7 Days in Los Angeles of a first-timer — The Itinerary
Los Angeles is indisputably on most people’s list of travel destinations, especially those who want to become a star. Regardless of reasons, coming to L.A. would definitely be a fun trip worthy of once in a lifetime.
In December 2017, I have been there myself and by myself. After the trip, L.A. has been added to the list of my favorite cities. In this article, I would like to share and summarize the trip, including places, restaurants, coffee shops, etc.
If you are wondering whether you should travel to L.A., I hope by this article guide you to come to this wondrous city. Even though my trip is a solo, but it’s fully adaptable for a party of two or more. And you are at liberty to mix and match as you see fit.
Why did I travel to Los Angeles?
I was just looking for a break, rekindling motivation, and taking initiative to go somewhere new. I came up with some milestones for this trip:
- Appreciating the arts,
- Experiencing great coffee,
- Tasting great food.
Listing out the reasons of the trip helps clarify what is important and maximizes the result of the trip. But there is no right or wrong here. Trips can be unreasonable!
Means of the trip
I will listen to my heart and my body. I would eat when I’m hungry. I would rest when I’m tired. I would like to walk and walk. I would like to watch people. I would like a cozy place to read a book. I would like a good conversation if a chance presents itself. I would go with flow yet having my standpoint.
I chose to take on L.A. with its public transportation. Many people said taking the L.A. public transportation is a nightmare. I did my research on how to get to my places of interest, found a AirBnB place to stay that could easily get to every places I wanted, I still chose the public transportation. A 7-day unlimited pass is the best option for my trip.
Budget is within reason, not overly budget-conscious nor over spending. It’s the balance of experience and worth.
Tools of the trip
Things I would need and actually used when I would be in L.A.:
- iPhone (or other smartphones) with roaming Internet (at least 200 MB per day) — this is extremely crucial.
- Google Map app — my personal tour guide, especially for commute routes and suggested places
- Sunglasses — for coolness as well as for protection
- Selfie stick
- Kindle Paperwhite loaded with books — for effective time management by learning while commuting or waiting in line
- Moleskine journal — when I feel like a poet
- Pen — a poet’s weapon
- Pack of gum
- Wireless earbuds
- Powerbank — recharging the phone while being out and about
- Cardigan — L.A. is quite chilling sometimes
- Bottle of water — to remain hydrated
- Other little things: wallet, cash, watch
I either wear these items or put them in a leather messenger bag to travel light.
Google Map Tip
By saving places you want to visit in a list in Google Map, such as the ‘Want to go’ list or a custom named list. When the list is selected for viewing in the app or in web browser, you get a nice visual of where places are. Then, you will be able to make a call on visit places that are close by one another.
Places I checked out
For each item, I listed the rough amount of time I spent there.
- Chinatown — 1–2 hours
- Olvera Street’s market— 1 hour
- Hollywood Walk of Fame — 2 hours
- Original Farmer Market — 2 hours
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art — 2 hours
- Griffith Observatory — 4 hours
- Santa Monica Beach and Pier — 2–3 hours
- Venice Beach — 1 hour
- California Science Center — 2 hours
- Natural History Museum — 1–2 hours
- Los Angeles Downtown — 2 hours
- The Broad — 2 hours
- Grand Central Market — 1–2 hour
- Little Tokyo — 1–2 hours
- Beverly Hills — 1–2 hours
- Glendale — 1–2 hours
Restaurants and Coffee shops I would recommend
For the photos of all the food and coffee I savored, please check out my other dedicated post!
- Sugarfish (Japanese sushi)
- EMC Seafood & Raw Bar (Lobster)
- Siam Sunset (authentic Thai food)
- Din Tai Fung (soup dumpling overlord)
- Bottega Louie (awesome Avocado Toast)
- Yangji Gamjatang (Korean pork bone soup)
- Philippe the Original (French dip sandwich)
- Daikokuya (Japanese ramen)
- Menotti’s Coffee
- Alchemist Coffee Project
Disclaimers
Everything is in this article is my opinion, i.e. being subjective. I welcome constructive comments, including rephrasing for clarity or even suggestions of places that I should have visited!
