Welcome to LA
Hi, I’m Ash, an English girl who loves to travel. My ultimate life goal is to watch the sunset in every country in the world!
Welcome to the City of Angels… (because Los Angeles means ‘the angels’ in Spanish)!
A city of extremely tall palm trees, lots of sunshine and crazy long sandy beaches!
FREE ACTIVITIES
Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica is one of the most 'family-friendly' areas in LA. I would highly recommend an early morning walk along the beach as the blue sky and blue sea, with the beaches and the palm trees is a dream. In the evening, the Santa Monica pier is a great spot for a bit of entertainment. There's a giant Ferris wheel which has lots of beautiful twinkly lights, and dodgems with a fun fair type vibe. There are shops selling pretzels and mini donuts, and souvenirs everywhere. There are people busking up and down the pier, some singing, some performing magic tricks, some preaching. The place is crazy, but worth a visit!
Venice Beach
We walked from the Santa Monica pier to Venice beach early in the morning and the beach was sooooo amazing! I would not recommend doing this walk in the midday sun though as there is no shade and it would be tiring on a hot day. Venice beach was a fascinating place. It reminded me of a marketplace. We walked down the pathway near the beach and there were little stalls on either side of us displaying artwork, t-shirts, souvenirs, shoes, bags for sale. I loved seeing the VENICE sign hanging across the road.
Also one small but awesome thing that made me so happy was seeing a sign outside a little café that was selling pizza by the SLICE. This was so stereotypical 'American', I loved it!
Hollywood Walk of Fame
If you're going to Hollywood for the very first time, then you definitely need to see the Hollywood Walk of Fame! This walk actually contains more than 2600 stars for celebrities that significant contributions to the entertainment industry over the years!
Griffith Observatory
Another stop you absolutely should have on your itinerary is Griffith Observatory. We drove up to the top car park (it cost about $10 to park for 2 hours…), its worth driving up here for the view!
I would recommend arriving early though as we got there about 11am and the top car park was almost completely full. You can walk around the edge of the building to see the view over the city and it is absolutely incredible, plus you can also see the famous Hollywood sign from here too!
There is actually quite a lot inside the observatory that you can see without having to pay for any tickets! There is an option to buy a ticket if you want to see more but its still a great morning out even without paying for extras.
The observatory actually overlooks Runyon Canyon Park!
Runyon Canyon Park
This park is 160 acres! It is HUGE. There are three different trails, all which connect and loop together so you have lots of options.
If you don’t fancy walking for ages in the heat but you still want the views, then the best entrance is Mulholland entrance, which is only about 15 minute's walk to the lookout. Apparently, this park is also one of the BEST places to bump into A-list celebrities… although I should also point out that along with celebrities, there is also the risk of bumping into coyotes, mountain lions and rattlesnakes…
The Getty
Admission to this beautiful museum, which has a huge collection of paintings and sculptures, is completely free (except for the $20 car parking)! The focus is mostly on European art up to the 1900s, and features some very well known Impressionists including Van Gogh, Manet and Cézanne!
There is also a few extremely pretty gardens to walk through on a sunny day, this includes a cactus garden and numerous sculpture gardens. There are cafes and restaurants onsite or you can actually bring your own picnic to eat in the gardens.
Paul Getty was known as the richest man in America (through turning oil into gold basically), so thanks to the Paul Getty Trust this is one of the world's wealthiest art institutions and operates free of charge! The Getty family history is crazy, they’ve actually suffered quite a few tragedies sadly - for example John Paul Getty III was actually kidnapped in Italy in 1973, and his grandfather initially refused to pay the ransom to get him back… but eventually agreed to pay $2.2 million a few months later after the kidnappers sent the grandson's severed ear in the post…!
DAY TRIPS
Disneyland
One thing I really really wish I had been able to do is visit Disneyland, particularly the Harry Potter world! Sadly though, we didn’t have time, as I think you need to set aside at least one full day for these parks. If you're into Disney, Harry Potter or theme parks and rollercoasters, plan ahead and set aside some time (and money because admission tickets are expensive) to visit these awesome parks! Make sure you plan ahead though as tickets SELL OUT daily. We did 'drive past' to try and see some of the rides, but let me tell you - you can see NOTHING. Everything is waaaay back from the outer walls of the park, do not waste your time like we did haha.
FOOD
The Cheesecake Factory
Ok, I'll be honest, the ONLY reason I wanted to go to the cheesecake factory is because of watching Big Bang Theory. Turns out - best decision EVER. This place is incredible, the portions are GINORMOUS, and the cheesecake is like next-level amazing!
Dave and Busters
This was one of my favourite nights out! It was such a strange but awesome place! Think games arcades and then multiply the chaos by about 500, add some really loud 00s music and about twenty flatscreens. The food was epic and there was so much to entertain the entire group! Definitely worth a visit if you want something a little different to a traditional sit-down meal.
ACCOMODATION
Huntley Santa Monica Beach Hotel
I LOVED this place! The rooms were BEAUTIFUL, think super comfortable beds, with sparkling chandeliers above, and views of the sun setting over palm trees. The hotel also has a rooftop restaurant/bar which is open to the public (guests get discounts and don’t have to reserve tables in advance). The service and the food were excellent, staff were so helpful and the cocktails were incredible. Highly recommend this hotel.
We paid £300 for one night for two people. We did book very last minute as the hotel we had originally booked (which was called the Santa Monica Hotel) cancelled on us the morning we were due to arrive.
Loews Hollywood Hotel
This hotel was pretty great for a one-night stay in Hollywood. The location was EXCELLENT, the hotel was extremely clean and organised, and you could even enter the shopping mall right next door without even having to go outside the hotel itself (they had a joining hallway)!
One night cost about £250 for a double room (two people).
Weather
High / Low / Month
20° / 10° January
21° / 10° February
21° / 11° March
23° / 13° April
24° / 15° May
26° / 17° June
29° / 18° July
29° / 19° August
29° / 18° September
26° / 16° October
23° / 12° November
20° / 9° December
PERSONAL FAVOURITES
Definitely the beaches, they really are the definition of California-dreamland, absolutely beautiful!
