<p>Hollywood blvd and the area is mostly worth a visit late at night, preferably on Fri or Saturday. During the day it is absolutely nothing special, late at night it makes for an interesting people-watching experience. The “Singing Elvis” Thai restaurant is pretty good, though very typical. Expect to pay an arm and a leg for parking.</p>
<p>Santa Monica/Venice beach is alright, if you are there for the shopping and the beach any time will do. As an amateur photographer I would favor sunrise/sunset. Rent bikes at the pier and bike along the beach. Go see the steroid-abusing freaks at Muscle Beach. Sunset around Santa Monica peer can be really pretty if you get the right kind of weather. My preference is to watch it from the beach on the north side of the peer.</p>
<p>Getty… meh, I expected more from a famous museum in a major city. Go up there, look at LA’s haze, peruse the not particularly impressive collection. When we were there they had a Bernini special exhibit. Very disappointing, maybe we were expecting too much after all the beautiful Bernini works one gets to see in Rome. If you want to save a bit of dough go there around 1 hr before closing, they will let you in for free (the museum itself is free, but like everything else in LA parking is steep). The collection is modest enough to allow hitting the highlights in about an hour, and they will let you stick around the garden for about an hour after the buildings close.</p>
<p>The Ivy, Robertson Street, Abbot Kinney — perhaps interesting if you come from the suburban wastelands of New Jersey, where the biggest entertainment seems to be going to the mega-mall on Friday. San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle all have bohemian neighborhoods with more character.</p>
<p>There are some really great sushi places near Downtown, and the usual collection of great restaurants. Catalina Island is pretty nice, but is a whole day and gets a bit on the spendy side.</p>
<p>Of course there are the usual standby’s of amusement parks, Rodeo Drive, etc, etc.</p>