All photos are taken by me, and filters maybe applied for aesthetics. Please respect the copyrights.
Itinerary
My trip in L.A. happened a week before the Christmas week: Dec 18–24, 2017. This is a great week because most places now have put up festive decorations.
Day 0.5
Chinatown, Olvera St, Union Station
After leaving my luggage at the accommodation near Hollywood/Wester metro station at 3:00 pm, I took off to Chinatown by getting off at Union station. Union station is quite interesting in its own right. Check out its outdoor waiting areas, especially when Christmas is around the corner (see image below). On the way to Chinatown, Olvera St, located east of the station, hosts a lot of kiosks and restaurants, geared toward Mexican styles. It is beautiful and more fun when the sun sets, so I would recommend coming back after you visit Chinatown. Head north along Broadway St to Chinatown Central Plaza, which can’t be missed by its iconic Chinese-style gateway. The plaza is sandwiched between Broadway St and Hill St. Across its entrance on Hill St is Foo Chow Restaurant, where Rush Hour was filmed.
You could either have main course dinner in Chinatown or opt for delicious Mexican food in Olvera St. For snacks, I went for strawberry-filled churro from Mr. Churros.
Day 1
Hollywood Walk of Fame, Original Farmer Market, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Around 11:00 am, I started Hollywood Walk of Fame from the Hollywood/Vine metro station and went westward. You could look for your favourite stars’ names on the pavement, but I can assure you it’s equally fun admiring buildings, shops, and especially street art and graffiti. The latter could give you artistic photos.
TCL Chinese Theater is quite stunning for both its architecture and hand and foot prints in front of it. Additionally, the plaza at Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave has its two towers aligned such that the Hollywood sign can been seen through the gap.
From Hollywood Walk of Fame, it is easy to get to the Original Farmer Market by the 217 bus, and I arrived there around 1:00 pm. To the east of the Original Farmer Market lies a beautiful plaza with a lot of shops and restaurants. The plaza is quite lively with a lot of visitors. There are tons of food and dessert shops in the Farmer Market. I tried Pampas Grill Churrascaria, which serves Brazilian buffet charged by weight. My favorite included top sirloin and grilled plantain. After the buffet, I also got myself affogato served in a waffle cup from Zia Valentina.
LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) is located within a walking distance south from the Farmer Market. You arrive when you see a small palm garden at the street corner and a huge rock to the far left. Go to the main building on Wilshire St to purchase an admission ticket. The art exhibits are distributed among many buildings. It took me about two hours to walk through with some detailed observations.
Be ready for the golden time, which is around 5:00 pm, of taking pictures or simply admiring the Urban Light when the sun is about to set.
On a side note, La Brae Tar Pits is adjacent to LACMA on the east side. You might like to spend another hour or so to enjoy and learn about the pits, their trapped and fossilized animals, etc. I decided to skip it in my trip, but I could see it’d be fun for curious minds.
For dinner, I chose a Thai restaurant known as Hoy-Ka, whose ambiance is very cozy and well-decorated. They serve several Thai dishes, and I went for ‘yen ta four’, a unique Thai noodle soup with seafood. From LACMA, I took two buses to be dropped off very close to the restaurant.
Day 2
Griffith Observatory, L.A. Panoramic View
Griffith Observatory not only has provided tremendous amount of cosmological knowledge to human kind but also has been and will be a great site of scenic views, family hangouts, or outdoor dates.
Check the hours of the observatory before going and note that it closes on Mondays. The observatory is a part of the Griffith Park, which hosts multitude of nature and trails. This opens up a wide range of options to enjoy the park and the observatory.
The observatory is conveniently accessible by Dash Observatory bus, which has one stop at the Vermont/Sunset metro station. The ride takes 50 cents. You can definitely drive there, but parking would be very challenging.
For those who are interested in the observatory only, like myself, arriving at the observatory around 1:30 pm gives you enough time to purchase a show tick (for a small amount), look and learn from the exhibits and demonstrations, attend the show, picnic in the front yard, adore the Hollywood sign, and get jaw-dropping panoramic view of L.A. before, during, and after the sun set.
