A-340 GOT

Anyone that can share some advice what to do and see, for a short stay of 3 days in LA. Never been to California before. We will stay at Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City. Any suggestions on good resturants, and any nice night clubs in this area ??. Appreciate any guideline for making this the best possible stay.

kev LAX

Hi A-340 GOT-

Welcome to Los Angeles; I hope the weather improves before you arrive...

Los Angeles is a difficult area to cover well in a short amount of time due to its expansive geography. I'll share with you some thoughts on activities/restaurants within a 10-20 minute drive. If you do not have a car, there are plenty of restaurants on Ventura Blvd that I am sure the hotel concierge can tell you about.

Around the Universal City area, the nearest attraction will be City Walk. If I only had 3 days in L.A., I probably woulnd't spend time here, but since it is so close to your location, here are some details. From your hotel, I believe it is a short walk up the hill and the hotel may have a shuttle to take you there. It is interesting to see, though usually very crowded. All it really contains is a collection of restaurants, shops, movie theater, etc... but it is creatively organized and there are a couple decent places to eat here (as of a year or two ago since I was last there):
-The Daily Grill; my favorite restaurant here- everything from sandwiches and salads to steaks and fish.
-B.B. Kings; a blues club/restaurant. Good southern-style food- I recommend catfish and try the fried pickles- sounds bizarre but actually an interesting and unique flavor. When they have live music, it is usually pretty good.
-Gladstone's; this restaurant specializes in fish and seafood.
-Cafe Tu Tu Tango has very good Spanish tapas.
Link: http://www.citywalkhollywood.com/din...staurants.html

You are very close to Griffith Park which I believe may be the largest urban park in the US. It is right next to your hotel, beyond the City Walk area. If the weather is nice, this is an excellent place to bicycle (there is a place to rent them on weekends- see link) and there are operators who conduct horseback rides here. Also, there is the Griffith Observatory which is a beautiful landmark and has a great view of the Los Angeles basin overlooking downtown, Hollywood, out to Century City, Santa Monica, and you should be able to see LAX and the ocean from here as well. Many movies have been filmed here from "Rebel Without a Cause" to "The Terminator".
Link: http://www.cityofla.org/RAP/grifmet/gp/
Link: http://www.griffithobs.org/

Adjacent to Universal City Walk is Universal Studios. It is a popular tourist attraction, though I have not been there for about 20 years. It may be a nice way to spend a day.
Link: http://themeparks.universalstudios.c...?__source=RGMN

Your hotel is a short drive from Hollywood. It used to be that I wouldn't recommend tourists visiting there, but they have done a wonderful job renovating and cleaning up the area. The Kodak Theater where they now hold the Academy Awards has an area around it with restaurants and shops. If you want to experience some of classic Hollywood at its best, a good place to go for a meal is Musso & Frank's Grill: 6667 Hollywood Blvd. Tel:- (323)-467-7788.

Lastly, a great idea- if you have a car- is to drive Sunset Blvd from Hollywood west to Malibu. It is a great way to spend an afternoon. You will end up at Pacific Coast Hwy right on the Pacific Ocean and there are several restaurants overlooking the surf. Great way to spend a late afternoon watching a sunset.

I hope this is helpful for you; it is a limited list of things to do in the area near where you are staying. I hope you have a great trip.

Kevin

ps- My wife and I will be travelling to Goteborg for a wedding in August. If you have any recommendations on activities, I would love any suggestions you might have.

mizzou65201

Getty Center!

wahooflyer

Get a rental car. No matter what you see and do, a car will make it much, much easier and faster to get around Los Angeles. Most of the major agencies at LAX airport will rent to you for around $20 per day, plus 8.25% sales tax.

et415

If you decide not to rent a car, LA's MTA subway/streetcar system can get you cheaply ($3/day) to many interesting places:

Red Line:
- Universal Studios/CityWalk
- Hollywood/Highland
- Union Station/Olvera St.
- Koreatown (for Korean restaurants, not a great walking place)
- Civic Center (Disney Hall; Music Center; LA's best restaurant Patina)
Gold Line:
- Pasadena Old Town
- Chinatown
Blue Line:
- Staples Center (Lakers/Clippers games)
- Long Beach waterfront (Aquarium)

