L.A. was a big surprise for me. I heard the worst stories about it and how ugly and unappealing it is for tourist. But my boyfriend didn´t want to spend a lot of time at the beach and so we decided to go and see L.A. and in the end I wished we had more time to see everything.
On our arrival ( Friday about seven o´clock) we didn´t go straight to our hotel, but took a detour to the Rodeo Drive which is the biggest and richest shopping mile in L.A. (Beverly Hills). This was actually really cool, because at this hour the streets were crowded with rich people and very expensive cars. We went to the Rodeo Drive the next morning, but the people and cars were gone, but it was still fun to look at all the shopping windows and displays. And of course if you have some money to spend – that´s the place to be.
You should also take a walk around Beverly Hills. It´s next to the Rodeo Drive and you can almost always park there for free (5 minutes away). But you should of course take a good look at the parking signs and the day you visit Beverly Hills. The houses are great an it´s fun to have a walk and take some cool pictures. My travel guide told me that that would be a bad idea, because the owners are very protective of their property and might call the police or something. Well that didn´t happen. The streets are free and if you look like a tourist Beverly Hills is not the neighborhood you should worry about.
A MUST SEE spot in L.A. is of course the Hollywood Boulevard with the walk of Fame and the Big Chinese theatre. There are always a lot of tourists there. Take your time. Maybe go see a movie there somewhere. But be careful, because some streets in Hollywood get crowded with prostitutes and other people at night (as we all learned from the movie “Pretty woman”. Therefore rethink where you want to stay in L.A. You might find some cheap places in Hollywood, but if you like it save save stay somewhere else.
Another MUST SEE spot in L.A. is the Hollywood Sign. Although actually nobody is allowed to park there. You can leave your car (like all the other tourists) there for a minute and take a picture. Make it glamorous;) If you don´t want to park illegally for a minute. Take a cab. The drivers might actually be more than happy to drive you there and take a picture. But of course this is the more expensive alternative.
Dos in L.A.:
- Getty Center (we haven´t been there, because my boyfriend was fed up with Art, but the building alone is great)
- The cathedral: its architecture is really special and modern and it is one of the biggest cathedrals I have ever been to. The entrance is free and you can get your parking ticket validated if you attain the service)
- Downtown L.A. is really cool and has some great buildings and architectureà don´t go there in the evening or by night (as we did). The streets get deserted and there are a lot of drug addicts and homeless people on the street and going there around eight o´clock was maybe the first time in the US that I really felt unsafe.
- The Beach: As I told you I haven´t seen it in L.A., but the weather is often better there and from L.A. down the cost are different ocean drifts, therefore the water is much warmer
- If you missed China Town in San Francisco then go there in L.A. (of course it´s not the same!), but still you have an idea about the cultural diversity in the US and of course it´s FUN
- Go and eat somewhere fancy, try some fresh made Smoothies and some sushi
Don´ts in L.A.:
-Please don´t waste your time and don´t go to the Farmers Market. I know every travel guide tells you that this is somehow the greatest and most romantic place in L.A. It is not! It´s crowded with a lot of tourist. It´s expensive and honestly the products don´t seem to come from local farmers or anything. If you have been to smaller farmers markets somewhere else or seen a German Christmas market – well it doesn´t compare.
-Don´t go to Bel Air in order to see the mansions of some big stars. You can´t see anything, but the famous one which was used in the famous TV comedy „Price of Bel Air“. If you still want to go. Don´t buy map of the stars at some street corner in bBl Air (they ant to rip you of). Go and buy it somewhere Downtown and don´t spend more than 10-20 $ for it.
Here are some general tips for your L.A. trip:
- Near the L.A. cathedral are a lot of other tourists’ attractions, if you go there by car, park at the cathedral. The rates are much, MUCH cheaper than anywhere else in this neighborhood!
- It´s not difficult to drive in L.A. if you don´t use the highway. But you might have to and if you are not the most secure driver then you can take a tourist bus. There are a lot of options and tours and you can take the bus two days in a row, but it is about 50$ for each ticket and if you already have a car…
- Don´t always trust you navigation system! There are neighborhoods (e.g. Compton or Watts) where you should not go at night (or at any time). Don´t get out of the car, don´t ask for directions, just drive to the next bigger tourist attraction and be safe. I am telling you this because we went to Cypress Avenue, because my boyfriend loves the band and wanted to take picture there. Well there was a moment when we thought we might die, although of course nothing bad happened in the end, it was a the worst ending for our L.A. trip. Therefore we also didn´t see the Watts Towers which are also highly recommended in some Travel guides and I think are very interesting if you don´t like the mainstream tourist spots. But they are in Watts, so maybe you should visits them with some locals or a travel agency or something like that.
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