Dear Members,

Me and a friend are coming down to stay in Santa Monica/LA area (or so we think) in early October. We are coming for 3-4 days. Ive read the "where to go" sections on some websites, but I feel the information if too bland.

For those of you who live in Socal:

Where is the best area to stay? Most accessible?
What non-ordinary things are there to do?
We will have a rental car, so traveling is not a problem.

Im just looking for advise on how to enjoy my 4 day stay in sunny Cali.

Let me know?


Eddie

 

what do you guys like to do? you guys into beaches, theme parks, museums, or are you guys more interested in experiencing the nightlife?

 

I like to explore things during the day, maybe a few hidden secrets or awsome places to go. Great views and a few other relaxed activities. Night life is a must, so any club recommendations would work

 

well i would recommend you guys going to the westin bonadventure hotel in downtown LA and have dinner there. The place is called LA Prime, it has an amazing view of LA and pretty classy place. Food is delicious (the steak!) but pretty pricy! A floor below is a rotating lounge where you can have a few drinks. Night life.. theres level 3 on saturdays hosted by kiis fm. its where the kodak theater is.. so you can walk around there.. its a must for night time... street performers and what not...
santa monica area.. same goes there... shopping and street performers plus the beach. hope that helps.

 

There is Disneyland lol.

 

Thank you it does!

 

go visit some peeps West Covina Nissan

 

Scenic views - PCH from Malibu head north. A few view point areas where you can pull over.

Day excursion to the Getty Museum. Nice view of West LA, downtown on a clear day and of course the art...

Venice beach for a downscale version of the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Some performance artists and misc. strangeness. Much more selling of things than in the past, but still kind of intersting. Be prepared to pay $10 - $15 for parking though if on a weekend.

Santa Monica Pier.

Huntington Beach "Surf City" if you want to drive that far south. Quiet that time of year though...

Whale watching.. I think it's the season for it, grey whales migrating down to Baja for the winter.

 

Oktoberfest at Alpine Village in Torrance.
September 8th - October 28th, 2007

http://www.alpinevillage.net/oktoberfest.htm

(Probably not the best way to spend your time though.)

 

Drunk and obliterated... I like it

thank you for all the other help!

 

 

Bonaventure is awesome!!! view is amazing. While you're in downtown, walk over to The Standard Hotel. They have an awesome outdoor lounge and bar at the roof top with an amazing view of the surrounding buildings.

 

Eddie:
get a hotel a few blocks from the beach in santa monica or stay near sunset blvd.

*Go to sunset blvd area for nightlife. If you're a tourist, go to all the clubs you would think are in Star magazine: Skybar, Mood, White Lotus, I dunno...pick up a tabloid next time ur in the grocery store to see where celebs are misbehaving these days.
*walk around hollywood blvd/sunset for the "hollywood" experience and buy a bunch of cheap t shirts, get your picture taken with elvis or whatever characters are hanging out, get pix in front of the mann's chinese theater.
*go to the santa monica pier
*getty center art museum
*greystone mansion if you want to walk around outside/see a nice view
*griffith park - huge park with good views, maybe visit the LA zoo around there too
*Rodeo drive/beverly drive in bevery hills
*Universal city/city walk is fun - studio tours, restaurants, short theme park rides
*visit venice beach and be careful! consider yourself warned haha.
*drive PCH from santa monica up through malibu
*if you are downtown LA, hit Little Tokyo area, and yeah, bonaventure and the standard are pretty cool - best bet for downtown. (most people just work in downtown LA and go out elsewhere. there is not as much nightlife right downtown as you'd expect.)

 

Make sure you have an " In 'n' Out " Burger !

 

+1

6x6 Animal style

 

i wrote this for another member who was asking about LA for his visit... hope it helps

take pacific coast highway/hwy 1 and drive up from long beach to malibu.. especially on a weekend. you're bound to see as many exotics as your heart desires, plus it's a beautiful drive.

if you're here on a sunday, check out supercar sunday
http://supercarsunday.com/

come to hollywood and watch a movie at the arclight theatre. make sure to come early enough to have dinner at their restaurant, too. best fries ever.

check out hollywood and highland, and that whole strip of hollywood blvd. everything "hollywood" is there... grauman's chinese theatre...el capitan.. kodak theatre.. the stars.. ripley's believe it or not.. plus all the fake "designer" crap you'd ever want
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Blvd
http://hollywoodandhighland.com/
not even for the shopping, but for the insane architecture.

yeah it's kind of touristy crap but hey, even the locals enjoy a day of walking around there.... street performers, etc.

check out third street promenade in santa monica.

for a more 'local's' destination, go to old town pasadena. i dont know if you're into museums, but the norton simon museum there is beautiful.

in fact, if you ARE into museums, MAKE SURE TO GO TO THE GETTY CENTER. it's free, just $5 or something for parking. it's ****ing amazing.

and if you're REALLY into museums, go to the OLD getty villa, in malibu. even more ****ing amazing.

if you've got a good car, rental or otherwise, hit some twisties. either in the malibu/santa monica hills, or angeles crest. you'll love it, trust me.

 

oh and here are some similar threads
https://my350z.com/forum/southern-california/285334-going-to-be-in-l-a-for-4-days.html
https://my350z.com/forum/southern-california/258269-calling-all-socal-experts.html
https://my350z.com/forum/southern-california/230305-visiting-la-this-weekend-suggestions-on-activities.html

 

Scenery: Palos Verdes, CA, good beaches there too, santa barbara, ca (went to school there)...
Clubs: AREA, Les Deux (going there tonight lol), wouldn't bother anywhere else... these are in Hollywood
Bars: Blue32, Shore, Union Cattle (ride the mech. bull), these are in Hermosa Beach
Great lounge to chill and drink: The Wilshire (santa monica)
Good sushi: Sushi Herosuki (Encino, CA)
Amazing gourmet burgers and beer: Fathers Office (santa monica) --- must go here!!!

umm thats all i got for now (off the top of my head)...

 

If you are here the weekend of Oct. 13th you should come out to Irwindale Speedway for Formula D.

 

Nice recommendations. Do have any trouble getting into area or les deux?

Father's office is quality, but there is always a crowd and wait. Have you tried the counter? I've been told it's as good or better than father's office. Also Montana, a few blocks away is good.