Los Angeles, California 72-Hour Vacation

Downtown Santa Monica near Los Angeles at sunset

The greatest challenge one has in visiting Los Angeles—particularly for those accustomed to compact cities like Paris or San Francisco, Los Angeles—is navigating its vast territory. The five-county Los Angeles metropolitan area—covers more territory than several U.S. states, and its economy dwarfs that of but a handful of industrial nations. With just a few days in town, visitors need to be extremely selective in their choices, planning their days carefully. Without a structured itinerary, a lot of time can be wasted in transit, but with a bit of patience, visitors soon discover that this auto-crazed capital of urban sprawl—so frequently characterized by its detractors as a plastic, one-dimensional megalopolis—is a world-class city by any measure. With its extraordinary cultural diversity—it has one foot in Latin America and the other in the Pacific Rim—L.A. if filled with opportunities to explore international art, architecture, music and cuisine. It's still missing an NFL team, but L.A. is major league in every other respect, with performing arts venues, museums, botantical gardens, and restaurants that will excite and awe. The only bad news? Seventy-two hours is simply not enough.

Encounter Restaurant & Bar at LAX

L.A., however, is painfully spread out and, unlike those aforementioned cities, major attractions are not clustered together in a concentrated area. So, when you arrive—whether it be at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) or one of the smaller regional airports such as Bob Hope Airport (formerly known as Burbank Airport) or Long Beach Airport—it is absolutely essential to rent a car. L.A. has come a long way in terms of mass transit—there is now a burgeoning subway system and an extensive network of light rail commuter trains, as well as bus service—but you'll need a car to fully explore the sprawling metropolis. Despite the horror stories you may have heard about L.A. traffic, it's no worse than Atlanta, Boston or New York. If, however, you're from a smaller community and unaccustomed to frenetic freeway traffic, you may want to consider alternative routes utilizing surface streets, and consider renting a car with a GPS system. If you want to really get into the L.A. spirit, be sure to rent a convertible. Click here to get a feel of the Greater Los Angeles Area.

The pool deck of SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills

In terms of lodging, there are so many prime neighborhoods from which to choose, your personal tastes and budget will have to dictate. If you'd like to be near the ocean and don't mind paying premium rates, we recommend Shutters on the Beach or its neighbor, the Hotel Casa del Mar, in Santa Monica. Both are right on the beach, but the Casa del Mar, a beautifully restored landmark with a Spanish/Mediterranean design, is particularly appealing, although the rooms at the New England-style Shutters may be packed with more amenities. If you opt for the Beverly Hills area, we suggest The Peninsula Beverly Hills—legendary for its impeccable, never-wavering standards—or the historic, idyllic Hotel Bel-Air in neighboring Bel-Air, L.A.'s most prestigious residential sanctuary. The Peninsula suits those seeking a more urban environment, while the Bel-Air is ideal for visitors who like feeling as if they've left the chaos of the city far behind. Beverly Hills' Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel has been a posh destination for world travelers for decades, and its location just off Rodeo Drive is a plus, along with its trendy dining spots that include Wolfgang Puck's steakhouse CUT. If you value trendiness, consider the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills, with an interior by Philippe Starck and a restaurant by celebrity chef José Andrés.

For more moderate budgets, downtown, which is experiencing an exciting renaissance, offers several good values. More staid types will enjoy the distinguished Millennium Biltmore Hotel, a masterfully restored landmark whose Club Level offers exceptional upgrades. For hipsters on a budget, there's the Figueroa Hotel, a charming Moroccan-styled boutique downtowner, or The Standard (its rooftop bar is a constantly hot scene). There's also The Standard on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills offers moderate prices in the lovely boutique hotel, Maison 140, the Avalon Hotel with its poolside blue on blue restaurant, and the all-suite Beverly Hills Plaza Hotel in nearby Westwood. At any rate, get a good night's sleep and be ready for an early start the next day.

