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Things to do and see in Los Angeles.

bri160356bri160356 Posts: 5,147
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My son and girlfriend will be staying at an LAX airport hotel in June and will have 2 days free.

Anyone have any suggestions/recommendations of interesting/entertaining places to visit and things to do during the day, plus any decent ‘nightlife’/restaurants etc.

All info appreciated.

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    SoomacdooSoomacdoo Posts: 6,645
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    Are they old enough to hire a car? Or will they have to rely on public transport?
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    bri160356bri160356 Posts: 5,147
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    Soomacdoo wrote: »
    Are they old enough to hire a car? Or will they have to rely on public transport?

    Yes, mid 20's..... but they don't want to drive at all. They don't mind paying taxis/public transport etc but don't want to travel too far outside the LA area.
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    grumpyoldbatgrumpyoldbat Posts: 3,663
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    Los Angeles is a miserable place to visit without a car. I've done it. The whole city is designed around driving. It's a massive sprawling place, so getting from, say, the Sunset Strip to the Beach is a good 30-40 minutes on public transport.

    They should reconsider hiring a car, or factor in extra money for cabs.
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    bri160356bri160356 Posts: 5,147
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    Los Angeles is a miserable place to visit without a car. I've done it. The whole city is designed around driving. It's a massive sprawling place, so getting from, say, the Sunset Strip to the Beach is a good 30-40 minutes on public transport.

    They should reconsider hiring a car, or factor in extra money for cabs.

    Thanks for that.:)

    They definitely don’t want to drive and taxi costs (within reason of course) are not really an issue.
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    glasshalffullglasshalffull Posts: 22,291
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    bri160356 wrote: »
    Thanks for that.:)

    They definitely don’t want to drive and taxi costs (within reason of course) are not really an issue.

    Is there any chance they could change their hotel booking?

    For somewhere like Long Beach or maybe Santa Monica? By taxi from the LAX area...it's a real schlep to the downtown area, Hollywood/Beverly Hills, Universal Studios etc and the attractive beach areas...I have no idea of the cost these days...but in time you are looking as grumpyoldbat has said...at significant travel time usually mean significant money to get anywhere.

    And the main LA tourist attractions really are spread out right across the city.

    And TBH the neighbourhoods bordering LAX are not the sort I would wander round after dark looking for eating places.
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    gulliverfoylegulliverfoyle Posts: 6,318
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    santa monica pier

    venice beach

    sunset strip

    manns chinese theatre
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    Rae_RooRae_Roo Posts: 1,185
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    Los Angeles is a miserable place to visit without a car. I've done it. The whole city is designed around driving. It's a massive sprawling place, so getting from, say, the Sunset Strip to the Beach is a good 30-40 minutes on public transport.

    They should reconsider hiring a car, or factor in extra money for cabs.

    Totally agree with this! I enjoyed our time in LA, we did some work and courses, out at the LA coroners office as part of a working holiday, they have a gift shop next door, weird but some funky gift ideas, for those uniquely, tricky to please people!

    I could not imagine LA without a car, public transport is horrific out there, and like some have said everything's all over the place.. For two days though, you'd probably be looking at the usual haunts; Hollywood boulevard, Venice beach, the grove shopping centre is nice to visit. It's outdoors with a little old fashioned tram..

    Hope they have fun, and keep in the busy parts of LA, you don't have to wander far off the beating track, you can hit some really dodgy areas if you don't pay attention, and I mean dodgy, as in really SCARY!
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    SoomacdooSoomacdoo Posts: 6,645
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    The area surrounding LAX is not nice. I would recommend hiring a car as the public transport is rubbish. There is loads to see and do, however everything is spread over such a wide area you will need a car. I know we think LA is just a city but it does not compare to our cities where you can happily travel across Birmingham on a bus, LA is huge!

    There are theme parks, Six Flags is north of LA, Disney is at Anaheim, Knottsberry Farm is near Disney, Sea World and Legoland are down towards San Diego (a good drive down the coast).

    The original Queen Mary is in dry dock at Long Beach, they do a lovely champagne Sunday Brunch in the restaurant and the ghosts and legends tour is quite interesting.

    They can do the tours of the stars houses, visit Manns Chinese Theatre and check out the shops on Rodeo Drive.

    Travelling further afield, about 2 hours north going up the pacific coast highway is a nice drive and they can stop at Hearst Castle and do a tour.

    I don't know about clubs/pubs for night time as we always had kids with us so never got try them out.
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    Satellite JohnSatellite John Posts: 1,881
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    Are there any good gun shops where you can try out various guns on a range?
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    maggie thecatmaggie thecat Posts: 2,241
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    They need a car. If not, then they need to move locations. There is a hotel or two adjacent to Universal Studios and its boardwalk containing restaurants and attractions. There's also buses running in and out of there because it's a tourist destination.

    Having said that, LA is a town that is many things to many people. It has museums, historical sites, entertainment venues, sporting events. Visit the LA Times website and look at the Calendar section for upcoming events. Maybe they can plan their trip around a concert or a festival.
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