Two Days in LA. How can I best get to know the city?

[Catho]

Thank you all so much for your advice! Yes, I should add that I will not actually have a car with me on my trip, so any walking advice is greatly appreciated (taxis and public transportation are also an option). And I don't feel I need to get to know every single part of the city, just the areas in which I might live around USC. Any nice streets or places to visit in those neighborhoods? I know I should avoid walking around south from USC, but are there any parts I should avoid walking through in other directions around the university?

[Radical Raul]

Originally Posted by Catho

Thank you all so much for your advice! Yes, I should add that I will not actually have a car with me on my trip, so any walking advice is greatly appreciated (taxis and public transportation are also an option). And I don't feel I need to get to know every single part of the city, just the areas in which I might live around USC. Any nice streets or places to visit in those neighborhoods? I know I should avoid walking around south from USC, but are there any parts I should avoid walking through in other directions around the university?

Buy a map and rent a car, it's the only way to take in as much as possible in two days.

My Aunt Fina owned a home on 29th just off of Vermont, you can check out the museum, Exposition park, and the Coliseum.

Actually not a very desirable area to live in.

[Radical Raul]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

other places that aren't too far of a commute would be downtown, silverlake, los feliz, and culver city. my list goes from closest to furthest.

downtown is a pretty interesting place, especially on the weekends. you may want to walk around the jewelry district and broadway or the area around the staples center. silverlake is the hipster area of LA, with a bunch of neat places on sunset blvd near the intersection with santa monica blvd (this area is called sunset junction). los feliz is a real nice area with easy access to griffith park. a walk down vermont and hillhurst would give you a pretty good feel for the area. downtown culver city is also a pretty nice place where washington and culver meet. the other plus about culver city is that a light rail line is being built as we speak that will connect culver city with usc. it believe it is due to be finished in 2010 sometime.

Interesting for someone from the outside looking in.

[BRinSM]

i wouldn't do much much walking off campus from usc, especially after dark. without a car though, you're going to have some trouble getting around. a couple options are to take the dash bus to downtown where you can hop on the subway to different places. since it sounds like you're not familiar with the city, getting around by bus would not be fun. however, koreatown is accessible by subway, as are parts of silverlake and los feliz.

if you don't mind doing a fair bit of walking, you can take the subway up to vermont/santa monica then walk east on santa monica until you get to sunset. once you get to sunset, make a left and head north. head to the intersection where Hollywood/Sunset/Hillhurst meet and head up Hillhurst. walk up as far as you like, but going past Los Feliz Blvd wouldn't really show you much. Make a left, then head two blocks towards Vermont. make another left at Vermont and head back down towards the Vermont/Sunset subway station. While in the area you may also check out Barnsdall Park and Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock house. From the vermont/subway stop, you can also catch a dash bus that will take you up to griffith park observatory. keep in mind that if walk the whole distance all the way up to los feliz blvd, you're looking at about 3 miles in walking, but you will get a pretty good picture of los feliz and parts of silverlake. i also highly recommend seeing the observatory, if not only for the spectacular views. once you're done and you're back at the subway, you can either head back downtown or go to hollywood and universal studios. i highly recommend getting the $5 day pass if you plan on taking this little adventure.

[timelesschild]

You really should rent a car for this trip. Seriously.

[Radical Raul]

Originally Posted by timelesschild

You really should rent a car for this trip. Seriously.

In the good old days before the majority of people in Southern California became so shallow, one could buy a clunker for a $100 bucks, then donate it to a church or a needy family when you were ready to head back home.