But you’ll love it. It’s funky—and weird and fun. The busiest stretch is between Fairfax and La Brea Avenues.
People come here to shop and to be seen. Everyone is looking to see what’s hot—and what’s not. There are many one-of-a-kind boutiques where you can buy everything from leather vests to jeans to Halloween masks. You’ll find hats and plastic bracelets.
DID YOU KNOW?
Vietnam’s national dish is pho— white rice noodles in a clear broth and topped with sliced meat. The signature Korean dish you should try is beef ribs (kalbi) that are grilled right at your table!
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What’s Cool? Sightseeing in shorts and flip-flops—in the wintertime! |
Local kids say this is the place to see the new styles before anyone even recognizes that they’re in fashion. If you see cool young people wearing a new style on TV, it probably began here on Melrose Avenue!
Of course you’ve got to check out Rodeo Drive (between Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards; 310-308-8333; rodeodrive-bh.com/index4.html) inBeverly Hills, too—even if you can’t afford anything here, it’s fun to walk around. Go a block over to Beverly Drive for less expensive stores where you can actually shop, not just gawk.
Los Angeles is a great place for shopping—and eating! Make it a goal to try something you’ve never eaten before. Have you ever had a fresh tamale? Chinese dim sum?
And shop for things you can’t find at home or at least in a shopping mall that is different than at home. You can take your pick of shopping centers, whatever you want to buy:
■ Westfield Century City (10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles; 310-277-3898; westfield.com/centurycity) has more than 100 stores, restaurants, and even a dog park.
■ For a Chinese parasol, go to Chinatown Galleries in downtown LA’s Chinatown (North Broadway at North Hill Street, Downtown, Los Angeles; 213-680-0243; chinatownla.com). You will find plenty of T-shirts, too.
■ For leather sandals and woven blankets, check out Olvera Street in the oldest part of downtown LA, which has stalls selling everything from woven blankets to candles (between Cesar Chavez Avenue and Arcadia Street; 213-687-4391; calleolvera.com).
■ For anything Ferrari (as well as everything else you might want) go to the Beverly Center (8500 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; 310-854-0070; beverlycenter.com).
■ For Hollywood souvenirs, walk all along Hollywood Boulevard near the Dolby Theatre (6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles). There’s also the Hollywood & Highland Center (6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles; 323-308-6300; hollywoodandhighland.com).
DID YOU KNOW?
Most LA freeways are known by both a name and a number.
Before most people flew on planes, they took the train to LA and arrived at Union Station (800 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles; 213-683-6875; amtrak.com).
■ For surfer clothes, the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica (3rd Street between Broadway and Wilshire Boulevard close to the ocean; 310-393-8355; downtownsm.com) has everything you could possibly need.
■ For shopping like royalty, there is the Citadel Outlets within a building that was constructed to look like a castle (100 Citadel Dr., Los Angeles; 323-888-1724; citadeloutlets.com).
■ For shopping where movie stars’ kids go: The Grove is where you can take a trolley from one end to another and find American Girl Place, Pottery Barn Kids, and Quicksilver Youth, among other stores (189 The Grove Dr., Los Angeles; 323-900-8080; thegrovela.com).
What’s your shopping style?
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What’s Cool? Trying some kind of food you’ve never had before. Check online at findlafoodtrucks.com to see where the famous LA food trucks are, whether you want a grilled cheese, Chinese dumplings, or tacos. |
Music for All Ears
Whatever music you like, you’ll find it in LA where so many musicians live and work:
• The Hollywood Bowl (in a natural bowl in the Hollywood hills!) is one of the largest outdoor amphitheaters anywhere (2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood; 323-850-2000; hollywoodbowl.com).
• The Greek Theatre in Griffith Park is outside (2700 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles; 323-665-5857; greektheatrela.com).
• The Walt Disney Concert Hall (hear the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the resident chorus) is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and has special kids’ events in the outdoor amphitheater (111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles; 323-850-2000; laphil.com/philpedia/about-walt-disney-concert-hall).
• Dolby Theatre, besides being home to the Academy Awards, is also home to a Cirque du Soleil show (6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles; 323-466-1428; cirquedusoleil.com).
Eating Smart on Vacation
Vacations are a good time to try different foods than just what is on a kids’ menu. That’s especially true in Los Angeles where you’ll find restaurants that feature food from all around the world as well as vegetables and meats from local farmers. Here’s how you can eat healthier and try new foods:
• If there is something you like on the grown-up menu, ask if you can get a half portion or order an appetizer size.
• Choose fruit as a snack instead of chips or candy.
• Visit and talk to the farmers at The Original Farmers Market (6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; 866-993-9211; farmersmarketla.com) or Grand Central Market (317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles; 213-624-2378; grandcentralsquare.com) to see what’s grown in Southern California (everything from mangoes to peppers), and you can try all varieties of food.
• Drink water rather than a soda. Your reusable bottle becomes a souvenir when you put stickers on it from all the places in LA you’ve been!
SOUVENIR SMARTS
Mickey Mouse ears … a Lakers cap … a Simpsons or Transformers T-shirt at Universal Studios Hollywood—whatever you don’t want to leave Los Angeles without, you are bound to find it here. Let’s not forget there are many shopping malls (discoverlosangeles.com can tell you exactly where they are)!
