Where To Eat, Stay And Shop in Los Angeles

It’s getting cold here in Australia, but in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s only getting warmer as summer arrives. If a trip across the pond beckons you, one of the best gateway cities you can visit in the USA is none other than Los Angeles.

The home of Hollywood can be a pretty daunting city for newcomers, but the folks over at Los Angeles Tourism have passed on some helpful hints for enjoying everything the city has to offer.

Los Angeles travel guide

Accommodation

Let’s start with the most important thing – where do you stay?

Los Angeles is a huge city and, as is well-publicised, the traffic can be a nightmare, so staying in a location that is close to the things you want to do is recommended.

Newcomers will likely want to see the sights in Hollywood, in which case you should check out new hotels like tommie Hollywood and The Thompson, which are in the Vinyl District. The soon-to-be-open Palihotel Hollywood is also close to iconic sights like the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory.

Other neighbourhoods to check out include the South Bay areas of Hermosa Beach or Manhattan Beach, for that SoCal lifestyle.

Where to eat?

The U.S. is full of so much more than just burgers and hot dogs (although you can get plenty of those, too). LA as a city is brimming with multicultural cuisine, and one of the best places to find that is in Downtown LA. Grand Central Market is home to dozens of different dishes, such as El Salvadorian Pupusas or the famous Egg Slut.

Favourites among the locals are also sushi and tacos (two of life’s staples.) For those, you’ll want to visit Sushi Row on Ventura Boulevard in The Valley, which features over 100 different Japanese restaurants, or LA Cha Cha Cha rooftop in the Arts District.

Shopping

If you know anything about shopping in Los Angeles you’ve probably heard of the famous Melrose Avenue, which is full of designer stores. In addition to that, you can also check out Melrose Trading Post, a Sunday market that features a range of antiques, vintage goods and collectibles.

Bargain shoppers can also find a wealth of options at the Citadel Outlets south of Downtown LA.

See some attractions

You can probably easily rattle off a list of sites to see in Los Angeles – but they are famous for a reason.

Here are some suggestions from LA Tourism, in addition to the obvious ones:

• Book attractions like Universal Studios Hollywood ahead of time to save money
• The Broad and The Getty museums/galleries offer free tickets for those with an online reservation.
• Pre-book tickets to the summer concert series at Hollywood Bowl (if visiting during summer), or check out ahead of time who is playing at venues like the Greek, the Wiltern or the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
• Enjoy the movie magic on tours at Warner Bros Studios and Paramount Pictures.
• For more movie history, you can also visit the newly opened Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
• For outdoor adventures, check out the hiking trails at Runyon Canyon. The Los Feliz to Griffith Observatory trail also offers views of the city and the famed Hollywood Sign (which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023!).

After all that, the only thing left is to book flights. To help you snag a cheap Los Angeles airfare we recommend trying this Skyscanner hack.