Just a quick note to Europeans visiting LA: LA is a big, big place and the rumors are very true that getting around here isn't the easiest thing. We really don't have a great public transit system, and we do have a lot of traffic.
There's an FT area about Los Angeles here:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/los-angeles-507/
I've lived here for more than 20 years, and I still don't have a great idea of what to tell people looking to visit for the first time, because we have a HUGE variety of places to visit that really differ pretty wildly depending on your interests. If you'd like help, before you post here or there, try to think about what you care about when visiting a city. Some areas where LA excels (and I'm sure I'll miss several) are excellent food, both local California cuisine and ethnic food from all over the world but especially Asia, great museums, tons of outdoor activities including beaches, hiking, mountain biking, golf (never done that, myself), and even skiing nearby, all types of exercise, etc., architectural landmarks, we do have a dense downtown area filled with places to see, also lots of beach cities to visit, tons of ethnic neighborhoods (many of which have great walking tours), farmer's markets, and, naturally, the world of Hollywood (encompassing much more than geographic Hollywood).
My point here is, figure out where you might be spending your time and try to get a place to stay that's somewhat near most of your activities. If, as the poster above mentioned, you are staying in Manhattan Beach and want to get to Hollywood and downtown and Disney, say, that's a TON of driving.