sigms81

Hi! We will be traveling to LA in mid December to attend the Cat Stevens concert! We are so excited! We are unfamiliar with LA and need suggestions on where to stay (which area of LA) and other things to do while there. We are pretty adventurous and love being outdoors. Wasn't sure if there were some good hikes around the area. And then at night we were thinking about maybe seeing a comedy show or two. We are really up for anything as the only thing we have planned is the concert. Thanks for any tips!

Tabernash2

Cat Stevens! I still have Tea for the Tillerman on vinyl, from the early 70s. Does he still use that name?

L.A. has so much to do, you will easily find hiking and a comedy show.

Will you have a car? (I suggest you do.)

The concert is at the Nokia Theater, but I recommend you stay in Santa Monica or Marina del Rey. We like those two areas, especially, because we prefer to stay by the water and be able to walk oceanside in the mornings and evenings. The Jamaica Bay Inn is very nice, @ Marina del Rey. The Inn at Venice Beach is its funkier little sister, where I've stayed several times. Both are part of the Pacifica group of hotels, which we like.

(Better ask for one of your threads to be deleted, to avoid confusion.)

jamie99

What is your budget? Hopefully you will have a car (you really need one). Good suggestions from Tabernash, Santa Monica is nice but a little pricey, Marina del Rey is nice IF you have a car, if not, forget it. Manhattan Beach is nice also and close to freeways, maybe Culver City.

Tabernash2

Culver City has a really cute little downtown area, with restaurants and bars.

Manhattan Beach is great, too. We prefer to be by the water, like I said, because we live in a landlocked state.

I hope your budget is about $200/night.

mlgb

Since your concert is downtown at the Nokia, I will differ from the rest and suggest you stay downtown. Many of the best new restaurants in the area are now in the downtown area. It also has some of the better Christmas decorations, bars(Ace is the most recent trendy rooftop one), and historic sights.

If you have the budget you might look at staying at the Ace, but there is a full array of options. I also like Little Tokyo, and there are some budget choices there.

If you want to visit the beach (in December?) rent a car for the day. Otherwise you can hike nearby in Griffith Park, perhaps walk up to the Observatory. On the weekends you can talk the Red Line from downtown to Hollywood at Vermont and Sunset and take the free Observatory Shuttle.

http://www.griffithobservatory.org/vplanyourvisit.html