Los Angeles has it all, from the entertainment industry, multicultural areas with great food,
art scene, and architecture to just amazing weather year-around, sandy beaches
with beautiful piers, hills, and many hiking trails, and one of the largest urban areas
in the world with just terrible traffic.
But what are the must-see attractions if you only have 24 hours?
In this video, we created an itinerary ideal for a one-day visit to L.A.
And at the end of this video, we also included some great tips
to organize yourself before you go.
To see all the main sights, let's start early.
It's 7.30 am and our first stop is the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Although the attractions in Los Angeles usually open late, anywhere from 9 to 10 am,
you can visit Hollywood Boulevard in the morning.
While you might not see the crowds,
you can enjoy its most famous spot, The Hollywood Walk of Fame.
It features over 2,600 stars embedded in the sidewalks along Hollywood Blvd and Vine Street.
The stars are permanent public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry,
bearing the names of actors, directors, musicians, producers, fictional characters, and others.
Look for the famous Chinese Theatres,
featuring handprints, footprints, and signatures of some of Hollywood's biggest stars.
Visit the Hollywood & Highland shopping mall with a perfect view of the Hollywood Sign.
It's now 9 am, time for breakfast,
so let's head out to the Grand Central Market in Downtown L.A.
Grand Central Market is a 30,000 square-foot arcade featuring the food emporium and retail
marketplace in downtown L.A., and just a great place to get your breakfast.
The place opened in 1917 and has been operating ever since with a mission to provide Los Angeles
with a national caliber eating experience that showcases California's best ingredients,
chefs, and entrepreneurs.
Grand Central Market is a great place to experience the cultures of Los Angeles by merely walking
through or even getting something to eat from one of the numerous food vendors.
And while you're there, don't miss the Angels Flight located right outside the Market.
With its 298 feet inclined railway, it is supposed to be the world's shortest railway.
If you have time, you can just walk around Downtown at Pershing Square, Grand Park,
or admire beautiful buildings like The Bradbury Building, The Biltmore Hotel,
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Eastern Columbia Lofts, and many others.
After breakfast, at 10 am, let's experience L.A. from above at the OUE Skyspace LA.
OUE Skyspace L.A. is the tallest open-air observation deck in Los Angeles
located in the iconic U.S. Bank Tower with breathtaking views towards Los Angeles.
For the brave ones, you can take a 45-foot Skyslide,
a fully enclosed, all-glass slide designed by NASA,
nearly 1,000 feet above Downtown L.A.
The view gives you an entirely new perspective of the city.
Also, you can always skip any of the attractions if you are running out of time.
Next, let's head out to Santa Monica.
On the way there, if you don't have time to stop at the famous Rodeo Drive,
just pass through Sunset Boulevard and or Beverly Hills
and make a short stop to take a selfie with the Beverly Hills street sign.
It is now 1.30 pm, and we arrive at Santa Monica Pier.
A large double-jointed and over 100 years old Santa Monica Pier
is located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica.
Its iconic entrance made the pier popular with both residents and visitors.
Don't forget to look for the pier mark indicating the end of the legendary American highway Route 66.
The pier is a very popular tourist spot, so expect it can get very crowded.
Santa Monica Pier is also home to an entire mini-adventure-park
offering several rides, called the Pacific Park.
If you are hungry, you can just grab a slice of pizza or a burger on your way or sit down
in a restaurant on the pier, in Downtown Santa Monica such as 3rd Street Promenade
or Ocean Avenue next to the pier.
You can easily find cheap eats in the area.
Check out our guide for links to great cheap eats in Los Angeles.
BTW, our travel guide is a mobile-friendly .pdf document
that covers the top 20 things to do Los Angeles,
including maps, links, opening hours, and other information that will help
make your trip to L.A. stress-free. The link is in the description.
At 4 pm, let's visit the nearby Venice Beach.
Venice is a residential, commercial, and recreational beachfront neighborhood.
It was founded in 1905 as a seaside resort town.
Over the years, it transformed into a free-spirited boardwalk
and residential area full of funky shops, imaginative street performers, and public art.
Rent an electric scooter or a bike and ride along the Venice Beach,
play some sports in one of many public sports areas,
or simply sit in the sand, watch the waves and enjoy the vibe.
If you have time, also visit the nearby Venice Canals.
The canals were created in the early 1900s to mimic the famous canals in Venice, Italy.
To wrap up your day at 7 pm head to the Griffith Observatory and watch the sunset.
If you're not too tired and depending on the actual sunset time,
this is a great way to finish your day.
The Griffith Observatory overlooking Los Angeles offers excellent views of Hollywood Sign
and downtown L.A., especially for the sunset.
It also features an array of space and science-related displays.
One of the more memorable exhibits is a Tesla coil,
designed by inventor Nikola Tesla in 1891.
Check out our travel guide for the two- and three-day itinerary suggestion.
And now, let's look at some of the tips that might come in handy on your daytrip to L.A
You will need a car or pay for Uber to take you around.
Otherwise, you simply can't reach all these places easily,
since the public transport in L.A. is, well, not great.
Take advantage of renting an electric scooter or a bike
so you can explore the area much faster.
Feel free to skip any of the attractions depending on how tired you are,
how early in the day you want to start,
you are stuck in traffic longer than anticipated, etc.
And believe us when we say it, you can spend hours driving around L.A.,
and being stuck in traffic before you reach your destination.
So, you better just get used to the traffic,
listen to some nice music, relax and enjoy the vibe.
You can reverse your plan and start your day in Venice Beach, then continue to Santa Monica Pier,
Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood walk of fame
and end your day at the Griffith Observatory.
However, there's not much going on Venice beach early in the morning.
Or even change your plan and add a new attraction to the list.
There are tons of other amazing things to do in Los Angeles,
from attractive neighborhoods, parks, museums, and much more.
Check out our other Los Angeles videos, like what to know before you visit,
and buy a copy of our travel guide for more suggestions.