Best way to spend 1 day in LA?

[KellyGirl888]

If you were traveling with your 75 year old mum and had one day in LA, what would you do?  Walking is ok, anything more active than that is out.  I like movie memorabilia etc, but the Academy Museum is already sold out the day we are in town.  TIA!

[Bruin Steve]

A few questions:

--What time of year?

--When you say "one day", do you have a FULL day?  Or is it a case of flying in one day and leaving on a cruise the next?

--If you are staying a night or two before or after a cruise, where do you plan on staying?

 

If you have a full day in LA--say you are arriving early morning the day before a cruise ...or arriving later but spending two hotel nights and the weather is warm/nice, I would consider staying in Santa Monica and spend your day split between strolling on the Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Pier and the Venice Boardwalk--using Uber to get down to Venice and back...You will recognize the Santa Monica Pier as the location for many classic movies...It even masqueraded as Chicago for "The Sting"...The Venice Boardwalk is what most envision as the quintessential Southern California experience--body builders on the beach, girls roller skating in bikinis, etc.

 

If you have more time, you can also consider getting an Uber or other transportation to Hollywood& Highland where you can check out the "Walk of Fame" and the footprints at the Chinese Theater and catch a view of the Hollywood sign...

 

What you can fit into that "one day" depends on where in LA you'll be and how much time you have...

You can also catch a tour that will take you to those places as well...

[JuliaMS]

When are you going? What are her/your interests? The Fashion institute has a museum - costumes in film. Lots of museums downtown. Santa Monica or Hunting Beach for beach day. Malibu for nice drive and Malibu seafood for great view during casual dinner.

 

https://fidmmuseum.org/exhibitions#current-exhibits

https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/attractions/essential-museums-to-visit-in-los-angeles

 

[KellyGirl888]

On 2/12/2022 at 2:58 PM, Bruin Steve said:

A few questions:

--What time of year?

--When you say "one day", do you have a FULL day?  Or is it a case of flying in one day and leaving on a cruise the next?

--If you are staying a night or two before or after a cruise, where do you plan on staying?

 

If you have a full day in LA--say you are arriving early morning the day before a cruise ...or arriving later but spending two hotel nights and the weather is warm/nice, I would consider staying in Santa Monica and spend your day split between strolling on the Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Pier and the Venice Boardwalk--using Uber to get down to Venice and back...You will recognize the Santa Monica Pier as the location for many classic movies...It even masqueraded as Chicago for "The Sting"...The Venice Boardwalk is what most envision as the quintessential Southern California experience--body builders on the beach, girls roller skating in bikinis, etc.

 

If you have more time, you can also consider getting an Uber or other transportation to Hollywood& Highland where you can check out the "Walk of Fame" and the footprints at the Chinese Theater and catch a view of the Hollywood sign...

 

What you can fit into that "one day" depends on where in LA you'll be and how much time you have...

You can also catch a tour that will take you to those places as well...

Thank you for this - we'll be coming off a cruise ship Feb 26 an not flying out until the morning.  Right now we're booked to stay neat LAX because our next day flight is so early.  So I suppose not an entire day, more like an afternoon!  Appreciate your advice.

[Bruin Steve]

8 hours ago, KellyGirl888 said:

Thank you for this - we'll be coming off a cruise ship Feb 26 an not flying out until the morning.  Right now we're booked to stay neat LAX because our next day flight is so early.  So I suppose not an entire day, more like an afternoon!  Appreciate your advice.

Okay...it's a Saturday...and you are disembarking in San Pedro (Majestic Princess, correct?)...Next big question would be if you want to rent a car or not...Hertz and Enterprise in San Pedro are both open until noon...You'd have to arrange to pick up there and drop off at LAX...

 

If you really wanted to go to Hollywood and want to do the rental car thing, you could either walk to the car rental--and then circle back to pick up your mother...or just get an Uber there (unless they would come get you at the pier)...You could then drive up to LAX and check into your hotel and leave the luggage, then continue on up to Hollywood & Highland (It's a big commercial/restaurant/hotel/theater complex...with the Chinese Theater and the Dolby Theater...the Hollywood Walk of Fame run along the front.  You can also get a glimpse of the Hollywood Sign from there--though not up close).  It's sort of touristy, but it will tie in that movie theme for you.  Parking will cost a bit, but you can buy something or eat lunch there and get validated.  From there, I'd drive to Santa Monica...park at the Third Street Promenade or near the pier...Walk along the Promenade, on the cliffs at Palisades Park, then down to the pier.  Then head down to Venice...walk along the Boardwalk...and catch dinner in this area...I recommend C&O Trattoria on Washington just a few yards from the beach...Drive around Marina Del Rey then down Lincoln Blvd to the LAX area and your hotel...Turn in your rental car and go to sleep and get to the airport by hotel shuttle in the morning...

 

If you don't want to rent a car, you might use Uber to try to duplicate the same thing...Or simplify it, skipping Hollywood and just use Uber to get you to the hotel--check in and drop luggage, then up to Santa Monica by Uber...then to Venice by Uber and back to the hotel by Uber (LAX to Santa Monica, Santa Monica to Venice and Venice to LAX are all fairly short distances and inexpensive by Uber or Lyft.

