The Ultimate LA Tour for Outsiders

[Fern~Fern*]

So I finally took the time to check out your slide show. I really had no idea of half of those places. Makes me want to explore them at once. Excellent "svs" although it took me like 30 minutes to download this entire thread.

[From Milano]

Originally Posted by svs

Molto gratzie; I hope you enjoy southern California as much as I have enjoyed my trips to Italy, one of my favorite countries. San Francisco is much easier to tour than Los Angeles especially if you have only a short time to visit, but I believe there is more to do and see in Southern California. Driving may be difficult for some but its a lot easier than driving in Napoli.

Ehehehhe...nothing is harder than driving in Napoli :-)

Since I am in this thread again could you guys please be so kind to give me a short advice on a few things? Here we go:

- I'd like to visit Universal Studios and Disneyland but I'm afraid I will have to choose only one of the two...which one should I see? Are they very expensive? Is 1 day enough to see one of them? I will be in L.A. in the first week of august, me and my wife are 31, we have no kids, we have a car and we have the hotel between Hollywood and Beverly Hills...do you have some particular advices on what I should do or avoid to do when planning a visit to Universal/Disney?

- I was fascinated by the opportunity to visit the Queen Mary in Long Beach... Is it worth it? Beside the Queen Mary do you think that Long Beach is an interesting place for a foreign visitor (first time in the US!) or you wouldn't dedicate your time to this (I'm staying 4 nights/5 days in L.A.)?

- Where is the most interesting shopping area in L.A.? I mean regular street shops (no malls) selling stuff for normal people (no Gucci, Prada etc..no Rodeo Drive prices please :-), where you can have a nice walk and maybe also find some bars, restaurants etc?

- Where would you spend your evenings/nights in L.A.? I was looking for safe places where people go to have a walk, have a dinner and find some relaxed family entarteinment (no clubs, discos etc)..I was thinking about Santa Monica pier...is this ok? Do you have other suggestions for where to spend the evening for a quiet young couple in honeymoon (ok, beside our hotel room :-). Some places where you can spend an evening from 18.00 to 24.00, do not take hours to reach from Hollywood, are safe and worth a visit?

Thanx in advance to all of you for your kind help :-)

[svs]

Disneyland is better with more to do (two theme parks and Downtown Disney) but much farther from Beverly Hills/Hollywood than Universal (one theme park and Universal City Walk). One day is enough for Universal but to do all of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure would probably take two days. Also you do have acess to Euro-Disney just outside of Paris which is pretty similar to Disneyland itself. If you do go to Disneyland, figure on about an hour travel from Beverly Hills if trafic is light. I might consider staying a couple of nights at the Disney resort. Of the two parks, Disneyland is much better and more developed but California Adventure has no European counterpart. Both Universal and Disneyland have lots of restaurants and clubs just outside the park gates at Downtown Disney and Universal City Walk. An additional choice might be Knott's which is the oldest theme park in the US and has no European equivalent.

Long Beach is worth a look. There is a nice aquarium, but I find the Queen Mary kind of boring. I would take the Catalina express out to Catalina Island myself (one hour boatride). Catalina is kind of like a California Capri, without the blue grotto and a little less upscale but with glass bottom boats, flying fish, seals, and herds of buffalo. If you take the trouble to go to Long Beach, you might consider another day in Catalina. There are lots of places to eat in Long Beach alongside the Harbor and also on Pine Avenue downtown.

The most interesting shopping streets would include Pasadena Old town, Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood, Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, and the Grove/Farmer's Market which is an open air mall but very popular. Bargains in clothing can be found in the Garment district, downtown, and the Jewelry district, also downtown. If you are interested in ethnic merchandise, Westwood blvd. for Persian, Artesia for Indian, Little Tokyo for Japanese, Valley Blvd in San Gabriel/Alhambra for Chinese or Chinatown just north of downtown which is more touristy but closer. You might visit one of the Mercados such as the Mercado Los Angeles in Boyle Heights of Mercado La Paloma near USC for Mexican merchandise; or Olvera street, again a little more touristy. If you want to just shop for American goods, don't necessarily avoid the malls. Century City Mall is out doors, and the Malls in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach have a tremendous selection of shops. I might not worry to much about prices with the dollar at an all time weakness against the Euro.

