Los Angeles
Discover Los Angeles
Frank Lloyd Wright is said to have quipped, "Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles," a quote that has since been repeated both by those who love and hate L.A. The "City of Angels" is home to people who hail from all parts of the globe and an important center of culture, business, media, and international trade. However, it's most famous for being a major center of the world's television, motion picture, and music industry, which forms the base of the city's status and lures visitors for its show business history and celebrity culture. Visitors are also drawn to Los Angeles for its Mediterranean climate and numerous beaches, which gave birth to California's famed surf culture. California's most populous city and the second most populous city in the United States (after New York City), Los Angeles is spread across a broad basin in Southern California surrounded by vast forested mountain ranges, valleys, the Pacific Ocean, and nearby desert. Los Angeles sits at the heart of a metropolitan area of over 18 million people that spreads across Los Angeles County, Orange County, Ventura County, and the Inland Empire region of San Bernardino County and Riverside County.
What to Experience in Los Angeles
Famous Beaches
Taste of Los Angeles...
The Los Angeles area is one of the best places in the country for food - you can find just about anything you can imagine somewhere within its loose borders. From traditional American diner culture (try Mel's Drive-In in West Hollywood) to the new wave of organic cafes, to inexpensive taco trucks, and swanky eateries with breath-taking food, there is no shortage of options. Los Angeles abounds with inexpensive, authentic food that represents the culinary traditions of L.A.'s many immigrant communities. You have to be willing to do a little legwork, go to neighborhoods you might not otherwise go to and often deal with charmless fluorescent-lit storefronts in strip malls, but your reward is hype-free, authentic cuisine from around the world served up at bargain prices. The late and dearly missed food critic Jonathan Gold found and reviewed these gems starting in the 1980s, mostly for the free LA Weekly before he moved to the food section of the LA Times, and most of his reviews are still relevant today. The newest arrival on the L.A. food scene is the gourmet food truck. These are not your average taco trucks and construction-site catering operations (although those exist too), but purveyors of creative and surprisingly high-quality food. Food trucks, particularly taco trucks, can be found in most parts of the city.
A Rich Past
Explore the historical roots that shaped Los Angeles into what it is today.
Prior to European contact, the Los Angeles basin was occupied by the native Tongva people, a set of hunter-gatherer tribes that were spread across much of Southern California. Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo was the first European to visit the region, sailing along the coast in 1542 and claiming the land for the Spanish Empire, but it took over two hundred years for the first Spanish settlement to be established, with the construction of the Mission San Gabriel by Franciscan missionaries in 1771. Ten years later, a group of Spanish settlers known as "Los Pobladores" ("the townspeople") founded a small village, El Pueblo de Los Angeles, at the site of the present-day El Pueblo district near Downtown. Los Angeles remained a small ranch town for several decades, passing to Mexican and then to American rule in 1847 in the wake of the Mexican–American War. Los Angeles was immediately turned into a boomtown with the completion of railroads to the region, first the Southern Pacific Railroad from the north in 1876 and then the Santa Fe Railroad from the east in 1885, establishing the city as a railroad hub of the west. At the same time, city boosters sought to establish port and industrial facilities to challenge San Francisco's dominance on the west coast, and aggressively marketed the city to other parts of the country. Intense real estate speculation and low railroad fares attracted many "folks" from the Midwest and East Coast with warm winters and good job prospects....
Location & Landscape
The city of Los Angeles is huge, stretching from the suburbs of the San Fernando Valley in the north to the Port of Los Angeles in the south, a distance of almost 50 mi (80 km). And that's just the primary city; the sprawling L.A. metropolitan area spreads across portions of five counties and includes numerous smaller cities, some of which are regional centers of their own, like Burbank, Pasadena, Long Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Riverside and San Bernardino. Some of these cities were founded around the end of the nineteenth century and grew alongside Los Angeles, and even today retain distinct identities. Such is the nature of Los Angeles: because it is so spread out and its individual cities and neighborhoods are so distinct, the city is often thought of less as a cohesive whole than as a collection of disparate communities.
Festivals & Events
Experience the vibrant festivals and cultural celebrations of Los Angeles.
Befitting its size, Los Angeles plays host to many major events throughout the year, from large conventions and spectacular holiday celebrations to more low-key neighborhood festivals. Whenever you come, you can be assured that something will be happening. What follows is just a sampling of the biggest annual events that take place in L.A. Every January 1st, the New Year is rung in with the Tournament of Roses Parade, a massively popular parade in Pasadena with dozens of marching bands and elaborate floats before the famed Rose Bowl football game. Chinese New Year celebrations are held throughout the city in early February, with the biggest taking place in Chinatown with a dragon parade, live music, food, and firecrackers. March brings the L.A. Marathon, a massive event in which thousands of runners make their way from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica.
