What fun things are there to do in LA?
Los Angeles is an interesting place because of its geology and policies it is spread over a very large area of Southern California. This makes it difficult to visit Los Angeles, as you would visit Rome, Paris, London, Chicago, or New York.For example, while Los Angeles does have a downtown, it doesn’t have a character like a New York, or Chicago. It doesn’t have that special area that you can say “I loved Time Square,” or “I love the Left Bank of Paris,” or “I love the Miracle Mile.” It is just a collection of tall buildings that don’t have a lot of character. The most character is Olvera Street that has a little bit of Old California flavor. This may change when they finish the City Center near the Staples center.The sheer size of the LA Basin and its surrounding regions makes it difficult to see all of Los Angeles, or its famous places. For example, Disneyland is about an hours drive from downtown LA in traffic. Santa Monica Beach is about a 30 minute drive in no traffic and could be an hours drive when everyone is going to the breach. The studios for which LA is famous for are about 30 minutes north in the San Fernando Valley from Downtown LA. Hollywood is about a 20 minutes drive in traffic, maybe more. Things are spread apart and when you get there, you often feel, “is this it?”So, when people ask what is there to do in Los Angeles, I usually say, there are lots of things to do in the area, but just not much in downtown Los Angeles.Things to do in the Los Angeles:Santa Monica Beaches and PierThe Getty MuseumThe Getty VillaMuseum Row (La Brea Tarpits, etc..)USS Iowa (LA Harbor)Disneyland (Anaheim)Universal Studios (Universal City)Olvera Street/Chinatown (Chinatown is not the best thing to do in LA but it is close to Olvera which is one of the most interesting)Beaches of the Santa Monica Bay (Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan, Redondo, Hermosa, Torrance)Amusement Parks (Magic Mountain, Universal Studios, DisneyLand, California Adventure Park, Knotts Berry Farm.Hollywood Blvd (Hollywood) in my humble opinion, there is not much to do here, but look at the Chinese Theatre, maybe the Walk of Fame, and the shops and restaurants. There are a lot of interesting people but after you see this, you have seen it all.Farther afield - Big Bear Lake, Joshua Tree National Park, …