5 Things to do in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States. It’s the Entertainment Industry capital of the world.
How I Got There
As usual whenever I travel, I either take a United flight or search for the cheapest flight on kayak.com. I wrote an article about how I stick to flying on United as much as possible to cash out big with my miles.
For these trips, I take United flights.
1. Griffith Observatory
There are multiple options to hike to the top of the Griffith Observatory. Driving/parking at the top or just uber were also options for us, but we decided to hike on a beautiful day.
Griffith Observatory, front entrance view
We took the Firebreak Trail – it was a mile-long (one-way) hike up and down and it took us about 35 minutes to hike up and another 25 to hike down.
View of the Hollywood sign on the way down from Griffith Observatory
While there’s a gorgeous panoramic view of the city, there’s a solid view of the Hollywood sign.
2. Hollywood Walk of Fame
This is where the Hollywood stars are located.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame has 15-blocks of stars embedded on sidewalks
The corner of Vine Street and Hollywood Blvd was a good starting point. We walked along the sidewalk of Hollywood Blvd.
3. Echo Park
The vibe is relaxing and walking around the lake feels spectacular. There were people playing music and picnicking.
Echo Park, north side facing south
What’s also great about Echo Park is it’s location. It’s walking distance to Dodgers Stadium, Chinatown, and (kinda) Downtown Los Angeles.
Lastly, there are options to kayak, which we ended up not doing, but still a cool option.
4. Venice Boardwalk
Venice Boardwalk
Pro-tip: Eggslut has amazing food.
We felt adventurous so we strolled along Abbot Kinney Blvd and rewarded ourselves with some Salt & Straw ice cream.
It is entirely possible to hang around Venice Boardwalk and have a great time without making it to the actual beach.
5. LA County Beaches
Let’s go to the beach, beach. Yes – the beaches in LA are that good. I lived in San Francisco for almost 2 years and rarely did I ever feel like going to the beach was a necessity. I’ll give a name and a short description of each.
Redondo Beach
All following beaches surf-able depending on the forecast except Long Beach.
Malibu – Miley raved about it, and she’s not wrong. The pacific coast of Malibu stretches miles and miles. There are also incredible mountains surrounding the coast. Best beaches include Zuma and the pier.
Venice/Santa Monica – The beaches are usually bombarded by skaters coming from the boardwalk, but it’s just a gorgeous area. Santa Monica has the Ferris wheel and parks right next to the beach.
Dockweiler – A perfect place to relax and to plane-watch because it’s right next to LAX.
El Porto/Manhattan Beach – known for great waves for surfing.
Hermosa Beach – It’s beautiful. There is a lot of pristine sand between the houses and the shore. Plus, there are lots of restaurants close-by for a post-beach meal.
Redondo Beach/Torrance Beach – In addition to the beaches, it was easy to take the stairs and walk along the walkway that included stunning views of the ocean and landscape.
Long Beach – You can’t surf, but you can Kite Surf! This is where I learned Kite surfing for the first time.
Where I Stayed
I stayed in Redondo Beach at an Airbnb, 2 blocks from the beach. Perfect for beach-y vacations. Absolutely perfect.
By the way, I wrote a separate article on How I Choose Where I Stay when I Travel.
Other times, I stayed with friends – Kathy/Matt in Ventura, Johnnie/Sam in West Hollywood.
Honorable Mentions
This post is mainly about things to do in LA County, but I had a great time in Ventura (shoutout to Matt and Kathy for being the best hosts!) I also really liked Huntington Beach in Orange County.
Photo taken at Oo Kook Korean BBQ
Koreatown for Korean BBQ is a must. I went here.
Chinatown was cool too. Tbh, not as good as the one in SF, but still cool.
If I Had More Time, I Would Have…
Gone to Staples Center / crypto.com Arena. (Go Lakers?)
Check out Exposition Park which includes the LA Coliseum.
Lastly, I would have loved to visit The Last Bookstore.
Closing Thoughts
After my experience in LA, I realized I didn’t need to leave the US to find incredible international cities. Los Angeles was truly a fantastic experience.