sorry if this duplicate posting but my account timed out or so I think.

Haven't found much useful info on web or forum. I've heard so much about LA good and bad, but want to plan a small vacation there to see for myself with my gal. I'm from Chicago been to San Fran and other cities which are easy pick one place to stay and see the sights. I'm sure I'll need a car but this still seems to be a really confusing place to visit.

I plan to be total tourist and try to visit (or drive thought) most common sight such as Malibu, Santa Monica, Hollywood. Plus, don't plan to drink or hit clubs.

Given that info, my main question are the following:

* is there optimal place to stay to see the sights ? I looked at Farmers Daughter the Standard and Magic Castle hotels in/near hollywood but not sure if location makes a difference. Would it better to stay near ocean and travel to downtown ? LA seems big, but I don't want to stay somewhere equivalent to near Ohare airport.

* it sounds like it's hard to get around. Can someone visit multiple sights in a single day like rodeo drive, santa monica, etc ? How much time should one plan to get around.

* a road trip along coast seem cool, but seem difficult without booking several hotels. Are any short trips possible ?

Really have lots more questions but curious if there are good ideas or this is just really a difficult place to visit.

thx.

for every day you have of vacation, you need to add 1.5 days of sitting in traffic.

First off, do you know anybody in L.A. who'd want to show you around? If so, log off EA, ignore this thread, and call that person. Offer money if you have to.. you kinda require someone in town to give you the tour to have a really great time in L.A., if that person is indeed swell.

If not..

I'd stay in Santa Monica... if you can swing something off Ocean Blvd., you'll be set. I-10 East begins right there! You can easily drive to Hollywood and downtown from there. Santa Monica near the coast is walkable, one of the few walkable areas of greater L.A., believe it or not. The Santa Monica Pier is great, not for that gross amusement park but for the old carousel. There was a Takoma LP based on carousel sounds whose front cover is a horse from that very carousel.

Venice Beach is completely overrated. Venice i.e. Pacific Ave. is really cool during the daytime though.

Coastal trips? Hmm, there's not much to see off the coast south of Santa Monica driving. LAX kinda blocks you off there. A trip NORTH on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) through Malibu to Zuma beach and back can be done in a day easily, so no need to book multiple places to stay just because you want to do a small road trip along the coast. It only takes 40 minutes to Zuma Beach, even with traffic(?)

If you're going to Hollywood, while others may disagree, avoid the typical Hollywood Blvd. attractions... unless there's a cool show at the Knitting Factory that night. Otherwise, just take Sunset Blvd. from where it begins on PCH and drive all the way through Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Westwood, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, then Hollywood, then downtown. Lots of curves, so if you get carsick easily, maybe reconsider, but it's a quintessential "L.A." thing to do that's kinda interesting, I think.

There are many parts of greater L.A. worth visiting too. Long Beach is a cool visit, as is San Pedro (which is adjacent).

I'd avoid anything with the word "Valley" in the end. (Like, fer sure)

I'm sure more will come to me later.

kerble wrote:for every day you have of vacation, you need to add 1.5 days of sitting in traffic.

Also it's cheaper to steal a car and ram it into other cars on the road to get from A to B than to take a cab in L.A.

Ok, maybe that's not totally true, but it seems like it.

be sure to get some fake tits while you're there, too.


there's usually a complimentary pair in the glove box of any stolen car.

L.A. actually has public transit. Actual underground transit too. I know, shocking.

and apparently they weren't kidding when they named the team "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim".

And you need to purchase your own refrigerator in order to keep the fake tits perishable.

kerble wrote:and apparently they weren't kidding when they named the team "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim".

If anyone offers to take you to Anaheim without taking you to Disneyland and doesn't offer to pay for your admission, pee in his/her butt.

oh, and New York really isn't any better than L.A., although they would have you think that.