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LA is not very tourist-friendly. Unless you know someone there it's tricky to get around. Tourists, if they're going to a city at all, go to cities like San Francisco, Boston and New York because they have public transportation, are easy to navigate and centralized.
LA has many cool places to see, but they're not next to each other and walkable like in some other cities.
People can visit whatever they want. There's nothing in United States law saying that "you have to visit NYC and LA" forcing domestic and foreign visitors alike to places they may not be interested in.
A huge chunk of people who come to the United States come to visit family, who may not even be in any of the major cities.
It is what it is. Anyways, LA still gets enough tourists to survive, so I think we will be fine. Of course, I'd want more people to see LA from my point of view (as a local, of course) to show that it isn't all Hollywood and fake, but no one has that many years to waste.
I don't think LA is the must-see point of California. Not unless one has a voracious passion for entertainment industry and/or scantily-clad people on the sunny southern coastal beaches. I'm not saying that's all there is, but that's pretty much all that foreigners get to perceive. Admittedly, LA is not among my favorite part of the state.
A few years ago in Palm Springs I met some travelers from England (two couples NOT together) who had no interest in LA. But they loved Palm Springs and one of them drove to Yosemite and spent time in SF before moving on to the next state.
LA is not very tourist-friendly. Unless you know someone there it's tricky to get around. Tourists, if they're going to a city at all, go to cities like San Francisco, Boston and New York because they have public transportation, are easy to navigate and centralized.
LA has many cool places to see, but they're not next to each other and walkable like in some other cities.
What he said..and I used to live there..I can think of many other So. Cal areas that will really leave you California Dreaming. So many of the people I know who have been there for the first time seem disapointed. It's a city where you do need to spend some time to get the whole picture. Fantastic place for dining,shopping, and gawking though.
The traffic situation in LA is what kept me away. I've been there a couple of times to see relatives, but the time I had to drive it was an intimidating experience.
I have to agree with tpk-nyc on this one. If you're accustomed to old, compact cities with great mass transit, Los Angeles is really inconvenient. Imagine going to a city such as London or Paris as a tourist. You get a room in a hotel, and your tour group takes you around in a bus or you can walk around or take a bus or subway.
How well would that style of travel work in Los Angeles?
I've met a couple of Australians who entered the US from the PACIFIC, yet said they wouldn't bother even seeing LA (they went straight to SF) because it was shallow, plastic, Hollywood etc. It sounds to me as if they bought into the stereotypes. What would your opinion be of a tourist who came to the west coast and was perfectly capable of seeing LA, but just bypassed it?
I think Los Angeles has a lot to offer, but I usually tell people from overseas to skip it, unless they know someone or plan to rent a car. You can't get around LA without a car and enjoy yourself. If you rent a car, it's good to know someone there or someone who has been there. The city is so spread out, you might know to visit Santa Monica and Hollywood, but nothing else. I really like LA. However, I prefer San Francisco and San Diego a lot more, especially as a tourist.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lifeshadower
People can visit whatever they want. There's nothing in United States law saying that "you have to visit NYC and LA" forcing domestic and foreign visitors alike to places they may not be interested in.
A huge chunk of people who come to the United States come to visit family, who may not even be in any of the major cities.
It is what it is. Anyways, LA still gets enough tourists to survive, so I think we will be fine. Of course, I'd want more people to see LA from my point of view (as a local, of course) to show that it isn't all Hollywood and fake, but no one has that many years to waste.
I have a friend with an American father who was born in Charleston, SC but moved here as a baby, and when they went to the US they flew straight to San Jose AP via Japan and didn't even see SF! . They drove straight to Minnesota where his family is from and I believe the only major cities they went to were Phoenix and Minneapolis.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,060,466 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmw335xi
I think Los Angeles has a lot to offer, but I usually tell people from overseas to skip it, unless they know someone or plan to rent a car. You can't get around LA without a car and enjoy yourself. If you rent a car, it's good to know someone there or someone who has been there. The city is so spread out, you might know to visit Santa Monica and Hollywood, but nothing else. I really like LA. However, I prefer San Francisco and San Diego a lot more, especially as a tourist.
I heard the rail system is improving. I'd really like to rent a car for at least a day in LA, I wonder how hard it is to get used to driving on the right side of the road though.
Lots of tourists that come to the US have no interest in visiting any big cities. Many visitors to the Western US come here for the incredible outdoor attractions like the national parks, mountains, deserts and coastal areas. LA is intimidating for visitors from another country if they are traveling on their own - it is such a vast megalopolis that scares even many people from other parts of the US from visiting.
Another thing, the cost of visiting big cities in the US can be very expensive - not easy to find hotel rooms under $150 per night in decent parts of town in NY, LA, SF, Chi, etc.
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. They drove straight to Minnesota where his family is from and I believe the only major cities they went to were Phoenix and Minneapolis.