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Last year, Los Angeles broke its own record for the number of visitors, which was estimated at more than 40 million. The extensive sprawling landscape, fictionalized in movies, is actually made up of eighty-eight different cities. Each one is home to a unique demographic of people, hosting their own cuisine, culture, and environment.
Los Angeles is still the home of entertainment, so if you’re looking to do something star-studded every night, each area has something different to offer. If you’re more of a beach lover, foodie, or outdoorsy-type, LA has plenty for you to do too.
Things to do in Los Angeles
There are countless niche and wonderful things to do in Los Angeles that can’t be done anywhere else in the world. If you’re an ocean-lover, why not charter a yacht or small boat in Marina Del Rey, and explore the wild coastline of the Pacific.
If you’re more of a city lover, head up to Hollywood to explore Universal Studios, the Walk of Fame, Griffith Park Observatory, and the iconic Sunset Strip. Los Angeles is also home to more than fifty different hiking trails, many of which venture up into the hills around Mulholland Drive.
Depending on the length of your stay, you’ll be faced with hundreds of different options to craft your perfect vacation.
Figure out what sort of vacation you want
What do you envision doing on this trip? If you’re picturing the ocean, try a week in Venice and Santa Monica, or even Malibu. These gorgeous coastal neighborhoods offer a reprieve from the dense humid heatwaves that drown everything east of the 405 Freeway every summer.
If you’re looking for a single hub, and want to do day trips to different areas, consider the Los Feliz neighborhood. Accommodation is cheap, the food options are amazing, and it’s a quiet escape from West Hollywood and Downtown.
Here are some accomodation options around Los Feliz
Booking.comYou could always venture a little further out of town, and explore the desert or coastal villages surrounding Los Angeles. Whatever your interests, ensure that you plan for one thing: traffic.
Traffic in Los Angeles
Motor vehicles are to Los Angeles what fish are to the ocean. Unless you’re sticking to one safe neighborhood, any vacation to LA demands transport. Yes, there is a train line, and you can Uber just about everywhere, but make sure you check travel times well in advance of your journey.
During prime rush-hour times, which make up most of the day, a drive of only ten miles can sometimes take up to two hours to complete. Los Angeles is not the thriving pedestrian metropolis of European cities, but it is a manageable amount of traffic.
Whatever you intend for your trip to Los Angeles, ensure you do your research first. There is no city center, limited public transport, and hundreds of different vacations to be had inside one spatial area. What can be guaranteed is that Los Angeles will have something for you. You just have to figure out what you’d like to do first.