Husband and I will be in Los Angeles for a few days of R&R before a family obligation in early October. We have passed through many times, but have not really ever stayed and explored. Any suggestions for must see places or things to do? The Getty in on my list, and maybe La Brea tar pits, and, hopefully, some beach time (Santa Monica??). We haven’t booked hotels yet either and of course would like to minimize time spent in LA traffic.
Thanks for any ideas.
The beach in SM, yes, and the pier, and while you’re in that neck, Marina del Rey.
The alt beach is Venice, the characters, see the canals. You’ll get a nice idea of Malibu on the way to the Getty (think you still need to reserve parking.) Eat at some place on the beach. Dinner is good, for the sunsets. Love that area.
There are two Gettys; both are great. One in Malibu (need reservations for parking) and one on the 405 (no reservations needed).
If you are going to the La Brea tar pits (quite cool), also leave time to do the LA County Museum of Art next door. We haven’t been there yet, but The Broad is a new contemporary art museum that is supposed to be great. Reservations needed last I checked.
Good luck with that.
This past weekend, we saw Jay Leno in Hermosa Beach. He’s there almost every Sunday at the Comedy and Magic club. It’s a very intimate setting so there are no bad seats in the house. If you arrive early you can sit right up front! The show was great.
http://comedyandmagicclub.com/
You could combine this with your “beach time”. Hermosa has lots of stores and restaurants at the beach.
The Getty in Malibu is called the Getty Villa and is devoted to classical art - ancient Greek and Roman antiquities. I love it. The building itself is a work of art. It is a modern replica of a Roman villa, specifically the Villa of the Papyri located in ancient Herculaneum.
The Getty in the north of town off the 405 is main Getty and houses more modern art. Both Gettys are great, and best of all, free. (Although there is a charge for parking).
I’ll recommend something a bit more offbeat, and walk around downtown LA. Check out the disney concert hall (even if the LA phil is not playing), wander around the jewelry and garment districts, which were gentrifying the last time I was there, all kinds of cafes and clubs and such. The reason I recommend it is there is a lot of older architecture there that reminded me of the old film Noir movies, you could see Phillip Marlow walking into his office in one of those buildings.
I also recommend checking out the LA subway, it is new enough to be interesting. Hollywood is okay, specifically Hollywood Boulevard, it has been cleaned up a lot, part of it still has a little grit left, the other part is like Times Square today (and this was now almost 4 years ago, prob changed a lot since then).
If you enjoy films, go to Griffith Park Observatory. It’s been in hundreds of films and tv shows. You get the finest view of LA and the surrounding hills, and the building inside is quite interesting as well.
The La Brea tar pits was my family’s favorite stop.
This would be my list:
If you like art AND gardens you can get both at Huntington Library & Gardens. http://huntington.org/
While you are in the area you could visit Old Town Pasadena.
And you won’t be far from Griffith Observatory or Downtown if you want to do some of those things.
The good news is with the exception of the Getty and Getty Villa, most of these sights are easily accessed via public transportation.
Downtown LA, Union Station, Griffith Park, Hollywood are all accessible via the Red Line. On weekends there’s a bus that can take you from the Red Line to the Observatory. DTLA is a great place to walk, and if you like modern art, check out the Broad, just get a reservation very far in advance.
Santa Monica/Venice are on the Expo Line. I’d recommend going on a weekday as the beach is crazy on weekends. While there you can take an Uber to the Getty.
I’d second the recommendation for the Huntington Library and Gardens in Passadena. It’s spectacular, especially the gardens.
If you like contemporary art, another hidden gem in LA: http://www.weismanfoundation.org/index.html. This is one amazing art collection that’s housed in the former home of the collector. It’s by appointment only–you can’t roam around on on your own, you go on a tour. That being said, the docents are knowledgeable and you see everything.
If you head out to Pasadena for the Huntington Library/Gardens (which is great) and you like art museums, also stop by the Norton Simon Museum, which is wonderful.
We were visiting our D the weekend before last in LA and did a morning tour of the old movie theaters on Broadway in DTLA then went to Simi Valley in the afternoon to tour the Reagan Library and see the old Air Force One. It’s a bit of a drive to the Reagan, but we did these both on a Saturday. Both of the Getty Museums are good and so is LACMA. We love the Huntington if you are going to Pasadena. We also went to the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery which is in the middle of high rise buildings in Westwood and saw where Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Burt Lancaster, Truman Capote and many other old Hollywood people are buried.
I hope that @mom2and will forgive me for tagging on! Any suggestions on areas to stay? I hope to make this trip - it’s been 30 plus years since LA for me! We’d want to see the Getty(s), Huntington Library Gardens, La Brea Tar Pits, Reagan Library, Norton Simon. I haven’t seen any of the LA area museums - strong art history interest and love museums in general. I know I’m naming places that are all over the map - change locations? Any of the studios with tours worth seeing? I’ve done that in years past, it would be new to Hubby who might find it “touristy” or “kitschy”, opinions welcome. I thought it was fascinating, I saw a filming of a long dead sit com, but things can change in 30 years! I trust all of you more than Tripadvisor for starting me in the right direction for planning! Thanks!
We stayed at a funky little Travel Lodge near LAX that looked like it was out of the 1960’s for 2 nights when we were there last. Rooms were clean, a decent price and easy access to all the places we were going and to our D’s sublet in Westwood. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott near Culver City in April for a long weekend which was also nice.
@mom2and We stayed at the Brentwood Inn on Sunset to visit family in that area earlier this year and enjoyed the stay. Unless you want a pool, it may be a good option for the Getty as well as Sana Monica as it’s right in there sort of between both, in a residential neighborhood (but I walked - yes I walked in LA - to shops and even a supermarket on residential sidewalks with little traffic). Kind of neat old-school motel renovated and turned into a boutique hotel. Small, with parking.
@Momofadult I’d recommend staying somewhere in Downtown LA. It seems most central to all you want to do, although it’s not stereotypically “LA”. The caveat about DTLA is if you’re renting a car, parking will be pricey.
The studio tours are quite good. My friends LOVED Warner Brothers.
If you like Ramen, swing by Little Osaka for a bowl. There’s some great ramen joints there (and also a really good Taiwanese shaved snow place). It’s not too far from Santa Monica and Westwood.
My visits to cities are usually more about food than sightseeing 
Sawtelle does have amazing ramen although I’m partial to Daikokuya in Little Tokyo (near Downtown LA). Also, LA is home to incredible Korean food. Korea Town, which is between Downtown and the Westside has great Korean BBQ.
We also have a ton of taco trucks and our signature street food the delicious bacon wrapped hot dog.