Planning a trip please give some ideas thanks so much!! (Los Angeles: hotel, homes)

[stevemorse]

Hi, I have a father who I have not seen in a long time. He lives in Palm Springs. I plan to visit him for a few days then take a trip over to La area. I am planning on staying a few nights in Santa Monica the Georgian Hotel. Coulld you offer some great things that the tourist do and enjoy in the LA area. Then I plan on going to Lauguna and Newport Beach and wind up in San Diego. I need ideas of really great things to do. Thanks so much!!!

[Charles]

When is your trip?


Venice Beach
Griffith Observatory
Watch a TV show get filmed
Tour of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Peterson Automotive Museum
Palm Springs Tram
Date Harvest in Indio (if season), related: Riverside County Fair| Date Festival 2009
Santa Anita or Hollywood Park
Mount Wilson Tour Mount Wilson Observatory (http://www.mtwilson.edu/vis/index.php - broken link)
Queen Mary
Disneyland if during an off week otherwise too crowded
The Grove and Farmers Market
Old Pasadena for dinner, walking around, and people watching
Hollywood Walk of Fame (and check out Chick Hearn's star) The ASA Remembers Chick Hearn
Peterson Automotive Museum
Welcome to the World Famous Whisky A Go Go
Melrose Avenue
The Bukowski tour - Los Angeles Times
Venice
Santa Monica Pier (rent or get a bike and ride around Venice and Santa Monica on the bikeway)
See a TV show being filmed at one of the TV studios (NBC in Burbank?)
Griffith Park Observatory
Universal Studios Tour
Palm Springs Aerial Tram (if adventurous, do the 11 mile hike to San Jacinto Peak from the top of the tram) LocalHikes - San Jacinto Peak via Palm Springs Tram
Tours in Los Angeles - Things To Do In Los Angeles (http://www.laokay.com/tours.htm - broken link)
La Brea Tar Pits
Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL)
Take a mountain drive through the San Gabriel or San Bernardino Mountains
Getty Museum
Graveline Tour Official Website of Dearly Departed Tours! (http://www.dearlydepartedtours.com/DDT/index.html - broken link)
Universal Studios tour for me was interesting
Dodger Game, yes it is another baseball game but the views of the foothills and downtown and Vin Scully's voice echoing throughout the stadium are worth it.
Griffith Park Observatory
Getty Museum
Melrose (maybe, haven't been there in 15 years...not sure if it is still the same)
Little Ethiopia like mentioned above is near Farmers market, trying to kill two birds with one stone
Graveline Tour, Official Website of Dearly Departed Tours! (http://www.dearlydepartedtours.com/DDT/index.html - broken link)
Old Pasadena

[stevemorse]

I am going at the end of April thanks so much. This is great , your the best!!!

[pbergen]

stevemorse, check out this link from last month in which i gave a bunch of LA eating/restaurant tips to tommyc_37 of the nj board (he was in LA for a day or two in mid-november). it includes numerous breakfast/brunch and ethnic options in and around the city. one place i didn't mention in the link above is jar, which is a really nice, high-end, more expensive brunch spot if you're looking for that sort of thing.

whatever you do, make sure you don't miss mexican food in LA. and if you can only hit up one mexican eatery, i'd recommend tacos baja ensenada in east LA for awesome fish tacos (it's mentioned in the link above). also be sure to visit in-n-out burger (not available outside of the western u.s.; get the fries "well done") along with the donut spots mentioned in that link, armenian, thai, korean barbecue, sushi, and vietnamese (there are a bunch of great spots in garden grove/westminster in orange county). if you're going to visit pasadena, you might want to swing by alhambra/monterey park/san gabriel for dim sum or other chinese food, which is far better than in the nyc area (actually, that's the case for pretty much every asian ethnic cuisine).

i think charles covered many great spots in his to-do list, but i'll add a few thoughts to what he wrote along with some other suggestions:

-drive up the pacific coast highway from santa monica to malibu for some amazing views. you also might want to consider going off of the PCH for some stunning views of the ocean and to check out the palatial mansions atop the hills. and if you need restaurant suggestions for food and/or drinks with great views while in malibu, check out these links for ideas.

