Globetrotters
DAY 1
Get the touristy stuff out of the way: Hollywood Sign, Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theater…. Have red velvet pancakes the size of your head at the Griddle and keep an eye out for celebrities getting their smoothie on at healthy cool spots like Urth Caffé.
Grab a beer at the Best Gay Bar in the World (the Abbey) according to MTV’s Logo, and then head East for multicultural food, shops and music in Chinatown, Placita Olvera and Little Tokyo.
DAY 2
Vacationers
Follow the Globetrotters itinerary for Days 1-2.
DAY 3
The fashion, art and culinary scenes in Los Angeles are growing rapidly. Head to LA’s Downtown Arts District for a coffee at Blacktop (my personal fave) and peruse nearby shops like Alchemy Works.
Visit The Broad (2,000 works of art and visually stunning), Museum of Contemporary Art (around 7,000 objects and located across the way from the Broad) and Disney Concert Hall (designed by Frank Gehry, home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic). Grab cocktails at 71Above before paying $25 to ride the Skyslide from the top to the bottom of the tallest building west of the Mississippi (the 72-storey US Bank Tower).
DAY 4
Hit the beaches and all their respective piers: Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan Beach. Also, Malibu - it’s not technically LA, but if you’re willing to drive 20 extra miles or so, you won’t regret it. Make a free reservation to visit the Getty Villa ($15 parking) and then grab lunch/watch the surfers at Malibu Farm on the pier.
Culture buffs
Follow the Vacationers itinerary for Days 1-4.
DAY 5
For more arts and culture, you can visit the LACMA, the Getty Center and the La Brea Tar Pits. Head to Gracias Madre for killer guacamole and Runyon Canyon for a mild hike + more celeb spotting.
Got more time? Consider these day trips
Grab the keys to your rental car, turn up your Beach Boys playlist and get outta town for a bit. You may need a DD, because most of the activities in these cities revolve around food, wine and more wine.
- Ojai. It’s HOT in the valley. Book a spa day at Ojai Valley Inn or lounge at the Ojai Rancho Inn’s pool bar called Chief’s Peak. Be sure to visit Bart’s Books, Summer Camp store and finally, Meditation Mount, for that zen moment before jumping back into traffic.
- Palm Springs. Café con leche at Rick’s Restaurant & Bakery. Moorten Botanical Gardens. Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Lunch and watermelon margaritas the ACE. Photo opp stop at Cabazon Dinosaurs (largest in the world?) on the way back to LA.
- Los Alamos. Wine. Lots and lots of wine. If you get too tipsy to leave, stay at the Alamo Motel, preferably in the room with the tub. The Alamo’s Muni Wine Tasting Room is a great place to start. More beer/wine at Casa Dumetz, Babi’s Beer Emporium and Bedford Winery. Breakfast at Bob’s Well Bread Bakery, lunch at Full of Life Flatbread and dinner at Pico. Do some thrifting.
About Alison Ramirez
Allison Ramirez is a freelance travel writer in Los Angeles obsessing over
plants, public education and her pup, Shiloh. Allison has had work published in
Marie Claire, Vice, Refinery 29, Seventeen and more.
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