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Project L.A

F

foxx0775

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 10, 2009
46
0
I am going to LA in the summer with a university mate and we aren't leaving until we finish our list. It's a list of activities/ventures and will be as long as we can make it and full of stuff, from skipping down Hollywood Boulevard to doing a bungee jump.

Just wanted to probe for peoples thoughts on what things should be on it.

What is there to do in L.A?

Cheers!
 
You may wanna hop onto the Yahoo travel site and looks at some of the member created trips. Really cool stuff in there with links, etc. for stuff to get into. I'm planning a trip to San Diego this summer and pulled in a lot of ideas there....Good Luck!! :D
 
1) You need to have a burger at In-N-Out if you haven't been to one before
2) Go see a show at one of the venues on Sunset, even if its just a small local band.
3) Going to the Santa Monica pier/surrounding area is usually pretty fun. Even Venice is interesting once.
4) Walk around on Rodeo in Beverly Hills, just to say you've "shopped" there.
5) Checkout Grauman's Chinese and all of the foot/handprints.
6) Go to Roscoe's chicken and waffles. I promise its a good combination (I was skeptical at first too).
7) Go the the Amoeba records on Sunset for some sweet used CDs.
8) Go to the Getty (if you like art or museums).


I'm sure there are other fun things that are more exclusive to LA, but these are some of the things I do when I'm in Los Angeles (which is pretty often). Yeah, its all touristy, but that's LA.
 
Venice Beach is a great place to people watch, you never know what you'll see.

A day trip to Catalina Island on the ferry is fun in the warmer weather. You catch the ferry from Long Beach. If you make it there, check out the restaurants, etc. on Pine Ave. in Long Beach in the evenings, it's fun. Lots of restaurants, some bars, etc.

If you head south into Orange County, here are some more places to see.

Disneyland is okay for the theme park tourist thing. Knotts Berry farm is also a 'old west' styled theme park with lots of roller coasters, etc.

Huntington Beach is fun if you are into surfing. The pier area is fun, often there is something happening there.

Further south, Laguna Beach is fun in the summer. Lot's of restaurants, bars, the beach, etc.

You'll have a lot of fun :)
 
puckhead193 said:
100% agree. Its a good thing they don't have them on the east coast :D

LA dodgers game?
Click to expand...

Yeah, In N Out is an evil addiction, its definitely one of the highest quality and decently price fast food burgers out there. Its one of the few fast food restaurants I enjoy going to (Chipotle and Baja Fresh being the others, Wendy's is alright too, guilty pleasure I guess). You could also go to Apple Pan on Pico off the 405, its an old style lunch counter/diner type thing, and some of the people that work there have worked there for like 30 years. The burgers are good and the pie is excellent. We always go when we're in the Hollywood area, its great after going wild in the pit at a show.

Dodgers game is a good idea, right field pavilion (you know, the bleacher seats) used to be an all you can eat section, I recommend it. I think they're like $30 too, good deal considering one Dodger Dog is like $6. I believe you can get hot dogs, nachos, soda, and various other items.
 
you'll prob wanna take ur picture with the marlyn and elvis look a likes in front of graumanns for a fun pic to have, they want a couple dollar tip too for the pic tho not much...

Del Taco 'fish taco's' > in n out
 
I've lived in Pasadena for almost 2 years now and I've barely scratched the surface of things to do in LA.

1. I'll second the Getty. It's an amazing place.
2. The Gamble House in Pasadena (Doc Brown's house in "Back to the Future")
3. If you have time, Santa Barbara is incredible, though it's a little bit of a drive from LA.
4. Griffith Observatory
5. La Brea Tar Pits if you like fossil/dinosaur stuff
6. I haven't gone to any tapings, but there are lots of TV shows to go to like Jeopardy, The Tonight Show etc...
7. and i'd avoid Orange County and most of the Inland Empire
 
adrianblaine said:
I've lived in Pasadena for almost 2 years now and I've barely scratched the surface of things to do in LA.

1. I'll second the Getty. It's an amazing place.
2. The Gamble House in Pasadena (Doc Brown's house in "Back to the Future")
3. If you have time, Santa Barbara is incredible, though it's a little bit of a drive from LA.
4. Griffith Observatory
5. La Brea Tar Pits if you like fossil/dinosaur stuff
6. I haven't gone to any tapings, but there are lots of TV shows to go to like Jeopardy, The Tonight Show etc...
7. and i'd avoid Orange County and most of the Inland Empire
Click to expand...

All good advice. I second the Observatory, Santa Barbara (if you don't mind a drive, it could be nice to make it overnight), the tapings, and avoiding the Inland Empire area especially. Tapings are usually free and I believe if you look around online you could find the tickets there. Orange County is alright, the beaches are ok, but in general there isn't a whole lot worth venturing down there for (other than maybe Disneyland or an Angels game). If you really want to say you went to the OC you could go to Laguna or Newport and have a nice lunch and a walk on the beach, other than that its not really worth venturing to. I know quite a few people in Irvine, which is nice, but not really a fantastic place to visit otherwise (they do have a really nice mall though, the Spectrum).
 
Make sure to hit up Westwood Village for Diddy Riese- an ice cream and cookie sandwich- you choose the ice cream and the freshly baked cookies for the sandwich. All for $1.50. An then you can take a walk around UCLA as you eat it.

Head over to the Santa Monica stairs for a workout. And then cool down by the beach.

Head over to Sprinkles or Crumbs for a cupcake. Both are located on Little Santa Monica Blvd in Beverly Hills. I like Crumbs' cupcakes better, but Sprinkles is more trendy here.

Go to Runyon Canyon for a hike.

Go to the beach in Malibu. It's beautiful there.

Go to Tender Greens for lunch in Culver City or at the new location in West Hollywood.

See a live concert at the Troubadour. It's a really cool, intimate venue.

Have a piece of cheesecake at the original Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills on Beverly Blvd.

Rent bikes at the beach at Santa Monica or Venice, and bike north and south between the two places (and beyond).

Have an Erdinger Hefeweizen at the bar on the Venice Boardwalk that has Erdinger signs.

Have a drink at the Roosevelt Hotel.

/I like living here. :cool:
 
unbelievably, i have yet to go to an In-N-Out. I'm not a huge meat eater so i don't eat at fast food places too often and my wife and I share a car which i almost never drive. Anyway, I had the car today and I decided it was time to enter the mysterious world of In-N-Out (mostly because of this thread, though people have been telling me to go for years). Of course I got there around 12:30 and the line just to get in the parking lot was backing up down the street! I didn't have too much time so I passed by the chance today, but after seeing the craziness that is In-N-Out at lunch time, I've dedicated a couple hours tomorrow to ride the train/walk to the nearest In-N-Out.
 
adrianblaine said:
unbelievably, i have yet to go to an In-N-Out. I'm not a huge meat eater so i don't eat at fast food places too often and my wife and I share a car which i almost never drive. Anyway, I had the car today and I decided it was time to enter the mysterious world of In-N-Out (mostly because of this thread, though people have been telling me to go for years). Of course I got there around 12:30 and the line just to get in the parking lot was backing up down the street! I didn't have too much time so I passed by the chance today, but after seeing the craziness that is In-N-Out at lunch time, I've dedicated a couple hours tomorrow to ride the train/walk to the nearest In-N-Out.
Click to expand...

Yeah, its nuts at lunch. There are definitely better hamburgers out there, just not at a fast food joint (and its pretty good even among non-fast food places). The burgers and fries far surpass the other major ones in quality, plus its not a huge corporation, its privately owned ( and pay starts at $10 an hour). Oh, and even though its not on the menu they offer a grilled cheese, which my girlfriend says is good (I always get a double double and fries), I believe it is the bun, cheese, spread, tomatoes, and onions if you want them.
 
adrianblaine said:
unbelievably, i have yet to go to an In-N-Out. I'm not a huge meat eater so i don't eat at fast food places too often and my wife and I share a car which i almost never drive. Anyway, I had the car today and I decided it was time to enter the mysterious world of In-N-Out (mostly because of this thread, though people have been telling me to go for years). Of course I got there around 12:30 and the line just to get in the parking lot was backing up down the street! I didn't have too much time so I passed by the chance today, but after seeing the craziness that is In-N-Out at lunch time, I've dedicated a couple hours tomorrow to ride the train/walk to the nearest In-N-Out.
Click to expand...

Have your secret In N Out menu with you. Plenty to order but I'd suggest experiencing the original Double Double combo/with fries as is for your first go around. As you can see the grilled cheese is an option for no meat if you're not into that...and it doesn't suck.

http://daviswiki.org/In-N-Out_Secret_Menu
 
jecapaga said:
Have your secret In N Out menu with you. Plenty to order but I'd suggest experiencing the original Double Double combo/with fries as is for your first go around. As you can see the grilled cheese is an option for no meat if you're not into that...and it doesn't suck.

http://daviswiki.org/In-N-Out_Secret_Menu
Click to expand...

Good link! I eat at In N Out all the time and I didn't know about everything on there.

However, they need to add the animal style shake. Had a friend do it once, pretty nasty. Needless to say, I don't recommend it.
 
rhsgolfer33 said:
1) You need to have a burger at In-N-Out if you haven't been to one before
2) Go see a show at one of the venues on Sunset, even if its just a small local band.
3) Going to the Santa Monica pier/surrounding area is usually pretty fun. Even Venice is interesting once.
4) Walk around on Rodeo in Beverly Hills, just to say you've "shopped" there.
5) Checkout Grauman's Chinese and all of the foot/handprints.
6) Go to Roscoe's chicken and waffles. I promise its a good combination (I was skeptical at first too).
7) Go the the Amoeba records on Sunset for some sweet used CDs.
8) Go to the Getty (if you like art or museums).


