Downtown LA Safe?
Feb 22nd, 2009, 12:51 PM
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Downtown LA Safe?
Generally speaking, is it safe to do a self-guided tour solo in downtown LA using public transit?
In March, I will have a few hours to explore the neighborhoods, here's my plan:
Saturday
- take Bus 81 to Chinatown
- 9 am Chinatown dim sum at Empress Pavilion, check out Chinatown
- take Bus 96 from Chinatown to Olvera OR googlemaps shows I can walk it in 7 mins...is it a reasonable neighborhood to do it in?
- take the visitor center walking tour of Olvera area
- take Dash from Olvera to Little Tokyo
- take Bus 439B/444 from Little Tokyo back to Staples Center area by 3:30pm
Sunday
- take Red Line from 7th Str stop to Civic Center stop
- take guided tour of Walt Disney Concert Hall
- walk around MOCA and Cathedral Our Lady of the Angels
- return to Staples Center area by 1:30pm
- take Bus 14 from Staples Center area to Farmers Market around 4:45pm, return bus 7:12pm. If I catch the bus seems like I'd have 1.5 hrs at the Farmers Market. Worth it for the trip? This seems like a fairly long bus ride (40 mins) - better idea to catch a cab? About how long would the cab ride be & approx much would cab fare be?
Also, I plan on taking Bus 460 from Disneyland to downtown LA. It will be very early on the prior Sunday and I was thinking of sitting up by the driver. Any reason not to do this?
One last thing...the transit website shows new tap cards coming into effect. Will exact change cash fares still be accepted?
Having read yk's excellent Dec trip report that covers many of these locales, I'm just double checking to make sure this is a reasonably safe plan. As you can see most of the self-guided tour is during daylight hours. I'm planning on doing it solo but might go with one other from the event I'm attending if there's interest. Of course I will use common sense, but just thought I'd double check as I thought taking the bus to LAX was a great idea until I received realistic feedback in a previous post.
Thx for any insights.
Enjoy-la!
In March, I will have a few hours to explore the neighborhoods, here's my plan:
Saturday
- take Bus 81 to Chinatown
- 9 am Chinatown dim sum at Empress Pavilion, check out Chinatown
- take Bus 96 from Chinatown to Olvera OR googlemaps shows I can walk it in 7 mins...is it a reasonable neighborhood to do it in?
- take the visitor center walking tour of Olvera area
- take Dash from Olvera to Little Tokyo
- take Bus 439B/444 from Little Tokyo back to Staples Center area by 3:30pm
Sunday
- take Red Line from 7th Str stop to Civic Center stop
- take guided tour of Walt Disney Concert Hall
- walk around MOCA and Cathedral Our Lady of the Angels
- return to Staples Center area by 1:30pm
- take Bus 14 from Staples Center area to Farmers Market around 4:45pm, return bus 7:12pm. If I catch the bus seems like I'd have 1.5 hrs at the Farmers Market. Worth it for the trip? This seems like a fairly long bus ride (40 mins) - better idea to catch a cab? About how long would the cab ride be & approx much would cab fare be?
Also, I plan on taking Bus 460 from Disneyland to downtown LA. It will be very early on the prior Sunday and I was thinking of sitting up by the driver. Any reason not to do this?
One last thing...the transit website shows new tap cards coming into effect. Will exact change cash fares still be accepted?
Having read yk's excellent Dec trip report that covers many of these locales, I'm just double checking to make sure this is a reasonably safe plan. As you can see most of the self-guided tour is during daylight hours. I'm planning on doing it solo but might go with one other from the event I'm attending if there's interest. Of course I will use common sense, but just thought I'd double check as I thought taking the bus to LAX was a great idea until I received realistic feedback in a previous post.
Thx for any insights.
Enjoy-la!
