One day in LA

[JiriHrdina]

Suggestions on what to do? Top picks?

[cracher]

You're gonna have to narrow that down a bit. Describing what to do in LA could be a trilogy of novels.

I spend quite a bit of time down there and am looking to get a condo just south of OC. What's the story? Kids? Fine dining? Golf? Beaches with the most enchanced women?

[Northendzone]

Compton or LBC

[HotHotHeat]

Venice beach is relatively close to the airport. Head there and make your way to Santa Monica. Rent bikes and take in the sights.

Do not go to knots berry farm.

[JiriHrdina]

Just me heading there on business and have a free day

[Hanna Sniper]

hookers and blow

[skudr248]

Well what would you like to do... entertainment or more relaxation? Would help

[troutman]

Evening - Hermosa Beach, or Sunset Blvd.

Daytime - Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/cal...angeles_10.htm

[tvp2003]

Santa Monica. Wander down to Venice Beach if you get bored; don't forget to grab some In and Out burger while you're there.

[browna]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Santa Monica. Wander down to Venice Beach if you get bored; don't forget to grab some In and Out burger while you're there.

Agree with this. Not that far a cab from the airport at all, so less worries about getting back with the notorious traffic on I405.

Everything's so spread out, wouldn't want to venture much further. In the other direction, going to see the Space Shuttle and the Natural History Museum next to the LA Coliseum and to the USC Campus is an idea..again, not that bad a drive distance wise, but the ocean is closer to LAX.

[cracher]

Yeah, if you've got 1 day around DTLA, it's probably not worth it to stray too far. Santa Monica is a good spot. Grab a bowl from Acai Nation, hit the beach, pub dinner from Daily Pint (they carry some terrific Oregon brews).

Pro-tip: Don't be tempted to find Ice Cube's childhood home (south central) to get a selfie. I did attempt this and needed a change of underwear immediately after.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Hit up the comedy clubs. Always something interesting going down at Largo. The world famous Comedy Store is fun as well, and with it being LA some famous comedians coming to to test things out from time to time.

[Phanuthier]

With the (in)famous LA traffic, I would try and pick one place and spend the whole day there. From LAX, the one that makes the most sense is Santa Monica (pier, downtown). Between that and maybe some entertainment (!) at night, you can take up the entire time there.

tvp - no offense, but In n Out, really? Fast food burgers with (at any reasonable hour) hours in line? LOTS of really good food places to go in LA. I can give recommendations if needed (my wife lived in LA for a long time and her family still lives there), depending on which food and your budget.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

tvp - no offense, but In n Out, really? Fast food burgers with (at any reasonable hour) hours in line? LOTS of really good food places to go in LA. I can give recommendations if needed (my wife lived in LA for a long time and her family still lives there), depending on which food and your budget.

Hours in line? Don't think it's ever taken more than 10 minutes total to get my food let alone just waiting in line.

I should clarify -- if you're looking for fine dining (or at least better than fast food burgers), obviously In n Out is not the way to go. Just depends on what you're looking for...

[sa226]

Go to Universal on a weekday morning and hit the rides as many times as you want with little to no wait times.

[Table 5]

The thing with LA is that you want to keep it to one general area as much as possible, or you'll spend your whole day in traffic. So I recommend you pick one relatively general area and try to do things around there.

Personally, I find the whole Venice Beach boardwalk kind of scuzzy and annoying, but lots of people seem to like it. Venice though has some cool places, and the Abbott Kinney area has some great restaurants (i.e. Gjelinas with their fish sandwiches). You could probably do Venice/Santa Monica/Malibu in a day. El Matador Beach, about 15 minute drive north of Malibu is pretty amazing, and my favourite beach (its much more natural than Venice beach, which is more of a boardwalk type situation). The Malibu Pier is nice too.

South of Venice, in Manhattan Beach, is where I had my Darryl Sutter sighting the last time I was there, ha. That's a nice little town too.

Whenever Im down in the LA area, I actually love to drive down the PCH to Taco Loco in Laguna Beach. That whole drive from Huntington Beach to Dana Point is quite picturesque, but it is a bit of a drive from LA itself, so there and back will probably will take eat up half your day, depending of traffic. But the fish tacos are worth it.

In 'n Out is ok, but I would recommend trying to find a Mexican food truck instead. The burgers aren't that much better than what you get in Calgary at a place like Clive....but the Mexican food is on a whole different planet.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Hours in line? Don't think it's ever taken more than 10 minutes total to get my food let alone just waiting in line.

I should clarify -- if you're looking for fine dining (or at least better than fast food burgers), obviously In n Out is not the way to go. Just depends on what you're looking for...

Really? I wonder which ones you are going to (or which ones I should be avoiding, ha)... on a weeknight after 11pm or if I take a early lunch at 11am, I might be able to pull off 10 minutes, but I've been in way too many lines over one hour, even when it was after 9pm (or between 2pm-4pm).

I know driving through Hollywood/LA, I've seen traffic backed up and a lane closed more than a few times because the other lane(s) are due to people trying to get into the IoO drive through or find parking, and even 2nd lanes blocked by cars trying to cut off someone in the other lane to budge in line for IoO drive through.

[Ice]

Keep in mind that both major north south freeways (the 5 and 405) are in the middle of large scale widening projects. The 5 is way worse than the 405 but you should allow for extra travel time due to traffic.

If your hotel is near LAX the beach is a nice way to spend the day. I prefer Manhattan/Hermosa beach to Venice Beach. If you're more inland there sights to see and Mexican food to eat in all areas of the city. Just know which areas to avoid. Personally, I don't spend any time near USC unless absolutely necessary.

In n Out is overrated, IMO. I rarely get food there as fast as ten minutes.

[JonDuke]

In and Out Burgers? When in LA, El Pollo Loco is the way to go!

[socalwingfan]

Any fast food recommendations for LA start and end with King Taco - a little piece of heaven on earth. As others have recommended, pick a spot and plan to stay there day. I would go for Manhattan or Hermosa beach myself over Venice