If you only have One Day in Los Angeles to see the big ticket items, you need a solid plan, a bit of patience and be prepared for a long day. Our second day in the city was a massive eye opener and the start of a huge adventure. We are only here for twenty four hours of sightseeing because tomorrow we hit Universal Studios, then Disneyland the day after, before flying out for a White Christmas in Canada. We will be back in the States after our Canadian leg, but for now, we had to try and squeeze the L.A. icons into one day.
We spent the day navigating the famous streets in our hired SUV, and let me tell you, it is a world away from driving back home in Australia. Here is the lowdown on how to tackle these iconic spots without losing your head. So here you are, one day in Los Angeles!
Hollywood Stars and the Chinese Theatre
Our one day in Los Angeles started the morning by parking at Sycamore Avenue and walking down towards the Hollywood Stars. To be honest, it was a bit of a letdown. The area felt more like a roadside footpath market than what should be an amazing glamorous landmark. There were heaps of stalls set up that actually covered the stars, including a massive Trump stall that was hard to miss. It was disappointing to see such an iconic spot looking so cluttered and messy. On thing, even if you’re only spending one day in Los Angeles, at the moment, you are guaranteed you see or hear something about Donald Trump, either on the news or in person.
Despite the crowds and the stalls, we did manage to track down some of our personal favourite stars. I saw Vin Diesel (fitting, since we ended our day at the Toretto house), the legendary Chuck Norris, Chevy Chase, Russell Crowe and Danny DeVito to name a few. I also spotted Barry White and Snoop Dogg. It was a shame there wasn’t a Fight of the Conchords Hollywood Star yet, but you can live in hope. Seeing the names of these legends on the ground was a highlight, but you really have to hunt for them amongst the sea of people, vendors and the hundreds of stars lining the footpath.
The TCL Chinese Theatre has a massive history, originally opened by Sid Grauman back in 1927. Interestingly, the famous Hollywood stars on the Walk of Fame were not actually added to the area until the 1960s. I expected the whole place to be much flasher than it was, especially since it has hosted the Academy Awards and massive movie premieres like Star Wars in 1977.
Instead of movie magic, it felt much smaller in person and was absolutely packed. There was a truckload of people checking it out, along with plenty of people dressed as movie stars like Spiderman trying to earn a bit of money. We even spotted the famous guy in the blue suit, Law by Mike, filming a video while we were there. I actually saw the finished video published a few months later! While the history is cool, one of the highlights was actually seeing a robot snack machine doing its thing nearby. After about an hour of dodging the crowds, we hopped back in the hired Lincoln Navigator for the 20 minute crawl over to Beverly Hills.
Exploring the Golden Triangle in Beverly Hills
The “Golden Triangle” is the prestigious commercial heart of Beverly Hills, bordered by Santa Monica Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard, and Canon Drive. It has been the centre of luxury since the early twentieth century when the city was first developed and is a you must visit here place on the One Day in Los Angeles day out. This area completely oozes opulence. It is not just tourists here; the streets are filled with smartly dressed, important looking people who look like they are closing million dollar deals over coffee (or have partners that are).
The retail therapy here is on a completely different level to what you might experience elsewhere. We spotted so many high end shops like Jimmy Choo, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Cartier, and Dior. They are all there in the same area right next to each other, ready for you to load up your credit card if you have the budget. It is a bit different from the “same same” markets you get in places like Vietnam or Thailand; everything here is the real deal and priced accordingly. I’m guessing if you like high end shopping and are planning your own trip to Los Angeles, the One Day in Los Angeles will have to be Two or Three Days in Los Angeles so you can visit every store!
If you are looking for a cheap lunch, you have come to the wrong place. The prices for food around here are pretty up there; definitely not the spot where you would grab a Banh Mi and a Coke Zero for Aus fifteen bucks (or 50k VND in Vietnam). We spent our time here walking around spotting Cybertrucks, we saw at least five in a short amount of time, but the rest of the car culture was just as mental. There were Ferraris and Lamborghinis everywhere you looked, and Beverly Hills Police Dept vehicles too.
Even as we were walking back to the car park, a Ferrari convertible was double parked in the street waiting for a pick up. Once the passenger hopped in, it roared down the street away from us. If you are looking for a park, I suggest you Google Maps the Beverly Hills Sign. There is usually parking around that area that puts you within a short walk of the action. It was a massive relief to find our hired Lincoln Navigator SUV exactly where we left it and not towed.
Santa Monica Pier and Trader Joes
Next on the One Day in Los Angeles list was the Santa Monica Pier. The drive from Beverly Hills to Downtown Santa Monica takes about 30 to 45 minutes depending on how the L.A. traffic is behaving. My biggest piece of advice for this leg is to give yourself plenty of time because you will have to find a car park quite a distance from the pier. Unless you are there at sunrise, do not even bother looking for a spot right at the entrance. It’s still good to do a drive by though before hunting for a park, you get a good vibe of the area as well.
Before hitting the pier, we made a quick stop at Trader Joes. If you have not been, it is the perfect quick stop supermarket that has everything you need as a traveller. We grabbed some protein bars, water, and a few other protein snacks to keep us going. From there, it was a ten minute walk down to the Santa Monica Pier.