Feb 22nd, 2009, 02:42 PM
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Hi klam-
- take the visitor center walking tour of Olvera area
- take Dash from Olvera to Little Tokyo
- take Bus 439B/444 from Little Tokyo back to Staples Center area by 3:30pm
Sunday
- take Red Line from 7th Str stop to Civic Center stop
- take guided tour of Walt Disney Concert Hall
- walk around MOCA and Cathedral Our Lady of the Angels
Completely safe for the above. BTW, are you sure the dim sum place is open that early at 9am? Just want to make sure.
regarding the Farmers Market, I assume you're talking about the one at 3rd & Fairfax? 1.5 hrs is more than enough, probably too much, unless you are eating a meal there. Is the Farmers Market open until 7pm on a Sunday?
I'm not sure if I made it clear in my trip report, but I took the bus or metro between Koreatown & downtown LA for all my DT visits. I never felt unsafe on the bus or metro, and never felt unsafe walking around DT at all. Having said that, all my DT visits were during daylight hours.
- take the visitor center walking tour of Olvera area
- take Dash from Olvera to Little Tokyo
- take Bus 439B/444 from Little Tokyo back to Staples Center area by 3:30pm
Sunday
- take Red Line from 7th Str stop to Civic Center stop
- take guided tour of Walt Disney Concert Hall
- walk around MOCA and Cathedral Our Lady of the Angels
Completely safe for the above. BTW, are you sure the dim sum place is open that early at 9am? Just want to make sure.
regarding the Farmers Market, I assume you're talking about the one at 3rd & Fairfax? 1.5 hrs is more than enough, probably too much, unless you are eating a meal there. Is the Farmers Market open until 7pm on a Sunday?
I'm not sure if I made it clear in my trip report, but I took the bus or metro between Koreatown & downtown LA for all my DT visits. I never felt unsafe on the bus or metro, and never felt unsafe walking around DT at all. Having said that, all my DT visits were during daylight hours.
Feb 22nd, 2009, 03:16 PM
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You're there on a weekend. You can take the DASH Downtown Discovery bus for some of your trips. It runs every 20 minutes from 10 to 5 on Sat and Sun, and cost $0.25:
It covers all the area you will need to be around Downtown:
http://www.ladottransit.com/dash/rou...wntown_we.html
The 14 is a local bus, with stops every other cross street, which is why it's slow. Rapid buses like the 720 along Wilshire are a lot faster, but you'll need a long walk or transfer from Staples Center.
The Farmers Market closes at 7pm on Sunday, but I think you should go there earlier. It gets quiet late Sunday.
You can definitely pay cash fare on Metro buses.
It's about 7 miles from Staples Center to the Farmers Market. About $30 each way by taxi, depending on traffic.
It covers all the area you will need to be around Downtown:
http://www.ladottransit.com/dash/rou...wntown_we.html
The 14 is a local bus, with stops every other cross street, which is why it's slow. Rapid buses like the 720 along Wilshire are a lot faster, but you'll need a long walk or transfer from Staples Center.
The Farmers Market closes at 7pm on Sunday, but I think you should go there earlier. It gets quiet late Sunday.
You can definitely pay cash fare on Metro buses.
It's about 7 miles from Staples Center to the Farmers Market. About $30 each way by taxi, depending on traffic.
Feb 22nd, 2009, 07:03 PM
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Couple more thoughts:
I'm not sure what the visiting policy is for Cathedral Our Lady of angles on a Sunday. i assume it has services throughout the day, though I suppose you have checked beforehand?
Regarding WDCH, I assume you have checked its tour schedule?
http://musiccenter.org/visit/toursched.html
I'm not sure what the visiting policy is for Cathedral Our Lady of angles on a Sunday. i assume it has services throughout the day, though I suppose you have checked beforehand?
Regarding WDCH, I assume you have checked its tour schedule?
http://musiccenter.org/visit/toursched.html
Feb 22nd, 2009, 08:05 PM
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I agree that the Farmers Market late on Sunday afternoon is not a good idea - it fizzles out and some businesses close early.
