Expert: Steve Summers - 10/9/2006

Question
Hi Steve, my husband and I are thinking of coming to LA on a Friday and leaving on a Sunday.  Can you recomend an area to stay and stuff to do.  Would we need a car?  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Sheila,

I think that if you're in LA, I think that you should stay in one of the areas close to an attraction: The beach, Hollywood & Highland, Studio City, etc. Will you need a car? Yes. Some cities you can do without, but LA is too big and sprawling, and the bus system just doesn't cut it. As for things to do, take your pick:

Los Angeles is a vacationer's dream, even if you're just a one-day vacationer; a city largely devoted to leisure, entertainment, relaxation and fun is the right place to be after several days of business. Of the city's over 20 million annual visitors, more than a third are here on business. Los Angeles is home to nearly 4 million people; the nation's second-largest metropolis encompasses the separate cities of Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, plus the enormous San Fernando Valley, a primarily suburban area that recently lost a hotly debated secession bid that would have made it the country's sixth-largest city on its own.

L.A.'s near-perfect weather makes it possible to enjoy the outdoors any time of year, whether you're cruising for celebrities, rollerblading on the beach, or taking in one of the major family attractions in Southern California. The city's multi-ethnic flavor provides endless opportunities to sample new cuisines, architecture, and cultural traditions - all brought here by the scores of immigrants drawn to the California lifestyle. Just spend and extra day here, and you'll discover why the appeal is so strong.

See a star or two — Just a few minutes north of downtown off U.S. 101 is Hollywood, the original heart of Tinseltown. Originally a sleepy suburb, Hollywood's scenic locale made it a natural for filming early silent movies. Big-name studios such as Paramount quickly followed, and Hollywood became the center of cinema's Golden Age. Stroll along the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard and find your favorite celebrity's star. Visit the Hollywood & Highland entertainment complex to glimpse the famous white billboard "Hollywood" sign through the archway, then shop for some vintage souvenirs.

Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue; (323) 960-2331; www.hollywoodandhighland.com


Catch a movie — Is there a better place than Hollywood to see a movie? The most famous is Grauman's Chinese Theater, where Clark Gable, Groucho Marx, Marilyn Monroe and more than 150 others have left their footprints in the cement since 1927. Tickets are about $10.
6925 Hollywood Blvd.; (323) 464-6266.

Another option is El Capitan, a 77-year-old movie palace that Disney restored several years ago. The proscenium often features live entertainment before the film, which always is a current Disney release.
6838 Hollywood Blvd.; (323) 467-7674.

A third option is The Egyptian, which runs classic films and hosts festivals and other special events after being renovated as the home of American Cinematheque. One weekend a month, visitors can tour the 1922 structure - which features hieroglyphics, Egyptian-style paintings and sphinxes - and see "Forever Hollywood," a 55-minute film that highlights the past 100 years of moviemaking.
6712 Hollywood Blvd.; (323) 466-3456; www.egyptiantheatre.com

Get the best view — Visit the Santa Monica Pier to dip your toe in the Pacific surf or get a bird's-eye look at the coast from atop the Ferris wheel. Located at the end of Colorado Boulevard, you can enjoy carnival games, ride the 1916 carousel and check out the UCLA Ocean Discovery Center — an aquarium and marine science learning center. The Discover Center costs $3 for everyone over 2, and is open from Tuesday through Sunday in the summer, weekends only the rest of the year.
1600 Ocean Front Walk; (310) 393-6149; www.odc.ucla.edu
When you're hungry, there are numerous noshing options right on the pier: Sample some seafood amidst a collection of vintage surfboards at Rusty's Surf Ranch (256 Santa Monica Pier; (310) 393-7437; www.winedineent.com/rustys) or hang out at the Surf View Cafι, a casual diner with patio seating (330 Santa Monica Pier; (310) 394-4231).
(310) 458-8900; Did you like Forrest Gump? There's a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company right on the pier. Get the Hush Pups for appetizers, and the stuffed shrimp. www.santamonicapier.org

Take a scenic drive — For scenery both man-made and natural, hit Mulholland Drive, which divides L.A. and the San Fernando Valley. Million-dollar homes line this winding, 10-mile hilltop drive, and views of the valley and Angeles National Forest are superb. Take I-405 north of Westwood to get there, or exit U.S. 101 near Universal City. From Hollywood, reach it via Outpost Drive off Franklin Avenue, or Cahuenga Boulevard. For a great view of the city, take the Hollywood Freeway to Cahuenga, left on Mulholland, then go right to the first cutoff.

