20+ Best Things To Do in Los Angeles (2026 Guide + Map)
Los Angeles took me a few visits to fall for. The first time I came here I felt overwhelmed by the size of it, unsure where to start, and convinced that the freeways would eat my entire trip. By the third visit I had figured out the trick: stop trying to see all of Los Angeles. Choose a few neighborhoods per day and go deep rather than wide. Once I did that, LA became one of my favorite cities in California.
I have spent five days exploring LA across multiple trips, and what is in this guide is everything I would tell a friend who just bought a plane ticket and asked where to go.
This post contains affiliate links. If you book through one of my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Table of Contents
- Los Angeles Quick Facts
- 20+ Best Things To Do in Los Angeles
- Hollywood and Central LA
- Downtown Los Angeles
- West LA and Beaches
- Beverly Hills
- Entertainment and Studios
- Best Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Best Hotels in Los Angeles
- Best Time To Visit Los Angeles
- Getting Around Los Angeles
- How Many Days in Los Angeles?
- Los Angeles Map
Los Angeles Quick Facts {#quick-facts}
Best time to visit: March to May or September to November. Clear skies, mild temperatures, manageable crowds.
Getting there: LAX (main hub, 45–60 min to Hollywood). Burbank BUR (15–20 min to Hollywood, much easier airport for domestic flights).
Getting around: Car essential. Waze for real-time traffic. Avoid freeways 8–10am and 4–7pm.
Trip length: 3–5 days to cover this list properly.
Must book ahead: Getty Center (free timed entry, book at getty.edu). The Broad Museum (free timed entry, book at thebroad.org). Warner Bros Studio Tour (from $70, books up fast).
20+ Best Things To Do in Los Angeles {#20-things}
Hollywood and Central LA {#hollywood}
1. Hollywood Walk of Fame
Walk Hollywood Boulevard and you are walking through the mythology of American cinema. Over 2,700 brass stars embedded in the sidewalk, each one representing someone who shaped entertainment history. The stars run from La Brea Avenue to Vine Street and down Vine from Yucca to Sunset.
The TCL Chinese Theatre at the corner of Hollywood and Highland is the main stop on the block — the cement forecourt has the handprints and footprints of film legends going back to the 1920s. Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn. Free to see. The interior tours of the theatre run about $25 if you want to go inside.
I always spend at least an hour here. Not because it is the most interesting thing in LA, but because it is so deeply, unashamedly itself. Hollywood Boulevard knows exactly what it is.
Free. Hollywood Boulevard between La Brea Avenue and Vine Street.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Hollywood Walk of Fame Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles stars sidewalk TCL Chinese Theatre]
2. Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is the best sunset viewpoint in Los Angeles and one of the best viewpoints in California. Perched on the south slope of Mount Hollywood, it looks out over the entire LA basin — the downtown towers, the Hollywood Sign, and on clear days the Pacific Ocean to the west. The building is free to enter. The grounds are free. The public telescopes on clear nights are free.
The thing to know is that parking is the variable. The Observatory lot costs $8–10 and fills up an hour before sunset on weekends. Either arrive by 4pm on a summer day or park on the residential streets lower down and walk up 20 minutes through Griffith Park. The walk is worth it anyway.
I rate this the single best sunset viewpoint in all of Southern California. Nothing else comes close.
Free admission. 2800 East Observatory Road, Los Feliz.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Griffith Observatory Los Angeles sunset city panorama Hollywood Sign basin view]
3. Lake Hollywood Park
Lake Hollywood Park is a small neighbourhood park that gives you the closest street-level view of the Hollywood Sign without hiking a trail. The sign sits directly across the reservoir, close enough to see the individual letters clearly. It is free, it has street parking, and it is genuinely just a 5-minute stop that delivers the photo almost everyone is after.
Tip: The best light is in the late afternoon when the sun is behind you and hitting the sign face-on. Avoid midday when the sign is washed out.
Free. Lake Hollywood Drive, off Barham Boulevard.
4. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
The Academy Museum opened in 2021 and is already one of the best museums in Los Angeles. It tells the story of cinema — not just Hollywood but global filmmaking — through original costumes, props, production design, and the history of the Academy Awards. The Spielberg Family Gallery covers the full arc of American cinema history. The Hayao Miyazaki exhibition has been so popular it has been extended multiple times.
Renzo Piano designed the building. The spherical addition on the back, a glass dome that cantilevers over Wilshire Boulevard, is worth seeing from the outside even if you do not go in.
$25 per person. Book in advance at academymuseum.org.
