Neighbourhoods
Silver Lake / Los Feliz
Hip, hilly, best coffee and bookstore density.
Santa Monica / Venice
The beach base — walkable boardwalk, more tourist-facing.
Downtown LA (DTLA)
Increasingly worth a visit — Broadway theaters, Grand Central Market.
Things to do
Griffith Observatory at sunset
Free, and the best skyline-plus-Hollywood-Sign view in the city — arrive by 6pm for parking.
Grand Central Market, lunch
Dozens of vendors under one historic roof — the best casual lunch in DTLA.
Venice Beach boardwalk, morning
Go before 10am to see it before the crowds and the heat.
Getty Center
Free entry (parking is paid) — genuinely one of the best art-plus-view combinations in the US.
Eating & drinking
Any taco truck with a line of locals
The single best rule for LA food — the line is the review.
Day trips
Local logistics
City-specific transport and safety notes — for country-wide context, see the United States guide.
A car is genuinely necessary — this is the one major US city where rideshare/transit alone will meaningfully limit your trip. Budget real time for traffic, especially 4–7pm.
Safe in the areas visitors spend time in; use standard awareness in Skid Row-adjacent parts of Downtown.
Pacing & budget
Pacing: 4 days is enough for a focused trip; LA rewards picking 2–3 neighborhoods deeply over trying to see everything.
Budget: Runs above the US mid-range average; car rental adds a meaningful line item most other US cities don't require.
Visa, money, culture & transport for all of United States
Currency, key phrases, getting around by train, and everything that applies to your whole trip — not just Los Angeles.