|
Sightseeing & Tourist
Activites
Where to Go, What to Do All Over L.A.
The Jurassic Park
ride at Universal Studios gets riders "wetter than ever."
Los Angeles is the land of the plenty
when it comes to things to do. About the only activity you won't find
here is the NFL.
There are Hollywood landmarks and celebrity sightings (even celebrity
look-alikes hanging all around Hollywood Blvd.), amusement parks, professional
and sports franchises, world-famous beaches and the characters that
inhabit those world-famous beaches.
Naturally, Hollywood
take center stage in Los Angeles' activities items, in particular its
famous Walk of Fame along Hollywood Blvd. The city is thriving these
days and is undergoing somewhat of an upscale facelift. The Hollywood
& Highland project includes shopping, dining and movies (as well
as the Kodak Theater, host of the annual Academy Awards), a sparkling
project is in the works at the famous by previously run-down Hollywood
& Vine intersection and celebrities and others are going to nightclubs
all over the area.
Los Angeles is also home to the theme/amusement park. After all, Disney
started the concept here back in the late 50s. Is Disneyland
(714-781-4565) indeed the "happiest place on earth?" You be
the judge. It's located in Anaheim in Orange County (tourists note,
this is quite the trek from Hollywood).
In addition to the park is Disney's California Adventure, which
has rides and attractions based on a California theme,. There's also
Downtown Disneyland, which sports an ESPN SportsZone, live bands
at a House of Blues, restaurants, a theater and lots of families (just
in case any singles are wondering whether or not head there for a night).
Knott's Berry Farm (714-220-5200) is kind of a low-maintenance
Disneyland. A lot of ultimate thrillseekers make the journey to Valencia
for a day of defying gravity at Six Flags Magic Mountain (818-367-5965).
 Closer
to Hollywood – right in its back yard, in fact – is Universal
Studios
(818-508-9600).
This creative amusement park – which in 2007 became the
fist theme park to win the Enviornmental Media Association's Gren Seal
Award for envrionmental awareness – is built around an actual
movie studio with theme rides made to match its movies. Its latest thrill
is a water ride to a Jurassic Park theme with an 84-foot plunge that
soaks all riders to the core. This is not such as a bad thing on a hot
summer day in the Valley.
The massive complex also includes the CityWalk entertainment, shopping
and dining area (no park admission required for CityWalk).
It costs about $40 to experience these theme and amusement park adventures.
Some of the most entertaining entertainment found in Los Angeles are
at the comedy clubs. Tthe Groundling Theater (7307 Melrose Ave.,
323-934-9700) is an improvisational company performing an audience participation
comedy show in an intimate venue. The Improv is in the same neighborhood
and The Comedy Store on Sunset is where Pauly Shore's mom found
all those great stand-up comedians.
The arts here hardly get the attention of Paris
or New York, but The Getty Center (1200 Getty Center
Drive in Brentwood; call 310-440-7300 for information and to make a
parking reservation) is world-class. Maybe not necessarily for the artworks,
but for the facility. So, too, is the Museum of Contemporary Art,
or MOCA (downtown at 250 S. Grand Ave.,213-626-6222) and the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art (5905 Wilshire, 323-857-6000).
For profiles of current movies, concerts, art exhibits and other events,
check the Thursday Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times.
The Beaches
All over Manhattan
(top), and Santa Monica and Venice Beach.
What's more "L.A." than the
famous Southern California beaches?
The fun, the sun, the tanned bodies, the rollerbladers along the sand
(known locally as "the Strand; it is NOT a boardwalk), Muscle Beach
and surfers in the water.
The most famous of all these is Santa Monica, closely followed
by the zoo that is Venice. Santa Monica has the famous Pier with its
many attractions over the water, including free concerts on Thursday
nights during the summer. Artists have included Dick Dale, the self-proclaimed
"King of the Surf Guitar."
Venice, of course, is where all the crazies come out to play.
