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Los Angeles spans 467 square miles and exploring all there is to see and do might seem overwhelming; there’s Downtown LA, the San Fernando Valley and coastal communities. Taken region by region, LA is more manageable and also more exciting. Each geographic region within LA has its own personality and style:
Skyscrapers, upscale hotels, subway and light rail hubs, cultural attractions — Downtown LA has everything that makes an urban center, well, urban. And in recent years, the area has added more reasons to visit: The 20,000-seat STAPLES Center, located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center, is home to the Lakers (NBA) as well as top-name concerts. Four Metro Rail subway and light rail lines converge Downtown, taking passengers to Hollywood and other parts of LA. Downtown is also home to the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, a modern architectural masterpiece anchoring the existing Music Center – Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County.
The evolution of Downtown also includes high-end restaurants such as Patina and Ciudad, hot nightclubs such as The Golden Gopher and live performances at the Music Center.
Like a glamorous starlet, Hollywood has made a major comeback. It has evolved from a historic, funky area into one of LA’s hippest spots to shop, dine and be entertained. New developments such as the Hollywood & Highland entertainment complex, with shops, restaurants, movie theaters, the Kodak Theatre and The Highlands have helped raise Hollywood’s glamour to new heights.
Meanwhile, Hollywood’s history is alive and well. Vintage venues such as the historic Pantages Theatre present the best in theatrical productions; the Hollywood Bowl features concerts under the stars throughout the summer.
LA’s trendy Westside is a cosmopolitan center with several cities and communities spread over an area that stretches from Wilshire Corridor to Brentwood. Within this swath of land are village-like areas, each offering something different.
The Wilshire Corridor’s claim to fame is Museum Row, with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Peterson Automotive Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits, among others. The part of West LA that lies just east of the 405 Freeway includes Century City, a mini-metropolitan area with its own cluster of skyscrapers, as well as upscale shopping and dining options, and Westwood Village, a college community that surrounds UCLA. The Westside is also the home to the spectacular Getty Center.
LA offers more than two dozen beaches, plus marinas, pleasure piers and other diversions, in its coastal communities. Connecting most of them is the Coastal Bike Path, which stretches 22 miles.
Venice Beach is known for its boardwalk, with street performers providing entertainment amid shops selling everything from incense to socks. Further south is San Pedro, home to LA’s World Cruise Center, the busiest passenger cruise port on the West Coast. Visitors can charter smaller vessels for fishing, whale-watching (seasonal) and harbor tours or enlighten themselves at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and Los Angeles Maritime Museum.
Once a sleepy suburb of LA, the San Fernando Valley is a film and television hub. Universal Studios Hollywood is a popular theme park, with Universal CityWalk, a flashy pedestrian entertainment district, next door. Other Valley studios, such as Warner Bros. and NBC, offer tours and free tickets to TV show tapings. No wonder the area’s nickname is the “Valley of the Stars.” Beyond the studios are several designated entertainment districts with numerous restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The hip NoHo Arts District in North Hollywood is home of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which produces the annual Emmy Awards, as well as funky cafes, coffee houses, boutiques and 22 live theaters. Ventura Boulevard, the Valley’s “main street,” stretches more than 20 miles along the northern base of the Santa Monica Mountains.
The best thing about LA’s regions is that, although each is a distinct microcosm with plenty of hotels and attractions to stand on its own, they are all part of the same metropolitan area — a short hop from one another via car or Metro Rail.
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