Travel: Los Angeles - Making the Most of a Three-Day Visit
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Tuesday, 03 September 2024 19:54
- Written by Janet Walker
For many, a trip to Los Angeles is a stopover on an even bigger West Coast journey. A planned three-day itinerary to LA allows visitors to visit the most iconic and memorable attractions Los Angeles has to offer.
How to Get There
Los Angeles, the City of Angels, is a major transportation hub. Visitors arrive daily by plane, flying into LAX or one of the smaller airports located around the 4,084 square miles that make up LA County. To say it is a sprawling metropolis is an understatement, which is why any trip must be planned so no one leaves disappointed.
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Tourists also arrive daily via Amtrak which pulls into the historic Union Station, in downtown LA. A major transportation hub, Union Station offers access to the Metro Railroad system, as well as the local subway, flyaway buses which provide direct service to LAX, and both Greyhound and Express bus service to other destinations.
Image Credit: Janet Walker.
What to Do
Hollywood Boulevard/Mann's Chinese Theater. If you plan three days of sightseeing in Los Angeles, no trip to the Entertainment Capital of the World would be complete without a walk along Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood Boulevard runs east to west and offers tourists a day of possible activities. The Walk of Fame runs for 15 city blocks with three additional blocks on Vine Street, and tourists can easily spend all day walking around this area. If you are looking for your favorite celebrity, of the 2,785 "stars," the Hollywood Walk of Fame has a website, walk of fame.com, that offers a map.
Beginning at the world-famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine and walking west, to Highland Ave, visitors to the City of Angels can get a glimpse of remnants of Hollywood's yesteryear, and as the street is lined with "stars on the sidewalk," visitors can see the distinctions celebrating the stars of Motion Pictures, Television, Radio, Recording, and Live Performance/Theater.
Walking to Mann's Chinese theater, tourists can see the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age right up to some of today's most well-known celebrities immortalized with handprints and footprints in cement.
For those who want to take a picture of the famous Hollywood Sign, several locations offer an excellent vantage point. The third level of the Hollywood Highland Plaza, which also has many eateries, offers an unobstructed view.
There is no charge for visiting Mann's Chinese Plaza or photographing any of the stars on Hollywood Boulevard. Parking could be a problem.
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Image Credit: Janet Walker.
Universal Studios/City Walk. No visit to the Entertainment Capital of the World would be complete without a visit to Universal Studios/City Walk. The Universal Studios tram tour will take tourists on a ride through the backlot, visiting famous movie set locations, and visitors will experience a simulated earthquake, (find the other information). After a day of seeing how movies are made, experiencing an earthquake, or seeing the Bates Motel or the fuselage of crashed airplanes take a walk through the adjacent City Walk complex, which offers specialty shops and dining options for any budget and taste. Parking is available and validated. For more information visit the Universal Studios/City Walk website.
Image Credit: Janet Walker.
Santa Monica Pier – 3rd Street Promenade. Where the land meets the sea. A must-see for visitors to LA would be the Santa Monica Pier, which is the official end of old Route 66, the historic highway, that transformed east-west travel and for many considered a rite of passage for youthful Midwesterners looking to leave the snowbelt for the eternal sunshine of LA.
Image Credit: Janet Walker.
The 3rd Street Promenade, a two-block stretch lined with street performers, shops, and eateries, and Santa Monica Pier are accessible by car, light rail, and bus. For more information on Santa Monica visit Explore Santa Monica.
Image Credit: Janet Walker.
Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive. No trip to Los Angeles would be complete without a trip to Beverly Hills, and a walk down Rodeo Drive. Beverly Hills is walkable, with the main thoroughfare, Wilshire Blvd., running east-west, and Rodeo Drive running north. The world-famous street offers many photo ops, Instagram moments, and memories galore. World-famous retailers including Harry Winston Jewelers, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Versace, and many others line the street.
The Beverly Hills Sign, located at Beverly Garden Park, on Santa Monica Boulevard and Beverly Drive, one block east of Rodeo, offers a great backdrop, as does any of the Rodeo Drive signage, for those social media moments. Shopping can be pricy; street parking is metered. For more information visit the Love Beverly Hills or the Rodeo Drive websites.
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LACMA Image Credit: Janet Walker.
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. At the intersection of Fairfax and Wilshire, in the old May Company Building, the Academy Museum of Motion Picture has opened its doors for audiences around the world to step into history and behind the scenes to experience the magical world of moviemaking. Adjacent to the Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA) and the Petersen Automobile Museum, tourists can make a day of visiting these three museums. Paid parking is available. The Museum of Motion Pictures suggests tourists purchase tickets in advance by visiting the website: https://www.academymuseum.org.
LACMA Image Credit: Janet Walker.
The Grove. Meet me at Fairfax and 3rd the red neon sign reads. This is The Grove, an entertainment complex filled with an indoor/outdoor collection of shopping, dining, entertainment, and people-watching. It is the perfect place to relax at the end of a busy day of sightseeing. With hundreds of dining options, kids can enjoy pizza while adults enjoy Chinese. The possibilities of dining are endless. Parking is provided and validated. For more information visit The Grove LA website.
Image Credit: Janet Walker.
Adding an extra day can include a trip to Disneyland, or a game at Dodgers Stadium, or any of the many attractions in the area.
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How to Get Around
For those who drive to LA, or rent a car, the highway system is a complex, six-lane, urban sprawl that at times runs smoothly, and other times is a stop-and-go sea of brake lights. Los Angeles is known for its car culture and driving to LA provides tourists the freedom of quick mobility and access. On the downside, parking can become costly, although many places offer parking validation. It is important to ask which will cut down on parking fees.
Image Credit: Janet Walker.
Public Transportation. The most cost-effective mode of transportation is the extensive Los Angeles public transportation system. Offering buses, subways, and light rail, it is the most efficient way to make it around the region. Passes can be purchased at all subway systems.
The Los Angeles Public Transportation system offers a hard plastic TAP card, which can be purchased for $1.00 and is refillable. Passes are added to the card on buses and subway stations. The subway system is easy to navigate and stops along all major tourist attractions. The Red Metro B Line stops at Hollywood/Vine, Hollywood/Highland (Mann's Chinese Theater), and Universal Studios/City Walk), and runs on a 15-minute schedule. For more information visit the LA Metro system website.
Image Credit: Janet Walker.
No matter how you arrive, Los Angeles remains a dreamy sun-drenched destination. Travelers with only three days need to plan, plan, plan, as winging it can leave visitors disappointed.
Santa Monica image Credit: Janet Walker.
