Greater Los Angeles, or LA for short, is made up of five counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura. The area stretches from the desert to the sea and the mountains to the valleys.
Where do you think you want to go first?
The good thing about LA is whatever you like to do—play or watch sports, go shopping, try new foods, go to the beach, see cool museums—you can do it all here!
Do you think you want to be a movie star!? Sure, a lot of people come to Los Angeles to get into the entertainment business, but that wasn’t always the case.
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What’s Cool? Getting lunch from a food truck, whether you want a taco, Korean barbecue, or fried chicken. You can find where the trucks are on the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association website (socalmfva.com). |
The first settlers were farmers who came here around 1781—at the same time the American Revolution was being fought. Nothing is left of their homes, but walk down Olvera Street (W-26 Olvera St., Los Angeles; 213-687-4391; calleolvera.com)—right near where those first farmers lived—and you can see the Avila Adobe (10 Olvera St., Los Angeles; 213-485-6855; elpueblo.lacity.org/elpaa1.htm), the oldest existing home in Los Angeles. Olvera Street is a lively Mexican marketplace where you can get everything from a taco to a sombrero.
Stop by the Plaza Firehouse (125 Paseo de la Plaza, Ste. 400, Los Angeles; 213-485-6855; elpueblo.lacity.org/elppfh1.htm)—the first firehouse built in the city—and see the old firefighting tools and trucks.
There are 27 historic buildings here at the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument.
Today Los Angeles is a mixture of many cultures and languages—Hispanic, African American, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean among them. Just a few blocks from Olvera Street is Little Tokyo—take a stroll around the Japanese Village Plaza (335 E. 2nd St., Los Angeles; 213-617-1900; japanesevillageplaza.net) and learn about the Japanese-American experience at the Japanese American National Museum (100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles; 213-625-0414; janm.org). There is also Chinatown (North Broadway at North Hill Street, Downtown, Los Angeles; 213-680-0243; chinatownla.com). If you are here during Chinese New Year, you can catch The Golden Dragon Parade that celebrates this holiday in Chinatown (lachinesechamber.org).
Check out the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles; 213-680-5200; olacathedral.org). It looks like a fortress, but it is actually a big church—in fact, it’s one of the world’s largest cathedrals. The Walt Disney Concert Hall (111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles; 323-850-2000; laphil.com/philpedia/about-walt-disney-concert-hall) is not only the home of the LA Philharmonic orchestra, but it is also a very famous building. You can take a free tour!
Have you heard of the famous Staples Center (1111 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles; 213-742-7326; staplescenter.com) where the LA Lakers, Clippers, and Sparks basketball teams play? A lot of famous musicians play here too. Doesn’t it look like a flying saucer?
Right across the street from the Staples Center is L.A. Live (800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles; 213-763-5483; lalive.com) with a huge theater, megaplex movie theater, and more, including the Grammy Museum (800 W. Olympic Blvd., A245, Los Angeles; 213-765-6800; grammymuseum.org). Grammy trophies are the top awards for music. Here you can try your hand at mixing and rapping.
There is a lot to see downtown! (Let’s not forget City Hall: 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles; 213-978-1059; lacityhall.org—on clear days you can see all around from the observation deck).
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What’s Cool? The 90 blocks of southwestern downtown are famous for fashionistas and bargain hunters. Check out fashiondistrict.org. You’ll find clothes and neat things for kids between 12th Street and Pico Boulevard and designer knockoffs on Santee Alley between Santee Street, Maple Avenue, Olympic Boulevard, and 12th Street. Visit dailycandy.com/los-angeles to find out the latest pint-size trends. |
Staying Safe on Vacation
Grammy Museum
Love music? You’ll love the Grammy Museum in downtown LA, which houses four floors of exhibits all about the art and technology of the recording process. You can explore nearly 160 different kinds of music—songs and stories—and musical traditions—pop, folk, classical, jazz, and more. Check out the touch screens that help you see where the sounds of American music have come from and how they have changed. The best part is the chance to make your own music just like in a real studio; you’ll hear what you created! You can even play electronic musical instruments. There’s a lot about the Grammy Awards too. Think you could get nominated some day? (800 W. Olympic Blvd., A245, Los Angeles; 213-765-6800; grammymuseum.org)
A LA Holiday Celebration Not to Miss
An 8-square-block neighborhood comes alive every holiday season when the residents put on a display of lights, elves, artificial snow, and more. Woodland Hills’ Candy Cane Lane is a free event and has been an annual tradition for 60 years, running from the second Saturday in December until the end of the year. (Lubao and Oxnard Streets in Woodland Hills; 818-347-4737; woodlandhillscc.net/candy_cane_lane.html)
DID YOU KNOW?
You can download self-guided walking tour podcasts at downtownlawalks.com.
The statue of Our Lady of the Angels in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is 8 feet high.
The organ at the Walt Disney Concert Hall has more than 6,000 pipes, some as big as 32 feet!
TELL THE ADULTS:
There is a lot to do that’s free in LA:
Tournament of Roses
It started in 1890 as a New Year’s Day celebration with a small procession of flower-covered horses and buggies and an afternoon of races, polo matches, and tug-of-war games. The idea—thought up by some former Easterners and Midwesterners—was to showcase the warm weather.
All the flowers prompted the name: The Tournament of Roses (tournamentofroses.com). By 1916, football was a permanent part of the celebration. The Rose Bowl Stadium was built to host the game.
Today, the Tournament of Roses is watched by millions around the world. People who come to Pasadena even camp out to ensure finding a good spot to watch from. It is something to see. Today, the Rose Parade features nearly 50 flower-covered floats—the most delicate flowers are placed in individual vials of water, set in the float one by one. The parade features nearly 20 equestrian units and some 20 marching bands. Work starts on next year’s floats nearly as soon as the parade is over.
DID YOU KNOW?
Each float in the Tournament of Roses Parade (tournamentofroses.com) must be entirely covered with natural plants and flowers.
The Metro
The quickest way to get between downtown and Hollywood is on the subway. Contrary to what many think, you can get to just about every corner of Greater LA without a car on subways, light-rail lines, and buses. In fact, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority—everyone calls it the Metro—is one of the biggest in the country. Every day, the Metro efficiently transports hundreds of thou sands of passengers throughout LA via subway trains, light-rail, and buses. Metro Rail is LA’s rapid transit rail system, with six lines serving 80 stations across the county. The Metro Blue Line connects Long Beach and LA, while the Metro Green Line runs between Norwalk and Redondo Beach. The Metro Red Line subway services downtown, Hollywood, and the San Fernando Valley. The Metro Purple Line runs between Union Station, Wilshire Boulevard, and Western Avenue. The Metro Gold Line runs from Pasadena to East LA. The Metro Expo Line runs between Culver City and downtown. Check out all of the public art! (metro.net; 323-466-3876)
Souvenir Smarts
Located in the oldest part of downtown LA, Olvera Street Market is a famous Mexican marketplace and is a great place to get a taco—or buy souvenirs, as is Chinatown. Before you go souvenir hunting:
