Catherine_Cary

Hello, I with my friends are looking for unusual and interesting places to visit in Los Angeles. What can you suggest? It can be really different places. we love to discover new places. Thank you in advance for your help

maitaitom

Here are two ... Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/hol...ery-hollywood/

Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/sel...fic-palisades/

jamie99

The two things, unusual and interesting can be mutually exclusive. for example the Museum of Juraissic Technology near Culver City is certainly unusual, but I did not find it interesting, YMMV.
We have a few working movie studios open to the public, mainly Warner Bros and Paramount (I am not including Universal since it is really a theme park) which I would consider somewhat unusual.
For interesting, I like the Huntington Gardens in San Marino, the Getty Villa in Malibu (there is a second Getty Museum near Brentwood) and the Petersen Automotive Museum. Don't waste time on LACMA (my opinion).
You might like sports, we have two pro football teams, two NBA basketball teams and two soccer teams. If you count Anaheim as part of greater LA we have two pro baseball teams and two pro ice hockey teams.

On the other hand, you may be the type of person who wants to see the World's Biggest Ball of String, which I would not drive more than 2 miles out of my way to see.

MmePerdu

If you enjoy visiting gardens, this one the grounds of an early Beverly Hills estate, I recommend the Virginia Robinson Gardens. Information & reservations here:

https://www.robinsongardens.org/

Jean

Unique to Los Angeles or just interesting/unusual? What time of year? (We don't get weather extremes, but we do have seasons and recommendations would vary by season.) How many days? Car or no car?

Hollywood Bowl and/or Greek Theater (both closed from late fall to early spring)
Channel Islands or Catalina (best in summer months)
Hike in the Santa Monica Mountains
Whale watching
Nethercutt Museum (hard to fully describe, but antiques of all sorts... many cars, music boxes, watches, organs, pianos)
Gamble House (arts & crafts architecture, designed by Greene & Greene)
Hollyhock House (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright)
Greystone Mansion and Gardens
(or take one of Architecture Tours L.A. tours)
La Brea Tar Pits
Watts Towers

maitaitom

Jean is right. These two are great,

Nethercutt Museum ... loved it and will go again soon to take better photos.
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/net...ection-sylmar/

Greystone Mansion & Gardens - tours only certain times of the year.
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/gre...beverly-hills/

suze

I don't know how "unusual" they would be considered, but I like the old-timey things... Griffith Park, Angels Flight, Chinatown, Olvera Street, La Brea Tar Pits, the old Farmers Market and the Grove.

aliced

Also was going to mention Angels Flight (particularly if you're a Bosch fan) along with The Last Bookstore nearby, it's unlike any other. The views from the Brentwood Getty are sensational as from Griffith Park. Out in Pasadena we like the Norton Simon Museum, the craftsmen homes, bungalows, and the Huntington Gardens in nearby San Marino.

Gardyloo

Hoping the OP isn't one and done, some other ideas. These are far from hidden or secret, but worth a stop...

Bradbury Building in downtown LA. It's beautiful on its own, but better known from appearing in numerous films and TV shows, including Blade Runner, Fame, and Double Indemnity, just to name a few.

Grand Central Market, also downtown. Now becoming trendy but still pretty atmospheric.

Griffith Park Observatory, also featured in many films.

The Strand, from Manhattan to Redondo Beach. This beachfront pedestrian/bike pathway extends for miles at the edge of the sand. You'll be thinking of which bank to rob so you can afford one of the houses facing it.

Ferndell pathway, also in Griffith Park.

Chinese Theater. Look at the hand- and footprints of the stars. Go watch a movie while you're there.

Restaurants, bars, dives and cafes - so many, but for me a short list (google them) would include Philipe's, Musso and Frank, DuPar's, Nate 'n Al's, Canter's, Cielito Lindo (on Olvera Street, another don't-miss) and others that will come to mind.

curiousgeo

Adding to Gardyloo’s classic restaurant suggestions (love Musso & Frank and DuPars) is breakfast at Pann’s or John O’Groats, steak or chicken parm at Dan Tana’s, burgers and pie at the Apple Pan, also Langer’s.

