Earlier this year, my husband and I took a weekend trip to Los Angeles, California. This was the first time either of us visited L.A.

We were only in L.A. for three days and two nights, but covered a lot during our short stay. We definitely made a few mistakes along the way, number 1 being – not accounting for the traffic. I honestly don’t think I ever experienced this much traffic in my life.  I will never complain about the traffic in Atlanta again.  That said, it was a pretty cool weekend trip.

Day 1

My favorite thing about flying to the Pacific coast from Atlanta is the time difference (L.A. is 3 hours behind Atlanta). We left Atlanta at 7:25 a.m. EST and landed in LAX at 9:00 a.m. PT. Sweet deal because we had a full day ahead of us and didn’t lose any time. We picked up our rental car and started our adventure.

The LAX airport was near a few places on our list, so we decided to dive right into our sight-seeing before heading to our hotel on the other side of the city.

Marina del Rey

We took a quick stop in Marina del Rey, before driving to Venice Beach.

Venice Beach

Venice Beach was definitely one of my favorite places in Los Angeles. You can park at the lot right by the beach for nine dollars and spend some time relaxing on the beach and exploring the neighborhood.

We started out with walking along the beach and enjoyed the refreshing breeze and crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean.

We walked all the way down to the pier and discovered a cute little area along Pacific Avenue with various shops and restaurants. It’s the perfect place to grab a bite to eat. There are many food options in between Pacific Avenue and Washington Blvd., such as Italian, Thai, Mexican, and of course seafood. One of the more popular restaurants is the Venice Whaler.

Venice Canals

After asking for a few directions, we finally found the Venice Canals. This is definitely a must-see if you are in this area. The Venice Canals neighborhood is inspired by Venice, Italy. Some homes even had little boats  (more like kayaks) docked right outside. It was our first time seeing anything like this and we loved walking around and exploring the neighborhood.

After walking around the Venice Canals, we went back to the beach and headed towards the car, this time, walking along the walkway by the houses.

Santa Monica

Since the Santa Monica pier is nearby, we thought it would be a good idea to check it out. Traffic was quite heavy around this time, so always keep this in mind. Santa Monica had a completely different vibe to Venice Beach. For one thing, it was extremely crowded, to the point that it was overwhelming. Venice Beach on the other hand was more relaxed and calming. I’m not sure if there was something going on that weekend, but between the traffic and the crowd, we did not spend too much time at Santa Monica. This was a pity because there are apparently some great restaurants in the area. So if you have better luck than we did, grab some lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants. Some recommendations include The Albright and The Lobster.

The Getty Villa

If you have time, take a cruise along the Pacific Coast Highway and go see the Getty Villa. The Getty Villa is part of the J. Paul Getty Museum. It was on our list but unfortunately we were unable to make it to the Villa. Anyone ever been? I would love to hear your thoughts.

We were able to cruise along the Pacific Coast Highway though; it was absolutely beautiful.

Day 2

Hollywood

I definitely wanted to see Hollywood while we were in L.A. We left early to beat the traffic on the highway and took a cool ride along Hollywood Boulevard to the Highland Center (at the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Avenue).

Highland Center

I recommend parking in Highland Center and grabbing a bite to eat in one of its restaurants. This is very convenient for a number of reasons. First, you can ask the restaurant to validate your parking ticket (which is excellent because parking elsewhere was expensive) and second, you will have quite an amazing view of Hollywood.

The Highland Center itself is a fun and interesting place to visit.

The Hollywood Sign

You can see and take some pretty good shots of the Hollywood sign from the Highland Center.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

After grabbing a bite to eat and taking in the view, we took a stroll along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I enjoyed this because it was quite amazing to see the stars on the walkway.

However, be careful of the characters dressed up in costume. There are a few that will harass you because they think everyone wants to take a picture with them. My advice is to keep walking. Unless of course you really want to take a picture with them, then by all means do so. Just keep in mind that you will have to pay them.

There are also other sights to see along the Walk of Fame/Hollywood Boulevard, such as the Dolby Theatre and the Chinese Theatre.

I really enjoyed visiting and exploring Hollywood. It is definitely a must-see if you are in Los Angeles.  Everyone is different though. For me, it was one of those experiences where I am glad I did it, thoroughly enjoyed it, but have no need or urge to do it again.

Beverly Hills

After our Hollywood experience, we took Sunset Blvd. to Beverly Hills. It was pretty cool driving along the Sunset Strip on the way.

We then drove along Rodeo Drive and decided to check out some of the lovely Beverly Hills neighborhoods.

After cruising around in Beverly Hills, we had to beat the traffic and head back to our hotel to get ready for the wedding. However, I would recommend (if you have time) to have dinner at one of the well-known restaurants in Beverly Hills. Some suggestions include: Spago, Republique, and the Ivy.

Day 3

This was our last day in L.A. Our flight was later in the evening so we decided to enjoy one more L.A site. We headed over to the Getty Center.

The Getty Center

The Getty Center is one of the two locations of the J. Paul Getty Museum (the other being the Getty Villa). The J. Paul Getty Museum is a lovely art museum in Los Angeles. Not only does the Getty provide stunning exhibits, but the structure and views are quite amazing as well.

We decided to check out one of the exhibits: The Cave Temples of Dunhuang – Buddhist Art on China’s Silk Road.

We absolutely loved the replica caves which had cave paintings, carvings, and sculptures. These replica caves reflected significant aspects of Buddhist art preserved in caves near the town of Dunhuang, dating back to thousands of years ago.

After our visit to the Getty, it was time to head over to the airport and catch our flight back to Atlanta.

All in all, Los Angeles was quite an interesting experience. It is of course a huge city and the driving and traffic were really exhausting. However, if you take traffic time into account while planning your trip, you may be able to avoid this.  My favorite part of our L.A. trip was definitely exploring the Venice Beach/Venice Canal area, but I also enjoyed The Getty and Hollywood. That’s what I really liked about the overall L.A. experience, each place we visited had its own unique vibe, so there is definitely something for everyone. Maybe next time we will be able to see more of downtown L.A. and visit places such as Little Tokyo and Koreatown. I know for sure that if we do get to visit L.A. again, the first thing on our list will be the Getty Villa, since we did not get to see it this time around.

A Few Tips

Getting there

If you are traveling by plane, you will be flying into Los Angeles International Airport.

Getting Around

You will definitely need a car to get around the city, so I would suggest you rent a car. Yes there is traffic, but that’s just a part of L.A. Click here to rent your car. If you don’t feel like driving then you can always use Uber, although it may be a bit pricey depending on the time of day and the traffic.

Accommodations

There are numerous hotels in L.A. so you definitely have options. If hotels aren’t your style, you can rent a condo, house, or apartment.

L.A. is a large city, so select your hotel/rental in an area where you may be visiting the most. If we had to do it all over again, we would book a hotel in Venice Beach.