How To Plan Your Los Angeles Vacation

So you’re making a trip to Los Angeles California – A.K.A. the Hollywood Stars. There’s so much glitz and glam that it can overwhelm you to know where to start.

Here’s my ultimate guide to Los Angeles: where to stay, what to do in Los Angeles, and even what to eat.

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Quick Tips Los Angeles Vacation Tips!

• Los Angeles California is expensive! There’s no nice way to put it!
• There’s also a lot of sketchy parts of town – it’s not all Hollywood glitz and glam. So research where you’re staying.
• Los Angeles is HUGE! You’ll need a car to get around.
• It depends on when you’re going, but it’s probably going to be colder than you expected. I was there once in November and once during the summer and it was similar temperatures both times. It also really cools down at night. Especially if you’re on the coast (like Santa Monica or San Fran) Don’t forget this is the desert.

How Long Should You Spend In L.A.?

We had about 6 days in L.A., 2 of which were in Santa Monica. Six days is more than enough time to see everything. 

You can also spend a day visiting Long Beach, it’s only 30 minutes from L.A., read my guide. Or, if you’re willing to go a bit further, you can drive 2 hours and visit San Diego for the day. Read all about what we did with one day in San Diego. 

We took our time to get up in the morning, go for coffee and brunch before heading out touring. So you can even do it in less time if you’re more efficient.

Visiting Hollywood – Things To Do In L.A.

When you think of visiting Los Angeles, this is probably the area you’re thinking of. Hollywood isn’t that big, we were able to see everything here in less than half a day. Everything is within one block of each other.

You can park at Hollywood and Highland. Parking is 2$/hour. Or, if you’re lucky, you can find street parking.

Walk On The Stars (Boulevard Walk)

This is hard to miss. It’s all along the Boulevard. You’ll find the biggest celebrities from yester-years up until today’s hottest stars. But you’ll also find some fictional characters like Winnie the Pooh and Kermit the Frog!

Hollywood & Highland

Hollywood and Highland is a big outdoor shopping mall. This is also where you’ll get you’re first good look at the Hollywood Sign. If you walk to the back of the mall, up to the highest level you can walk to. Walk across the ramp and you’ll be able to see it from there. 

Chinese Gurman Theatre

This is the theatre with the stars handprints outside. Entrance to the handprints is totally free. Find your favourite star and place your hand and feet in the imprint. 

You can also go into the theatre if you want. They offer tours, but that you have to pay for.

Kodak (A.K.A Newly Dubbed The Dolby Theatre)

This is where the Oscars are held. Sometimes they have shows running there that you can buy tickets to.

When I was there, Cirque de Soleil was performing so we bought tickets. We bought the cheapest ones so it wasn’t too expensive. It gives you a chance to see the inside of the theatre. And now I can always say that I sat where the Oscars take place!

Getting Closer To The Hollywood Sign

If you’re not a hiker, like us, we found the best place to see the Hollywood sign by car.

In google maps, put in Lake Hollywood Park. There’s no lake there though, it’s just grass and a tiny park. Once you make it there you’ll have a great view of the sign. You can get out there, or drive a bit further up. 

You just follow the road up (there’s only one way to go!).

Visiting Downtown Los Angeles

Downtown L.A. is the business/ financial district of the city. This is where you’ll find arenas and city hall. I recommend checking it out and spending about half a day here at least, but I think it can become a whole day.

You’ll want to stop at the City Hall while visiting downtown L.A. Go here to see a 360 Degree view of the city. It’s absolutely free! Enter on Main street. You’ll have to go through metal detectors and show I.D.. Take the elevator to the 22nd floor, and then take another one to the 26th. You’ll have to walk up the last floor.

It’s open Mon-Fri 8-5.

Grand Central Market & Art Walk

Grand Central Market is a great spot to stop for lunch. But even if you’re not hungry you should still come here to walk around. It’s amazing to see all the different styles of food. If you are looking to buy some food, bring cash!

You’re timing might line up with the downtown L.A. Art Walk. Check the calendar to find out when they have events. 

Downtown L.A.: Visit The Grammy Museum

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about music and the Grammy’s, you’ll find at the Grammy Museum. They have the history of each genre, outfits worn by Michael Jackson, original lyrics sheets written by Taylor Swift. 

It’s a fun interactive museum. You can easily spend all day here if you want to look at everything and watch every short film they show. But we did it in about 2 hours. 12.95$ accepts card. 