6067 Wilshire Boulevard.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Los Angeles exterior Renzo Piano sphere Wilshire Boulevard]
5. LACMA and Urban Light
LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is the largest art museum in the western United States. The collection spans 6,000 years and 150,000 objects. But most people come first for the Urban Light installation at the entrance. 202 restored vintage street lamps arranged in a grid on the front lawn, lit from dusk until 11pm every night. It is free, accessible 24 hours, and one of the most photographed spots in LA.
The museum itself is $25 per person and genuinely worth a few hours. The Impressionist collection, the Islamic art galleries, and the Japanese art collection are the strongest rooms.
Urban Light: free, open 24 hours.
Museum entry: $25. 5905 Wilshire Boulevard.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: LACMA Urban Light installation Los Angeles vintage street lamps night photography]
6. Rodeo Drive
Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is exactly what you expect it to be and that is the point. Two blocks of palm trees, Bentleys parked in front of flagship boutiques, and the very particular atmosphere of a place designed entirely around the display of wealth. Free to walk. No purchase required.
The best photo stop is the intersection of Rodeo Drive and Dayton Way — the long palm-lined perspective down the street photographs clean in the morning light.
Free. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills.
Downtown Los Angeles {#dtla}
7. The Broad Museum
The Broad is the contemporary art museum that changed how I think about Downtown LA. The collection assembled by Eli and Edythe Broad is extraordinary. Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Takashi Murakami, Yayoi Kusama. The Infinity Mirror Room installations by Kusama are the most popular thing in the building and require separate timed entry tickets that often sell out days in advance.
Admission is free but you must book a timed entry at thebroad.org. It fills up. Book 3–4 days ahead for weekends.
Free with timed entry reservation.
221 South Grand Avenue, DTLA.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: The Broad Museum Los Angeles contemporary art exterior DTLA Grand Avenue]
8. Bradbury Building
The Bradbury Building is 130 years old and looks like no other building in Los Angeles. The interior atrium. Victorian ironwork, glazed yellow brick, open cage elevators, and a glazed skylight five stories above — it has appeared in Blade Runner, (500) Days of Summer, and dozens of other films. It is one of the most beautiful interior spaces in California and the lobby is open to visitors during business hours.
I walked in not knowing what to expect and stopped moving for a few minutes. That almost never happens to me in a building.
Free to enter lobby during business hours.
304 South Broadway, DTLA.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Bradbury Building interior atrium Los Angeles Victorian ironwork cast iron elevators skylight]
9. Grand Central Market
Grand Central Market has been open since 1917 and is the best place to eat lunch in Downtown Los Angeles. Around 30 vendors sell everything from tacos to Thai food to artisan coffee. The Eggslut egg sandwiches (expect a line), Ana Maria tacos, and Horse Thief BBQ brisket are the three I always come back to. Budget $12–20 and eat on one of the outdoor tables on the Broadway side.
Free to enter. 317 South Broadway, DTLA.
10. Angel’s Flight Funicular
Angel’s Flight is a two-car funicular railway built in 1901 that climbs 298 feet up Bunker Hill in about 90 seconds. It is $1 per ride and one of the most charming things in downtown Los Angeles — almost completely ignored by visitors who do not know it exists.
Ride it up from Grand Central Market, walk around Bunker Hill, and ride it back down. Takes 20 minutes. Worth it.
$1 per ride. 350 South Grand Avenue, DTLA.
11. The Last Bookstore
The Last Bookstore on Spring Street is a two-floor used and new book shop with a vinyl record section, an art gallery, and a 100-metre tunnel on the second floor built entirely from stacked books. It is an LA institution and one of the best bookstores in California.
Free to browse. 453 South Spring Street, DTLA.
12. Grammy Museum
The Grammy Museum at LA Live is four floors covering the full history of recorded music. Original costumes. Michael Jackson’s Thriller jacket, Beyoncé’s Lemonade outfit — handwritten lyrics, instruments, and listening rooms where you can study recordings at the console. More immersive than most music museums.
$18 per person. 800 West Olympic Boulevard, DTLA.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Grammy Museum Los Angeles music history exhibits costumes DTLA LA Live]
West LA and Beaches {#west-la}
13. The Getty Center
The Getty Center is the best free museum experience in Los Angeles and one of the best museum experiences in California. The Richard Meier architecture, the Robert Irwin Central Garden, and the panoramic views over the LA basin and out to the Pacific are worth the visit before you even look at the collection inside.
The collection focuses on European art before 1900. paintings, drawings, sculptures, and decorative arts. Van Gogh’s Irises is here. The Impressionist galleries are exceptional. The photography collection is one of the best in any American museum.
