Los Angeles is a fascinating city and a great place for anyone to take a vacation. Visiting Los Angeles and the surrounding areas could be one of the best and most memorable experiences you will ever have. Tourists seem to get excited about everything from the simplest to the biggest. For whatever reason, tourists always like to see the famous Hollywood sign and especially visitors from non-coastal states like to hit the beach and see the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
If you are more into adrenaline and fun and planning to come to the city of Los Angeles, you will be within a reasonable driving distance of several water and amusement parks, including Six Flags Magic Mountain, Hurricane Harbor, Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios, Raging Waters, and other places like the Los Angeles Zoo and Griffith Park.
If you are really interested in the Film Industry, you can go to the recordings of numerous television programs where you can see your favorite stars live and in person. Or if you prefer to be in front of the camera rather than in the audience, there are various advertisements in newspapers, magazines and hanging on telephone poles looking for all kinds of people who want to be background extras in movies, TV shows and commercials. No experience is needed. Be sure to head down Hollywood Boulevard and search the ground for the stars of your favorite artists on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
You can go to the Staples Center, home of the ninth time NBA (National Basketball
Association) World Champions Los Angeles Lakers. Magic Johnson has moved on from playing professional basketball, but he will still see his name all over Los Angeles. He’s involved with a few businesses in town, including some 24-hour fitness venues, Magic Johnson theaters located at Crenshaw Mall, Starbucks Coffee, and Magic Johnson’s TGI Friday’s restaurant.
Right across the street from the Forum in Inglewood, where the Lakers used to play for about 30 years until a few years ago, is the Hollywood Park Race Track and Casino. They only have horse races a few months out of the year. But you’re in “luck” because the Casino is in full swing 24/7 to meet your gaming needs. It’s one of the few places around here that, at least so far, still has FREE parking.
Baseball fans can head to Dodger Stadium, home of former World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers. You don’t want to go to Dodger Stadium without eating one of their famous Dodger Dogs.
Not only do we have professional sports champions, we also have our very famous city college rivals, the UCLA Bruins and the USC Trojans, who have brought team championships to the city of Los Angeles and both have brought their students and alumni. Return gold medals when they represented the United States throughout the years at the Olympics.
If you want to see another historic sports site, go to the Los Angeles Coliseum. Not only was it the home of the Rams, and then the Raiders, when Los Angeles used to have an NFL football team, but it was an important location for the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics. If you watched the Olympics , then saw the Los Angeles Coliseum during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and Athletics events. The Olympic Torch is still there.
While you’re at the Colosseum, it would be worth the walk to the California Science Center in Exposition Park. It is a great educational learning experience for both adults and children. The Sports Arena is in that general area. Also, within walking distance in that area are several museums that you might be interested in touring.
You don’t want to miss out on the 405 San Diego Freeway that runs along the west side of Los Angeles County so you can enjoy the bumper-to-bumper traffic we all experience so often. Most people in the area call it the largest parking lot in the world. Your foot uses the brake on your car while burning that expensive gasoline. Usually you are at a full stop or traveling at a snail’s pace. Just hope they don’t have a car accident on the freeway in front of you because the snail would really win it in a race.
If you are leaving from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is right next to Playa del Rey on the west end of the city, you can take Highway 405 and head north. When you can finally get through the traffic, you can visit the J. Paul Getty Museum, which is just before you hit the valley.
You can go to Marina del Rey, north of the airport, where you can enjoy a dinner cruise on the ocean or bring your fishing pole and go out on one of the fishing boats all day or just hang out in Fisherman’s Village overlooking the Pacific. Ocean and has food, drink and gift shops. There are places near most of the beaches where you can rent bicycles. There is a Bike Path that runs along the Pacific Ocean side right on the beach. If you like to skate, skate and / or skateboard, then you will really like Venice Beach.
Normally from the west side of Los Angeles, if you’re on or near Playa del Rey and you look up, you can see planes taking off over the ocean. If you are somewhere east of the airport, you can see the planes arriving for landing. But if you look up and see a helicopter, don’t be confused. This is probably not a guided helicopter tour. Most likely it is the Los Angeles Police Department helicopter chasing a suspect with media helicopters trying to fire and trying their best to stay out of the way. Police car chases are very common around here. You hear emergency vehicle sirens coming from all directions. But that’s the best thing about Los Angeles for keeping our city nice and safe.
To be fair, as a traveler, you really need to make your safety and that of your family a top priority, no matter what city in the world you visit.
If you want to do another cruise, you can go to Catalina Island. You can go there, have a little fun and come back the same day if you want or you can stay for several days if you really like it. There are numerous activities out there.
Another historic site you don’t want to miss is the corner of Florence and Normandie avenues, which was where the 1992 Los Angeles riots began. Most of the businesses that caught fire during that time have since been rebuilt, so, of course, they look much better and more modern. Others may never be rebuilt.
At the southern tip of Los Angeles County is Long Beach, where you can see the Queen Mary ship that is docked. You can tour the ship. Also, while in Long Beach, you can visit the Aquarium of the Pacific for an underwater adventure. Like the California Science Center, it is another great educational learning opportunity for both adults and children.
To go shopping, it depends on what interests you. You can get just about anything you can think of at the malls that are everywhere. The Del Amo Mall in Torrance (the southern part of Los Angeles County) is one of the largest malls in the United States. For discounted clothing and other products, head to the downtown Los Angeles garment district. If you want the expensive stuff, go down Rodeo Drive and the Wilshire Boulevard area in Beverly Hills. Just east of Beverly Hills is the Grove, where you can visit the Farmers Market that has been serving Los Angeles since 1934. The area has changed, expanded, and built in recent years.
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the main shopping streets in Los Angeles that runs from the beach to downtown Los Angeles. So if you want to drive down Wilshire Boulevard just for fun, you can start at the Santa Monica Pier overlooking the Pacific Ocean and take you through the cities of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Los Angeles. When you arrive downtown, be sure to check out the Los Angeles Civic Center area.
Another interesting street to drive for fun is Crenshaw Boulevard. You can start at Wilshire Blvd and head south on Crenshaw Boulevard. It will take you through downtown Los Angeles. Your journey will take you past the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall, Leimert Park in the Crenshaw District, then through Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Torrance, Rolling Hills Estates, and all the way until you end at Rancho Palos Verdes in the South Bay. Los Angeles County area.
Check the Los Angeles Convention Center hours. They always have some kind of entertainment, business or informational seminars, exhibitions or workshops there. You may find something going on that you might want to attend.
There are countless food and beverage locations throughout the Los Angeles area, from fine dining restaurants to fast food places and every shade of gray in between that will satisfy any appetite. You just have to find the ones that suit your taste. There are all kinds of entertainment, dancing, activities and shows, even in addition to all the things mentioned above.
If you are not visiting someone who has a car they can use, you should probably rent a car because waiting for public transportation in Los Angeles will consume most of your vacation time. Have fun.