Parking was a bit of a hassle here. They do have street parking but it’s expensive. We parked in a lot to go to City Hall and walk around. But then we parked in the stadium lot to see the Grammy Museum.

What To Do In Los Angeles

Visit The Griffith Observatory

The Griffith Observatory is an astrology museum teaching you everything there is to know about space. Entry into the museum is completely free. They also show a film in the dome which is a 360-degree film, it’s literally all around you!

They also offer sunset hiking tours on Wednesday from 4:30 to 5:30. It also only opens at 12:00 P.M. but it stays open until 10:00 P.M. at night (so it’s a good night time activity). Be aware that it’s closed on Mondays.

Parking is 4$/hr in one of their lots. You can also find street parking (I think it comes to about the same price).

See A Live Taping Of A Show

There isn’t much to do to get tickets to a show. It really just comes down to luck of the draw. You go to this website and sign up for shows that are taping while you’re there.

We were lucky and got tickets to see James Corden. The downside is that you only find out about a week before the show whether or not you have tickets. The other problem is that it really takes up your whole afternoon. You have to get there pretty early to just wait in line.

But I’d say it’s worth the experience to go to at least one.

I warn you the seating process is biased based on race, age, and gender. They want to make sure their audience looks diverse on camera.

We actually ended up with pretty good seats. We got to high five him on the way out. Check out the video below and see if you can spot us.

Spend A Day At Universal Studios

The tickets range from 110- 120$ depending on the day and season. But I recommend buying online before you go, they usually give you a deal. Like we got early access to Harry Potter World. It was great because the park was empty so there weren’t any lines!

As part of the park they also have their Studio Tour. 

Buy Universal Studio tickets here. 

Take In Art At The Getty Museum

The Getty Museum has great art collections and exhibits. If you’re a real art buff you can easily spend a whole day here. We went to the main exhibit and then enjoyed the gardens. Spending the morning there was good enough for us.

The best part is admission is free!! But you do have to pay for parking which is 15$ or 10$ after 3PM.

Go On A Studio Tour

Get a backstage pass to some of the hottest studios in L.A. Get new information on how films are made, see iconic sets, and you might even spot a celebrity!

These do take a good chunk of your day, as they’re all over an hour (and that doesn’t include wait times).

The Universal Studio tour you can only get to with entry to the park – it’s one of their rides. But there’s also Sony, Warner Brothers, and Paramount. 

P.S.A. Skip The La Brea Tarpits

Unless you’re really interested in archeology, there’s not much to see here. Honestly if you do a drive by to see the main pit with the elephants that’s all you really need. They also really smell.

Shopping In Los Angeles

L.A. has no shortage of shopping. They have commercial malls with your everyday stores like Zara and Forever 21. The main ones are Hollywood and Highland (on Hollywood Blvd), Beverly Hills Centre, and The Grove.

The Grove is actually an outdoor mall. Also, make sure to take the elevator all the way up in the parking garage, there’s a great view of the city from there.

Then they have the high end walking streets with designer names that you can’t really afford. But it’s still fun to walk inside to see their amazing (and sometimes cooky) designs. 

You probably won’t be able to buy anything, but you can definitely do some great window shopping along certain streets in L.A.. You have, of course, the infamous Rodeo Drive. If you don’t know what this is, watch Pretty Women. It’s where all the celebrities and socialites go shopping.

Third Street and Melrose Avenue are other streets like Rodeo. But it’s more boutique shops. Still pricy, because we’re still in L.A. of course. You can also go to Robertson Blvd for a bit more reasonable prices.

Abbot Kinney Street is in Venice, and it lives up to the area. You’ll find unique boutique shops here that are meant to inspire. It’s about art and culture here.

Food Recommendations

In-N-Out Burger

You cannot visit Los Angeles without trying In-N-Out Burger, it’s a California classic. You might think it’s a gimmicky fast food lunch spot, but it has some serious history dating back to the 50s.

It’s also really good quality for the price. They freshly cut all of their fries right in the back (you can actually see it). They have never-frozen meat and fresh onions.

There’s one located just around the corner from Hollywood Boulevard. So it’s a great spot to stop for lunch that day. Check out the video to find out more about it.

Kings Road Cafe

For breakfast, you have to stop at Kings Road Cafe, this might be the best breakfast I’ve ever had! It might have been the food or the fact that I was sitting across from Jane Lynch the whole time.

Apparently, this is her go-to brunch spot, so there’s a pretty high chance you might see her there too.

