California - Driving and parking in LA

Hi there!

I can't find an specific thread, I thought there was one.

Well, I'm visiting LA, I'm already in the city and tomorrow I'm going to LAX to rent a car...

But I'm not from here and know nothing about parking in LA. At the hotel I'm staying these days The Radisson Westside in Culver City, it is $14/day, but I'm not staying at the hotel during the day, I'd like to visit Marina del Rey, Santa Monica, maybe Manhattan Beach and probably will go for a walk to the Walk of Fame during the day, I'm staying until Sunday. This will be my first time driving and parking in LA...For example, do I need quarters to feed the street meters? (yikes! I only have 1 quarter! Tried to get change today, no luck). How much does it cost?

Any and all advice is welcome. Many thanks in advance.

This should be in the Los Angeles forum, sorry, my mistake.

You will need lots of quarters. And, I believe that some of the meters downtown now take credit cards due the rather steep hourly rates the City is imposing.

As far as a hotel in Culver City, unless you are in some sort of overnight restricted zone you may be able to park on the street for free. Look at the signs or just ask a local.

Santa Monica and Beverly Hills have free parking downtown for two to three hours in various public structures and lots. It really is free.

For the Hollywood Walk--park in the lot at Hollywood and Highland in the giant new shopping center. Rate is $2 for up to 4 hrs. An excellent deal. Entrance is on West side of Highland above Hollywood Blvd, by the hotel enterance. Be very very careful about street parking in Hollywood. Tricky rules abound and there are a lot of towaway zones. You can also take the subway/Metro to Hollywood and Highland.

Many of the areas that you mentioned MB, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica have large parking lots. Hollywood & BH even take credit cards.

Driving around Los Angeles can be tough, and since you are staying at that Radisson West Side you are just off of the 405. If you have a GPS, I would program it to avoid the freeways. For example one way to use the surface streets to get to Hollywood, I would take Slauson to La Brea and you will be in Hollywood quickly. I live just a couple blocks south of Hollywood and I/the taxis that pick me up use a similar route to get to the airport.

Don't feel ashamed about using valet parking in LA.

I hope that some of this advice is helpful. The weather looks like it should be gorgeous during your visit.

^ Thank you for your answers!!! I got my first experience ever driving in LA today! And it was awesome I must say! (Well, much better than expected).
Also the GPS is the best invention ever!

And about freeways, first thing today I decide to go to West Hollywood and I wanted to use the surface streets, but the GPS put me on the 405 right away (when I realized, it was too late to avoid it, I hadn't deactivated that feature!). Wow! But it was easier than expected. Then I wanted to go to the beaches, I though of Venice, and drove that way, but all I could find were meters (and still no coins). I drove till Will Rogers beach, where I found an alternate side street parking and no meters. And in time for an amazing sunset.

I loved it very much, and thanks to driving now I find Los Angeles a much beautiful and friendly place to visit (my previous visit, cabs fares were $50-$70 for very short trips, I got to see very little and paid over $300 within 3 days).

Now I have Friday, Sat and Sun in LA with car sounds much better. I'll use parking lots and shopping center you mentioned. Your advice is very much appreciated. Thanks! :)

I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your first day in LA. It can be tough city to visit since it is so large and spread out.

If you are interested a nice drive is up the PCH to Malibu Seafood (located on on the PCH just past Pepperdine). Free parking on the side of PCH. This time of year is great to do it in the winter since PCH is less crowded.

^ Thank you for your answers!!! I got my first experience ever driving in LA today! And it was awesome I must say! (Well, much better than expected)....

Wow! But it was easier than expected.

See! What did we all tell you? ;)

Glad you're having fun! ^

I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your first day in LA. It can be tough city to visit since it is so large and spread out.

If you are interested a nice drive is up the PCH to Malibu Seafood (located on on the PCH just past Pepperdine). Free parking on the side of PCH. This time of year is great to do it in the winter since PCH is less crowded.

If you drive even further, Paradise Cove is a nice place to get some grub and have a nice view of the ocean. $3 parking with validation.

Thanks for the topic, i found some usefull tips for my upcoming trip to LA in june!

If you are interested a nice drive is up the PCH to Malibu Seafood (located on on the PCH just past Pepperdine). Free parking on the side of PCH. This time of year is great to do it in the winter since PCH is less crowded.

Malibu Seafood is a great experience. We went there last weekend and a godd portion of the beach was washed away - what happened?