Trip to Los Angeles
 

For our vacation this year my husband wants to go to Los Angeles. I've only been to the San Diego and San Francisco areas so I'm clueless about LA. Any suggestions for a good place to stay? We aren't really the "tourist" type of people but we would like a place that is somewhat close to the beach for the daytime and close to a lot of different types of restaurants/bars/shops for the late afternoon and evening. We will probably be going with two of our old roommates so we will be in need of things to do!

Also, how necessary is a vehicle? We have been looking into renting one for the week...

Thanks!

Oh yeah, my husband wants to get tickets to go see the Price Is Right, lol! :) Come on down!!!

Just from my experience from road-tripping to LA in August 2001:

You might want to rent a car considering the airport, parts of Hollywood, Santa Monica and beaches are spread out pretty far.

When we went, we went shopping on Rodeo Drive one day, went to the Santa Monica pier and along Third Street Promenade another, found a cute restaurant called Drago in Santa Monica for dinner, went to Newport Beach in Orange County for two days, which is a cute town with a little less hustle and bustle of the city, it's a nice beach. We went to Universal Studios another day, and went out on the Sunset Strip for two nights, once to SkyBar and another time to a place called Red Rock.

I had a blast, but want to go back for more!
Have fun when you go ...

Re: Trip to Los Angeles
 

Take it from a Native of Los Angeles, a rental car is an absolute must. Our public transportation system leaves a lot to be desired.

As for places to stay, check out hotels in Torrance like the holiday inn or marriot. You are right near the Del Amo Mall (used to be the largest mall in the US in the 80s) and about a 10 minute drive from the beach. You're close to the freeways too.

For tourist type of things, being a huge Disney fan, I recommend going to Disneyland, especially if you'll be here during the holidays. Also, Disney has Downtown Disney now with shops and lots of restaurants like ESPNZone, Rainforest Cafe, House of Blues, etc.

Be sure to look for the dancing amycat on bar. A must see at any of these two locations....lol.

Very funny lifesaver. :)

A rental car is a MUST. LA is very spread out and public transportation is basically non-existant.

I'm gonna disagree wiith phisigduchess and say do not stay in Torrance. If this is your first trip to LA you're going to want to be in Santa Monica, Westwood, Century City, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Hollywood. Basically, you want to stay north of the airport, not in outerlying suburbs.

West Hollywood is pretty central--you're close to the best restaurants, great nightlife, great shopping, and 15-20 minutes from the beach. At this time of year Santa Monica and other beaches can be quite foggy early in the day, so a bit farther inland will give you better morning weather/sunshine to wake up to.

We will be going in April. :) Keep all the suggestions coming!!!

I used to get to LA on business about once a month so I can speak as a business person and a tourist -- and I agree with Amycat and others. You absolutely have to have a car.

What is remarkable about LA is how absolutely HUGE the metropolitan area is.

I also agree that Santa Moica is a great place to stay. It's close to "the" (If you're from LA, all of the freeways are called "the insert number here") 10 (I-10) and I-405. However, if you're really into the theme parks (Disneyland, etc.) you might want to stay in Orange County someplace like Anaheim. That's not terribly far from Newport Beach, etc. either. In traffic (which seems to be all of the time in LA), it can be hours from Santa Monica to Anaheim -- and literally 40-50 miles drive.

If you're into studio tours in the Hollywood/Burbank area (I thing "Price is Right" is shot at CBS Television City -- but not absolutely sure), or The Tonight Show (NBC, Burbank lot), Santa Monica is not a bad base of operation. It's also very easy to reach from LAX. It's not too bad for the Unviersal City Tour as well -- which is fun. (There is a Hilton and a Sheraton right at Universal City, but they tend to be kind of pricey)

Also, at Santa Monica you are right on the Pacific Coast Highway, and can shoot up to Malibu and other neat places. There are some good restaurants along PCH, also.

We had facilities in Hollywood and Santa Monica and I would often try to end my day in Hollywood, then take Sunset Blvd. to PCH, have dinner, then head back South to Santa Monica to the hotel. It's a pretty interesting drive -- past several high rent districts and also the UCLA campus.

Have a great time!