Georgetown Cupcakes

If you’re craving something sweet check out Georgetown Cupcakes Los Angeles. It’s the same bakery as the one in D.C. that was featured on the TLC show. If you don’t want to deal with the lines that they usually have there you can stop by the one on L.A. The cupcakes are just as good.

They have a ton of flavours that it’s hard to choose just one. We bought 2 and asked for a to-go box because they looked quite large. We thought we wouldn’t be able to finish them. We were wrong. We ate them both up in under 30 seconds they were so good.

Los Angeles Farmers Market

It’s right next to the Grove. It’s restaurants in an indoor outdoor space with so many options to choose from that it’s hard to decide on just one.

This is a great place to go for either an early or late supper if you manage to get tickets to a show. The sets are usually within walking distance to the Grove.

Los Angeles Nightlife

A Los Angeles vacation is also very much about enjoying the nightlife. There are a few might time places to visit in Los Angeles.

Sunset Boulevard

You’ve probably heard of Sunset Blvd. It’s the street with all the (in)famous clubs. You know, Whiskey a Go-Go and the infamous Viper Room?

To be completely honest, we didn’t want to walk around here that much. It could have been that we were there too early, or that it wasn’t a weekend. But it was kind of empty. And aside from the famous clubs, there wasn’t much else.

You can get into either club by buying tickets to a show. Check online before you go.

You can also check out the Laugh Factory to see if they have any good comedy shows playing.

Bar Recommendations In L.A.

If you’re spending a few nights in Los Angeles, you have to go to E.P. and L.P one night. It’s a fun bar with a rooftop terrace. I would go there for the views alone, and the drinks aren’t too bad either. (L.P. is the rooftop bar).

We also tried to get into the Peppermint Club, a 20s dive bar. But there was a concert the night and the line was around the corner to get in. But I’ve heard good things about it.

Or if you’re feeling extra fancy grab a drink at the Chateau Marmont

Transportation In L.A.: How To Get Around

There’s no way around it – you’re going to need a car in Los Angeles California.

If you’ve read my other city guides, you’ll know that I am a big fan of walking everywhere on my vacations. But here, that just couldn’t be done.

We rented our car with Enterprise in West Hollywood. They couldn’t have been nicer! We went with them for a few reasons.

We crunched the numbers and realized that there was a huge surcharge for renting a car from the airport. It was cheaper for us to Uber to our hotel and then rent a car from the Enterprise in West Hollywood. Which was around the corner from our hotel.

The fact that it was around the corner from our hotel saved us even more money than we initially thought. Parking wasn’t included in our hotel rate so that was going to add an extra $60 CAD/ night.

Enterprise was nice enough to let us park in their lot overnight. We just had to move it before they opened in the morning (at 6 A.M.). They were so helpful they even told us that there was free parking on the street at that time in the morning.

So yes, it was a bit of a hassle, but we ended up saving a lot of money this way.

Hotel Recommendations In Los Angeles California

Los Angeles has a lot of sketchy parts. So it’s important to research to find a good neighbourhood to stay in for a reasonable amount of money. Check out this guide here.

In the end, we booked the Sofitel (check room rates and availability). We booked it because we got a great deal on Priceline. It ended up being about the same price as some of the other places we were going to stay at. It was really nice, but for the price, we felt that the room could’ve been a bit bigger.

The location was great! It’s in West Hollywood so its a safe area. We were about a 15-minute drive to Hollywood. The main perk was that we were across the street from the Beverly centre for shopping.

We could also walk to Third Street for more boutique shops. There were also a lot of good/ reasonable restaurants within walking distance. We even managed to walk all the way to the Grove one night, but that was a bit of a stretch, I wouldn’t recommend doing that.

There was only one main drawback to the hotel – the pool. We were really looking forward to sitting by the pool and relaxing. But we couldn’t do this once during our stay. The sun was never shining on it.

We asked the receptionist if there was a good time to come. She flat out told us that there wasn’t really. The morning it’s usually overcast with clouds. Then in the afternoon, the sun is blocked by the mall across the street.

Another option to stay at is the Radisson just under Sunset Boulevard, my cousin recommended we stay there. We drove by the area and it seemed like a very lively place to stay. It was a more happening place than the Sofitel are at night. See here for more hotels in Los Angeles.

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Related Posts

• Travel Guide: Long Beach California
• Travel Guide: Santa Monica
• Travel Guide: San Diego
• Which Hollywood Studio Should You Visit? Paramount, Warner Brothers, Sony, or Universal?

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Last update on 2024-04-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API