Before coming to the observatory, I took it easy by having Korean pork bone soup at family-run Yangji Gamjatang and followed by a nice flat white at Alchemist Coffee Project, both of which are located in the Koreatown neighborhood (Wilshire St and Vermont St).
After absorbing niceties from the observatory, I went to Sanamluang Cafe, a Thai restaurant in Thai town. It serves a nice finale for such an awesome day.
Day 3
Santa Monica Beach and Pier, Venice Beach’s Broadwalk
The beach is an irresistible destination, especially of who coming from a -20℃ weather. Santa Monica is located west of Los Angeles by about one hour by the public transit. To its south along the coastline is Venice Beach including Muscle Beach.
Get here from L.A. by taking the Expo metro line that starts its route from the 7th St/Metro Center station, which connects to the red and purple lines in L.A. downtown. The train will arrive in the downtown area of Santa Monica.
The Downtown Santa Monica itself is interesting and is populated with a lot of shops and restaurants. The main plaza lies along the 3rd St from Colorado Ave to Wilshire Blvd. But browsing other streets and corners is similarly fun and interesting.
Santa Monica Pier is an unmissable establishment extruding into the water. It has a lot of shops, restaurants, and even a theme park. At its end lies a balcony with an unobstructed view of the ocean giving intense tranquility. Also, don’t forget to go down to the beach, take a nice walk, and go under the pier.
It is possible to walk to Venice Beach that might take 40 minutes. Alternatively, you can get a metro bus from Downtown Santa Monica there. Personally, I’d save myself for a long walk along Venice Beach Broadwalk. It’s known for street performances (esp. skating and dancing) and a range of shops for food, gifts, etc. To the south lies facilities for sport activities by the coastline, for example, paddle tennis courts and recreational park that are open to the public. The video clip below shows how it could be like when walking the Broadwalk around 4:30 pm.
For the foodies, I would recommend checking out Philippe the Original for breakfast/brunch before heading to Santa Monica. The diner is located near Union station. Since 1908, the restaurant has been serving juicy French dip sandwiches with which meat lovers would fall in love. Here, I got the double-dipped lamb sandwich accompanied by hot tea.
For dinner, my choice is Sugarfish, a highly-praised sushi restaurant that is located in the Downtown Santa Monica. I got there at 5:00 pm to avoid the crowd. I got the ultimate ‘Trust Me’ course and another two uni (sea urchin) sushis, and I was totally blown away.
For coffee lover, check out Menotti’s Coffee when you are at Venice Beach.
Day 4
California Science Center, Natural History Museum
California is world-renowned for its many universities and colleges with strong science and engineering. In my opinion, California Science Center and National History Museum reflect this high esteem perceived by the rest of the world.
California Science Center is probably one of the most interactive science centers I have ever visited. Kids would have fun playing and touching exhibits or even marine animals while adults could learn and refresh science and engineering foundations. The exhibit about the space shuttle Endeavor is fascinating, especially how astronauts poop in space. Moreover, the space exhibit actually shows the real spacecraft units! After all, most exhibits are free.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, yet not free, has great exhibits on everything about dinosaurs and how Los Angeles has come about. I’ve never learnt so many aspects of dinosaur life in one place like here. Plus, many of the world’s full T-rex skeletons are here!
Both places close at 5:00 pm and each should take about two hours. Hence, I had some time for brunch at Off Vine, a romantically-decorated restaurant that would very magical for dinner as well. If you love soufflé, you shouldn’t miss this place.
End the day with a high note with a nice lobster meal at EMC Seafood and Raw Bar, located in Koreatown. They are popular for a combination of steamed lobster with noodles. The happy hour is between 4:00 to 7:00 pm when fresh and refreshing oysters are $1 each.
Day 5
Downtown L.A., The Broad, Little Tokyo, Beverly Hills
It’s worth walking around the Downtown Los Angeles to absorb its long history. For a metro rider, getting off at the 7th St/Metro Center station gives you a good starting point. I would recommend increase your alertness of your safety and your belongings.
There are so many places in the downtown area, including Staples Center, Grammy Museum, the Broad, Perishing Square, etc. For a walker, every thing is within walking distance. Where you want to go, totally depends on what you want.