Santa Monica Pier and Promenade should be fine at night although I might be careful about wandering around dark areas of the beach late at night. If you stick to the lighted areas you should be fine. The restaurants are generally better off the pier than on it though. You can have a romantic meal at the Restaurant at the Getty Museum which has a great view of the City. Other view sights would include the Griffith Park Observatory which has been recently remodeled. If you go, be sure to make reservations.

Entertainment is all over the city. I would try to get my hands on a copy of the LA weekly or City Beat, two journals that are passed out FREE all over the city and see what is playing. I would definately try to visit the new Disney Hall downtown for a concert, although it may be dark in August. The LA Philharmonic will be at the Hollywood bowl and I definitely recommend that. I would also recommend seeing a concert at the Greek Theater or the Gibson auditorium in Universal City Walk. There are literally hundreds of clubs and theaters in LA so check the listings.

If you are staying in Hollywood, I might check out Yamashiro's skyroom for drinks. It's on a hill with a great view of Hollywood and is built like a Japanese castle. If you would prefer a Morroccan Palace, try Dar Mahgreb in Hollywood on Sunset. No view but belly dancers at night. Another place to try is the Magic Castle, also in Hollywood. This is a haunted club for magicians with magic shows, an invisible pianist, etc.You need a special pass to get in. Ask your concierge for help if you are staying at a better quality hotel.

There is much more in LA than you can possibly do in a week. The reason people get frustrated with our city is that it is so spread out, that they feel they are always missing something which is generally true. My advice is to limit your time on the freeways, and to pick out areas that interest you close to the hotel and try to explore sights that are relatively close together. Good Luck.

[From Milano]

Originally Posted by svs

Disneyland is better with more to do (two theme parks and Downtown Disney) but much farther from Beverly Hills/Hollywood than Universal (one theme park and Universal City Walk). One day is enough for Universal but to do all of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure would probably take two days. Also you do have acess to Euro-Disney just outside of Paris which is pretty similar to Disneyland itself. If you do go to Disneyland, figure on about an hour travel from Beverly Hills if trafic is light. I might consider staying a couple of nights at the Disney resort. Of the two parks, Disneyland is much better and more developed but California Adventure has no European counterpart. Both Universal and Disneyland have lots of restaurants and clubs just outside the park gates at Downtown Disney and Universal City Walk. An additional choice might be Knott's which is the oldest theme park in the US and has no European equivalent.

First of all thanx very much for your kind answers.

I was interested in Disneyland because this is the "original" Disney park...to be honest I do not care about the rides themselves but just want to check the atmosphere and the feeling of being there :-) In the end I think that I will try to check both Universal and Disneyland, maybe limiting my visit to Universal to just the City Walk...

Originally Posted by svs

Long Beach is worth a look. There is a nice aquarium, but I find the Queen Mary kind of boring. I would take the Catalina express out to Catalina Island myself (one hour boatride). Catalina is kind of like a California Capri, without the blue grotto and a little less upscale but with glass bottom boats, flying fish, seals, and herds of buffalo. If you take the trouble to go to Long Beach, you might consider another day in Catalina. There are lots of places to eat in Long Beach alongside the Harbor and also on Pine Avenue downtown.