Free admission. Parking is $25 per car and requires advance booking at getty.edu on weekends. The lot fills. Book it.
1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Getty Center Los Angeles Richard Meier architecture garden panoramic view Pacific Ocean]
14. Getty Villa
The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades is the companion to the Getty Center and handles an entirely different collection: ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities in a building modeled on a Roman villa overlooking the Pacific coast.
The architecture alone makes this worth visiting. The outer peristyle garden with its reflecting pool, the inner herb garden, and the theatrical performance space are all set against the sound of waves from the beach below. Free, but a separate timed entry reservation from the Getty Center is required at getty.edu.
Free with timed entry. 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades.
15. Santa Monica Pier and Third Street Promenade
The Santa Monica Pier is the end of Route 66. the historic highway from Chicago to the Pacific terminates here, at a wooden pier extending over the Santa Monica Bay. The Pacific Park amusement rides are at the end of the pier. Free to walk. Rides from $5.
Third Street Promenade three blocks inland is a pedestrian-only shopping street with restaurants, street performers, and the kind of outdoor California mall energy that only works because the weather is perfect. Free to walk. Worth 30–45 minutes before or after the pier.
Free. Colorado Avenue at the ocean, Santa Monica.
16. Venice Beach Boardwalk and Canals
Venice Beach Boardwalk is one of the most LA things that exists. The skate park, Muscle Beach outdoor gym, tarot readers, buskers, street art, and the general circus of the boardwalk is a spectacle unlike anything else in Southern California. Walk the full length once, take it all in, buy nothing, and feel grateful you live in a world where this exists. Free.
The Venice Canals are a 10-minute walk south of the main boardwalk. Quiet residential canals with wooden footbridges, ducks, and beautiful houses. Most tourists never find them. Most tourists miss the most peaceful 30 minutes available to them in Venice.
Tip: Abbot Kinney Boulevard, two blocks east of the canals, is one of the best streets in LA for restaurants, independent shops, and coffee. End the day here.
Free. Venice Beach, off Washington Boulevard.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Venice Beach Boardwalk Los Angeles skate park Pacific Ocean boardwalk California]
17. El Matador State Beach, Malibu
El Matador is 30 minutes north of Santa Monica on Pacific Coast Highway and the most dramatic beach in the Los Angeles area. Sea stacks, a natural arch, sea caves, and golden cliffs that photograph incredibly at sunset. $10 parking. The steep trail down to the beach is short but slippery — wear shoes with grip.
Most people visiting LA never make it to Malibu and certainly never make it to El Matador. If you have an afternoon free, this is where I would send you.
$10 parking. 32350 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: El Matador State Beach Malibu California sea caves rock arch Pacific Ocean sunset]
Beverly Hills {#beverly-hills}
18. Beverly Gardens Park
Beverly Gardens Park runs along Santa Monica Boulevard through Beverly Hills and has the best outdoor “Beverly Hills” sign in the city — the ornate iron letters photographed against the green park. Free. Easy street parking in the residential streets north of the park.
Free. Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills.
19. Palm Tree Lined Streets
Los Angeles has some of the best palm-lined street photography in California. The most photogenic intersections: 4th Street and Windsor Boulevard in Hancock Park (tall Queen Palms with houses below), and Carmelita Avenue and North Hillcrest Road in Beverly Hills (classic LA palms with blue sky).
Both free. Just park and shoot.
Entertainment and Studios {#entertainment}
20. Warner Bros. Studio Tour
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Burbank is the best studio tour in Los Angeles — more immersive and more film-historical than Universal. You walk through the actual backlot where Friends, Casablanca, and dozens of other productions were filmed, see original costumes and props in the museum, and go inside working soundstages. The Harry Potter: The Exhibition add-on is genuinely excellent for Potter fans.
From $70 per person. Book at wbstudiotour.com.
3400 Warner Boulevard, Burbank.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Warner Bros Studio Tour Los Angeles Burbank backlot Friends set Central Perk]
21. Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios is the most visitor-friendly theme park in Los Angeles — the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is alone worth the entry price if you have any nostalgia for those films, and the Studio Tour tram ride through the backlot is a proper piece of cinema history.
From $120 per person. Book ahead at universalstudios.com — prices are lower online and further in advance.
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City.
22. The Infinity Mirrors Room, The Broad
Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms at The Broad deserve a separate mention because they are the most talked-about single art experience in Los Angeles. You enter a mirrored room for 20–45 seconds and the reflections produce the sensation of standing inside an infinite galaxy of lights. Separate timed entry tickets required on top of the general Broad reservation. They sell out quickly.
Free (with Broad admission). Book at thebroad.org.
