Los Angeles is a city that never tires of reinventing itself — but who could have believed even 20 years ago that this maverick metropolis would strive to clean up its smog, create a decent public transport infrastructure and evolve into a world-class destination for culture vultures?
So it’s not just the starstruck and sun-worshippers, traditionally the ones attracted to this hedonistic, laid-back city, who should be planning a trip to LA.
From a fabulous, family-oriented museum based on the industry which made the city great to a whole new neighbourhood packed with art and happening restaurants, there’s plenty to add to the evergreen attractions — hikeable hills, bikeable beach promenades and the world-class treasure houses bequeathed by Getty, Eli and Edythe Broad, and other philanthropists.
First-timers can cram the highlights of this mix of culture and laid-back living into a week, but a fortnight, with brief forays out of the city, is an even better way to go.
02 (c) Joshua White, JWPictures 2029
Academy Museum (Photo: Joshua White/JWPictures)
The unmissable new opening in a city which built its fortune on a century of movie-making is the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures; dreamed up after the first Academy Awards in 1929, it’s taken 92 years to become reality.
And this movie-lovers’ fest requires at least half a day to do it justice. The five-floor attraction provides an insight into every aspect of the film-makers’ art, from matte-painting backdrops to creating special effects, as well as clips from hundreds of iconic movies within every one of its dozens of exhibition spaces.
Kids will particularly love the darkened room spotlighting the famous and fantastic creatures in blockbusters from Star Wars to Terminator, Alien and beyond.
The museum aims to pay tribute to a global industry rather than merely pat its home-grown movie-makers on the back, so you’ll also find spaces devoted to the greats of world cinema and the cream of animators, including Japanese anime as well as Pixar.
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Hollywood sign (Photo: Unsplash)
But there’s plenty of Hollywood glamour too. The optional add-on attraction, the Oscars Experience, is a highlight, with visitors collecting their very own Academy Award, the moment captured for posterity on video.
Don’t leave the museum without crossing the Barbra Streisand bridge to the rooftop terrace overlooking the Hollywood sign; it’s a suitably cinematic coda to the experience.
Set in a renovated department store, whose gilded façade was a landmark during the golden age of Hollywood, the museum inevitably invites visitors to explore the area synonymous with movies. Head north, to discover one of Hollywood’s main thoroughfares, Fairfax Avenue — also known as Gefilte Gulch thanks to its kosher stores and Jewish restaurants.
Within a few blocks you’ll discover another enduring relic of the 30s, as beloved now as 90 years ago. Farmers Market, a delightful outdoor food court-cum-gourmet provisioner, has changed little over the decades; now, as then, diners can take their pick of world cuisines from separate stalls and lunch together at communal tables in the open air.
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Streetlamp installation at LACMA (Photo: Pixabay)
And next door to the Academy Museum, on the Wilshire Boulevard side, sits LACMA — the LA County Museum of Art — whose stunning installation of 202 restored cast-iron antique streetlamps can also be viewed from the street.
Nearby, the La Brea Tar Pits pay tribute to the prehistoric creatures who lived here millennia before modern man arrived to recreate them for the silver screen.
This moneyed side of town, known as the Westside, has a string of other attractions including the magnificently huge Getty Museum high on a hill, the Museum of Tolerance at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, recently revamped with new exhibits, and the tiny but beautiful Hammer Museum in Westwood Village.
This art museum and cultural centre is now a destination for diners too, thanks to the arrival of its new restaurant Lulu, from the godmother of California cuisine, Alice Waters, marking her first foray into LA.
But it pays to explore beyond the Westside, with more than ever to attract visitors over to the east in downtown Los Angeles.
Once a dusty, rundown no-go area, and later a built-up business enclave offering only theatre, concert halls and the ethnic restaurants of Chinatown and Little Tokyo by night, it has been reborn as DTLA, where visual art meets some of the city’s most exciting new places to eat.
Street art in LA Arts District CREDIT Anthea Gerrie
Street art in LA Arts District (Photo: Anthea Gerrie)
It started with the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and the Broad, another magnificent contemporary art museum where entry is free (but must be prebooked). The action has now segued even further east into the once-derelict riverside warehouse neighbourhood whose walls are daubed with some of the finest street art in the world.
This is not Shoreditch redux, however — the LA Arts District is underpinned by Hauser & Wirth, the largest private gallery space in the world. Housed in an old flour mill, it’s now surrounded by other upmarket galleries and artist lofts peppering the spaces between dozens of dazzlingly graffiti-ed disused buildings.
The two-hour walking tour of the district, led by LA Walking Tours, starts on 3rd Street by Hauser & Wirth and is a great way to explore.
You’ll find plenty of places to refuel here too, from the Grand Central food market, which is unmissable for lunch on the go, to memorable spots for dinner. Girl and the Goat, with its buzzing glass-walled room, offers sharing boards including vegetarian choices, or Caboco, with its Brazilian menu, is an equally striking space awash in bold murals.
More street art in LA Arts District CREDIT Anthea Gerrie
Street art in LA Arts District (Photo: Anthea Gerrie)
While the Arts District sits close to the freeway, it’s less hairy to approach via one of the handful of broad boulevards connecting downtown to the ocean; Sunset is the most iconic, peppered with rewarding diversions.
Venture up to Griffith Park with its hiking trails and views from the observatory, or turn off Sunset Strip and exchange the sky-high billboards for the Hollywood Hills, plus more views from Mulholland Drive.
At the very end of Sunset lies Malibu with its beaches and ocean-view restaurants. While buses zip to Santa Monica’s most accessible beach straight from downtown, and a Metro links DTLA with both Hollywood and Santa Monica, the sheer size and intensity of this city means the car is still king, especially if time is at a premium.
But whether you venture to the fringes of the city or not, from the magic of the silver screen to exciting new openings for art lovers, LA’s latest facelift is one that we can all enjoy.
Getting There
A seven-day fly-drive trip costs from £749 per person with British Airways Holidays, based on travel between January 6 and March 31, 2022, including flights from Heathrow. Or upgrade to include seven nights at the five-star Omni LA downtown from £1,629 per person, including security fast-track, lounge access and priority boards. britishairways.com/los-angeles
For more information on the city, visit discoverlosangeles.com or visitcalifornia.com
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