Los Angeles

[Tedder]

Going in March, looking for recommendations....areas to stay, hotels, restaurants, things to see & do. It's me and DH (kid-free....yippee!) Thanks

Huntington Beach and Newport Beach are both lovely and within a short drive of LA. We stopped for dinner at Long Beach and that seemed nice too.
We stayed at Newport Beach and then a couple of nights at the Wigwam Motel on Route 66 in Realto in the San Berdardino valley. DS2 (5) loved the Wigwam Motel!

We had 4 nights and packed in all the usual touristy things, we drove up Sunset boulvd and Hollywood Boulvd, drove around Beverly Hills. We spent half a day walking around Hollywood to seeing the Chinese Theatre, walk of fame etc plus wed rove up to the Griffith Observatory to get a good view of the sign plus LA itself. We also drove to a restaurant DH had seen on Man versus Food

We spent a day at Universal Studios, recommended even if you don't like theme parks for the backstage studio tour, saw the sets from Psycho, Jaws etc. Drove up to Venice Beach and saw Venice High School, which was Rydell High from Grease. DH and DS2 are also big Back to the Future fans and we visited the street which had the house that was Marty McFlys in the original film!

Warner Bros studio tour. You need to book but it's the best thing in LA. Possibly Paramount Studios for the old style Hollywood glamour (not sure they do tours though).

Stay in a hotel near or on the beach. We stayed in Hollywood itself, what a dump!

Paramount do offer tours. We stayed at Santa Monica. Absolutely lovely with fantastic boardwalk all the way to Venice Beach. Best things in LA are The Getty Centre for the stunning building, views and collections, driving along Mulholland Drive and taking the roads down, eg Laurel canyon. Also driving around the "stars" homes. Easy to get to as near Paramount and not many stars live there now, but great house viewing!! A bit of fun. Also the Max Factor Factory which houses a Hollywod costume museum. It also has the original make up counters where the actresses tried out the products. Walk of Fame is mostly yucky with chewing gum all over the place. See the Capitol Records Building and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, both in LA. Have a look at Rodeo Drive. People watching is fun in that area. We have also stayed at the Modrian in LA. Amazing views and pool but slightly seedy area. Think Hugh Grant and his exploits!

Drive to Pasadena. The Huntington gardens, art collections and library are world class as is the Norton Simon Museum, especially if you are keen on Degas. Drive to Santa Barbara along Highway 1. Go to the Mission. Walk on the beach at Malibu and wonder why anyone would live there? Visit the Getty Villa in Malibu. Stunning Italian recreation and great gardens, take one of their tours.

Many of the tourist sights are seedy and not that good IMO. I would get a flavour of California by travelling around and not visiting a theme park. You can do that almost anywhere now. There is so much to see in this area you will not be disappointed.