Great suggestion, thank you. I will definetly consider a 1 day visit to Catalina if I can find the time to do that (so many things to see...so little time :-)

Originally Posted by svs

The most interesting shopping streets would include Pasadena Old town, Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood, Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, and the Grove/Farmer's Market which is an open air mall but very popular. Bargains in clothing can be found in the Garment district, downtown, and the Jewelry district, also downtown. If you are interested in ethnic merchandise, Westwood blvd. for Persian, Artesia for Indian, Little Tokyo for Japanese, Valley Blvd in San Gabriel/Alhambra for Chinese or Chinatown just north of downtown which is more touristy but closer. You might visit one of the Mercados such as the Mercado Los Angeles in Boyle Heights of Mercado La Paloma near USC for Mexican merchandise; or Olvera street, again a little more touristy. If you want to just shop for American goods, don't necessarily avoid the malls. Century City Mall is out doors, and the Malls in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach have a tremendous selection of shops. I might not worry to much about prices with the dollar at an all time weakness against the Euro.

I think I will concentrate on the places you listed in the first 3 lines. I am a regular guy, I'm not looking for something very specific or particular...I just want to have an impression of what normal shopping is like in LA and buy something that will remember me of my visit to your city :-) I will consider the malls too, if I can find a good one not too far from my hotel.

Originally Posted by svs

Santa Monica Pier and Promenade should be fine at night although I might be careful about wandering around dark areas of the beach late at night. If you stick to the lighted areas you should be fine. The restaurants are generally better off the pier than on it though. You can have a romantic meal at the Restaurant at the Getty Museum which has a great view of the City. Other view sights would include the Griffith Park Observatory which has been recently remodeled. If you go, be sure to make reservations.

The Getty and Griffith Park options look very interesting...are they expensive? Can you also walk safely in those areas in the evenings/nights? Is there a place (beside Santa Monica) where people normally go when they want to have a walk in a summer evening with the option of jumping in a restaurant at the last moment without having a reservation?

Originally Posted by svs

Entertainment is all over the city. I would try to get my hands on a copy of the LA weekly or City Beat, two journals that are passed out FREE all over the city and see what is playing. I would definately try to visit the new Disney Hall downtown for a concert, although it may be dark in August. The LA Philharmonic will be at the Hollywood bowl and I definitely recommend that. I would also recommend seeing a concert at the Greek Theater or the Gibson auditorium in Universal City Walk. There are literally hundreds of clubs and theaters in LA so check the listings.

If you are staying in Hollywood, I might check out Yamashiro's skyroom for drinks. It's on a hill with a great view of Hollywood and is built like a Japanese castle. If you would prefer a Morroccan Palace, try Dar Mahgreb in Hollywood on Sunset. No view but belly dancers at night. Another place to try is the Magic Castle, also in Hollywood. This is a haunted club for magicians with magic shows, an invisible pianist, etc.You need a special pass to get in. Ask your concierge for help if you are staying at a better quality hotel.

There is much more in LA than you can possibly do in a week. The reason people get frustrated with our city is that it is so spread out, that they feel they are always missing something which is generally true. My advice is to limit your time on the freeways, and to pick out areas that interest you close to the hotel and try to explore sights that are relatively close together. Good Luck.

Will definetly try to check all the cool places you listed! You're right...the city is so big and spread out that I think I will need to come back in the next years to see some other chunks of it. But I'm sure it will be good fun! Thanx again for your help. L.A. wait for me, I'm coming! :-)

[svs]

Originally Posted by From Milano

The Getty and Griffith Park options look very interesting...are they expensive? Can you also walk safely in those areas in the evenings/nights?

The Getty and the Griffith Park Observatory are free, but you have to pay for parking in the case of the Getty, and the bus to the Observatory (You should probably get the shuttle at Hollywood and Highland). The Getty has two restaurants, one a little on the expensive side but very cheap compared to the best restaurants in Rome or Venice. There is also a cafeteria which is much cheaper. I haven't tried the restaurant at the Griffith Park Observatory yet. It has a great name though. "The Restaurant at the end of the Universe." Info on the observatory is here. It tells you how to reserve space on the shuttle bus. http://www.griffithobs.org/

