Cross Streets, while in Los Angeles Where to GO??? (Vista: renting, hotel)

[traveler36]

I'm finally taking my trip to L.A. later today and need some help. Im renting a car and I'm taking my GPS w/ me.

Can anyone name some safe, parking accessible cross streets so that I have a set location to go while I explore different parts of the city?

I want to check out the following places:

Hollywood - Hollywood sign, Hollywood Walk of Fame and any other interesting Hollywood locations.

Beverly Hills - Is there anything to see in the area?

Downtown L.A. - I want to take some photos of Architecture, shopping, anything else worthwhile.

The Beaches - Any Beaches in the L.A. area are OK. My target beaches are Venice Beach, Hermosa Beach, Santa Monica Beach -Santa Monica Pier

Sunset Blvd - I noticed it's a long street whats the best part of it?

Little Tokyo - I want to check out the food.

Please name the cross streets to centralize where I should be going and what it is to do around those cross streets.
Any other suggestions that I don't have on the list would also be helpful along with their locations.

[JohnG72]

You are aware that your north most place is Downtown and it is like 20 miles from Hermosa Beach? Its about a 40 minute drive using the freeways. Surface streets would be just plain silly.

One day visit downtown/Little Tokoyo, they are right next to each other.

One day visit Hollywood/Bevely Hills/Sunset Strip(Fairfax down to past La Cienega).

One day visit the coast. Maybe drive from Malibu down to Hermosa and stop at a nice lunch place in between.

[timelesschild]

Cross streets for Little Tokyo might be 2nd and Main, or thereabouts. There is street parking, as well as parking-lot parking, and it is reasonably safe. Check yelp or chowhound for the good eateries in that vicinity - there are many!

To see the Hollywood sign and to get good panoramic views of the city, go to Griffith Park Observatory. To get there, go to this cross street: Vermont and Los Feliz. From there, take Vermont right into the park and follow the signs for the observatory. Parking is free, but you might have to park on the winding road that heads up to the observatory and walk a bit... but you might get lucky and land a spot in the parking lot. The building itself is lovely, and the views are wonderful. On a clear day you can see a LOT. Even on a hazy day, you can always see the Hollywood sign.

[LASam]

Originally Posted by traveler36

I want to check out the following places:
Hollywood - Hollywood sign, Hollywood Walk of Fame and any other interesting Hollywood locations.

I always find these "tell me what to see while in LA" posts intimidating because there is so much to see... and I'm too lazy to post about all of it. I'll contribute to this post by saying that to explore Hollywood, I'd recommend parking in the public garage at De Longpre Ave and Ivar Ave. If you look at a map, the lot is just southeast of Sunset and Vine. I'd walk up Vine to Hollywood Blvd, then walk west on Hollywood to Highland. This will take you throught the meat of Hollywood and through the walk of fame. There is a large complex at Hollywood and Highland where you can see the Hollywood sign from, as well as tour the Kodak Theatre (home of the oscars). There is also the typical tourist stuff like a wax museum, Ripley's, etc... in the area. From here you have two options... you can either head back down Hollywood Blvd. to Cahuenga, then head south on Cahuenga to Sunset, check out Amoeba records and head back to your car. Or, from Hollywood and Highland you can head up north to Franklin to see some of the residential, head down Franklin to Cahuenga, and head down Cahuenga to Sunset. Let me know if I confused you at all!

[traveler36]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Keep them coming.

[LASam]

Originally Posted by traveler36

Beverly Hills - Is there anything to see in the area?

Greystone Park is really cool:

Greystone Home Page

To get there, take Sunset to Hillcrest going north. Then take a left on Doheny, and a right on Loma Vista. The drive here as well as the park itself and the views really give you a nice (FREE) Beverly Hills experience. Afterwards, I would drive Hillcrest south to the downtown area of Bevelry Hills and park in any number of public garages/lots. Here I would just walk around the area in general and check out Rodeo Drive.

I really recommend picking up a DK Eyewitness Top Ten tourbook of LA. These guides are fantastic and will definately help you to get the most out of your time here.

[gypsystar]

You are going to have a hard time finding parking at any of the beaches this weekend, so keep that in mind. Most weekends are awful, but Memorial Weekend is going to be even worse. My husband and I are avoiding the beaches like the plague this weekend (sad that we have to do that due to overcrowding).

Griffith Park is a wonderful idea (we were just there yesterday and had a great time), but try to get there very early so you can find a parking spot. When we tried to go on Easter weekend, we couldn't even find a spot on the winding road because it was so packed. We ended up walking around Los Feliz, which was fun, too.

Have a safe trip!

[UB50]

Keep in mind: In downtown LA and some other parts of the city, you can find hotel/highrise parking that is $1.15 per 10 minutes (or less) while just a few blocks away the parking is $4 for all day.

[alexanderaf]

Parking in Hermosa Beach right next to the Hermosa Pier.

13th Street and Hermosa Avenue - I think it is $6-$7. There's also a Starbucks there!