Travel Guide: Los Angeles
You can also view the following travel guide on our destination page for Los Angeles.
Summary
Hollywood energy, SoCal sun, Santa Monica beaches... it's the California dream! LA has everything to offer... just don't get stuck in the rush hour commute!
Food
LA is a mega city and kinda has it all when it comes to food. Sushi, Mexican, Italian, pizza, and of course the classic SoCal American cuisine... LA offers world class in it all. The first decision is picking your neighborhood, and then narrowing it down to what you want to eat. You don't want to get stuck driving across the city for food; each neighborhood has a lot to offer on its own!
Our favorite areas are West Hollywood (WeHo) and Santa Monica. Hollywood has tons of great sushi options, including Udatsu Sushi (we celebrated our anniversary here). Look on Michelin to get a sense of all the great restaurants. There's also the classic WeHo club restaurants (such as Delilah) if you're into those types of experiences.
If West Hollywood is full of luxe wanna be celebrity influencers, Santa Monica is full of vegan yuppies who want to surf but instead work remote computer jobs. Again, just go on your fave food review site like Eater or Michelin; you can't really go wrong. If you're basic like us, go to Gjelina for some "healthy" SoCal cuisine.
For more of the real LA experience, hit up K-town (so many classic spots) or even better, get down to Torrance for all of the authentic Japanese spots.
Beer
It's simple: Monkish is one of the best breweries in the country for IPAs. If it sounds familiar it's because they have a taproom in Anaheim that we love, but get down to Torrance in the greater LA area for the real deal: their full brewery. Get any of the DIPAs they have on draft; they're constantly brewing new stuff and release every Friday.
The second great option is Highland Park brewery just northeast of downtown. Monkish does collabs with breweries yearly throughout the country, whereas Highland Park is a bit harder to find; worth visiting for beer lovers.
Other than that, the city is kinda desolate when it comes to great beer. There are breweries scattered through the greater LA region, but not one particular area or neighborhood that is conducive to brewery crawls.
Attractions
Beaches! Hollywood! Mountains! Baseball! Basketball! Museums! LA has it all when it comes to attractions. Just pick your poison... rent a car, and get around the city as much as you can; there's a lot to see.
In particular, if you like getting outside, get up to the Griffith Observatory. It's close to downtown and has lovely views of the city (parking can be a nightmare though). Nearby you can also hike up to the Hollywood sign for more views and to see the sign up close.
If you're staying downtown, make sure you get out to the beaches of Santa Monica. It's a classic neighborhood with a nice boardwalk, great food, and of course... beach!
Vibe
You can't really go wrong with anywhere in SoCal weather-wise, so that's a huge plus. Add that to the mega city that LA is and you have yourself a top-class city in America (one of the best in the country). People are slower paced here than other cities like New York, and generally spending time outside. There's a certain buzz / energy in the air here; you're amongst celebrities!
The one downside is that LA's transportation infrastructure is awful. Don't get stuck during rush hour... it can take you hours to drive across the city.