Climate
The city enjoys a temperate Mediterranean climate most of the year. However, the climate of Southern California is somewhat complex and temperatures can fluctuate wildly depending where you are in the city, since the varied terrain results in a series of microclimates. On the same day, daytime highs can vary by as much as twenty degrees Fahrenheit between coastal locations and cities in the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. The coast tends to stay a bit cooler, which helps with the summer heat, but as such is also chillier at night. Bring a sweater and pants if you stay for dinner near the coast, even in the summer. Summers are warm, occasionally hot, and bring the infamous dirty smog, though the air quality has significantly improved over the years. In August and September, the hottest months, average daytime highs in Downtown Los Angeles are 83°F (28°C) and nighttime lows average 63°F (17°C).
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsThe Los Angeles metro area is served by five major commercial airports and more than a dozen private airports. Three of the major airports are in L.A. County proper while the other two are nearby. LAX has historically been the main airport for the city, with frequent service and low fares, but the other regional airports are seeing increasing service. Check as one of them may be better, depending on your circumstance. These airports can save a lot of hassle because they are less busy than LAX. Also, the L.A. area is so wildly spread out and populated that going anywhere will generally require a lot of travel, as well as possibly enduring traffic jams. So using the nearest airport will only be of convenience to you. All five airports lack direct train services; only the Bob Hope Airport is somewhat proximate to a Metrolink commuter rail station (not to be confused with the Metro Rail service)....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
The Los Angeles area's Metro Rail subway/light rail system opened its first line in the 1990s and has been expanding since. Most prominent neighborhoods and sightseeing destinations can be reached using Metro Rail, including Downtown L.A., Koreatown, Hollywood, Universal Studios, Chinatown, Pasadena, Exposition Park, Wilshire, Culver City, Santa Monica, and Long Beach. For these areas, public transportation can be preferable to the gridlock that often occurs on freeways and streets. The Metro Rail system consists of two subway lines, four light rail lines, and two bus rapid transit lines, with operating hours and frequencies varying from one line to another. Note that in 2022 lines were given letters instead of names, but the names are still in colloquial use. There is no direct rail connection between Downtown Los Angeles and LAX, but a free shuttle to the airport terminals is available from the LAX/Metro Transit Center on the C and K Lines.
Where to Stay
It's hard to summarize the plethora of hotel options in L.A. From some of the most opulent (and expensive) hotels in the world to budget hostels to apartment-hotel crash pads, there's something for everyone. Deciding where to stay will have a lot to do with what areas you plan on visiting, and how you're going to get there. As usual in Southern California, a car opens up a world of options, but be sure to check the parking arrangement at your accommodations before you arrive. Hollywood and the Sunset Strip are probably the most popular options for those wanting to sight-see and chase their image of that world. Downtown has long been popular with the business crowd but is rapidly receiving a makeover with newer hotels drawing a hipper crowd. Beverly Hills has some of the nicest hotels in the city, and one should expect the prices to reflect its reputation.
Money & Budget
Los Angeles has a well-known diversity of unique shopping destinations. Shopping malls will dominate your shopping experience in L.A. and even non-shopping visitors are likely to encounter them; for example, the Hollywood and Highland mall is a popular meeting point in Hollywood for those gazing at the Walk of Fame and Mann's Chinese Theater, The Grove is a major destination in Fairfax next to the historic Farmer's Market, and West Hollywood's Beverly Center is a massive eight-story shopping complex with a nice view of the city from its food court patio. Lacking any significant public square, Los Angeles funnels its civic life onto its streets. Among the most popular shopping streets is Larchmont Blvd, which caters to the wealthy elite of Hancock Park with one-of-a-kind boutiques.
Safety Information
Safety Overview
For emergencies in Los Angeles County, dial 911 toll-free from any phone including payphones. Dialing 911 from a cellphone will place you in contact with the California Highway Patrol. Most tourist destinations within the Los Angeles area tend to be fairly safe, including Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Westwood, and West L.A. However, walking at night in some areas of the city (and some suburban cities as well) should be conducted with caution; and depending on the area, in groups. If traveling by car there is little threat of being harassed day or night, provided you avoid driving around neighborhoods with blatant signs of gang activity as mentioned below. Certain areas in or near downtown, such as Skid Row (which is where the Greyhound station is located), Pico-Union, Westlake, Boyle Heights, South Los Angeles, Compton, Inglewood, Harbor Gateway, and Wilmington can be dangerous regardless of the time of day and should be avoided altogether when walking if possible.
Glimpses of Los Angeles
Los Angeles skyline at sunset.
people sitting on chairs near palm trees during night time
The sun setting on Manhattan Beach, California. If you find my photos useful, please consider subscribing to me on YouTube for the occasional photography tutorial and much more - https://bit.ly/3smVlKp - I'd greatly appreciate it!
Road with palm trees with Los Angeles in the background.
Los Angeles by Night
Sunny business district roads
Santa Monica Pier Entrance
silhouette of trees during sunset
aerial photo of city
Above the Skies 🔥❤️
Los Angeles skyline at sunset.
people sitting on chairs near palm trees during night time
The sun setting on Manhattan Beach, California. If you find my photos useful, please consider subscribing to me on YouTube for the occasional photography tutorial and much more - https://bit.ly/3smVlKp - I'd greatly appreciate it!