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Los Angeles
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Los Angeles Overview
Los Angeles is one of the largest cities in the world and certianly one of the most diverse. It's demography includes beaches, urban sprawl, rural foothills and snow-covered peaks. In a single day, you could surf at the beach, walk on the stars of Hollywood Blvd., go horseback riding in the foothills, snow ski or board and never leave Los Angeles County.
TIP: Click on the ads to the right for LARGE DISCOUNTS on multiple attractions. Most of the major attractions are included and you'll save a lot of money. We wouldn't have them on our site if they weren't a benefit to you.
CLICK ON THE MAP TO ZOOM and ROLLOVER TARGETS FOR INFO
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Santa Monica Mountains meet the ocean to the south and rise to over 2,000 feet. Activities include hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, bird & whale watching, swimming, surfing, nature walks and picnicking.
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Topanga Park is located in the north-westernmost region of L.A. County within the Santa Monica Mountain range. Activities include picnicking, mountain biking and horseback riding. MORE DETAILS
Malibu Creek is located off highway 101 in Malibu. The park follows the lush creek bed down from the Santa Monica Mountains into Malibu Lagoon below. Hollywood has taken advantage of its picturesque beauty making it the location of several movies. Hiking trails lead to small waterfalls and the very popular Tapia Park. MORE DETAILS
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Six Flag's Magic Mountain concentrates on thrill rides that are not for the weak-of-heart. Rides range from the old-fashioned spin-out and wooden rollercoaster, collosus, to the modern steel giants. MORE DETAILS
Universal Studios is part motion picture studios and part theme park. Rides include rollercoasters and a tram tour through the property featuring recreations of past, hit movies such as JAWS, and glipses at actual movie sets both past and present. MORE DETAILS
Pacific Park is located on the Santa Monica pier. The park is a mix of carnival games, rides and ferrous wheel, to modern day rollercoasters and thrill rides. MORE DETAILS
Six Flag's Hurricane Harbor is located next to Magic Mountain and consists of over a dozen water rides and attractions with a South Pacific theme. MORE DETAILS
Raging Waters consists of over a dozen water rides and attractions. MORE DETAILS
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Los Angeles County Zoo is a large city zoo with over 1200 animals on display. MORE DETAILS
Aquarium of the Pacific This is a large scale aquarium with fish species from around the world. Shark Lagoon is a great exhibit. MORE DETAILS
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is a small educational facility with several small to moderate size aquariums. MORE DETAILS
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Universal City Walk is an outdoor mall that connects with Universal Studios Hollywood and includes restaurants, shops and entertainment. MORE DETAILS
Sunset Strip is a stretch of Sunset Boulevard that has a dense grouping of popular night clubs, comedy clubs, restaurants and shops. Many now-popular entertainers got their big breaks on the Sunset Strip. MORE DETAILS
Hollywood & Highland is the heart of Hollywood where famous theatres, the Hollywood Wax Museum and the Hollywood Walk of Fame draw millions of visitors each year. The Hollywood & Highland Center offers outdoor shopping, dining and viewing walkways of the Hollywood sign. Nightclubs and other Hollywood hotspots are within walking distance. MORE DETAILS
Walt Disney Concert Hall is an unmistakable structure constructed entirely of stainless steel with waves, curves and protrusions jutting upward as if they grew like crystals. This is the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and many other events are held here included rock concerts and Hollywood award shows. MORE DETAILS
Santa Monica Pier & 3rd Street Promenade features a boardwalk amusement park, outdoor shopping malls and loads of beach activities. Bike and skate rentals are available for cruising 'The Strand' bike path along the beach. MORE DETAILS
Fisherman's Village in Marina Del Rey is a quaint seaside village that offers many souvenir shops, restaurants and entertainment options. Boat rentals and fishing charters are readily available. MORE DETAILS
Dinner Cruises aboard a luxury or historic yacht with Hornblower Cruises. Cruise in style while sipping champaigne, dining on sumptuous fare and dancing to hit songs. Dinner cruises are available at both Marina del Rey and Long Beach harbors. MORE DETAILS
Gondola through Naples Long Beach aboard a Venician style gondola. Gondolas are available for couples or groups. Meander the canals amidst multi-million dollar homes while sipping wine. Your gondolier will sing Italian songs and educate you on the history of the region. MORE DETAILS
Helicopter Flight to Catalina Island from Long Beach in 15-minutes. Or, charter a flight with a group to fly up the coast to Santa Monica, around Hollywood and back. MORE DETAILS
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Malibu is located north of Santa Monica and offers narrow sandy beaches often backed by million dollar homes. Malibu pier offers opportunities for fishing and surfing. Famous surf breaks such as Surfrider and Zuma are in Malibu. MORE DETAILS