I'm sure there are other fun things that are more exclusive to LA, but these are some of the things I do when I'm in Los Angeles (which is pretty often). Yeah, its all touristy, but that's LA.
Click to expand...
i agree with everything there, u forgot one thing, some good old cali chronic
(just had to say it)
 
I could totally eat my way around LA. Go to Philippe's, the alleged birthplace of the French Dip sandwich and certainly the best specimen of the species I've ever tasted. Kitchen in Silverlake makes some great down home style food, don't skip the bread pudding for dessert if they have it on the menu when you go. Hit up a local tacqueria. Get a drink at the Hotel Figueroa.

If you're at all interested in fashion, you must go to Opening Ceremony on La Cienega. Best clothing store in America. Period. Full stop. You may or may not be able to afford much in there, but it's a great way to kill a few hours regardless. As a bonus, they're right across the street from that spooky diner that was in the movie Mulholland Drive.
 
I'm, incidentally, going to the LA area in a couple of weeks.

I'd love to go to all the places above, but I need some advice: Public transportation.

I have no car, so i have to depend on public transport. So with that in mind, what are your advice for things to do? And how?

(I've already eaten at In-n-Out many times, so no need to preach to the choir :))
 
ravenvii said:
I'm, incidentally, going to the LA area in a couple of weeks.

I'd love to go to all the places above, but I need some advice: Public transportation.

I have no car, so i have to depend on public transport. So with that in mind, what are your advice for things to do? And how?

(I've already eaten at In-n-Out many times, so no need to preach to the choir :))
Click to expand...

Yikes. I highly suggest renting a car. Is that a possibilty?

Public transportation in LA kinda sucks.
 
ravenvii said:
I'd love to go to all the places above, but I need some advice: Public transportation.
Click to expand...

I hardly ever have a car here either so I know what it's like... I haven't explored the buses in LA, but I use the Lightrail system quite a bit but I haven't ridden the whole thing. In comparison to NY, Paris, Chicago etc. LA really does suck, but there are some interesting places you can get to. Downtown LA, Pasadena, Hollywood and Long Beach are all accessible by train.

http://metro.net/riding_metro/maps/images/rail_map.pdf

Since I live in Pasadena I know it better than anything else, but some may not find it extremely fascinating. Old Town Pasadena is pretty cool and has a very active night life, and of course an Apple Store!

Well, I'm off to start my trek to In-N-Out!
 
rhsgolfer33 said:
....avoiding the Inland Empire area especially.
Click to expand...

Hopefully you're telling him to avoid it because of the lack of touristy things to see, and not to avoid going there at all. Some of us live there, you know.



ravenvii said:
I'm, incidentally, going to the LA area in a couple of weeks.

I'd love to go to all the places above, but I need some advice: Public transportation.
Click to expand...

That's a tough one. It's not that there isn't any public transit, it's that it's horribly inconvenient for such a spread-out place. To get from, say, Glendale to Santa Monica, you'd have to take the bus (takes forever) or a cab (very expensive). There is a subway that can take you between downtown, Hollywood, Universal Studios, that kind of thing, but it's only convenient if you're going to those specific places. (The subway is fairly nice. If it does take you where you want to go, I recommend it.) There is some light rail from downtown to Long Beach and Pasadena, but again, those are the only places it goes. You would have to get a connection to a bus or cab and it just gets logistically difficult.
 
aloofman said:
Hopefully you're telling him to avoid it because of the lack of touristy things to see, and not to avoid going there at all. Some of us live there, you know.
Click to expand...

We are truly sorry to hear it. :)

For the real LA experience, I recommend driving the freeway during rush hour, which for your convenience, runs from 4 AM to midnight.
 
aloofman said:
Hopefully you're telling him to avoid it because of the lack of touristy things to see, and not to avoid going there at all. Some of us live there, you know.
Click to expand...

The main reason is the lack of things to do as a visitor. There are some decent areas to live in the Inland Empire (it wouldn't be my first choice area, but if you can manage to avoid all the smog its decent), but it is certainly not where I would want to travel to if I was visiting Los Angeles.

IJ Reilly said:
We are truly sorry to hear it. :)

For the real LA experience, I recommend driving the freeway during rush hour, which for your convenience, runs from 4 AM to midnight.
Click to expand...

I particularly reccomend getting on the 405 near Hollywood or the 5 near downtown at around 5:15; you'll be in for quite a fun time.
 
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