Archive for May, 2009

#10 City Walk

City Walk is part of Universal Studios Hollywood. It’s a dazzling open-air street setting, featuring an array of historic LA neon signs and architectural eye-candy.

Universal Studios Hollywood

Take LA’s new Red Line subway system, and catch the free shuttle up the Universal Hill. Otherwise it’s ten bucks to park, free to get in.

If you want to spend a little, there’s live music, live comedy, and plenty of restaurants. And mostly, it’s what Hollywood is all about, a fun, safe, sanitized and artificial version of reality. Soak it up.

For more information, go to citywalkhollywood.com

#9 Jazz at the LA County Art Museum

On Friday evenings from April to November, you can’t beat the free concerts in the Los Angeles Times Central Court. This is the 18th year they’ve been bringing stellar jazz to the museum free every Friday night. The concerts end at 8 O Clock, and the museum closes at nine, so you can get jazzed to see the exhibits afterwards! Go to LACMA.org for the schedule.

#8 Griffith Park!

This is the country’s largest municipal park … over 4100 acres.
Not only is it a gorgeous setting for hiking, picniking and horseback riding … it’s home to the Hollywood Sign as well as a ton of attractions … the Greek Theater, the Gene Autry Museum, the LA Zoo, The Travel Town Museum and many others.

Griffith Observatory

It’s best attraction? The Griffith Park Observatory … an LA icon you’ve seen in a ton of movies: Rebel Without A Cause, Bowfinger, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, GoldenEye, The Rocketeer and The Terminator to name a few.  It just underwent a 93 million dollar renovation, partially funded by Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy … it’s a great visit and completely free. Go to http://www.griffithobs.org/ for all the deets.

#7 Mulholland Drive!

Take your convertible or your bike up through this mountain drive - 55 miles of scenic hairpin curves!
You’ll get the best first hand view of just how big the city really is … from Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, to Hollywood, Downtown and the San Fernando valley.

#6 The La Brea Tar Pits

One of the best collections of Ice Age fossils in the world is Smack in the middle of LA! Over a million fossils were recovered from the La Brea tar pits, dating back 30,000 years. Countless wooly mammoths found themselves trapped in the sticky, gooey asphalt that still bubbles up off Wilshire Blvd. You may recognize the pits from the movie Volcano or 1941. A visit to the pits costs you nothing. If you want to go into the Page Museum that shows off the fossils, it’s seven dollars … or free the first Tuesday of every month. We like the saber toothed tigers. Go to TarPits.org for more info.

And if you go there, you should also check out the campy, cool Petersen Automotive Museum right across the street. 10 bucks well spent … okay, 3 for kids under 12.

#5 & 4 Shopping!LA Shopping

Ok, it’s a bit of a cheat, but there’s a lot of great window shopping in LA.  Melrose Avenue is a collection of stylish shops and restaurants that stretches from Beverly Hills westward.  Vintage clothes, unique trinkets, designer furniture, stylish fashions and dining hot spots … a whole lifestyle on one street!

Other great window shopping strolls of the city: La Brea, Beverly Blvd, Third Street, Robertson Blvd, Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade and, of course, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd

#3 Hollywood Blvd

Up until just a few years ago, Hollywood Blvd was …not so nice, and not so safe. Today, it’s cleaned up and worth a stroll. We all know about the famous stars along the blvd, and the kitschy chinese theater with star footprints in cement. Do yourself a favor and see a movie in the main theater of the chinese theater … it’s truly grand.

Recently, the Academy Awards returned to Hollywood, to the Kodak Theater. You can take one fo the daily tours for 15 bucks - check out kodaktheater.com  One warning, if you go expecting to see stars or any evidence of the real Hollywood, you’ll be disappointed. It’s a fun tourist trap … and not much more.

#2 Venice Beach

It’s a classic LA destination. Bikini babes on blades … Rock wannabees stumming a guitar … ex-hippies selling incense.  Plus, you can watch the future mr and ms universe train at muscle beach.  Basically, a people watching smorgasbord. All that and sandy beaches and you’ve got one great stroll.

#1 The Getty Museum

Getty Museum

This museum is all about the location … 750 acres on a breathtaking lookout point in the Santa Monica mountains …  The collection itself used to be owned by oil baron J. Paul Getty … an impressive array of European paintings and arts.

But the real star here is the facility itself … nine stirring buildings with lovely gardens and remarkable views … with a fabulous admission price … free.  Go the getty.edu for more information.