Santa Monica has so much to offer. The Santa Monica Pier features a classic boadwalk amusement park with thrill rides and carnival entertainment. to the north is Will Rogers State Beach where 'Baywatch' is filmed. To the south is Muscle Beach, where Schwarzenegger-sized weight lifters workout on the beach. Venice Beach offers a mix of beautiful homes along romantic canals and wacky eclectic shops and entertainment along the beachfront. All Santa Monica beaches are hugh white sand beaches. MORE DETAILS
Dockweiler is located at the end of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) runway. This is a popular beach for picnicking, beach parties and airplane viewing. Three miles of sandy beach includes a picnic area, fire rings, barbeques and concession stands. MORE DETAILS
Manhattan Beach is located 3 miles south of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The Manhattan Pier is situated at the end of Manhattan Beach Boulevard and offers a small marine aquarium at the end, surfing and fishing. Manhattan Beach Boulevard is a mecca for great restaurants, shops and bars. MORE DETAILS
Hermosa Beach is located between Manhattan and Redondo beaches. Hermosa offers a pier that is popular for fishing and surfing. The road leading to the pier is blocked to vehicle traffic and offers great restaurants, shops and bars. MORE DETAILS
Redondo Beach is located between Hermosa and Torrance Beaches. King Harbor offers deep sea fishing charters, restaurants, shops and great surfing along the jetty. Redondo has a large horseshoe shaped pier with shops, restaurants and fishing & surfing opportunities. Redondo also has a saltwater lagoon that is blocked off from the ocean and features diving boards and children's play areas. MORE DETAILS
Torrance is located between Redondo Beach and Palos Verdes. The lack of a pier and other tourist attractions makes Torrance Beach a great place to escape the crowds of other nearby beaches. MORE DETAILS
Palos Verdes is located between Torrance Beach and the Port of Los Angeles & Long Beach. P.V. offers a multitude of hidden coves and ocean bluffs with landscape resembling the rocky coastline of Northern California. Beaches are mostly rocky including in the water, which makes for unpleasant sunbathing and swimming. Some sandy beaches do exist. MORE DETAILS
Long Beach Long Beach offers a plethora of visitor attractions including the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, Shoreline Village and of course, long white-sand beaches. MORE DETAILS
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Universal CityWalk is located in Universal City, Hollywood. This is an outdoor mall that includes restaurants, shops and entertainment. Shops include Dodgers Clubhouse where you can purchase Dodger's baseball merchandise and the Universal Studios Store. MORE DETAILS
Hollywood & Highland Center features three stories of outdoor shopping and dining. It is right in the heart of Hollywood next to Grauman's Chinese and the Kodak Theatres. Stores include Oakley, Coach, Victoria's Secret, Ann Taylor Loft and more. Hollywood Sign viewing platforms are located to the rear of the center. MORE DETAILS
Rodeo Drive is located in the heart of Beverly Hills and has very upscale stores and boutiques presented in a European atmosphere. This is where the rich and famous do their shopping so keep your eyes peeled for celebrities if you go there. You may see someone you recognize. MORE DETAILS
Beverly Center is located in Beverly Hills on La Cienega, just south of Wilshire Blvd. This is a large indoor shopping mall with some of the mall usuals like Macy's and Bloomingdale's and many high-end stores like Lacost, Hugo Boss, Dior and more. MORE DETAILS
Santa Monica Place & 3rd Street Promenade is located in Santa Monica only one block from the Santa Monica Pier and features a shopping mall and several blocks of shops and restaurants in an outdoor setting. Nearly 100 shops and restaurants include Forever 21, Kenneth Cole, Macy's, Wet Seal and more. MORE DETAILS
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Miscellaneous Recommendations
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Griffith Park is a place for hiking biking, golf, swimming, tennis, jogging, horseback riding and many more activities. Major attractions within the park include the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Observatory, Greek Theatre and Travel Town. MORE DETAILS
Spanish Missions were built by the Spanish all along the California coast between 1769 and 1823. Their purpose was to convert the indigenous peoples to Christianity and as strongholds for their newly claimed territories. The San Gabriel and San Fernando missions can be found within the L.A. region. MORE DETAILS
Dodgers baseball at Dodger Stadium. MORE DETAILS
Lakers basketball at the Staples Center. MORE DETAILS
Kings hockey at the Staples Center. MORE DETAILS
La Brea Tar Pits (as known as Page Museum) is an active achaeological museum located in the heart of Los Angeles. This museum is built on top of an ancient tar pit where many animal fossils are excavated. MORE DETAILS
Hollywood is a popular Los Angeles tourist destination because of its link to the motion picture industry. There is so much to see and do in this little area of L.A., we've devoted another page entirely to Hollywood.