Info on the Getty can be had here.http://www.getty.edu/museum/


Is there a place (beside Santa Monica) where people normally go when they want to have a walk in a summer evening with the option of jumping in a restaurant at the last moment without having a reservation? There are lots of places to walk in the evening. Old Town Pasadena, Sunset Strip, Melrose, Hollywood, the Grove, West Hollywood, Larchmount place, City walk, the beach cities especially Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, the Redondo Pier, Downtown Long beach and Long Beach Harbor, San Vincente Blvd in Brentwood, Ventura Blvd in the Valley. Beverly Hills tend to shut down a bit at night but there are lots of restaurants. You should be able to find lots of places for meals that you can walk in at the last minute. Generally only a few new and trendy places or places run by the superstar chefs like Puck and Splichal require a lot of advance notice,

Good Luck. If you have any other questions, I will try to answer.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

From Milano, you dont have to worry about your safety in the ares your going to visit. its perfectly safe. The perception of Los Angeles having high crime is just that. Overall, LA is a safe city. Enjoy your time here, and maybe if you want an authentic LA feel, you can go to Santa Monica, rent some bikes, and bike down to Manhattan beach. Its a GREAT ride, you will go through amazing areas and you will definitley get a feel for LA. there are many awesome neighborhoods along the way, especially the venice canals, and great restaurants everywhere. Have fun!

[From Milano]

Thank you, Svs. I will follow your suggestions...hope to be able to post some pictures when I come back :-)

LASportsFan: thanx for your suggestion too, I definetly want to try a bike ride like the one you mentioned.
I am not too worried about my personal safety but, since I will visit L.A. with my wife, I just asked in order to be sure to avoid unpleasant situations. I also think that the medias are often portraing a "different reality" (in some movies etc L.A. is depicted as a kind of war zone :-) but don't worry, I do not consider them too much (otherwise I wouldn't have chosen to visit L.A). I'm sure it will be good fun, thank you!

[svs]

Generally LA is pretty safe but you can get in trouble in any big city if you wander into the wrong places. I have had my car broken into twice in Amsterdam, had my pocket picked in London on the Underground, and had the trunk of my car opened and my possessions stolen in Paris. I have never had any trouble in Naples or southern Spain, because I was more cautious there because they had a worse reputation. Like any big city, LA has its safer and less safe neighborhoods but overall its supposed to be the second safest city in the US overall.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to movies like "Crash" "Pulp Fiction" or "Two Days in the Valley". Our movies are shot here and there is no drama where there is no conflict.

And please, only try some of my suggestions. You really don't have time to try them all. Relax, enjoy the city and come back. I know I want to go back to Italy some time soon.

One more thing for you. This is a link to a list of 99 essential LA restaurants by Johnathan Gold who just won the Pulitzer Prize. This may help you in selecting places to eat.
http://www.laweekly.com/general/feat...aurants/13846/

[ChrisLA]

I would also suggest if you are in Long Beach you should dine either at the romantic The Reef restaurant. It has great views of the Long Beach skyline. Its not cheap, but also not overly expensive. They do have a early Sunday dinner for about $15 a piece that includes desert and coffee. Its cool because this allows you to come just before the sun sets. Therefore you can watch the city light up and also see the light along the shoreline. I highly recommend this place, your wife would love it. Check out their website I listed below:

http://reefrestaurant.com/



Also a must see is Belmont Shores neighborhood shopping district 2nd Street. There is a nice restaurant called LeCreperie Cafe. Address: 5110 E 2nd St, Long Beach, CA, 90803, Phone: (562) 434-8499. Its a nice, small, a bit crowded because its very popular, and romantic at the same time. There is live music with the musicians in the mist of your tables, and the style is usually flamenco spanish guitar (its funny because its a french restaurant)

The best way to is to take the 710 south to downtown Long Beach where the freeway ends. You'll end up on Shoreline Drive, but it will intersect with Ocean Blvd. Here you make a right and head east and believe me you have of the best views around. One side there are stately homes facing the ocean, and on the other side there are numerous high-rise apartment/condos. Once you past this area you'll come to a split in the street. You want to go toward the left and this will turn into 2nd Street and take you directly into Belmont Shores. Oh I almost forgot you would also be close to Naples (southern california version of Naples, Italy) Ask anyone if Belmont Shore and I'm sure they would gladly tell you how to get there. BTW they have gondolas going though the canals.