Restaurant recommendations (since you didn't give much demographic info, I'll assume you're youngish, hip and willing to splurge):
- Asia de Cuba for dinner and then Skybar (same location) for drinks (very hip and trendy)
- Patina (best LA restaurant) and Water Grill (best seafood)
- Koi (trendiest Japanese restaurant) or Geisha House (close to Hollywood/Highland)
- Spago Beverly Hills (some would say this is LA's best)
- minibar (near Universal Studios, moderately priced, but still hip)
Reserve in advance!

kef0913

et415 - do you work for MTA?

All the above suggestions are good. I would just add that Ca del Sole is an excellent restaurant and is very close to the Universal Hilton - just at the bottom of the hill on Lankershim. Ask anyone at your hotel to tell you where it is. If Universal weren't so screwy with the hill its on it would be walking distance, but with the way the streets are and the hill I would suggest driving the few blocks.


Enjoy your trip!

et415

No, but, having lived in cities with great public transportation, I want to encourage people to use the MTA in LA....the more that people use it, the more it will be expanded and improved. Plus, I won't have to fight tourist-infested traffic so much....

cecelia

I second the Getty Center. Love the place and you can get a bus out there I just don't recall the number.

Farmers Market is a nice area that combines an old fashioned restaurant section with a fancy new shopping mall. There's a studio next door that tapes The Price is Right and also a nice variety of museums near--from the Tar Pits to a fabulous car museum and others.

Eat at Poquito Mas and try the fish or shrimp tacos. It's a chain but pretty great food. If the weather's bad you can go to Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive area, look around and then spend a little time in the Museum of Television and Radio History. They have years of television and radio on tape that you can access like a library. They have booths for families and for single people. It's fun.

We went to a taping of Jay Leno and enjoyed it much.

A-340 GOT

kev LAX, thanks soo much for all your great tips, used a lot of your tips, and well, 3 days is not much for a visit to LA, but even so, had a superb time. And also the weather was actually nice, topping up to 70 F,.

Regarding Goteborg, I live here so I should definitively be able to come up with some options. August is a good choice as we should hopefully have nice warm summer weather, and you really must take your time exploring the archipelago and islands. I´ll try to write something down and, maybe can send you a mail, or post it in the scandinavia forum. Allow me to get back to you.

0524

Too bad the Dodgers aren't in town so you could enjoy some American baseball. If you like cars, try the Petersen Automotive Museum.

mbstone

You have got to be kidding. Trying to foist public transportation off on a first-time visitor to LA. Shame on you.

kev LAX

MTA in LA is such a waste- I live in Pasadena and it is useful to go downtown; a place I very rarely go.

I would have loved it if it went directly into LAX, a la the tube at LHR- the fact that they stopped just short was incredibly short-sighted and shows LA has no real commitment to making Metro work.

I would love to see them fix the LAX situation; no one I know is willing to take the shuttle transfer. LAX needs the help too.

olympicnut

The Green Line veers south from LAX because the original idea was to have all the aerospace companies that were there use the public train system to get around. Of course that backfired when they all moved out of state. Now all it does is take you to a miniature golf course. They need to seriously build an extension north to LAX, I completely agree. Will it happen with the politics in this city? Unfortunately probably not.

et415

Yesterday, I rode the MTA trains for the second time. 1st time was Hollywood/Vine to Staples Center and back (Red Line to Blue Line), and yesterday was Hollywood/Vine to Chinatown and back (Red Line to Gold Line).

The experience was at least as good as riding subways in NYC, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, DC, and SF. In fact, since it's the newest system, it has a lot of advantages: e.g., there are escalators and elevators at every station (you never need to use the stairs). It's an honor system, so once you buy your incredibly cheap day pass ($3), you never have to show your ticket again and you don't have to negotiate turnstiles (very convenient if you have luggage). If you use the day pass and ride more than once, it's the least expensive to ride. I found it easier to get a seat than in any of those other systems. The stations were nice and clean. What's not to like?