Best Restaurants in Los Angeles {#restaurants}
Tacos: Leo’s Tacos Truck on La Brea and Venice. The standard for LA street tacos. $2–3 per taco, cash preferred. One of the most dependable meals in the city.
Breakfast: Sqirl in Silver Lake for rice bowls and exceptional toast ($15–20). République on La Brea for a proper sit-down breakfast in a beautiful brasserie ($20–30).
Best casual on Abbot Kinney: Gjusta for sandwiches and pastries ($15–22). Gjelina for wood-fired pizza and small plates ($40–60).
DTLA lunch: Grand Central Market. Multiple vendors, $12–20, no reservation needed.
Best splurge: Bestia in the Arts District for Italian food done at a serious level. Around $70–100 per person. Reserve far in advance — it consistently books up weeks ahead.
Best view with your meal: Perch in DTLA, a rooftop bar and restaurant on the 15th floor of a Historic Core building. Cocktails from $18, small plates from $15. The downtown LA skyline from the terrace is one of the best urban views in the city.
Best Hotels in Los Angeles {#hotels}
Where you stay in LA matters more than almost any other city because of the distances involved. Choose based on which part of the city you plan to spend most time in.
Hollywood/West Hollywood is the best base for this guide’s range of stops. Central to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and DTLA. The LINE Hotel ($200–280/night) and the 1 Hotel West Hollywood ($280–380/night) are both excellent.
Santa Monica for anyone who wants the beach as their base. Walkable, cooler, and a good buffer from the city’s intensity. Shutters on the Beach ($550–800/night) is the classic. Shore Hotel ($250–350/night) is solid mid-range.
Downtown LA for the Bradbury Building, Grand Central Market, and the Grammy Museum on your doorstep. Cheaper than West Hollywood and increasingly good. The Ace Hotel ($180–250/night) and The NoMad Los Angeles ($200–280/night) are both well-designed.
Avoid staying near LAX unless you have an early flight — the area is dull and not walkable to anything interesting.
[AFFILIATE LINK: Search hotels in Los Angeles]
Best Time To Visit Los Angeles {#best-time}
March to May is the best window. Green hills after the winter rains, temperatures in the low 70s, and the city is not at peak summer crowds. The whole of Southern California looks better in spring.
September to November is the second best. Warm, clear, and the Santa Ana winds in October occasionally produce unusually clean, sharp air with visibility that stretches to the horizon. The fall is when LA’s light is at its best.
June to August is peak season. June Gloom (the marine layer) sits over the coast most mornings in June, burning off by noon. Inland areas like the Valley get genuinely hot. Still a great time to visit — just plan outdoor activities for mornings and evenings.
December to February is quieter and cheaper. Mild temperatures, occasional rain, and the city is far less crowded. Good for museum visits and indoor LA.
Getting Around Los Angeles {#getting-around}
A car is necessary. Los Angeles is built around its freeways and the city’s most interesting places do not cluster in one walkable area.
Car rental: Compare via Discover Cars. Pick up at LAX, Burbank BUR, or a city location.
Traffic: Use Waze. The 405, the 10, and the 101 are the three major freeways and all three are brutal during rush hours (8–10am and 4–7pm). Plan your driving around these windows. Leaving Hollywood for Santa Monica at 5pm on a Friday takes 45 minutes on a good day and 90 minutes on a bad one.
Parking: Most attractions have paid lots at $10–25. In Venice and Santa Monica, street parking is free 2–3 blocks from the beach. In DTLA, SpotHero is the most reliable way to find reasonably priced garages.
Uber/Lyft: Useful within neighborhoods and when you want to drink at dinner. Less useful for cross-city travel during peak hours.
How Many Days in Los Angeles? {#how-many-days}
3 days covers Hollywood, DTLA, and the beaches in a focused way. This is the minimum.
4–5 days allows you to add Malibu, Silver Lake, a studio tour, and Pasadena (the Huntington Library and Gardens is one of the most beautiful gardens in California. $29 entry, worth building a half-day around).
Day trip from LA: Catalina Island (ferry from Long Beach, 1 hour each way, ~$80 round trip) for a completely different California experience — no cars on the island, clear water, hiking and snorkelling.
For the full LA experience as part of a bigger California trip, the West Coast USA Road Trip Guide has Los Angeles as Stop 4 on the loop from San Francisco.
Los Angeles Map {#map}
[EMBED: Google Map with all 22 stops pinned by neighborhood cluster]
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More California: Los Angeles 3-Day Itinerary · West Coast USA Road Trip Guide · Best Weekend Trips from San Francisco