A Brief History of the Pier
The Santa Monica Pier has a cracking history. It actually started as two separate piers built over a century ago. The municipal pier opened in 1909, and the pleasure pier followed in 1916. It is one of the last great pleasure piers in the world, having survived massive storms and even threats of being torn down in the 1970s. Today, it is famous for Pacific Park, the solar powered Ferris Wheel, and for being a movie star in its own right, appearing in hundreds of films.
One thing that made our visit particularly intense was the L.A. fires. We were there while the fires were raging nearby when we cam back to L.A., and it was a massive reality check. Seeing the smoke on the horizon and knowing how close the flames came to destroying this wooden landmark was pretty surreal. The pier is almost entirely made of wood, so the thought of it catching fire is terrifying. It really makes you appreciate being able to walk along the planks when you know how lucky the city was to save it multiple times over its history..
Top Ten Santa Monica Pier Highlights
- Route 66 Sign: You have to get a photo at the “End of the Trail” sign. This is the unofficial end of the Mother Road and a total classic for any road trip enthusiast.
- Mr Nice Fry: A great little spot for a snack, and the name is a top notch play on the song Mr Brightside by The Killers. The fries are actually decent too!
- The Pacific Wheel: The world’s first and only solar powered Ferris Wheel. It lifts you 130 feet above the ocean for some insane views.
- The West Coaster: A steel roller coaster that zips you around the pier at 35 miles per hour. It is the only one of its kind on the West Coast.
- The Buskers: There are heaps of performers along the wooden planks, from musicians to magicians. It makes for some great people watching.
- Looff Hippodrome and Carousel: This is a National Historic Landmark. The carousel inside has been there since 1939 and is beautifully restored.
- Bubba Gump Shrimp Co: Even though we do not eat seafood, we are big Forrest Gump fans, so it was cool to see the franchise close up. Like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There’s shrimp kababs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That, that’s about it.
- The Playland Arcade: A massive hit if you like retro games. They have over 200 games including old school skee ball and pinball.
- Heal the Bay Aquarium: Tucked right under the pier, this is a great little spot to see local marine life up close and learn about ocean conservation.
- The Views: You get a cracking view of the beach on both sides of the pier, especially looking back at the mountains and the coastline towards Malibu.
Exploring Griffith Observatory during One Day in Los Angeles
From Santa Monica, we braced ourselves for the one hour drive to the Griffith Observatory. A perfect second to last landmark stop on our One Day in Los Angeles. The traffic getting up the hill at night was mental, with drivers cutting in everywhere. Because the top car park fills up instantly and everyone still queues up the hill, we ended up snagging a sneaky park down the bottom and walking up.
The climb from the bottom car park is about a fifteen to twenty minute walk, and it is fairly steep. If you have dodgy knees, or as I as I have, a torn meniscus in one knee, you have to be extra careful. The walk up is a bit of a heart starter, but the descent is actually where you have to watch out as it puts a lot of pressure on your joints.
Why the Griffith Observatory Exists
The Griffith Observatory has been a staple of L.A. history since it opened in 1935. It was a gift to the city from Griffith J. Griffith, who wanted to make astronomy and science accessible to the public for free. At night, the building is beautifully well lit, but you will notice one thing is missing: the Hollywood sign.
Even though the sign is just across the canyon, they do not light it up at night. The sign is owned by the City of Los Angeles and maintained by the Hollywood Sign Trust. The reason it stays dark is mainly to satisfy the local residents who live in the hills and to prevent light pollution in the residential area. So if you get a shot of the sign illuminated, you’re lucky. Or the alternative is just making sure you visit the Observatory during the day and you’ll get the shot.
Inside the Observatory, you will find the Foucault Pendulum, the Tesla Coil, and heaps of space displays. I would reckon you need at least ninety minutes to two hours to really see everything properly. While the city views at night are spectacular for photos, you really get a different feel if you visit in the sun. You could say the experience difference between a day and night visit is literally day and night. After soaking in the views, we headed off to do a bucket list visit to finish our One Day in Los Angeles visits.
Make sure to check out the Sir Mix A Lot globes that are on offer here too, I called them that because as you’ll see, Australia got a big ol’ butt, another point of controversy is the fact that there is no Stewart Island on the New Zealand part of the globe either which is not uncommon.
A Fast and Furious Finish at Albertsons
To round off the one day in Los Angeles, we did a quick drive by of the Toretto House from the Fast and Furious films. As massive fans of the franchise, it was a must do. We arrived in the early to late evening, so it was pretty dark for our photos, but it was still awesome seeing the place in the flesh.
One thing we learned after we got home was that Toretto’s Market and Cafe is actually just around the corner or a street over from the house. It did’t show up anywhere on our maps at the time, and we only found out about it through another blog later on. So, if you are a fan of the Fast and Furious franchise, make sure you hunt for both (and take in the new Fast and Furious ride at Universal Studios too).
Our final stop on the way back to the hotel was a quick visit to Albertsons Supermarket Montebello. We just picked up some late dinner here because we always have breakfast at our hotel in the morning. When you are travelling with a big family, it is much easier to book a hotel with breakfast included whenever you can. It saves the hassle of hunting for food first thing in the morning when everyone is hungry. It also saves you money in the long run so you can use it on experiances. With our gear ready to go in the hotel room for an early start, we called it a night. Next stop: Universal Studios!
I hope you enjoyed seeing what we got up to on One Day in Los Angeles, what is the one L.A. landmark that lived up to the hype for you, or were you disappointed a little with Hollywood?
