California - 1st time visit - where's unique places to see/?

Question

OK, 35 years in the making. I'm flyin into LA. Have four weeks to see it. What should I see that's NOT on TV. I'm looking to see the cool California I've always wanted to see.

Answer 1

First, the usual suspects:

Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth. Half a billion visitors can’t be wrong. (Sometimes it seems all at once)

Universal Studios: A theme park that grew out of a studio tour. Check out eBay. You can find some discounted tickets there. And Universal City Walk is a fun place to hang out in the evening after your day inside the park.

Hollywood: Hollywood Boulevard is ready for its close-up, thanks to years of urban renewal and renovation. Enjoy the Walk of Fame, Entertainment Museum, Mann's Theatre and more. You can see a lot for free. I have also added the Hollywood & Highland complex to my top ten list… it has lots of shops and restaurants, and the Kodak Theater (home of the Academy Awards). I like the El Capitan theater, because it has been restored to its former glory, unlike the Chinese, which was essentially gutted and turned into a multiplex.

Rodeo Drive, 90210: Packed with exclusive shops, full of gawkers. They all came to enjoy the excess. Free, unless you intend to buy something.

Venice Beach: Los Angeles kitsch and over-the-top culture at its best.
Here you'll find Muscle Beach, street performers and tacky shops galore.
Fun, VERY interesting, but I avoid it after dark, when it gets a little TOO interesting for my taste. And it's a short bike ride from:

Santa Monica Beach and Pier: Great beach scene and a classic seaside amusement park, complete with antique carousel that has been in a lot of TV and movies. (The Sting and "Three's Company" come immediately to mind).
After visiting the pier, you can ride a bike south a couple miles to Venice Beach.

Santa Monica Third Street Promenade - Downtown Santa Monica's shopping promenade is often the scene of movie star-sightings. Just a short walk from the Santa Monica Pier.

Sunset Boulevard: Perhaps one of the world's most famous streets, it began as a route between the stars' posh neighborhoods and the Hollywood studios. It runs from downtown to the ocean, passing through the "Sunset Strip" on its way. It makes for a fun drive. Along the way, you see a lot of different neighborhoods. Hollywood, West Hollywood, Bel Air, and Pacific Palisades. When you get to the ocean, stop at Gladstone's for Fish.

Queen Mary: Once the largest ship afloat, she's been docked in Long Beach for longer than she sailed, and her elegance never fails to impress. Free to visit. You can actually stay on board, for a price.

Farmers Market and The Grove - A new shopping complex right next to a Los Angeles landmark, The Grove and Farmers Market coexist. Enjoy a movie or shopping, then take the trolley to the Farmers Market for lunch or dinner.
Farmer's Market is right next to CBS, so walk across the lot to see if they are taping "The Price is Right". You might even get in.

Griffith Park - Home of the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Park Observatory, Travel Town, the Greek Theatre, and Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage.

Getty Museum - The Getty's architecture is so beautiful that it keeps me fascinated. No matter whether you like their art or architecture better (or maybe you'll just enjoy the view), the Getty is sure to please. Free.

Attend a TV taping - You can get free tickets at audiencesunlimited.com, or see the booth at Universal City walk. It's very interesting to see a show being taped. The most popular, by far, is the tonight show. Check the NBC web site for all the details there.

Places to eat:
In-N-Out Burger: Multiple locations, best burger in LA, ask anyone.
Pink’s Hot Dogs: 709 N. La Brea, just north of Melrose. Might see a celebrity.
Tommy’s Chili Burgers: Look for the shack, an LA tradition. Original location at Beverly & Rampart, a couple miles west of downtown.
Canter’s Deli: 419 N. Fairfax, between Beverly & Melrose. Near CBS, might spot a celebrity.
Phillippe’s: 1001 N. Alameda. Great roast beef sandwiches. Near Union Station, Olvera Street. Watch the mustard, it’s hot.

Places to Stay:
In Hollywood, I recommend the Hollywood Celebrity Hotel and the Farmer's Daughter Hotel.
In Anaheim, I recommend the HoJo Anaheim, and the Candy Cane Inn. If you want to splurge and make this a most memorable trip, stay at Disney’s Grand Californian. You get the full Disney experience. If you don't need to stay by the park, then stay at the Doubletree on Harbor, or even the one in Orange on Chapman.
In Santa Monica, the Holiday Inn Santa Monica is close to the pier and reasonably priced.