For me, I focus on the atmosphere and vibe walking along Broadway, on on admiring the architecture and details of the buildings, and on the people who are out and about. So, I took a serpentine walk on both Broadway St and Hill St.
Check out Grand Central Market hosting a wide range of food and drink shops in one large open-air establishment between Broadway St and Hill St. One of my favorite coffee is from G&B Coffee at the Hill St entrance.
Before wandering through the downtown building jungle, I invite you to try brunch at Bottega Louie, an Italian restaurant and sweet shop. They served one of the best Avocado Toast.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to experience the Broad. Its tickets were sold out, and has a long line-up even for advanced ticket holders. Hence, for those who are interested, make sure to purchase tickets in advance.
Little Tokyo is the adjacent neighborhood to the Downtown L.A. and is within walking distance. It actually starts at the intersection of San Pedro St and 1st St. The Japanese Village Plaza is east of this intersection along the 1st St, and it’s featured by an iconic Japanese-style tower. On the way to the plaza is located a famous ramen restaurant Daikokuya. If you are interested, put your name in the waiting list that could take at least 30 minutes for your turn. In the meantime, you could then check out Japanese Village Plaza.
After this, I went to check out Beverly Hills, which is 45 minutes away by public transit. The bus stop is right at start of the famous Rodeo Drive and Walk of Style. The liveliness here is exuberant during the holidays. Neighboring blocks house a fleet of restaurants and bars.
For sweet teeth, check out Amorino for its arsenal of fine gelato served in its signature, I called it the flower of treat.
Day 6
Glendale, Din Tai Fung
I have become aware of Glendale from the famous show Big Bang Theory. Glendale Galleria constitutes a huge shopping mall complex that surrounds the public art Spirit of American Youth (see the above image). The plaza around the fountain has been transformed to a magical place during the Christmas holidays. Families line up for their little ones to sit on Santa Clause’s lap. You could simply spend hours away shopping to your heart content.
A must-try restaurant in Glendale is definitely Din Tai Fung, world-famous for its soup dumplings. It opens at 11:00 am, so I arrived at 11:15 am. But by then, the restaurant is very packed. The turn-around is quick, but by 12:30 pm that I left, the waiting crowd has tripled! Across the street is Philz Coffee, an California coffee shop chain that is worth trying. Beware their coffee is strong.
I intentionally had today easy by enjoying coffee and reading a book since 2:00 pm. At 4:00 pm, I came back to L.A. for Thai food at Siam Sunset, an undoubtedly local gem of authentic Thai food. They cater soul-food-type of dishes including common Thai breakfast.
How I now view L.A.
Based on what I have seen and experienced for 6 full days, Los Angeles is undeniably a cool city to live. Urban dwellers can enjoy a laid back lifestyle in the many connected cities, from the west coast Santa Monica to the in-land Glendale. The outdoorsy enthusiasts could enjoy the nature of Griffith Park and beyond. Fine culinary experience can be found in every corner.
L.A. citizens are also, to my surprise, friendly. One Mexican chatting with his friend spared a few seconds bless me a Merry Christmas upon seeing me dragging my luggage to the airport. The owner of Siam Sunset drove around to find me since I forgot a bag of snack. A volunteer eagerly helped every tourist arriving at Downtown Santa Monica. All waiters and waitresses of the restaurants I visited were extremely friendly and helpful. Even drivers are surprisingly polite and very considerate of pedestrians.
Would I come back again?
Yes. I’d love to come back for many things. The Broad, for one. The beach for summer. Hiking in Griffith Park. Visit California Institute of Technology. Other food and coffee adventures.
What I could do better next time then?
Come with a better jacket and check the weather more objectively. The cardigan I brought is hard to keep up with the temperature drop in the evening and especially the wind by the beach.
Purchase the Broad’s ticket in advance.
What I got in return
Milestones I set before visiting L.A. had all been accomplished.
I had a break I wanted. I had set foot to a new city. I never before had much fun with the art of taking photos. I had great food and coffee.
I had time, e.g. when riding a metro or bus, to ponder my goals for the coming 2018. I had a chance to be alert in observation and a chance to notice little act of kindness from people.
Most importantly, I had become more grateful of who I am and what I have and the present. I returned from L.A. a man more whole than ever before.