Got the kids? — Long before Jack Nicholson and Ben Affleck dominated the L.A. scene, the West Coast's dominant residents included Colombian mammoths, giant ground sloths and other extinct species. See them all at the George C. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits in the Miracle Mile district. Feel what it was like to get stuck in the sticky black goo, touch bones and watch paleontologists work. The museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. Admission is $6 for adults and $2 for kids 5-12.
5801 Wilshire Blvd.; (323) 934-7243; www.tarpits.org
For a mind-expanding educational experience that really feels like playing, visit the California Science Center, near downtown in Exposition Park (also home to the Natural History Museum, the Coliseum and USC). High-tech sleight of hand and interactive adventures teach kids about the world around them, and there's an attached IMAX theater with surround sound and 3-D. The Science Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission is free; IMAX ticket prices vary.
700 State Dr.; (213) SCI-ENCE; www.casciencectr.org

Save a day for Disneyland — The "Happiest Place on Earth" is in Anaheim, a 45-minute drive from Los Angeles. The original Disneyland Park is as fun as ever, with perennial favorite rides such as Space Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Indiana Jones, along with beloved Disney characters and live-action shows.
In 2001, the theme park - and surrounding neighborhood - got a boost with the opening of adjacent sister park Disney's California Adventure, which presents the diversity of the Golden State as entertainment: You can take a virtual hanglide tour above statewide highlights in "Soarin' Over California," raft through swirling white water on "Roaring Rapids," or experience an authentic old-style boardwalk at Pacific Pier.
The Disney expansion also added Downtown Disney, an idealized street scene modeled after the one at Orlando's Magic Kingdom. Whether you want to stroll with the kids in tow, have an upscale dinner for two or party into the night, Downtown Disney offers restaurants, shops, and entertainment for all ages. Highlights include the House of Blues, Rainforest Cafe, ESPN Zone and the World of Disney superstore.
A one-day admission ticket to either park is $47 for adults, $37 for kids 12-17, and $33 for kids 3-11. Multi-day "Park Hopper" tickets are also available. Hours vary by season.
1313 Harbor Blvd.; (714) 781-4565; www.disneyland.com

Experience special effects — See how movie magic is created at Universal Studios Hollywood via the "Backlot Tour," a narrated hour-long ride through the 420-acre complex. You'll experience the parting of the Red Sea, an avalanche, an earthquake, a flood and a dinosaur forest with an 80-foot water drop. Other attractions are based on films such as "E.T.," "Backdraft" and "The Mummy."
Admission is $47 for adults, $37 for kids 12-17, and $33 for kids 3-11. Universal often offers special promotions and discounts, which are available online, in many tourist publications or through your hotel concierge. Hours vary seasonally.
100 Universal City Plaza; (818) 622-3801; www.universalstudioshollywood.com

Do the zoo — The Los Angeles Zoo hosts 1,200 animals and 350 plant species on more than 100 acres in Griffith Park. Since 1998, the zoo has opened two primate exhibits: the Chimpanzees of Mahale Mountains, named after a thriving wild troop in Tanzania, and the Red Ape Rain Forest, a state-of-the-art habitat for the zoo's orangutans. The zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (open until 6 p.m. in summer). Admission is $8.25 for adults and $3.25 for kids 2-12.
5333 Zoo Dr.; (323) 644-6400; www.lazoo.org

Be an engineer — Experience real-life railroading at Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park. Founded in the early 1950s, the museum features one of the largest collections of steam locomotives in the West, as well as vintage passenger freight cars and cabooses. Admission to the museum is free, but riding a miniature train costs a nominal fee. Bring a picnic; tables and barbecue grills are outside. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.
5200 Zoo Dr.; (323) 662-5874; www.cityofla.org/RAP/grifmet/tt/index.htm