But shop smart! That means talk to your parents about exactly how much you may spend. Save your allowance and birthday money before you come. Some families save loose change in a jar to use for souvenirs.
Do you want to use your money for one big souvenir (a stuffed Mickey or a pricey sweatshirt)? Or several smaller ones? Do you want a special T-shirt from a particular attraction or with your favorite character on it?
Resist those impulse buys. Wait until the end of the day or the end of the trip to shop. After a few days, you’ll get a better idea of what you really can’t leave without!
Think about choosing something you could only get in Los Angeles. Start a collection! Collect pins or patches to put on your backpack. What else could you collect?
Fish Tacos!
You’ve got to eat tacos while you are here. Taco trucks are all over LA, so keep your eyes peeled and see if you can spot one! Those who work at the Los Angeles Times say you should go to Ye Olde Taco House #1, a stand at 340 S. Hill St. (213-625-2700) just next to Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles. Locals really love fish tacos. Try Señor Fish (senorfish.net) with several locations or the chains that specialize in them: Wahoos (wahoos.com), Rubio’s (rubios.com), or Baja Fresh (bajafresh.com).
DID YOU KNOW?
Los Angeles has the largest Mexican-American population of any city in the US. But there are also large populations of Koreans, Vietnamese, and Filipinos outside their home countries. Immigrants from more than 140 countries live here, making LA an especially good place to try ethnic eats.
Great Places to Grab a Family Meal Fun Eats!
You can get just about any kind of food in Los Angeles! Here are some family favorites to tell your parents about.
• Chinatown: A great place for dumplings. (N. Broadway at North Hill Street, Downtown, Los Angeles; 213-680-0243; chinatownla.com)
• Huckleberry: Offers Thursday night family dinners. Check out the homemade bread. The menu changes with the seasons. (1014 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; 310-451-2311; huckleberrycafe.com)
• L.A. Live: In downtown LA, this is a great place to eat whether you want sushi, Mexican food, or pizza. (800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles; 866-LIVE-4LA; lalive.com/eat)
• Little Tokyo: Has some of the best sushi in LA. (Downtown, Southeast of the Civic Center; bounded by 1st, Los Angeles; 213-293-5822; littletokyola.org)
• Mel’s Drive-In: Serving everything from breakfast to burgers and shakes. (1660 N. Highland, Hollywood; 323-465-3111; melsdrive-in.com/menu/kids.html)
• Mendocino Farms: A great place to get a sandwich, salad, and soup made from what is in season at the farmers’ market. (Several locations in LA, including: 175 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles; 323-934-4261; mendocinofarms.com)
• Miceli’s for Pizza: Singing waiters across the street from Universal Studios. (3655 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Universal City; 323-851-3344; micelisrestaurant.com)
• Park’s BBQ: In the heart of LA’s Korea district, this is a great place to try Korean barbecue. (1145 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles; 323-373-0700; parksbbq.com)
• Short Order: Serves burgers, shakes, and salads that are all made from scratch with ingredients from local farmers and ranchers. (6333 W. 3rd St., #110, Los Angeles; 323-761-7970; shortorderla.com)
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What’s Cool? Sweet! Hollywood (6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; 323-462-3111), the largest candy store in the world, which takes up a half acre in the heart of Hollywood. Check out the world’s largest gumball machine or the lollipop forest. |
Ice Cream, You Scream …
These places serve up delicious desserts!
• Proof Bakery (3156 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles; 323-664-8633; proofbakeryla.com)
• Scoops Westside for weird and crazy ice cream flavors (3400 Overland Ave., Los Angeles; 323-405-7055; scoopswestside.com).
• Short Cake for everything from brownies to cookies and sandwiches, too (6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; 323-761-7976; shortcakeLA.com).
• Sprinkles Cupcakes is a place where you might meet a celebrity when you order! Try the chocolate marshmallow or peanut butter chocolate! (9635 S. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; 310-274-8765; sprinkles.com)
• Sweet Rose Creamery for homemade ice cream in Santa Monica. Have you ever had an ice-cream slider with ice cream and bacon? (225 26th St., Santa Monica; 310-260-CONE)
TELL THE ADULTS
Touring a city like Los Angeles can be overwhelming. The more the kids are involved in the planning, the better! Here’s how:
• The kids can help plan the itinerary by taking a virtual tour of the theme parks and museums you plan to visit. Start at the discoverlosangeles.com and visitcalifornia.com websites and link to the attractions you plan to visit.
• Make sure each child gets to see one of their top theme park attractions each day of your visit. Alternate whose pick is first!
• Cut the itinerary in half—whether you are touring the city or a major museum. With kids, you aren’t going to see everything, so don’t even try. The theme park, the monuments, and the museum will all be there next time. Focus on what captures the kids’ attention—and yours—and leave when everyone has had enough. Make sure there is time for the hotel pool, the beach, or the playground!
• Let the kids help choose restaurants and what’s in your cooler.
• Alternate attractions that cost money with free ones—parks, playgrounds, and the hotel pool.