NOTE: this region can be very conjested and you may expect it to be a little more glamorous than it really is. Some areas should be avoided at night. MORE DETAILS
Huntington Library, Museum & Gardens contains magnificent collections of paintings, sculptures, rare books, manuscripts, and decorative arts. Gardens include a 14-acre cactus garden, camelia garden, and a Japanese garden that seems to have emerged from a Monet painting complete with a small bridge. MORE DETAILS
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the library, museum and burial place of one of America's favorite presidents. An F-14 fighter jet was recently retired to the museum. MORE DETAILS
Getty Museum has an extensive collection of artifacts including paintings, sculpture and furniture mostly from the renaissance period to present. The museum offers astounding views of the entire L.A. basin and the Pacific Ocean. MORE DETAILS
Catalina Island is located approximately 20 miles off the coast of southern California and is accessible in a little over an hour from Dana Point, Newport Beach, Long Beach and San Pedro harbors by charter boat and Long Beach harbor offers helicopter charters also. Camping, hiking, snorkeling & scuba diving and sightseeing are popular activities on this island. MORE DETAILS
Zeppelin Airship Tours are available out of Long Beach Airport and fly the coast from Long Beach Harbor, along the Palos Verdes Peninsula, to Hollywood and popular L.A. destinations in quiet comfort. MORE DETAILS
Horseback Riding is available through multiple stables and ranches in the L.A. region. Traverse the hills of Griffith Park taking in astounding views of downtown L.A., Catalina Island and beyond. Head up Malibu Creek, to Paramount Ranch where many Westerns have been filmed or the hills above Avalon on Catalina Island. MORE DETAILS
Angeles National Forest is located in the northeastern region of Los Angeles County and is a source of many recreational activities. Popular activities include sightseeing, hiking, mountain biking, camping, off-roading and fishing. MORE DETAILS
Long Beach is the southernmost beach city in Los Angeles. Sites to see in Long Beach include the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific and the Toyota Grand Prix. You can also rent a boat or gondola and tour the canals of Naples. There is so much to do in Long Beach we've devoted another page entirely to Long Beach. MORE DETAILS
Vasquez Rocks is a 745 acre park features geological rock formations smoothed by wind and sand. Activities include hiking, horseback riding and picnicking. MORE DETAILS
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Los Angeles (LAX) airport offers convenient access to the 'South Bay' beach cities and central Los Angeles County. MORE DETAILS
Burbank (BUR) airport offers convenient access to northern Los Angeles County and the Hollywood region. MORE DETAILS
Long Beach (LGB) airport offers convenient access to southern Los Angeles County and northern Orange County. MORE DETAILS
Other options to consider would be
Ontario, or Orange County airports.
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Traffic & Transportation
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Rush Hour Traffic is a problem between the hours of 7am-9am and 4pm-6pm. The east to westbound freeways can be especially conjested going westbound in the mornings and eastbound in the evenings. Try to avoid the 10, 60, 57 and 91 freeways during these hours. The 101 through Hollywood has the worst traffic conjestion of any L.A. freeway.
Carpool lanes exist on some Los Angeles County freeways. These lanes are the innermost lanes on the freeway and are marked by double lines and diamond patterns. They are also referred to as 'diamond lanes'. You must have at least two occupants in the vehicle to legally use these lanes.
Something to consider: Traffic in these lanes usually travels at 5-10 miles faster than the average flow and that includes going 10-20 miles over the speed limit. One can only enter and exit a carpool lane at designated points.
