Los Angeles: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Los Angeles was founded on the fourth of September 1781 by forty-four settlers sent north from Mexico, and of those forty-four, twenty-six were of African descent, sixteen were mestizo and two were white. That is the city’s actual beginning, it is on a plaque almost nobody reads, and this walk starts there. Everything that follows — the mission that preceded the town, the station built on top of the Chinese quarter, the market that has fed downtown since 1917 — is the same two kilometres of ground changing hands. Start at eight at Union Station and allow three and a half hours.

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A short history of Los Angeles

In 1781, 44 settlers from Spanish Mexico founded a small village near a river and named it after Our Lady the Queen of the Angels. In 1821 the place passed to Mexico, and in 1848 to the United States. In 1876 the railway reached it, and in the early 20th century oil was discovered in the area. In the 1910s the film companies moved here, and many of the major Hollywood studios were founded by Jewish immigrants. The city's Jewish community is today one of the largest in the world. Los Angeles hosted the Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984, and will host them again in 2028.

The ten best sights in Los Angeles

1
El Pueblo and Olvera Street
Where the city was founded in 1781; the Avila Adobe of 1818 inside is the oldest house in Los Angeles
2
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
Free; the Mexican-American history of the city, and it starts before the United States existed
3
Japanese American National Museum
In Little Tokyo; the 1942 removal to the camps is the core of it and it is told by the families
4
The Broad
Free, but you need a timed entry; the Kusama mirror rooms are separately queued and worth it
5
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Gehry, 2003; some panels had to be sanded in 2005 because the reflected sun hit 138°F on the pavement. Verified 10/2026
6
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The largest museum in the western United States; the 202 old street lamps outside are free to walk through
7
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Opened 2021 inside a 1939 department store, with a Renzo Piano sphere bolted on behind
8
Getty Center
Free entry, paid parking; a tram takes you up the hill and the gardens are half the visit
9
Getty Villa
Free but timed and booked ahead; a full-scale copy of a Roman villa buried by Vesuvius, on the coast
10
La Brea Tar Pits
Live asphalt seeps in the middle of the city; over three million Ice Age fossils and no dinosaurs at all

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Tours in Los Angeles →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Los Angeles:

Free walking tours in Los Angeles

The forty-four founders

Union Station · Built in 1939 and the last of the great American railway stations, with Mission Revival outside, Art Deco inside and a floor of Navajo-patterned tile. It was put up on the site of the original Chinatown, which was demolished for it: about three thousand people were moved, and the replacement New Chinatown opened a few blocks north in 1938, the year before this opened.
Olvera Street and the Avila Adobe · The Avila Adobe of 1818 is the oldest standing house in Los Angeles, and it was condemned as a slum in 1926. A woman named Christine Sterling camped on the site, got the newspapers behind her, and in 1930 reopened the whole lane as a Mexican marketplace. It is a reconstruction and it saved the only block of the original pueblo that still exists.
The Chinese Massacre site · On the eighteenth of October 1871 a mob of about five hundred men attacked the Chinese quarter here and lynched eighteen Chinese men and boys, one of them fifteen years old. It was one of the largest mass lynchings in American history, eight men were convicted and all the convictions were overturned, and for a hundred and fifty years there was nothing on the ground to say so. A memorial is now being built on this block.
Little Tokyo · In 1942, under Executive Order 9066, the entire Japanese-American population of this neighbourhood was removed to inland camps. The emptied blocks filled almost immediately with Black workers arriving for wartime defence jobs, who could not rent elsewhere, and the district was known for several years as Bronzeville. When the Japanese families returned in 1945 the two communities shared the same buildings.
Grand Central Market · Opened in 1917 on the ground floor of a building whose upper storeys were the offices of the man who built the city’s streetcars. It has never closed and it has never been renovated into something else: the neon signs, the dangling price boards and the spice stall are all from the era when downtown was where everyone shopped. Two of the stalls have been there over fifty years.
The Bradbury Building · From 1893, and the lobby is all you can see and all you need to: five storeys of open court under a glass roof, with French wrought iron, Mexican tile, Italian marble and open-cage lifts. The architect was a thirty-two-year-old draughtsman with no major commission, who took the job after the senior architect’s design was rejected, and he died five years later.

Bunker Hill: the city that replaced itself

Bunker Hill was the richest neighbourhood in Los Angeles in 1900, a hill of Victorian mansions with a funicular up the side. By 1950 the mansions were rooming houses, and between 1955 and 1970 the city demolished every single building on the hill and cut the top off it — about eight thousand residents were moved out. What stands there now is the cultural centre of the city, built on a cleared hill, and the museums on it are mostly free. Go on a weekday; the whole hill empties at six.