Another interesting and inexpensive trip instead of wasting a day going to Catalina Island would be to take the Aqualink from downtown Long Beach to Alamitos Bay Landing and back. It costs about 6 dollars roundtrip and takes about an hour. Its a nice way of seeing the skyline and the shore and very cheap. Also on the boat you can purchase drinks (coffee, alcohol) and a few snacks. There is a deck in the front where you can stand outside to take in the view, and the wind (lol)

A bit of info about Aqualink boat:

The AquaLink
What is that red, yellow and purple boat? It's The AquaLink water taxi from Long Beach Transit. The 68-foot catamaran comfortably ferries up to 75 passengers to the most popular attractions in Long Beach Harbor and on down to Alamitos Bay Landing. Fare is just $3 and wheelchair boarding is available at Doc 4 near the Aquarium of the Pacific and at the Queen Mary.


I hope this helps, but also feel free to PM me if you have any more questions about Long Beach. I live in downtown Long Beach, and would be happy to show you around, that is if I'm at home during your visit.

[ETOA906]

These tourist destinations in Los Angeles can be reached by public transportation, driving not necessary.
1 Olvera Street and Plaza area
2 Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal station
3 Chinatown
4 Los Angeles City Hall
5 Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
6 Los Angeles Music Center Plaza
7 Disney Concert Hall
8 Los Angeles Museum of Contempory Art
9 Watercourt
10 Angels Flight (when re-opened)
11 Bradbury Building
12 Broadway historic theatre tours
13 Jewelry District
14 Biltmore Hotel
15 Los Angeles Central Public Library
16 Fashion District
17 Library Tower
18 Staples Center
19 Watts Towers
20 Grauman's Chinese theatre
21 Universal Studios & City Walk

[JustaBystander]

Moved from OC as a kid, just visited LA last month. Impressions, cold. overcast by Marine layer for most of the day, old, worn, dirty, graffiti covered. third world in places, and for the most part ugly. Compared to Chicago or NY: no comparison. Liked the hills and mountains though, but the city just looks plain old tired.

[dweebo2220]

where did you go?
Also, are you from the OC? and just "visiting" LA now? Or did you leave the OC as a kid? I'm confused...

[godblessbotox]

Originally Posted by JustaBystander

Moved from OC as a kid, just visited LA last month. Impressions, cold. overcast by Marine layer for most of the day, old, worn, dirty, graffiti covered. third world in places, and for the most part ugly. Compared to Chicago or NY: no comparison. Liked the hills and mountains though, but the city just looks plain old tired.

quit your bitching. los angeles never forced you to come here

[JustaBystander]

Originally Posted by dweebo2220

where did you go?
Also, are you from the OC? and just "visiting" LA now? Or did you leave the OC as a kid? I'm confused...

I moved to Chicago with my dads transfer, went to law school in Boston and like visiting on occasion. Stayed in Marina Del Rey, saw the westside ( SM, BA, BH) saw Hancock park, West Hollywood, and Melrose district, Hollywood and my old church (now fortress) of Saint Sophia on Normandy museum district and downtown. Really saw most of LA, to be honest, and saw a place that was shockingly changed (or maybe unchanged but just worn) to a third world atmosphere, with bright spots like Hancock Park and Beverly Hills. Unlike Chicago, which has improved dramatically over the past 20 years, LA seems to have stood still, just more crowded, dirty and graffiti filled. Of course the cold weather did not help my observations with the marine layer, but really, LA looks grey and ugly compared to alot of other cities. As for the other guys comment that no one is forcing me to visit, this is true, but if you can't take the honest opinion of someone from the outside, then you should just close your eyes and ears, because i know that i am not the only one thinking this upon landing at LAX.

