For those of you expecting to see touristic landmarks and ancient structures, Los Angeles might not be your favorite city. But for those of you willing to discover and experience how this modern city attracts countless celebrities and millions of tourists, L.A. could surely be your one and only.
Must-see areas of Los Angeles can be listed as: Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Malibu, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Hollywood, and the downtown. Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Malibu are the major coastal cities located on the shores of Pacific Ocean.
Santa Monica is probably one of the most popular touristic areas of all. Santa Monica Pier, Third Street Promenade, and Main Street are respectively excellent for a great ocean view combined with an old-school amusement park, a premier shopping and dining experience with street entertainers shouting and singing along the way, and a night out of bar hopping at the locals’ favorite causal and hipster spots. If you decide to spend some time near the beach and exercise, you should definitely rent a bicycle or a rollerblade and cruise south until you hit Venice Beach.
Venice Beach, located on south of Santa Monica, is the funkiest beach city in California where you can find palm readers, street artists, roller-skaters in bikinis, half-naked locals working out at the Muscle Beach, group of hippies playing tribal drums on the sand, and so-called doctors inviting the visitors to the marijuana dispensaries. Venice Beach’s Board Walk is where you see all of those. Friendly recommendation for the visitors: Venice Beach is not the safest place at night. Abbot Kinney Blvd. which is only a few blocks from Venice Beach is a good spot for really nice boutiques, bars and restaurants.
Malibu, situated on north of Santa Monica, is an upper-scale beach city with Oceanside restaurants offering different cuisines ranging from Japanese to American, few wineries offering country experience with local California wines, and the former mansion of Getty Villa now converted into a museum exhibiting ancient artifacts brought from Southern Europe. Aside from those listed, Malibu is the perfect beach getaway of locals who want to surf, play beach volleyball or simply tan in one of the public or private beaches. Topanga State Park, located on the hills of Malibu, is the city’s favorite spot for hiking with its unique nature and exceptional ocean view. For those of you willing to study in Los Angeles, Pepperdine University with its heavenly view over Malibu and high national rankings could be an excellent option for undergraduate or postgraduate studies.
Beverly Hills, as we go more inland, is the next must-see area of Los Angeles. For those of you not eager to spend couple thousand dollars on shopping, Beverly Hills could still be an interesting destination to walk and see where the popular Angelinos or even the Hollywood celebrities dine and live at. The streets of Canon, Rodeo and Beverly Drive host some of the city’s best restaurants and cafes. The historic Beverly Wilshire Hotel, primary filming location for the movie Pretty Woman and irrevocable choice of stay for countless world-renowned figures such |
as Dalai Lama, Barack Obama, Elton John, Al Pacino, and even Banu Alkan, is an excellent place to stay or at least to take some pictures at.
I also recommend that you visit this website, I found it pretty informing: www.discoverlosangeles.com
To be continued with: West Hollywood, Hollywood, and the downtown... After that with restaurant and night life recommendations.. Keep following :)
To be continued with: West Hollywood, Hollywood, and the downtown... After that with restaurant and night life recommendations.. Keep following :)