Los Angeles Travel Guide
Years (without exaggeration) that I plan to write a city guide on Los Angeles: after having lived a few months in USA, I always share with great pleasure my “tips” and good addresses with people who have the chance to Traveling there and my inbox is full of personalized mini guides to California and its surroundings. In order to make you enjoy it, I embark on the project to transcribe everything here, hoping that my advice will help you in the preparation of your trip or make you want to discover this fabulous region.
We start today with Los Angeles, my city of hearts! One of the first things to know about this “City of Stars” Tentacular, superficial, disproportionate, inhuman, not worth the detour etc. the tour guides do not often give the best deal with San Francisco, the Golden State’s flagship city. Today, trend requires, it regains little by little its attractiveness but many still choose to skipper the stage during a journey in the American West. Here are my essentials (non-exhaustive list), hoping to give you the urge to tame LA the elusive.
MY ESSENTIAL
Going to watch a sunset over the city at the Griffith Observatory is certainly part of what I love most about Los Angeles and I really invite you to do it. We understand its incredible extent when the lights of the city are lit as far as the eye can see, the view is breathtaking. The interior of the observatory is also worth visiting, you will find the famous Foucault pendulum and the planetarium, theater of this memorable scene of La La Land .
Note: The Griffith Park has a lot of hiking and biking trails, although partially landscaped is a pretty wild place where it is not uncommon to meet small coyotes, keep your eyes open!
WALKING ON THE STARS IN HOLLYWOOD
Impossible to visit Los Angeles without walking the famous Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, in pursuit of the stars of your favorite stars. Stop by the Grauman’s Chinese Theater for a few moments: beyond the curious architecture of the building, you can admire the footprints left by the big movie in the concrete slabs that make up its esplanade. A little further, the Hollywood / Highland open-air shopping center offers a beautiful view of the Hollywood sign. For La La Land fans, head to the Hollywood / Wilcox junction to see the impressive mural “You are the star”
Note: Although international symbol of glamor, Hollywood is not the prettiest neighborhood in Los Angeles, the east of the boulevard is not very popular past a certain time.
FROM THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN SEARCH
Visible from far away, I am hardly visible very closely, I am I am? The Hollywood Sign! Going looking for it is a real adventure because no indication will reveal its location (and it’s done on purpose!), The opportunity to discover pretty little streets trying to get as close as possible to get the photo that everything the world will envy you.
DISCOVER THE BOTTOM OF CINEMA AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
Not to be missed under any circumstances: Universal Studios Hollywood. It’s certainly a budget ($ 120 a day by taking a ticket at the time I speak to you) but it’s an investment you will not regret. All the attractions are worth a visit, my favorites are those of Jurassic Park (which cost more to realize than the film, I let you imagine the level), the Simpsons (a roller coaster in 3D more real than life), the show Waterworld (refreshing in summer, do not put yourself in the front row if you want to stay dry) and the famous Studio Tour that immerses you in the sets and behind the scenes of our cult movies and series. The new world dedicated to Harry Potter has just been inaugurated after several years of work, I can not wait to find out.
Note: arrive at the opening of the park and do not start the attractions of the Lower Lot will be less assaulted. In the little train of the Studio Tour try to climb last to stay on the left, this is where we enjoy the most of the visit.
BROWSE THE SEA FRONT OF VENICE BEACH TO SANTA MONICA PIER
Go out and enjoy the fresh air of the Pacific by walking the Ocean Front Walk that connects Venice Beach to Santa Monica, you can rent bicycles unless you prefer to put on skates to play the game thoroughly. To see in Venice Beach: Muscle Beach the improbable center of outdoor bodybuilding, acrobatic skate spots, streetball courts, stalls of all kinds of trinkets and intriguing “clinics to weed”. To see in Santa Monica: the very famous “Pier” end point of route 66 and its permanent carnival but also the Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian street that will delight shopaholics.
WALKING ON THE CANALS OF VENICE
A soothing walk contrasting with the madness of Venice Beach: the canals of Venice are conducive to rest and especially to the dream, because it is easy to imagine owning the beautiful houses that line the water. Not far away, Abbot Kinney Boulevard is packed with trendy shops, bars, and restaurants – California’s hipster paradise.
FOLLOW THE MYTHIC BEACHES OF MALIBU
A little further north is Malibu where you can find the most beautiful beaches in Los Angeles. I prefer to disappoint you in advance: do not expect to see a small blue cabin or pretty blonde in red jersey because a priori, the famous series of the 90s was rather turned to Venice than to Malibu. Jokes aside, the landscapes are wild and natural, stop watching the surfers at sunset on Topanga Beach or spend the afternoon between the rocks of El Matador Beach. If you feel like it, go a little further to the Villa Getty which deserves to be visited!
To know: although the Pacific coast enjoys a radiant climate, the water is not hot at all, it will take you a lot of courage to swim!
FEELING SMALL DOWNTOWN
In recent years, the business district of Los Angeles is undergoing restructuring, the population is gradually returning to live there and we see blooming lofts and luxury residences. To do if you have a day to fill but not essential: see Angels Flight, a small funicular that should reopen by September 2017, contemplate the beautiful Walt Disney Concert Hall, see a match at the Staples Center and go up to the lounge bar. the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, whose platform turns 360 °, offering a breathtaking view of the skyline. Not far from Downtown, you can stop on Caroll Ave, a street full of pretty Victorian houses that you will certainly have already seen on your screens: among others the famous pink house of the Halliwell sisters in Charmed (we have the references deserved)
TASTE LUXURY AT BEVERLY HILLS
Do not forget to take a quick hike through the neighborhood to the world’s most famous postcode for a stroll on Rodeo Drive. As for the Hollywood Sign, I advise you to ride randomly in the hills to see through the open portals or bushes scandalous villas that have made the glory of the neighborhood!
Note: you will certainly be alpacued by sellers of “Stars Tours” or “Stars Maps” that will offer you to get a closer look at the homes of your favorite celebrities. Apart from the walls and surveillance cameras, you will not see much, better go on its way!
TAKE THE TIME TO MIRACLE MILE
It ends with my favorite neighborhood, but I’m not very objective because that’s where we lived: Miracle Mile. I recommend you visit the Farmers Market (see below “Where to eat?”) And The Grove open-air shopping center which brings together shops, cinemas and restaurants in a very “Disneyland” setting. Not far, you will meet the famous LACMA and its very photogenic alley of lampposts as well as the astonishing LaBrea Tar Pits: a natural asphalt deposit that has preserved a lot of fossils that can now be found in the adjoining museum.