-good idea checking out the orange county beaches, which IMO are the best in the LA area. but malibu has some great ones, too, if you feel like turning off the road while driving up the PCH.

-if you have time to spare, drive all the way up the PCH past malibu, oxnard, and ventura up to santa barbara, which is a gem of a city that's much more relaxed than LA. great wine vineyards outside of SB in santa barbara county, too (think of the movie "sideways").

-drive along mulholland drive from the hollywood hills to the west side for amazing views of the LA basin and/or the san fernando valley. it's a fun road to navigate, especially on a sunny, beautiful day. and at night, you can park your car at one of the road's turnout spots and take in the great views of the city lit up below you.

-i second the recommendation of the getty center and feel it's a must-visit spot. unlike the more "traditional" museums in older cities like the metropolitan museum of art in nyc or the art institute of chicago, this is a museum that combines a fine art collection with a beautiful outdoor plaza and gardens along with stunning city views from a hilltop location in the santa monica mountains. so instead of being cooped up in a stuffy old building all afternoon like many other museums, the getty allows you to enjoy art, architecture, and the natural scenery and great weather of southern california all at once. even though it's touristy, it's also quintessentially LA.

-the huntington library for more art and beautiful botanical gardens in an estate-like setting in san marino (right next to pasadena)

-rodeo drive in beverly hills and robertson boulevard in beverly hills/west hollywood if you want to do high-end shopping. rodeo drive tends to have branches of upscale international stores (e.g. gucci, louis vuitton, ferragamo, etc) while robertson boulevard has more unique, non-chain designer boutiques.

-i also second the idea of catching a baseball game at dodger stadium. even if you're not a huge baseball/sports fan, there's something really special about the place - the palm trees, the mountain views beyond the outfield, the classic mid-century architecture that's been beautifully maintained all these years, the laid-back but knowledgeable fans, dodger dogs, etc. it's quite different from catching a game at the baseball stadiums in nyc (which i assume you've visited at least once as a lifelong area resident), as the yanks and mets have much more intense crowds, high summer humidity, frequently overcast skies/threat of rain, ugly architecture (at least before 2009), and an ugly, industrial neighborhood without scenic vistas surrounding their facilities. like the getty center, dodger stadium is quintessentially southern californian.

-if the dodgers are out of town but the angels are playing at home, go watch a game at angel stadium of anaheim instead. it's a very nice facility in its own right, and not too far from newport beach and laguna beach.
-check out the campus of ucla or usc. you don't need a tour, you can just walk around and chill out.

-if you're into celebrity culture, you can pay $30 or so for a two hour bus tour of the stars' homes in beverly hills, bel air, holmby hills, and the hollywood hills. there are a bunch of tour buses that depart from hollywood blvd in front of grauman's chinese theatre. or you could buy a map of the stars' homes if you'd rather just do it yourself. that stretch of hollywood boulevard is good for doing ultra-touristy stuff like the hollywood walk of fame, hollywood and highland center, etc.

-3rd street promenade in santa monica and the grove in the fairfax district, which are essentially outdoor malls with chain stores and eateries. while they don't offer the unique businesses that you'll find in other parts of the city, they're still pleasant places to walk around and browse. sure beats the indoor malls of the east coast. plus, the farmer's market next to the grove is terrific and has some good non-chain eats such as bob's donuts.

-as charles suggested, do a tour at one of the many studios or watch a show taping (i'd suggest "the tonight show").

-check out ethnic neighborhoods such as the persian strip along westwood blvd, little ethiopia, chinatown, koreatown, little tokyo, little armenia, or thai town. of these, chinatown is the least appealing because it has much worse food and attractions than the sprawling suburban chinatown in the san gabriel valley (monterey park, alhambra, san gabriel, etc).

-check out a classic bar/lounge like the dresden room in los feliz (near east hollywood), which has live music and a cool, old-school atmosphere.

lots of other things that i'm forgetting right now. i'm sure the others on this board will chime in with other recommendations.

[stevemorse]

this is great again pbergen thanks alot.