[dweebo2220]

No, you are correct, and I think other people on this forum should take criticism a little fucking better.

You call Beverly Hills and Hancock Park the "bright spots," and so I get where you're going with this now..

Los Angeles is a third world city to a great degree more than any other city in America. We have the most immigrants from the third world, so there's no surprise it seems more like the third world.. we also have the most industrial manufacturing jobs, we have the highest density, the highest overcrowding, etc. We're trying to deal with this all and create a place that is liveable, but you have to understand that we face the circumstances of globalization on a much higher scale than anywhere else in the traditional first world. We are still a manufacturing city, when the other big cities (like Chicago) have shifted more into finance and service. This means that they have been able to 'prettify' their former industrial spaces which had been laying to rot for years. In LA, our warehouses and factories are still cranking out products. Also, we have the largest port in america.. almost half of what you use every day comes through LA.

What I'm trying to get at is that LA is a dynamically industrial place, and any visitor should be aware of that before coming. I personally think this dynamism, multiculturalism, and, yes, a great deal of chaos, is very interesting and offers many very great opportunities for tourism that go far beyond hanging out on a beach sipping cocktails.

Also, LA is regarded by architects as one of the richest architectural regions in the world, with the highest concentration of home-grown first-rate architecture. Maybe if you visited next time with many of the fine architectural guides there are out there you'd find it easier to find the LA that is indeed not drab, gray, or ugly.

[Fern~Fern*]

[QUOTE=dweebo2220;13689312]No, you are correct, and I think other people on this forum should take criticism a little fucking better.


No fucking way your siding with that troll....

That was no constructive criticism with the best intention at all. it's so obvious he dislikes L.A. and everything he describes is nothing but bullshit. If you read his previous post on his profile that bitch is always talking bad about L.A.. As if the OC (L.A.'s Shadow)was any better. Then he's going to talk about Chicago and how beautiful it is with it's 80 degree weather and clean it is. Come on maybe Michigan Blvd is but the rest.... Anyhow I'm not going to bad mouth Chicago because of a dumb ass who dislikes L.A.

[Westsidelife]

Originally Posted by JustaBystander

Moved from OC as a kid, just visited LA last month. Impressions, cold. overcast by Marine layer for most of the day, old, worn, dirty, graffiti covered. third world in places, and for the most part ugly. Compared to Chicago or NY: no comparison. Liked the hills and mountains though, but the city just looks plain old tired.

Troll.

[LANative]

Originally Posted by JustaBystander

I moved to Chicago with my dads transfer, went to law school in Boston and like visiting on occasion. Stayed in Marina Del Rey, saw the westside ( SM, BA, BH) saw Hancock park, West Hollywood, and Melrose district, Hollywood and my old church (now fortress) of Saint Sophia on Normandy museum district and downtown. Really saw most of LA, to be honest, and saw a place that was shockingly changed (or maybe unchanged but just worn) to a third world atmosphere, with bright spots like Hancock Park and Beverly Hills. Unlike Chicago, which has improved dramatically over the past 20 years, LA seems to have stood still, just more crowded, dirty and graffiti filled. Of course the cold weather did not help my observations with the marine layer, but really, LA looks grey and ugly compared to alot of other cities. As for the other guys comment that no one is forcing me to visit, this is true, but if you can't take the honest opinion of someone from the outside, then you should just close your eyes and ears, because i know that i am not the only one thinking this upon landing at LAX.

Okay we get already! L.A. is a "third world" "ugly dirty city" "grafitti covered" wasteland, and you know what? I like it.

Now go away and crawl back to your hole you troll this thread isn't even about what ignorant misguided outsiders like yourself think of L.A.

[Westsidelife]

^You tell him!

[LANative]

This guy claims to be only expressing his honest opinion, but its clear that he is a troll because he said the same crap in two or three different threads here!