Jean

The list of classic/iconic L.A. restaurants is looonnnggg. I'll list a few, although I haven't been to most of them in at least 5+ years. If maitaitom returns to the thread, he'll probably add more.

The Tam O'Shanter (Storybook architecture)
Pink's
El Cholo
El Tepeyac (East L.A.)
Phillippe the Original
Cole's
Formosa Cafe (renovated and reopened in 2019)
Yamashiro (replica of a Japanese "palace," perhaps best restaurant views in L.A.)
Pann's (Googie architecture)
Taix
Tom Bergin's
Lawry's
The Polo Lounge @ Beverly Hills Hotel

From Gardyloo's list, Nate 'n' Al's is under new ownership and not the great deli it once was. (Sorry!)

Surfergirl

Market Tavern in the original Farmer's Market owned by Gary Twinn (a transplanted English musician) has fun Friday evenings where the food is surprisingly excellent, as are the cocktails, and his band, Long Shadows. And when Clem Burke isn't touring with Blondie (as he wasn't last Friday night), he plays with the band. https://markettavernla.com/los-angel...-tavern-events

Speaking of bars, when we go to see a concert at the Fonda (on Hollywood Blvd, east of the Pantages), we generally stop in Davey Wayne's, a sort of hidden bar where you go in through the refrigerator in the garage. https://goodtimesatdaveywaynes.com/

The Frolic Room next to the Pantages is an historical dive bar. Lots of fun there too!

Yamashiro, as Jean mentioned, has a wonderful view and the food is good (again), but expensive. That said, in summer, the Night Market should be opening up again on Thursday, and is definitely the cool, hidden place to hang out. https://www.hollywoodnightmarket.com/

Would also highly recommend the Magic Castle (just below Yamashiro), but you either have to be a member, know a member, or stay at the Magic Castle to get in. But a very strict dress code . . . totally worth it, since when in the last several years have you worn anything other than sweats and PJs!

Jean

Magic Castle... A family friend used to provide access to the Castle where we've had lots of great times over many years. However, in December 2020, accusations were made public by at least a dozen people (guests, employees, former employees) that the Castle is a little cesspool of sexual assault and harassment, discrimination and racism. Incidents were reported but crap continued for 10+ years. Lawsuits were filed and quietly settled. I'll never go there again.

I couldn't find any updates to the original story (link below), but the Castle has re-opened post-Covid.

https://news.yahoo.com/l-storied-mag...201448952.html

williamscb13

I know someone I met years ago at a spa in Mexico who will be performing at the Magic Castle the week of Christmas. the 19-23rd. Her name is Sydney Kaplan. I wish I could go see her. I'll be in Orange County at the time but it's too far and I'll have my son with me.

Michael

or example the Museum of Juraissic Technology near Culver City is certainly unusual, but I did not find it interesting,

I found its collection of figures on the head of a pin and its collection of flowers done with butterfly scales fascinating.

jamie99

OP has left the building (or is possibly a troll, or a student writing a paper who is too lazy to do their own research).

macdogmom

Wow, I grew up in LA (Silverlake rules) and I love these suggestions. I’ve been to quite a few of them over the years but loved reading through the thread. There’s a great instagram account called laexplained that posts wonderful photos of vintage LA. They did a posting today about Chasen’s, a very old school restaurant that the stars loved.

Jean

For macdogmom:

Chasen's! Perino's! Scandia! Romanoff's! The Brown Derby! The Pig 'n' Whistle!

Remember the Ralph Story movies "Things That Aren't Here Anymore"?

macdogmom

I just googled Ralph Story and his show sounded really interesting. I don’t remember him but his pic looks familiar. I remember reading about all those restaurants in Joyce Haber gossip column in the LA Times. I wanted to go but my parents, who were into food, preferred small French or Italian restaurants. I do remember going to the original Taix in DTLA and we all sat at long tables and were served delicious basque food.

Gardyloo

Thanks for that. I'm terrified when I start counting the places I recognize.