Angels Flight · Built in 1901 to carry the hill’s residents up ninety metres of slope, closed in 1969 when there was no longer a neighbourhood to serve, stored in pieces, and rebuilt half a block from its original line in 1996. It has closed after accidents twice since. A ride costs a dollar and takes under a minute, and it is the only surviving physical object from the hill that was demolished.
Walt Disney Concert Hall · Gehry won the commission in 1988 and the hall opened in 2003, fifteen years later. Two years after that the city had to sand down some of the stainless steel panels: the concave sections were focusing sunlight into neighbouring flats and onto the pavement, where a study measured a hundred and thirty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. The garden on the upper level is free and almost nobody is in it.
The Broad · Eli Broad built this to house his own collection and endowed it so that admission would be permanently free, which is why there is a queue. The building is a concrete lattice of two thousand five hundred cells designed to let in north light without direct sun, and the storage vault is visible through a window in the stairwell — the collection on show is a fraction of what is in the building.
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels · Rafael Moneo designed it with almost no right angles, and instead of stained glass the windows are sheets of Spanish alabaster, which glow and change through the day. The crypt under it holds the remains moved from the old cathedral, including those of Gregory Peck. Entry is free and the plaza outside has the only large shade on the hill.
Los Angeles City Hall · Finished in 1928 and the tallest building in the city until 1964, for a specific reason: fear of earthquakes had imposed a height limit of about forty-five metres on every building in Los Angeles, and City Hall exempted itself. When the limit was lifted in 1957 it took another seven years for anything taller to be built. The observation deck on the twenty-seventh floor is free on weekdays.
Central Library · Built in 1926 with a pyramid on the roof and Egyptian and Roman motifs throughout, because the architect had just finished working in Egypt. In April 1986 an arson fire burned for seven and a half hours, destroyed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more; it got almost no press because the Chernobyl accident happened the same week. The rebuilt building reopened in 1993.

The hill and the sign

Griffith Park is seventeen square kilometres — about five times Central Park — and almost all of it is unirrigated chaparral hillside, which is to say it is the actual landscape of Southern California left alone. This route climbs from the observatory toward the sign and back, which is the one walk in Los Angeles that explains the city’s shape: from the top you can see that there is no centre, and that the basin runs from the mountains to the sea with no gap. Go at seven in the morning or at four in the afternoon. In summer the middle of the day on this hill is genuinely dangerous.

Griffith Observatory · Griffith J. Griffith gave the city the park in 1896 and left the money for this building, and the terms of his bequest were that admission must be free for ever — it still is. He also served two years in San Quentin for shooting his wife in the face in 1903. The park and the observatory are named after a man convicted of attempted murder, which the signage does not mention.
The view east from the terrace · From this parapet the basin runs flat for sixty kilometres to the San Gabriel Mountains, and in winter you can see snow on them from a beach. The reason there is no skyline except one small cluster downtown is the earthquake height limit that stood until 1957: for thirty years nothing in this city could be built taller than about thirteen floors, so it grew sideways instead.
Mount Hollywood Trail · The path up from behind the observatory to the high point of the park, 518 metres. The vegetation is chaparral — sage, buckwheat, laurel sumac — and it is adapted to burn: it needs fire every few decades to reproduce, which is why the city keeps catching alight. A 2007 fire burned about a thousand hectares of this park in two days.
Bronson Caves · Not caves: this is a rock quarry tunnel cut in 1903 to supply crushed stone for the city’s streetcar beds, abandoned when the quarry closed. The tunnel mouth has stood in for the Batcave, for alien planets and for the opening of hundreds of westerns, because it is a ten-minute walk from a road and looks like nowhere.
The Hollywood Sign from the ridge · It was put up in 1923 to advertise a hillside housing development and read HOLLYWOODLAND; each letter was about fifteen metres high and studded with light bulbs, and a man was employed to live on site and change them. The LAND came off in 1949. You cannot reach the letters — there is no road and no trail to them, and the only legal approach is the ridge behind.
Lake Hollywood Park · The closest you may legally stand to the sign, and the reservoir below it is held by a 1924 dam designed by William Mulholland — the same engineer whose other dam, the St Francis, failed in 1928 and killed over four hundred people. This dam was inspected, reinforced and kept. The park is free and the parking is residential street parking, which the neighbourhood fights about continuously.

