Los Angeles Travel Forum

hi all,
me and my friend will be visiting la in october 2011 (staying in banana bungalow)
we are both 19,
so i understand that we cant go to clubs and bars, but what other things do
you suggest to do?

We will be there for 3 days and then we are taking part in a contiki tour that departs from la.
so with only 3 days of our own time we were hoping to get some tips on what we would be best doing.
we are interested in seeing as much as possible so we are willing to do anything but of course we want atleast 1 shopping trip.

Any ideas would be much appricated :)

Hi peeps, and welcome to VT.....d:o)

First, which Banana are you staying in, - the one on Melrose Ave (West Hollywood), or the one on Hollywood Blvd.? Probably better on Melrose, as it is smack in the middle of the most trendy shopping street in the city. Celebrity sightings aplenty. Plenty of street/sidewalk restuarants to people watch. Here is a look:

http://www.seeing-stars.com/shop/melrose.shtml

Take a look at the Banana website, as they have some stuff you can do as well.

http://www.bananabungalowus.com/west%20hollywood/index.html

You may want to check some of the clubs in Hollywood, as some of them do frequently have rock shows for the under 21 crowd, like the famous Rainbow Room on Sunset Blvd. (next big street up from Hollywood Blvd). Also check another world famous club just down the street from the Rainbow Room, the iconic Whiskey-A-Go-Go.

http://www.rainbowbarandgrill.com/

http://www.whiskyagogo.com/site/

You can get free tickets to the taping of various TV shows here.......

http://hollywoodtickets.com/?gclid=CJjgyPOM9Z8CFRKiagodmkDIXQ

You can catch the nice clean and safe subway on Hollywood Blvd., for a 5 minute ride to Universal Studios. There is a shuttle that takes you up the hill from the subway and also takes you back.

http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/

You can take a tour of the Paramount Studios (Home of Star Trek), and you can walk there. Or you can visit Warner Bros. Studios and take a tour there of both filming and special effects......(directions on website)

http://www.paramountstudios.com/

http://vipstudiotour.warnerbros.com/

Here is the list of stars on the Walk of Fame, that you should print out and then follow it......

http://www.seeing-stars.com/immortalized/walkoffamestars.shtml

Here is my own Los Angeles/Hollywood/Beverly Hills page with much more additional stuff.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/1276e2/b80ac/

Hope this helps you have a great time in Hollywood. My daughter (22), is considering a Contiki tour to Europe. Good company for young people. She also saw several shows at both the Rainbow and the Whiskey, while she was 19, before college, which is qwhwere she is now.

Have a great time, and come back if you have additional queastions.....d:o)

There is plenty to do indeed whether staying at either location. The shopping along Melrose is fantastic with all of the independent label clothing and some thrift shops nearby. For Hollywood Blvd area, I like to grab a slice of NY style pizza at one of about 4 locations along the way and go to Hollywood and Highland where you have Kodak Theater, home of the Oscars and great shows, one that you may like during your visit. Pantages theater is great for catching live performances along Hollywood Blvd. You can get around easily on the Metro bus and take the red line in Hollywood. It's $5 for a one day pass and at the major stops, there are great places for food and shopping for low costs along the way.

Check out my Hollywood page for some more tips :http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/6c6da/b7df4/

The Getty Museum, the La Brea Tar Pits and Los Angeles Natural History Museum, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, Venice Beach... These things aren't so boring as my might think. Just don't try to squeeze in Disneyland in those 3 days. If you don't have a rental car, many of these can be seen by way of the LA Metro system, which itself is worth the ride...check out their website for details.

thanks for all the replies,
we will be staying at the banana on melrose,
so hopefully we will be close by to everything.

we where thinking of maybe going to disney land? is that not a good
idea in three days?
we want to do as many different things as possible so even museams sound interesting.
im quite interested in universal studios.. iv heard good things about it!

all those links where so helpful by the way! :D
feel free to keep them coming

You are welcome......d:o)

Better not try to squeeze Disneyland into the mix. Be happy with Universal which is close by and easy to get to/from. The Mouse House is 50 miles away and transport can take several hours in the L.A. traffic. However if you insist, here are a couple of companies that will take you there and bring you back. It will take ALL day.

http://www.grayline.com/Grayline/destinations/us/losangeles.go

http://www.losangelestours.us/?event=offer.detail&offerId=2988

You can also take the same subway I mentioned above, to Downtown L.A. where you can get off eithr on 7th street station for center of DT, or go to the end at Union Station, where you will be very close to sights like Olvera Street, the oldest conclave in Los Angeles with lost of Mexican culture and restaurants. Close by is also Chinatown, and Little Tokyo.

http://www.olvera-street.com/

http://www.chinatownla.com/

http://www.visitlittletokyo.com/

Have fun.....d:o)

Hi u could do Disneyland but u will be pushing it and u will need the whole day (we had 2 days there) also universal studio was great, we also went to magic mountain (only if u like roller coasters) there r so many things to do, Warner bro studio tour was good, stars homes tour, Hollywood blvd walk of fame, a lot of these tours are 2to 4 hours trips so u could fit a few in per day. Hope u have a great time

Hey guys, I know that posters Marie and Erik, who live in the area and have written extensively on it, would probably agree with my sentiment that it's easy for young travelers to get trapped by some of the corporate hype in LA. The most inventive corporate fast food and thrilling rides were invented in this region, but that's not what this region is devoted to. The theme parks are carefully designed to occupy as much of your time and empty your wallet in the most kitsch sort of way, and that's it.

In contrast, Erik's detail on getting into the old downtown, near the old Los Angeles Mission, where is all started a couple centuries ago, is a smart and healthy way to see the city. After walking around you'll worn down some rubber on your soles but have spent hardly any money and yet a much more confident understanding of the people and culture of LA than if you had visited a theme park like Disneyland. A trip that takes in downtown, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and even some beach cities can all be taken in by jumping on the LA Metro for real cheap. Just make sure you've got good walking shoes...By the way the Getty Museum, which has a great tram ride to a hilltop and live music is FREE (if I recall this right). This is supposedly the world's wealthiest museum, and it looks it from the architecture...

thank you for all the comments!
its all so helpful..
disney land wasn't the main thing we wanted to do
so if it costs alot and takes up alot of time
which by the sounds of it it does, we are more than happy to
do universal studios, shopping, visiting all the local areas etc.

im quite interested in things like, local bars
nice resturants, good shopping a few smaller things like the hollywood blvd.
even jus walking around and seeing what catchs our eye.
so disney land is no big loss :)

were also goin on a contiki for 11 days then on to ny for 4 days..
so any other advise would be much appricated