Places to Shop:
South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa
Fashion Island, Newport Beach
Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica
Citadel Outlets, Commerce
Beverly Center, Los Angeles
The Block at Orange, Orange
Ontario Mills, Ontario

Next, the unusual:

Candy had a great idea about driving up the coast. If you take 101 to San Luis Obispo, you'll see beach, coastline, and the rolling hills where the happy cows live. Along the way, stop in Santa Barbara along State Street. From SLO, take Highway 1 to San Simeon and visit Hearst Castle. Then keep going up through the coast at Big Sur, then to Carmel and Monterey (just beautiful). Visit Cannery Row and Monterey Bay Aquarium. Visit San Francisco, then cut over to Yosemite. You MUST see Yosemite Valley. It's too big, too grand to capture on a camera. It's mind-bogglingly awesome. (Made that word up).

Have fun!

Answer 2

So many things to do in LA. Well, as far as resturants, there is this great place called Castaway in the hills of Burbank. They have an excellent sunday brunch and a great view as well. Another great brunch place with a spectacular view is called The Reef in Long Beach. La Palapa is a little resturant right on the sand in Long Beach. They have live music most nights. Those are 3 excellent places I would defintley consider as far as food. They have good food not only for brunch.

Belmont Shore in Long beach is a small beach community with cute shops and resturants. You can eat lunch, get a drink and walk through some shops and the beach.

Balboa Island in Newport Beach is another small beach city that is fun to check out. This is in Orange County.

Kayaking in the Huntinton Harbor allows you to see some nice homes. There is a rental place on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Sunset Beach that has good rental prices on Kayaks. This is also in Orange County.

Not sure if you are into the bar scene at all, but Hermosa Beach is a fun place to go. There are bars lined up on the pier. It is always packed on a saturday night. People are friendly and it is laid back, no need to get real dressed up like at the Hollywood clubs. There is a fun comedy club there as well, The Hermosa Beach Comedy and Magic Club (Jay Leno is there every Sunday night). There is also this place called the Mai Tai bar in Long Beach that has great late night Happy hour, 3-7pm and 9-11pm. I would check this place out during the week though, the weekends it gets packed with young kids.

If you wanted to head North, you could check out Santa Barbara, Solvang (a small dutch village) or drive the Pacific Coast highway to Northern California. A gorgeous drive. Definey check out Big Sur, Pebble Beach, Carmel and Monterey. Take the 17 mile drive from Monterey. Absolutley the most gorgeous views you will ever see.

Well, I could go on and on about things to do in LA. Hope this gives you a few ideas...

Answer 3

I would drive north on Route 101 (and route 1,) up the gorgeous California Coastline into the Big Sur and Carmel area. The drive, scenery is beautiful and there are many scenic stops along the way. It's so beautiful, you just might decide to spend the night somewhere along the way and come back the next day or even continue north to San Francisco. See the real California versus spending most of your time in the major cities.

Answer 4

By what do you mean "not on TV?" Not having been on the news? or in a movie? You can go visit the beaches and go people watching. There's Phillippe a little hole in the wall restaurant where they have really good French dip sandwiches in downtown LA. The Watts Tower in Watts, Ca. Ports of Call Village in San Pedro. The Queen Mary in Long each. Better yet when you get to LA take a cruise to Catalina Island and check it out.

Answer 5

Wow, thats a wide open question. California is about 800 miles long and 300 miles wide. What do "YOU" want to do? Drive up the coast, its beautiful, go inland to our parks like Yosemite or see our giant Redwoods? Go to Seaworld in San Diego, See San Francisco, Modesto, Fresno, Big Bear, the ideas are endless. Are you young, old, in the middle, coming alone, bringing wife/husband/kids? What ? Give us a clue so we can help better. I work at LAX. Need any ideas from there?

Answer 6

There are lots of things to do in San Diego. Visit http://www.sandiego-romantics.com.

Yosemite National Park is the most awesome place. The huge granite rocks are so impressive. http://www.nps.gov/yose/

Lake Tahoe is another of my favorite places in California. It's a huge beautiful, clear lake with a gorgeous setting high in the Sierra Nevadas. http://www.visitinglaketahoe.com/

California is known for its world class wines. You will find marvelous wineries located throughout California. Many of them have wine tasting rooms where you can sample their wines (often for free depending on the area). For more info on wine tasting visit http://www.cheers2wine.com

Answer 7

Santa Monica Pier

Answer 8

Not on TV? You should head up to Northern California and stay here!

:-) Have fun!

Answer 9

YOu need to add something to this question so we can help you more. It s too vague