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Getting to Los Angeles and getting around

Los Angeles International Airport · Twenty-seven kilometres south-west; the automated train to the Metro opened in 2026 and is free
Hollywood Burbank Airport · The small one north of the hills; closer to Hollywood than LAX and far quicker to get out of
Union Station · The last of the great American stations, 1939; six Metro lines, the Amtrak and the airport bus
7th Street / Metro Center · Four lines cross under downtown here; this is the station to change at, not Union Station
Hollywood / Highland · The B Line under the Walk of Fame; twenty minutes from downtown and the only sane way to Hollywood
Patsaouras Transit Plaza · The bus deck behind Union Station; the FlyAway coach to LAX leaves from here every half hour
Downtown Santa Monica · The end of the E Line, forty-five minutes from downtown, and three blocks from the pier

Cheap eats in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the best street-food city in the United States and the reason is not restaurants, it is immigration law. The county holds the largest Mexican, Salvadoran, Oaxacan, Thai, Armenian, Iranian, Filipino and Guatemalan populations of any place outside those countries, and each of those arrivals brought a counter trade — a taco cart, a pupusería, a noodle window. Almost none of it is in a guidebook, almost all of it is three to twelve dollars, and most of it is cash. Two practical things: the best taco carts come out after nine at night, and a truck with a hand-painted menu and no English is not a risk, it is the point.

Tacos al pastor from a cart · Pork off a vertical spit with pineapple; two dollars each and the carts open at nine at night
The French dip · Beef in a roll dipped in its own jus; two shops a mile apart both claim 1908 and neither will yield
Pupusas · Thick filled corn cakes with cabbage slaw; two dollars each, and this is the largest Salvadoran city outside El Salvador
Cambodian doughnuts · Why there is an independent doughnut shop on every corner here, and it is not an American story. Verified 10/2026
Thai Town, East Hollywood · Officially designated in October 1999 and the only Thai Town in the United States. Verified 10/2026
Oaxacan food · Mole negro, tlayudas and mezcal; this is the largest Oaxacan community outside Mexico
Korean barbecue, Koreatown · You grill it yourself and the side dishes are free and refilled; twenty-five dollars a head and open past two
Bacon-wrapped street dog · A Sonoran hot dog from a propane cart outside the clubs; five dollars and strictly after midnight
Lahmajoun, Glendale · Armenian flatbread with spiced lamb; Glendale holds one of the largest Armenian populations outside Armenia
Pink’s chili dog · A stand since 1939 that never moved and never modernised; eight dollars and the queue is the experience

Museums in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has more free major museums than any American city, and that is a direct consequence of who made money here: oil, film and real estate fortunes built private collections and then endowed them so that entry would never be charged. The Getty, the Broad, the California Science Center and the Hammer are all free. The practical problem is distance — these are spread over fifty kilometres, and two in a day is a reasonable maximum unless you are driving.

Getty Center · Free; a tram up the hill, travertine from Italy, and the garden is a work in its own right
The Broad · Free with timed entry; the Kusama mirror room is a separate same-day queue and worth joining
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures · Opened 2021 after decades of failed attempts; the Oscars gallery and a working projection theatre
Los Angeles County Museum of Art · The largest art museum in the western United States; much of the campus is being rebuilt
La Brea Tar Pits · Over three million fossils from the last 50,000 years, and the asphalt is still seeping today
California Science Center · Free general entry; the shuttle Endeavour is inside and the Air and Space gallery around it
Japanese American National Museum · In a 1925 Buddhist temple in Little Tokyo; the camp barrack inside was brought from Wyoming
Natural History Museum · 1913 and the oldest museum in the city; the 1932 Olympics were partly staged in the park around it

Holy places in Los Angeles

There is no single religious story here, which is itself the story: Los Angeles County has more distinct religious communities than any comparable place in the United States, and the buildings reflect it — a 1771 Spanish mission, a 1923 Pentecostal auditorium that invented religious broadcasting, a 2002 cathedral with no right angles, and a Hindu temple carved in India and shipped over in pieces. Almost all of them are free to enter and almost none of them are on a tour route.

