Santa Monica Pier. Photo taken in 2009 back before I had a freakin' 12 MP camera on my iPhone.
What are the must-see destinations in Los Angeles? Like, if you're only in town for a weekend? Or if you're visiting from China and you've never been to the US before? I had to answer these questions recently, one from a colleague visiting from Atlanta and one from a colleague visiting from Hangzhou. I thought about sending them a link to my handy little blog here but then decided against it. The places I write about are absolutely worth seeing, but save them for a time when you're ready to head off the beaten path, or when you've settled down on the west side, trying to fool yourself into thinking that there's nothing east of the 405.
Here are the three places I think you should visit if you've never had a chance to experience LA before. (But please, don't try to visit more than one in a single day -- no one who lives here would ever do that, because of the traffic.)
Santa Monica Pier. For over 100 years, people have been visiting this spot to have fun while enjoying beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean and the coastline. It has an old-timey carousel, a famous Ferris Wheel that was recently revamped with a million-dollar lighting system, an aquarium, and an arcade. You can also go fishing there or learn how to be a trapeze artist there, if you don't mind doing it while hundreds of people watch you. In the summer, the pier is home to the Twilight Concert Series, a lineup of free concerts with some pretty well-known musicians... because who doesn't want to play a concert on the beach!? It's also a fantastic spot for people watching and for spotting seals and dolphins in the surf. Parking can be difficult but you can reserve a spot in advance, park a few blocks away in one of the many city-owned lots, or take the Metro Expo Line.
The cactus garden at the Getty Center. Photo copyright 2017 by Anna Boudinot
The Getty Center. J. Paul Getty was a billionaire oil tycoon who loved to collect art. His collection soon outgrew his house, so he built an Italian-style villa on his property in the beautiful Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles and began housing his art there. When he died in 1976, the art collection and the property were turned over to the Getty Trust, who called it the Getty Villa and opened it as a museum. But it still wasn't big enough for all the art to be shown at once, so the Getty Center was born. Located in Bel Air, it took 8 years and over $1 billion to build, finally opening in 1997. It is home to mostly 19th- and 20th-century art (the Getty Villa showcases ancient Greek and Roman art, by the way, and is still open to the public). But the really impressive aspects of the Getty Center are its architecture and its gardens. It has been called "a monument to the highest achievements of culture and the human spirit" and "a cultural ornament unrivaled in any metropolis." In short, it's stunning. You should go just to enjoy the views. The Getty Trust loves to brag that the museum has free admission, but the catch is that parking is $15 and you can't really get to Bel Air unless you drive there. Or live nearby and take the bus. But people who live in Bel Air don't take the bus.
Hollywood Walk of Fame. This one comes with a disclaimer: people who live in Los Angeles don't visit the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In general, we avoid that part of town entirely. But that doesn't mean that we've never been there; in fact, most of us were delighted the first time we laid eyes on it. We just never went back because it is swarming with tourists and panhandlers and it's dirty and parking sucks over there and it's such a scene. But you should go, just to say you've gone. There is no denying that it is pretty cool. The Wikipedia entry can tell you far more than I can, but it has an impressive history that dates back to 1953. Most of its 2500+ stars fall into one of five categories: radio, music recording, live performance (theater), television, and film, though special stars have been added for special honorees. The astronauts who made the first moon landing have a "star" (it's actually shaped like the moon), as do the Los Angeles Dodgers and the LAPD. If there's a particular star you want to see, you can search for it on the Walk of Fame website. The Walk of Fame has no admission charge, it's open all the time, and at 1.3 miles, the walk is easily done in one afternoon. Start on Sunset and Vine, head north to Hollywood Boulevard, then go west to La Brea. You'll pass legendary Hollywood landmarks like Musso and Frank, the Egyptian Theater, the Chinese Theater, and the shopping complex known as "Hollywood and Highland," or as we locals call it, "the tenth circle of hell." Once you reach LaBrea you'll be greeted with a sculpture called "The Four Ladies of Hollywood," which was created by Catherine Hardwicke (yes, that Catherine Hardwicke) and features the likenesses of Anna May Wong, Dorothy Dandridge, Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, and Dolores del Rio (pretty sure that's five women). Their shiny steel faces stare back at you with no expression, teaching you that Hollywood is nothing but a glittering facade.