Insight Guides Experience Los Angeles (Travel Guide eBook)

Insight Guides

• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781786718402
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

Explore iconic cities afresh.Been there, done that? Want a more authenticexperience? Then this stylish Insight guides Experience LosAngeles is for you.Fromseeing un-missable top attractions like Venice Beach from a new perspective, todiscovering hidden gems like the Santa Monica Mountains, this innovative book -with free app and eBook - is ideal for travellers seeking a unique experienceof Los Angeles. Whether you're a first-timer hoping for off-the-beaten track adventures, or a repeat visitor in search of authentic Los Angeles, this guide will helpyou plan and experience an unforgettable trip.· Over 100insider ideas to make your trip unique, authentic and utterly unforgettable, from an evening at Sushi Roku to watching sunset from Griffith Observatory · In the Moodsection suggests the best places to go for inspired art, shopping, fine dining and family fun experiences, and more besides - ideal whenyou feel like following your impulses· Compact andconcise, this is a stylish and practical companion when you're out and aboutmaking memorable moments, neatly organised into neighbourhoods, from SantaMonica and Malibu to Beverly Hills· Stunning colour photography brings this sensationalcity and its people to life with panache· Invaluable maps and Essentials section ensure you won't get lost while venturing off well-travelledroads· Includes innovativeextras that are unique in the market - all ExperienceGuides come with a free eBook and app that's regularly updated with new hotel, bar, restaurant, shop and local event listingsAbout Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer offull-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishinghigh-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. Weproduce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrasebooks, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs.Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus onhistory and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool toinspire your next adventure.

Hollywood

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Slowly cruise the length of Sunset Boulevard and take in the sights, sounds, and smells

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So much of your Los Angeles visit will involve driving, but that’s very much part of the attraction in this city of cars. Getting stuck in traffic on the freeway occasionally is a given, but at least you have your space, AC, and your own music on – and you are experiencing a classic part of the LA experience.

Aside from the iconic Pacific Coast Highway, one of the most enjoyable drives in Los Angeles is simply cruising the length of Sunset Boulevard. To cover the whole of it will take a couple of hours. Driving from east to west is best, especially if you time it for late afternoon as the sun starts to set and you can envision yourself in your own movie.

The road starts in Silver Lake (for more information, click here) at Hillhurst Avenue and continues about 22 miles (35km) through Little Armenia, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, and finally ends when it meets the PCH. In other words, you are passing through some of Los Angeles’ nicest, most attractive areas. You’ll pick up a bit of speed towards the end, but for the most part, through a combination of speed limits, traffic, and lights, you’ll just be cruising, allowing plenty of time to enjoy the ride.

The best part without a doubt, though, starts as you go under the 101 freeway. This is the heart of Hollywood, the Sunset Strip, decked out with bright neon lights and flashy signs. This is where gangsters and Old Hollywood came to play and much of LA’s 1960’s rock scene emerged and today, the whole area is still well-known for its music and nightlife. This is perhaps best represented by Whisky a Go Go (www.whiskyagogo.com), the legendary music club that once welcomed the likes of The Doors, Janis Joplin, and Led Zeppelin. Any self-respecting rock fan will be paying a visit to this iconic venue, which is still the setting for frequent gigs.

You’ll also drive past The Laugh Factory (for more information, click here) where many big names do stand-up shows, and the The Viper Room (for more information, click here), most famous for being the bar that Johnny Depp used to own and River Phoenix died in front of. And you’ll also pass the Chateau Marmont (for more information, click here) on the right, although this one is a little hard to spot as it’s tucked away, on a hill just off Sunset Boulevard.

Movie spots

The Vista Theater (4473 Sunset Drive) was used as the cinema in True Romance (1993) and Sunset was cruised by both John Tavolta and Gene Hackman in Get Shorty (1995), where they spot fictional movie star Martin Weir eating breakfast at Café Med (8615 West Sunset Boulevard). The comic book store seen in True Romance is the Meltdown Comics & Collectibles at 7522 Sunset Boulevard; tel: [phone]; http://meltcomics.com.

If you want to make a stop – one that’s possibly more fun for the non-designated driver – visit Pearl’s Liquor Bar (8909 Sunset Boulevard; tel: [phone]; www.pearlssunset.com; [map] A3), which has some of the best views of the Strip from its roof terrace, plus a great cocktail list.

Visit a piece of pop-culture history at the Capitol Records Tower

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The Capitol Records Building is one of the few instantly recognisable buildings of the Los Angeles skyline, a 13-story tower that resembles a stack of records and was completed in 1956. Located just north of the Hollywood and Vine intersection, it has been designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

This is the site of the historic Capitol Studios, where legendary artists such as Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Nat King Cole, Sir Paul McCartney, and many more recorded some of the most beloved music in history. The studios have some unique features, such as echo chambers, designed by guitarist and recording innovator, Les Paul. These echo chambers are subterranean concrete bunkers, located 30ft (9 meters) underground, which can provide a distinct reverb that lasts up to five seconds – the effect is perhaps most famously heard on the Beach Boys’ classic, Good Vibrations.

The building’s 90-ft (27-meter) rooftop spire, which resembles the needle on a phonograph, is topped by a red light that continuously blinks the word ‘Hollywood’ in Morse code. The spire is made into a Christmas tree during the holidays to officially let the residents of Los Angeles know that the festive season has begun. Each year this is usually switched on by a music star or industry celebrity. The building is still very much in use as a corporate HQ, so tours around the inside seldom happen, but it’s certainly worth a walk around.

Capitol Records Building; 1750 Vine Street; [map] E4

Absorb yourself in the exhibits at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) attracts nearly a million visitors every year and holds more than 150,000 works, spanning the history of art from ancient times to the present. Located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, it’s the largest art museum in the western United States. Inside are countless art exhibits, plus regular feature film and concert series. The latter frequently change, so it’s always worth checking the website to see what’s on. Among the museum’s permanent collection strengths are its holdings of Asian art, Latin American art – ranging from pre-Columbian masterpieces to works by leading modern and contemporary artists – and Islamic art, of which LACMA hosts one of the most significant collections in the world.

Quite possibly one of the best Instagramable spots in LA is the Urban Light permanent exhibition, located outside at LACMA’s Wilshire Boulevard entrance. Sculpted by Chris Burden, it first opened in 2008 and consists of 202 restored cast iron street lamps from the 1920s and 1930s. Most of them once lit the streets of Southern California.

Another, very similar, permanent installation outside of LACMA is Levitated Mass – a large-scale sculpture by Michael Heizer consisting of a 340-ton (30,8443-kg) boulder affixed above a concrete trench, through which visitors may walk. The nature, expense, and scale of the installation made it an instant topic of discussion within the art world. Like Urban Light, the piece is open to the public during museum hours and does not require museum admission.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art; 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, tel: [phone]; www.lacma....

Table of contents

• How To Use This E-Book
• Los Angeles Overview
• In the Mood for…
• Neighborhoods
• Santa Monica and Malibu
• Venice
• Downtown and around
• Hollywood
• North Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley
• Beverly Hills
• Los Feliz and Silver Lake
• Long Beach and Orange County
• Essentials