Los Angeles is a well-known city in the United States. It is one of the famous cities in California mostly because of the charm of the so-called Hollywood. If you are looking for a weekend getaway, for 2 days in Los Angeles, you are on the right page. Here’s all the information you need along with a 2-day Itinerary for visiting Los Angeles.
I have been to Los Angeles, or L.A., seven times and still counting. This little writing piece will be about my experience the first time, places to visit in LA in 2 days and key tips to explore the beautiful sunny L.A. and Santa Monica without any car.
Please note that all the pictures were taken from my own phone so you will be seeing the city through my perspective both emotionally and visually.
It might not be hard for you to guess, but public transportation is your friend in this case. But besides that, we need more helpers, or I would like to call “the starter pack” as below:
As travellers, it goes without saying that you need to do “the homework” before you travel to your destination. You can easily find which places are the “must-see” in Los Angeles and note down the addresses. Or just to make it easier for you, you can just follow my instructions in this article.
I and my companion, my sister, did research and made a list of the important places to visit. We also checked the locations and made a plan to start from further places and end with the nearer places to the center of the town.
The complete list in order is:
Day 1 in LA
Santa Monica Beach, Venice Beach, Venice Canals Walkway, Hollywood Boulevard, Grand Central Market, The Broad and Walt Disney Concert Hall
Day 2 in LA
Griffith Observatory (Hollywood Sign), La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, Thai Town and Hollywood & Highland Mall.
No matter which way you arrive in L.A., whether by plane or bus, first things first, you need to get rid of your luggage. Most hostels and hotels usually let you leave the luggage with them even if it is not your check-in time yet.
When you are free of the heavy burden that is your luggage, you will need one of the most important things in your journey without a car, which is the bus pass.
In L.A., they call it the TAP card. You can purchase it at any Metro Subway Station. Just go to the vending machine in the station and follow the instructions on the screen.
💡 I recommend you to buy a “day pass”, which costs 7 dollars and you can use it the whole day until midnight. It also can be used for both Metro’s buses and Metro’s subway.
When you are ready, it is time for the adventure. And by ready, I mean searching for the location on Google Maps and know which bus or which line of subway to take.
I will describe each place with the details below.
Santa Monica Beach: I would like to let you know that Santa Monica is actually another city. But it is so close to L.A., that it feels like a part of it somehow. The beach will be quiet in the morning with a few people jogging or bicycling. It will be much different in the afternoon when people come to take a sunbath. You can also walk down the pier or get on the ferris wheel and the small roller coaster if you want.
Venice Beach: You can easily walk here from Santa Monica Beach. There are shops along the beach especially for tourists, so you can get a lot of souvenirs here in cheap price.
Venice Canals Walkway: Again, you do not have to catch a bus yet. Head east a little and you will be at the Canals Walkway. Surprisingly, it is actually an open area of houses. People live here with canals running pass their houses and with bridges to cross to the opposite side, or as you can see, they can just row their boats to visit their neighbours! It is good to see their living rooms next to the water instead of inside of the houses.
Hollywood Boulevard: After catching two buses, you will be back in town. The name of the street might make you feel excited as much as I was. This is it. This is the center of movies and television productions. You can just look down on the footpaths and you will see the Walk of Fame‘s “stars” everywhere. If you have your beloved celebrity in mind and you know they own a star, I recommend you to search for the location of it beforehand.
Grand Central Market: It is time for lunch. You can take Metro’s Red Line subway to the Grand Central Market, which is full of food from most part of the world with every range of price. The place can be so crowded, but the food will be worth it.
Walt Disney Concert Hall: Unless you really want to see a concert, you do not have to pay anything to climb those stairs. Walt Disney Concert Hall allows you to walk and climb their exterior stairs, and experience the Downtown’s view from the top of the building.
The first day of exploring finally ends here, but you can definitely add dinner and walking in some mall in it with no problem.
Also check out : A self-guided walking tour of Downtown Los Angeles
Let’s continue to the second day…
Just like the first day, you have to prepare the TAP card. But in this case, you can reload the fee to the same card at the vending machine.
Griffith Observatory: This is also a free museum. But it is located on the mountain, so you need to catch the DASH bus to come here. You cannot use the TAP card with this bus, but the fee is only 25 cents. The museum has telescopes, information about space, real elements on Periodic Table and various scientific objects.
Now that we have covered all the places, I would like to also give you some tips:
In conclusion, L.A. can be your choice for a short trip, especially if you are students in the US. As for tourists, it can be a part of your big USA trip. It is charming, sunny and the weather is great the whole year. So I hope this article will assist you on your journey more or less.
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