It has the freaks scooting by on rollerblades and even a windsurfer,
bizarre "artists" performing acts on the sidewalk, the beachside
weightroom (a.k.a. Muscle Beach), basketball and paddleboard
courts (paddleball?), all surrounded by inexpensive shops selling everything
from purses to paintings, t-shirts to tennis shoes.Venice is an entertaining
walk from Santa Monica.
The Beach Boys sang "all over Manhattan" when referring to
SoCal surf spots and Manhattan Beach is one of LA's top spots
for catching waves (the break at "El Porto" in north Manhattan
is particularly popular). This beautiful locals' spot is also the birthplace
of beach volleyball and it thrives here, as the annual AVP
Manhattan Open tournament proves each August. Manhattan's
neighbor to the south, Hermosa Beach, is the "playa del
rey" (that is to say, the "king of the beach") of the
party scene. In turn, Hermosa's neighbor to the south is Redondo
Beach, which is mostly comprised of families, though it does have
a pier and is showing signs of coming to life for nightlife.
Just over the hill – that's Palos Verdes – is Long Beach.
The downtown area offers waterside restaurants, shopping and bars; go
two miles south and encounter the boutique Belmont Shore, which is where
the young singles play. All summer, a series of events for families
and singles takes place under the (beach) umbrella known as the
Long Beach Sea Festival. It's also home to the annual Long
Beach Grand Prix car race each April.
Still further south is Surf City USA, otherwise known as Huntington
Beach. And from there it's the high-end Newport Beach with
its yachts, Rolls Royce dealerships restaurants and bars. The nightlife
in Newport – particularly on Balboa Peninsula – thrives.
Here's a list of all Southern California beaches with very specific
information on each town, including activities, restaurants and nightlife:
•
Hermoso
& Redondo Beach
•
Manhattan
Beach
•
Long
Beach
•
Santa
Monica
•
Venice
Beach (includes Marina del Rey)
ORANGE COUNTY BEACHES
•
Huntington
Beach
•
Newport
Beach Beach
Sports in L.A.
Surf's up in LA.;
here at the locals-heavy PV break.
Surfing is one of Southern California's
most identifiable activities; among the best spots are El Porto in North
Manhattan Beach and "The Wedge" in Newport Beach.
Beach volleyball, as noted earlier in this article, was born
on the sands of Manhattan. It's a highly popular activity for recreational
players, both male and female. Public courts are all over the beaches
and it's particularly popular in Manhattan and Hermosa.
Pro sports are plentiful in L.A. In fact, if it's a sport, Los Angeles
has a team for it. Sometimes, two teams.
Baseball brings the Dodgers and Angels. Baseball has
the Lakers and Clippers. And there's hockey. Well, people
here don't know much about hockey and the LA Kings certainly
haven't helped the situation lately although over in Orange County the
Anaheim Ducks are the reigning NHL Stanley Cup Champions.
The LA Galaxy soccer teram just added world star David Beckham
to its roster, and there's also the LA Sparks of the WNBA.
At the collegiate level, USC is one of the top programs in college
football and over in Westwood, UCLA is getting back to basketball
dominance. Other schools include Pepperdine (right on the coast
in Malibu; check out a water polo match or a baseball game which sometimes
had Pamela Anderson in the stands), UC-Irvine, Cal-State Fullerton
and Long Beach State, all of which field NCAA championship
caliber baseball teams.
There is horse racing at not one, or even two, but three tracks (Hollywood
Park, Los Alamitos and Santa Anita). Special sporting weekend
events include the aforementioned Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach,
the Nissan LA Open golf tournament (often featuring local icon
Tiger Woods), professional men's and women's tennis tournaments
and the Pac-10 basketball tournament.
In short there's pretty much everything. Except, as we noted earlier,
the National Football League.
•
Click
Here for a list of all L.A.'s Tourist Attractions,
Concert Venues & Sports Stadiums
 Next
stop on the Party Bus: Dining in L.A.
|