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel · 1771, ten years older than the city, and the city exists because this mission needed a farm town
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels · Moneo, 2002; Spanish alabaster instead of stained glass, and free to walk into any day
Angelus Temple, Echo Park · Built in 1923 by Aimee Semple McPherson, who put a radio station in it and invented religious broadcasting
Hollywood Forever Cemetery · 1899, still active, and the Russian, Armenian and Thai sections are each a community’s own ground
Watts Towers · Thirty-three years of work by one man alone; the city tried to demolish them and tested them instead
Hollyhock House · Wright’s first house here, 1921, and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2019; booked tours only
Hollywood Boulevard and Thai Town temples · The Thai temples in east Hollywood serve the largest Thai community outside Thailand

Nature and day trips near Los Angeles

Los Angeles sits in a basin between a mountain range and an ocean, and the two things that follow are that you can be in genuine wilderness twenty minutes from a freeway and that most of the vegetation is adapted to burn. Griffith Park alone is seventeen square kilometres of unirrigated chaparral inside the city limits. The rules are simple and not negotiable: go at first light or late afternoon, carry more water than you think, and in a fire-weather warning the trails close with gates.

Griffith Park · Seventeen square kilometres, about five times Central Park, and 85 kilometres of trail
Runyon Canyon · Straight up from Hollywood in twenty minutes; no shade, dogs off lead, and go before nine
Topanga State Park · The largest park inside a city boundary anywhere in the United States; thirty-six kilometres of trail
El Matador State Beach · Fifty-eight kilometres west; sea caves and rock arches, a steep path down, and no facilities at all
Point Dume · A headland with a whale lookout; grey whales pass close from December to April
Will Rogers State Historic Park · The Inspiration Point loop is three kilometres and easy; it is also the start of the Backbone Trail
Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook · 282 steps in the geographic middle of the city; the oil derricks on the next ridge are still pumping
Echo Park Lake · Pedal boats, and the lotus bed — one of the largest outside Asia — flowers in July
Los Angeles River path, Frogtown · A concrete flood channel with a soft-bottom stretch where herons stand; kayaking is permitted in summer

Things to do in Los Angeles with kids

The hard part of Los Angeles with children is not what to do, it is the driving: nothing is near anything, and a day with three stops in different districts is a day mostly spent in a car seat. The practical approach is to pick one district and stay in it. Exposition Park has three major museums and a space shuttle within one block. Griffith Park has the observatory, the zoo, a 1926 carousel and the trains. Santa Monica has the pier and the beach and the end of the Metro line.

California Science Center · Free general entry and the Endeavour shuttle inside; the best value in the city with children
Natural History Museum · Three Tyrannosaurus skeletons of different ages mounted together; and a live insect zoo
La Brea Tar Pits · You can watch the excavation happening through the glass, outside, for free
Los Angeles Zoo · Inside Griffith Park; the condor programme here brought the species back from twenty-two birds
Griffith Observatory · Free; the Foucault pendulum, the Tesla coil and the planetarium, which is the one paid part
Santa Monica Pier · A 1922 carousel, an aquarium under the deck, and the Metro ends three blocks away
Travel Town and the Griffith carousel · Free steam locomotives to climb on, and a 1926 carousel with 68 hand-carved horses
Bob Baker Marionette Theater · Running since 1963 with hand-made marionettes; the puppeteers are visible and that is the charm

Nightlife in Los Angeles

Los Angeles nightlife has one structural fact behind it: the city is enormous and nobody can drink and drive, so the night is organised in self-contained districts you commit to for the evening. Downtown and the Arts District are walkable and have the Metro. Koreatown stays open latest and has the fewest visitors. Hollywood is the one that sells the idea of Hollywood nightlife and is the least interesting. Last call is two o’clock by state law everywhere, with no exceptions, which surprises people.

Arts District · Warehouses east of Alameda; breweries, roof bars and the only genuinely walkable night district
Koreatown after midnight · Barbecue, karaoke rooms rented by the hour, and the kitchens serve until two
Hollywood Bowl · You may bring your own food and wine into a seventeen-thousand-seat amphitheatre; nowhere else allows it
The Greek Theatre · Six thousand seats inside Griffith Park under the trees; part of the Griffith bequest
Sunset Boulevard, Silver Lake · The east side bar strip; small rooms, live music, and it is where the city actually goes out
Chateau Marmont · A 1929 hotel modelled on a Loire château, famous for a century of discretion; a drink is the entry

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Frequently asked questions about Los Angeles

What is there to see in Los Angeles?

The top sights in Los Angeles are El Pueblo and Olvera Street, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes and Japanese American National Museum. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Los Angeles?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Los Angeles without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Los Angeles?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Los Angeles, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The forty-four founders.

How do you get to Los Angeles and get around?

The main ways are Los Angeles International Airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport and Union Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Los Angeles, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Los Angeles that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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