 

A third option would be to contact Sunseeker tours and get a pickup at the pier (they are the one local tour company that does that).  They will keep your luggage with the bus and drop you at your hotel after the tour.

 

Good luck.

[KellyGirl888]

14 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Okay...it's a Saturday...and you are disembarking in San Pedro (Majestic Princess, correct?)...Next big question would be if you want to rent a car or not...Hertz and Enterprise in San Pedro are both open until noon...You'd have to arrange to pick up there and drop off at LAX...

 

If you really wanted to go to Hollywood and want to do the rental car thing, you could either walk to the car rental--and then circle back to pick up your mother...or just get an Uber there (unless they would come get you at the pier)...You could then drive up to LAX and check into your hotel and leave the luggage, then continue on up to Hollywood & Highland (It's a big commercial/restaurant/hotel/theater complex...with the Chinese Theater and the Dolby Theater...the Hollywood Walk of Fame run along the front.  You can also get a glimpse of the Hollywood Sign from there--though not up close).  It's sort of touristy, but it will tie in that movie theme for you.  Parking will cost a bit, but you can buy something or eat lunch there and get validated.  From there, I'd drive to Santa Monica...park at the Third Street Promenade or near the pier...Walk along the Promenade, on the cliffs at Palisades Park, then down to the pier.  Then head down to Venice...walk along the Boardwalk...and catch dinner in this area...I recommend C&O Trattoria on Washington just a few yards from the beach...Drive around Marina Del Rey then down Lincoln Blvd to the LAX area and your hotel...Turn in your rental car and go to sleep and get to the airport by hotel shuttle in the morning...

 

If you don't want to rent a car, you might use Uber to try to duplicate the same thing...Or simplify it, skipping Hollywood and just use Uber to get you to the hotel--check in and drop luggage, then up to Santa Monica by Uber...then to Venice by Uber and back to the hotel by Uber (LAX to Santa Monica, Santa Monica to Venice and Venice to LAX are all fairly short distances and inexpensive by Uber or Lyft.

 

A third option would be to contact Sunseeker tours and get a pickup at the pier (they are the one local tour company that does that).  They will keep your luggage with the bus and drop you at your hotel after the tour.

 

Good luck.

 

Incredible. Thank you so much for all of this!  I'll run it past my mum and see what she thinks 🙂

[KellyGirl888]

On 2/12/2022 at 3:14 PM, JuliaMS said:

When are you going? What are her/your interests? The Fashion institute has a museum - costumes in film. Lots of museums downtown. Santa Monica or Hunting Beach for beach day. Malibu for nice drive and Malibu seafood for great view during casual dinner.

 

https://fidmmuseum.org/exhibitions#current-exhibits

https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/attractions/essential-museums-to-visit-in-los-angeles

 

 

I thought I replied to this a couple of days ago but I guess it didn't stick.

We arrive off a cruise ship on Feb 26 and fly out early the next morning.  Thank you for the idea of the Fashion Institute museum, that sounds like a very interesting way to spend some time.  I've never spent any time in Malibu so that (and seafood with a view) also sounds lovely.  Thanks again!

[ChanaC]

Maybe consider the Warner Bros Studio Tour. It's in Burbank about 45 minutes away from the airport, but if you are already taking an Uber or taxi or even driving it's not that far off from Hollywood Blvd. They have some nice tours, there is minimal walking, you'll see lots of memorabilia and sound stages, and all in all it's a very classic touristy "Hollywood" tour. Sometimes they let you inside a soundstage to see a set. The tour ends at a gift shop and cafe where there are also some other interactive exhibits. There are lots of Friends, Harry Potter, and Batman/DC stuff if you are a fan of any of those. If you are doing Hollywood Blvd, it's really only about 15-20 minutes from there and you could do both on the same day, just make sure you give yourself time to get to WB. Hollywood can be a little gross and run down, but Burbank is pretty nice and safe. There are only a few restaurants in walking distance, but if you have a rental car you can drive and find lots of options within a few miles (the Toluca Lake neighborhood on Riverside Dr. is right there and there are lots of good options). Also, if you rent a car, you can take yourself on your own mini Hollywood tour. A lot of stuff is done out of Burbank, and you can easily drive past Universal Studios, Nickelodeon, and the Disney Studios/Campus, including the Disney animation building.

Edited February 17, 2022 by ChanaC

[sueandkent]

We were thinking of going to the Santa Monica area with our rental car. Is there parking? Is it expensive? It will be a Friday, late afternoon into evening. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

7 hours ago, sueandkent said:

We were thinking of going to the Santa Monica area with our rental car. Is there parking? Is it expensive? It will be a Friday, late afternoon into evening. 

 

There is lots of parking and I find it pretty reasonable.

 

https://www.downtownsm.com/parking-info

[sueandkent]

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

 

There is lots of parking and I find it pretty reasonable.

 

https://www.downtownsm.com/parking-info

Thank you

[Bruin Steve]

We always just head over to the residential area about a block north of Wilshire and park on the street for free...It helps to know the neighborhood well...