Public transportation is fair in Los Angeles County. Check out the MTA website for bus and commuter train details. Be sure to refer to our crime-zone map for areas to avoid public transportation. The best and safest mode of transportation for visitors is rental car. Many areas are accessible by Amtrak but this is usually a higher cost alternative. Those heading north over the Grapevine must transfer to Greyhound bus from L.A. to Bakersfield.
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Winter brings average lows in the 50's and highs in the upper 60's. Mostly rain and rare hail storms occur.
Spring brings average lows in the 60's and highs in the mid-70's. Rain showers can occur through May.
Summer brings average lows in the 70's and highs in the mid to upper 80's. Humidity can make those temperatures seem higher. Once or twice a year, Santa Ana winds blow in from the desert reducing humidity and increasing the heat to the high 90's+. Summer brush fires are a regular occurance. Marine layer is a common occurrence and blankets the region with clouds, but often burns off by midday.
Fall brings average lows in the low 60's and highs in the 70's. Mostly rain and rare hail storms occur.
Ocean water temperature ranges from the 50's in winter to the upper 60's in summer.
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Dec-Apr, 2010-11 - Whale Watching Expeditions from King Harbor, Redondo Beach. See California Grey Whales, sea lions, schools of dolphins sometimes numbering in the hundreds, and whatever else happens along while you're out. The whales are migrating from the Bering Sea to Baja California for their winter breeding. Two 3-hour trips daily aboard large 40-foot+ fishing boats that have restrooms, a galley and plenty of room. WEBSITE
NOTE: Whalewatching is also offered from Marina del Rey Sportfishing and Rainbow Harbor, Long Beach near the Aquarium.
Jan 1, 2011 - Tournament of Roses Parade held January 1st every year in Pasadena. Floats, marching bands and entertainers traverse the streets of Pasadena as crowds of onlookers celebrate a new year. Floats are made enirely of organic materials and primarily of rose petals. WEBSITE
Jan 16, 2011 - Golden Globe Awards at 6:00 PM PT. Hosted at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Awards are given for television and movies for the year. WEBSITE
Feb 13, 2011 - Grammy Awards at 6:00 PM PT. Hosted at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Grammy's recognize the top musical performers of the year. WEBSITE
Feb 27, 2011 - Academy Awards Ceremony® at 5:00 PM PT. Hosted at the Kodak Theatre in the Hollywood & Highland Center. This is the show that draws the biggest stars where the Oscars® are handed out. WEBSITE
Mar 21, 2010 - L.A. Marathon is one of the nation's largest marathon events and extends 42km in length. The L.A. Marathon traverses through many L.A. sites including Dodger Stadium, Downtown L.A. and Hollywood before ending on the beach at the Santa Monica Pier. WEBSITE
Mar-Jul, 2010 - Grunion Runs hosted by the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro. Grunion are small sardine-like fish that choose every year from March to July to spawn along our shores. They can only be seen at night during New and Full Moons. This unusual event requires warm clothes, a lot of patience and a flashlight. Timing is everything because the grunion will not beach themselves if they spot a light on or hear a noise before the run begins. Special rules and licenses are required to catch grunion so most just view the event. WEBSITE
Apr 15-17, 2011 - Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach CART racing through the city. The race takes place around Shoreline Village and the Long Beach Convention Center. WEBSITE
Dec 11, 2010 - Marina Del Rey Holiday Boat Parade takes place through the Marina Del Rey Harbor and features hundreds of holiday decorated boats. And you thought Santa only rode in a sleigh? WEBSITE
Sep 10-12, 2010 - L.A. Greek Fest is held at the Saint Sophia Cathedral. Enjoy authentic Greek food, music, traditional folk dancing and more. OPAH! WEBSITE
Dec 11, 2010 - Naples Christmas Boat Parade through Alamitos Bay and the Naples canals in Long Beach. This is an exciting way to get into the Christmas spirit with holiday decorated boats and floats. Santa in a speed boat and an awesome water dragon float through the Naples canals as thousands of spectators cheer and celebrate. Walk along the canals amidst multi-million dollar homes and yachts. Locals are very welcoming and have even been known to refill wine glasses. Event is free but parking is tight. We recommend parking away from the event and taking the redline bus to Naples Island. WEBSITE
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