RG

Hubby, son, his fiance' and I will be flying to Los Angeles. We will have 4 days to visit the Hollywood,the Getty Center, Santa Monica & Muscle Beach, drive the PCH. We do not plan to visit Universal. My son will want to visit art exhibits/galleries. We will then drive to Las Vegas and spend 2 days there before we drive back to LA to fly home. Any suggestions? We leave in 4 days.

Thyra

Hi RG, I live and work in L.A, so any questions I will be most happy to answer if you email me directly. If your son wants to visit art exhibits, I strongly recommend the Norton Simon museum in Pasadena, it has the best collection in Los Angeles, and Pasadena itself is a charming,(if, slightly smoggy) town with a bustling historic center, where you can walk from place to place ( something we Angeleno's don't often do) some lovely old buildings it makes for a nice day out but like everything else in L.A, you need a car to get there. Otherwise I recommend the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, and would be more then happy to offer specific advice/opinions if you email me directly. Good Luck

kam

Just returned yesterday from my one time home of Pasadena. If you go to the Getty, be sure to take a sun hat. Much of the time you will be outside and the sun reflects a lot up there on the hill. Beautiful place and now it's coming into its own as the gardens are filling in from our last visit two years ago(see the cactus garden for outstanding views of LA and the westside if it's a clear day as well as the azalia garden with the wonderful maze and water effects.) You know you will need to take a cab or prebook parking? Easier to take the taxi. Food very expensive at the museum so plan to eat before or after. Pasadena's Old Town is better and worse than I remember. Getting much more commercial and now heavily into "chains" such as Banana Republic, Victoria's Secret,Borders, Sur Le Table,Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma etc. Recommend eating at Sorisso or Twin Palms, but please not at Buca di Beppo or the Cheesecake Factory! Street musicians are still the same as 10 years ago and very good. Lots of movie theatres. There is currently a Picasso exhibit at the Norton Simon which I would strongly recommend. My only hesitation would be Hollywood because it's not going to be what you envision. It's a rather dirty and to me, depressing part of LA. Santa Monica is good and a walk from SM down along the ocean to Venice is great. "Muscle Beach" and the speedway are fun, touristy things to do and should certainly be included in a first time visit to L.A. Check the weather, it was quite hot last weekend. Enjoy!

LVLarry

I strongly recommend that you consider flying from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It pretty inexpensive if you plan ahead. Fares can be as low as $78.00 /rt. Do NOT fly there on Friday. The drive is very boring. If you do drive, avoid returning to Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon/evening. Traffic is terrible on I-15 at that time.

Gary

RG:

Two days in L.A. doesn't leave much time for what you want to see. But, if you are early risers, you might combine Santa Monica, the Getty, and Hollywood in one day:

Santa Monica Pier/Venice Beach (Muscle Beach is at the south end of the Venice Beach boardwalk). Third Street Promenade is nearby. Lunch at either Venice or Third Street Promenade. Then drive to the Getty for the afternoon, but don't forget to call ahead for parking reservations.

I disagree with the above about Hollywood. Yes, it's pretty grungy, but my East Coast guests have loved seeing the Chinese Theater. And you can drive Sunset Strip to get there. You might even go that first evening. There are some great places to eat nearby on Sunset or Melrose.

Other stuff:

The Norton Simon is great. A beautiful collection. Another choice might be MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Arts), in downtown L.A. They currently have a new exhibit of 20th-Century architecture.

The drive from Santa Monica to Las Vegas would be about 4.5 hours. If you leave after 3:00 pm, add at least an hour. Same thing coming back: you want to reach the L.A. basin any time other than 5:00 am to 9:00 am.

cherie

If you're going to Pasadena, hit the Huntington Museum and see the famous Gainsboroughs (Pinkie & Blueboy are there) as well as the lovely grounds and gardens.