Los Angeles, California 72-Hour Vacation

Dodger Stadium and Downtown Los Angeles

Los Angeles means so many things to so many people that deciding on an itinerary is difficult, particularly if your time in town is limited. L.A. being the center of the entertainment industry, you’ll naturally want to soak up the spirit of Hollywood, but the city’s status as one of the world’s great cultural centers should also be factored into your plans. Whether your taste is George Gershwin or Lady Gaga, there is an abundance of music in town, performed at some of the most acoustically perfect venues in the nation.

World-class museums are scattered from Pasadena to Malibu, making L.A. a terrific destination for any lover of art or natural history. Teetering on the Pacific Rim, L.A. offers incredible cultural diversity, which is only multiplied by the city’s status as a major gateway to Latin America. As a result, ethnic neighborhoods provide rich and colorful detours, with globally-inspired cuisine to complement the fine dining provided by celebrity chefs from around the world. L.A. is a paradise for shoppers, from glamorous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills to funky Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood.

Last but not least, the coastal beauty and beach culture immortalized in music and film is a must-see in L.A. The city is still missing an NFL team, but 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.

L.A. is painfully spread out, and 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 should definitely rent a car with a GPS navigating system. And 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 of Montage Beverly Hills

In terms of lodging, there are so many desirable 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. If you opt for the Beverly Hills area, we suggest The Peninsula Beverly Hills—legendary for its impeccable, never-wavering standards—or the opulent Montage Beverly Hills. A perennial favorite among discriminating travelers is the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, which has been a posh destination for decades. Its location just off Rodeo Drive is a plus, along with its in-house dining spots that include Wolfgang Puck's CUT. If you value trendiness, consider the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills, with an interior by Philippe Starck. Its restaurant, The Bazaar by José Andrés, has emerged as one of the most innovative and exciting in town.

For more moderate budgets, consider downtown L.A., which is experiencing an exciting renaissance. 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 perennially hot scene). Its sister property, The Standard on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, is also a good value. Even ritzy Beverly Hills offers moderate prices in the lovely boutique hotel, Maison 140, the mid-century modern Avalon Hotel with its poolside Oliverio restaurant, and the all-suite Beverly Hills Plaza Hotel in nearby Westwood. Hollywood, which used to be ignored as a place to stay, has now come into its own, particularly with the recent debut of the spectacular W Hollywood Hotel & Residences, located at the legendary intersection of Hollywood & Vine. For travelers, it makes for a strategic choice, since the Metro Red Line train runs directly through the hotel. Not far, on the Sunset Strip, is the recently renovated ANdAZ West Hollywood hotel, once known as the “Riot House” for its raucous rock band guests. Wherever you stay, get a good night's sleep and be ready for an early start the next day.

Also consider getting a CityPass to save up to 50% off the price of regular admissions to some of the city's finest attractions.

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. At this hour, the boutiques are closed and at these prices, window shopping is much safer! 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 thoroughly 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 captures 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. For an intriguing selection of small plates and creative pizzas offered in a convivial setting that includes a pair of communal tables, head to Venice's popular Gjelina.

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

Santa Monica Pier

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 lively, more casual dining experience, head over to The Lobster at the foot of Santa Monica Pier, where you can find plump crab cakes, big-eye tuna and lobster in all forms while enjoying 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. Keep these places in mind for a future trip to Malibu. Prime attractions there include the Getty Villa, J. Paul Getty's lavish mansion now housing 48,000 square feet of museum space, which recently re-opened after a nine-year renovation. For shopping, check out Malibu Lumber Yard, a chic transformation of an old building supply yard that now houses some of the trendiest retailers in L.A.

Continue to Day 2

* Venice and Downtown images 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.