DAY 1

Getty Center

First stop is downtown Beverly Hills and its glamorous boutiques centered around famous Rodeo Drive. Two blocks to the east, on Beverly Drive, is The Farm of Beverly Hills, a laid-back restaurant where you can grab a wonderful breakfast of crisp corn pancakes with caramelized pears and pecans, or eggs Benedict. This is also a great time to wander the streets past celebrated establishments like Versace, Gucci and Cartier. Why is this a good time? Because they're closed, which strictly limits you to window shopping—you'll thank us when you see the prices! Besides, time is of the essence, because you're off to drive the tree-shaded streets of Beverly Hills and Bel-Air, just to get a flavor of the movie star lifestyle.

After that quick tour, you'll be on your way to the spectacular Richard Meier-designed Getty Center, perched on a Brentwood hilltop overlooking the San Diego Freeway. Here, in addition to one of the most expansive—and eclectic—collections of art in the world, you'll find some incredible views of the city. A word to the wise: be selective. The Getty's collection is so overwhelming—everything from French furniture and decorative arts to Impressionist masters to Roman antiquities—that attempting to see it all in a single visit is totally unrealistic. If you'd like to stay there for lunch, the museum offers both an informal café and the more elaborate The Restaurant at the Getty Center, a sleek venue featuring outstanding contemporary American cuisine with spectacular views in almost every direction (for future reference, note the museum stays open into the evening on Saturdays, and the restaurant offers sensational sunsets).

The canals of Venice

In the alternative, you can grab lunch at your next destination, the iconic Venice Beach. Nobody should visit L.A. without checking out this unique stretch of sand, where artists and musicians line the boardwalk as bikini-clad babes skate by. Stop to watch and mingle with all the local characters and crazies—sand sculptors, over-the-top street performers, weightlifters on Muscle Beach—and enjoy a tequila-chicken sausage at the original Jody Maroni's Sausage Kingdom, a Venice institution located right on the boardwalk. Or for more sophisticated cuisine, head over to the stylish, Pacific Rim-inspired Chaya Venice, where you can score anything from sushi to lobster enchiladas to a rib-eye with peppercorn sauce; James Beach for solid American fare and a lively bar, or Joe's, a serious but unstuffy California-French restaurant that offers outstanding deals for lunch.

Santa Monica Pier

In neighboring Santa Monica, you can ride the Ferris wheel at Pacific Park, built on the Santa Monica Pier, or round out the afternoon wandering the Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian mall which has become a prime place to shop, take in a movie, snack—be careful, since you've got a big dinner planned—or just hang out. Some establishments of note include Arcana, a book store dedicated to the arts and Puzzle Zoo, a truly unique toy store. For dinner, you might as well catch a signature sunset at the beach. In Santa Monica, you can dine at Mélisse where surfing chef-owner, Josiah Citrin's menu emphasizes traditional French cuisine with Cal-Italian twists. For a more lively and casual—but no less expensive—dining experience, head over to The Lobster at the foot of Santa Monica Pier, where chef Allyson Thurber cooks plump crab cakes, big-eye tuna and, of course, lobster while guests enjoy the ocean view. (We recommend sitting on the terrace—the views are better and it's less noisy).

The previously mentioned spots in Venice are also fine options, but you might want to head north to check out the views from glamorous Malibu. There, you can eat at The Beachcomber at Malibu Pier, whose patio is perched right above the crashing waves, or—further north past Pepperdine University—at Geoffrey's, where the entire dining "room" is stationed on a garden-like terrace. Malibu also offers the incredible sushi (and other inventive, intricate Japanese dishes) of renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa at his casual but very cool Nobu Malibu. It doesn't have dramatic views, but the contemporary Japanese cuisine is reward enough. These are great places to enjoy after a trip to the Getty Villa, J. Paul Getty's lavish mansion now housing 48,000 square feet of museum space, recently re-opened after a nine-year renovation.

Continue to Day 2

* Venice image by AlphaMedia.
Top Santa Monica Palisades, LAX and Santa Monica Pier images by Robert Landau courtesy of LA INC., Los Angeles Convention & Visitor's Bureau.