Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States. It’s the Entertainment Industry capital of the world, and a place where hopefully you’ll run into a movie director who will buy you your next drink.
Pro Tip: TIL Orange County and Los Angeles are not the same things. *avoids eye contact with Californians*
How I Got There
As usual whenever I travel, I either take a United flight or search for the cheapest flight on kayak.com. I wrote an article about how I stick to flying on United as much as possible to cash out big with my miles.
For these trips, I take United flights!
Here are my 5 things to do in Los Angeles, California, USA:
1. Griffith Observatory
Griffith is a great starting point for amateurs cough I mean for first-timers. There are multiple options to hike to the top. Driving/parking at the top or just uber were also options for us, but we decided to hike on a beautiful day.
Griffith Observatory, front entrance view
We took the Firebreak Trail (google maps link) – it was a mile-long (one-way) hike up and down and it took us about 35 minutes to hike up and another 25 to hike down.
View of the Hollywood sign on the way down from Griffith Observatory
While there’s a gorgeous panoramic view of the city, there’s a solid view of the Hollywood sign. So if you squint really hard and look at the picture below closely, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
2. Hollywood Walk of Fame
Saying you went to Hollywood but didn’t see the Hollywood Stars is like saying you went to Dubai but didn’t see the Burj Khalifa. Or you went to Malta but didn’t stop by Valetta. This is where the Hollywood stars are located.
Yes, I’m team JLo. Don’t @ me
The Hollywood Walk of Fame has 15-blocks of stars embedded on sidewalks
The corner of Vine Street and Hollywood Blvd was a good starting point (google maps link). We walked along the sidewalk of Hollywood Blvd. And this is the part where I have to remind myself that one street has two sidewalks. I know, science.
3. Echo Park
Echo Park is what I like to call a low-key 3rd-date spot. Feel free to steal the idea.
The vibe is relaxing and walking around the lake feels spectacular. There were people playing music and picnicking.
Echo Park, north side facing south
What’s also great about Echo Park is it’s location. It’s walking distance to Dodgers Stadium, Chinatown, and (kinda) Downtown Los Angeles.
Lastly, there are options to kayak, which we ended up not doing, but still a cool option.
4. Venice Boardwalk
Venice Boardwalk is a popular tourist destination that hosts a bunch of Sk8er Boi’s. Avril knows what I’m sayin’.
There’s the famous Muscle Beach outdoor gym right next to the boardwalk. I saw many souvenir shops (AKA tourist traps). Also, you can’t tell from my pictures, but it smelled like weed.
Venice Boardwalk
Pro-tip: Eggslut is bucketlist-worthy.
We felt adventurous so we strolled along Abbot Kinney Blvd and rewarded ourselves with some Salt & Straw ice cream. I know. Go big or go home.
It is entirely possible to hang around Venice Boardwalk and have a great time without making it to the actual beach. (But that would be wrong because the beaches in LA are incredible.)
Which leads me to #5…
5. LA County Beaches
Let’s go to the beach, beach. Yes – the beaches in LA are that good. I lived in San Francisco for almost 2 years and rarely did I ever feel like going to the beach was a necessity. I’ll give a name and a short description of each.
Redondo Beach
Just to confirm – all following beaches surf-able depending on the forecast except Long Beach.
Where I Stayed
I stayed in Redondo Beach at an Airbnb, 2 blocks from the beach. Perfect for beach-y vacations. Absolutely perfect.
By the way, I wrote a separate article on How I Choose Where I Stay when I Travel.
Other times, I stayed with friends – Kathy/Matt in Ventura, Johnnie/Sam in West Hollywood.
Honorable Mentions
This post is mainly about things to do in LA County, but I had a great time in Ventura (shoutout to Matt and Kathy for being the best hosts!) I also really liked Huntington Beach in Orange County.
Photo taken at Oo Kook Korean BBQ
Koreatown for Korean BBQ is a must. I went here.
Chinatown was cool too. Tbh, not as good as the one in SF, but still cool.
If I Had More Time, I Would Have…
Gone to Staples Center. (Go Lakers?)
Check out Exposition Park which includes the LA Coliseum.
Lastly, I would have loved to take a picture in front of The Last Bookstore for the gram.
Closing Thoughts
After my experience in LA, I realized I didn’t need to leave the US to find incredible international cities. Los Angeles was truly a fantastic experience.
