the summer. Ocean-goers, their friends, umbrellas, and dogs start to fill up the sand every morning, so head out early. Bring a wetsuit and a jacket if you plan to stay for a bonfire in the evening. With nearly zero humidity, SoCal gets chilly when the sun goes down, even in mid-summer. Be sure to stay on State Park property and not wander onto residents’ beach property.
Universal Studios
For when you want to be a kid again! Part amusement park, part backlot tour, Universal Studios, a popular theme park located in Burbank, the home of most studios, is a popular all-day attraction. Just a short drive away, the San Fernando Valley offers a suburban area ideal for families, featuring hiking trails and first-class restaurants. Inside the park itself, wild rides like The Mummy and Jurassic Park keep the whole family entertained while the backlot tour features King Kong, a fake flood, Jaws, and tours of lots as old as those featured in 1930’s Dracula films and as modern as the Desperate Housewives set.
Disneyland
Not strictly speaking in Los Angeles, Disneyland, an older and smaller version of Disney World, is located about 35 miles south of LA in Anaheim and, like Universal, will require a rental car. Disneyland is also conveniently close to Downtown Los Angeles, a popular destination for local tourists with its diverse attractions and activities. Disneyland is a perfect day trip destination for those looking to explore beyond Los Angeles. While Disneyland features fun, modern rides like Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, it’s also a trip back in history as many of the rides in Fantasyland operate exactly as they did in the ‘50s and look their age, but it’s all part of the experience. Make reservations for lunch at the Blue Bayou, a Cajun restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, featuring a meal in the dark while listening to visitors scream on the ride.
If rides aren’t your thing or you’d like something more adult, it’s possible to spend the entire day in Downtown Disney, which features shops, restaurants, and bars. Since you don’t have to pay admission to get in, locals love it, so make reservations if you go on a weekend.
The Getty – Downtown Los Angeles
Don’t miss the Getty Center for fine art at your own pace. The Getty Center is a must-visit for art enthusiasts, offering a vast collection of artworks from different eras. The location, designed to look like the south of France, provides a beautiful landscape that is an attraction all by itself. Ride a lift high to a hilltop in the Santa Monica mountains to find an art museum entirely crafted of 16,000 tons of white travertine marble imported from Bagni di Tivoli, Italy—inside and outside, the walkways, floors, walls, and ceilings, are entirely crafted the matte marble that takes on a beige tone and warm feel from the sun mid-afternoon. The natural light provides an unbeatable canvas, and the buildings are pieces of art themselves.
The museum is divided into different buildings, each housing art from a different era from Illuminated Manuscripts to Greek statues to European paintings. Monthly traveling exhibitions are popular with local art aficionados. A 5-star restaurant is on-site but bring a picnic lunch and gaze down northwestern L.A. and Mount St. Mary’s University.
The Hollywood Bowl – Hollywood Hills
Located between Hollywood Blvd. and the entrance to the 101, the Bowl is an outdoor auditorium vaguely reminiscent of a smaller Sydney’s Opera House; the curved stage projects onto literally hundreds of seats. The Hollywood Bowl is renowned for its live performances, ranging from classical concerts to contemporary music shows. The auditorium has been home to shows as rich and varied as a Stravinsky concert to musicals to Star Wars in Concert. Don’t miss a summertime show when you can purchase a box lunch/dinner and a bottle of champagne on-site for a high-end picnic before showtime.