Love that art — The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, located on Museum Row in the Miracle Mile district, has collections of Islamic Art, Tokugawa period Japanese paintings and woodblock prints, American paintings and sculpture, and a costume and textile collection of more than 50,000 pieces. A new Latin American gallery covers more than 4,000 square feet. "Family Sundays," geared for families with kids 5-12, features hands-on art projects, storytelling and bilingual gallery tours. The museum is open from noon to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; from noon to 9 p.m. Friday; and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, $1 for kids 6-17, and free to kids under 6.
905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; (323) 857-6000; www.lacma.org
Another art option is the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, an imposing travertine marble fortress on a hilltop near Westwood alongside I-405. This modern architectural masterpiece, opened in 1997, took 14 years to construct and, on a clear day, offers city-to-ocean vistas. Come for its impressive grounds, high-concept garden and highlights from the Getty's permanent collection - including the van Gogh masterpiece "Irises." The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday, and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission is free.
1200 Getty Center Dr.; (310) 440-7300; www.getty.edu
If you still haven't gotten your fill, the Pacific Asia Museum is home to art from throughout the Pacific Rim. The museum, housed in a re-creation of a Northern Chinese palace in Pasadena, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday (open until 8 p.m. Friday). Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors, and free for kids under 12.
46 N. Los Robles Ave.; (626) 449-2742, ext. 10; www.pacificasiamuseum.org
If you're willing to take a drive, 40 minutes northeast of Los Angeles in San Marino lies the Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens, which displays European art and historic documents from colonial America. It's open from noon to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday (opens at 10:30 a.m. in the summer), and from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults, $8.50 for seniors, $7 for students 12 and older, $4 for kids 5-11, and free for kids under 5.
1151 Oxford Rd.; (626) 405-2100; www.huntington.org

Explore an ethnic neighborhood — Los Angeles has the largest Asian/Pacific Island population in the USA and boasts the largest Hispanic community outside Guadalajara and Mexico City. Explore some of this diversity downtown in Little Tokyo, bordered by Alameda and Los Angeles streets and First and Third streets. Check out the Japanese American National Museum, which chronicles Japanese life in the USA in its architecturally acclaimed galleries. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (open until 8 p.m. Thursday). Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $3 for students and kids 6-17, and free for kids under 6. Admission is free for everyone after 5 p.m. on Thursday.
369 E. First St.; (213) 625-0414; www.janm.org
Chinatown, at the corner of Broadway and Cesar E. Chavez (a continuation of Sunset Boulevard), is undergoing a small revival as art galleries start to spring up near traditional restaurants. Visitors will find plenty of dim sum and chop suey eateries, Chinese bakeries and market, and kitschy import shops - all in a Hollywood-goes-to-Peking architectural style.
Just three blocks away is El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument, commonly referred to as Olvera Street. Located across from Union Station at Alameda Street and Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, the area was the Spanish cornerstone of the original Los Angeles settlement and is now a colorful shopping and dining district. The visitors center is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
622 N. Main St.; (213) 628-1274; www.cityofla.org/elp

Art and culture in Pasadena — Ten miles north of downtown lies Pasadena, which features a bounty of historic architecture. Fans of Arts and Crafts homes will want to tour the Gamble House, designed in 1908 by Charles and Henry Greene and now a National Landmark. Built for affluent Easterners, the home features handmade wood detailing and priceless stained glass, as well as distinctively California features such as sleeping porches.
4 Westmoreland Pl.; (626) 793-3334; www.gamblehouse.usc.edu
You can also stroll by Pasadena's grandiose and baroque City Hall, located on Garfield Avenue, two blocks north of Colorado Boulevard. The centerpiece of a historic Civic Center that also includes the 1920s-era Library and Civic Auditorium, City Hall features a classic colonnaded courtyard, formal gardens, and a spectacular tiled dome visible from miles away.

The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena showcases European pieces dating from the Renaissance to the mid-20th century, including works by Raphael, Rubens, Rembrandt, Monet, Degas, Renoir, van Gogh, Cιzanne and Picasso. It's open from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Monday (open until 9 p.m. Friday). Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for seniors, and free for students and kids under 13.
411 W. Colorado Blvd.; (626) 449-6840; www.nortonsimon.org
For tours of these and other historic structures, contact the Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau.
171 S. Los Robles Ave.; (626) 795-9311; www.pasadenacal.com/architecturaltours.htm

See Sunset Strip — This is the unofficial designation for a West Hollywood stretch of Sunset Boulevard 25 minutes from downtown, between Doheny Drive at the west and where Laurel Canyon Boulevard becomes Crescent Heights Boulevard at the east. For decades, the Strip has been famous for celebrity-studded nightlife and high-profile hotels. Restaurants, sidewalk cafes and upscale boutiques abound here, including the flagship Tower Records and Hustler Hollywood boutique. During the day, the Strip is populated with between-projects actors and visitors lounging and shopping. Nighttime is a frantic mix of celebs in limos, loud rock-n-rollers, brown-nosing cruisers and plenty of paparazzi.

Have fun!

Steve