See instead if the fabulous Central Library building (those stairs that have been in the movies!) can be visited while you're there - check the hours and location at www.lapl.org/central/ - it's just down from the new Disney concert hall.
Also consider going down the hill from there to the Bonaventure hotel, it has several public rooms and bars etc. with incredible views on upper levels!
Otherwise your plan sounds good except for the church as mentioned, in case they have services.
See instead if the fabulous Central Library building (those stairs that have been in the movies!) can be visited while you're there - check the hours and location at www.lapl.org/central/ - it's just down from the new Disney concert hall.
Also consider going down the hill from there to the Bonaventure hotel, it has several public rooms and bars etc. with incredible views on upper levels!
Otherwise your plan sounds good except for the church as mentioned, in case they have services.
Feb 23rd, 2009, 05:17 AM
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Thx a mint yk for the reassurance. I did check all the biz hours so I should be good.
rkkwan, great details on the transit logistics - thx I will look those up.
DalaiLlama, it would be fab if I could switch the am and pm activites on Sunday but the WDCH only has guided tours until 11am. I considered the library but wanted to check out the Farmers Mkt more. However, based on the responses here I'll look into checking out the library instead. I really enjoyed the tour of the Boston Public Library so I'll see if there are any for the LAPL scheduled during my "free time" window. Thx for the info on the Bonaventure; I'll pop in there as well as the Biltmore.
Thx a mint all for your help - so great!
Enjoy-la!
rkkwan, great details on the transit logistics - thx I will look those up.
DalaiLlama, it would be fab if I could switch the am and pm activites on Sunday but the WDCH only has guided tours until 11am. I considered the library but wanted to check out the Farmers Mkt more. However, based on the responses here I'll look into checking out the library instead. I really enjoyed the tour of the Boston Public Library so I'll see if there are any for the LAPL scheduled during my "free time" window. Thx for the info on the Bonaventure; I'll pop in there as well as the Biltmore.
Thx a mint all for your help - so great!
Enjoy-la!
Feb 23rd, 2009, 08:49 AM
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Instead of going to the Farmer's market on Fairfax, how about checking out the Grand Central Market in downtown near 4th and Broadway? You can walk there from the Library and they are open until 6PM every day. It's great and you can have excellent (and cheap) authentic tacos at Ana Maria's.
http://www.grandcentralsquare.com/
Afterward you can walk across the street and check out the famous Bradbury Building where scenes from Blade Runner were filmed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradbury_Building
BTW, the Central Library always has interesting free exhibits. I saw a great one on Paris photography last year. Right now, it's all about Maps but I have not seen it yet. Make sure you check out the ceiling in the Rotunda, it's beautiful. Some friends got married there last year.
http://www.grandcentralsquare.com/
Afterward you can walk across the street and check out the famous Bradbury Building where scenes from Blade Runner were filmed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradbury_Building
BTW, the Central Library always has interesting free exhibits. I saw a great one on Paris photography last year. Right now, it's all about Maps but I have not seen it yet. Make sure you check out the ceiling in the Rotunda, it's beautiful. Some friends got married there last year.
Feb 23rd, 2009, 09:27 AM
#8
I agree with Kristina, go to Grand Central Market while you are downtown. You'll be near the Million Dollar Theatre as well as the Bradbury Building. I'm not sure if you can go inside either one unless on a tour.
You may find that it is faster to walk than wait for a DASH bus on the weekends. Olvera to Little Tokyo is very close, walk straight down Main Street and you'll go by City Hall, turn Left at First Street (passing by the Caltrans building).
It's worth it to go into at least the first floor rotunda of City Hall. You may be able to go to the top floor view as well, not sure but ask at the security desk.
You may find that it is faster to walk than wait for a DASH bus on the weekends. Olvera to Little Tokyo is very close, walk straight down Main Street and you'll go by City Hall, turn Left at First Street (passing by the Caltrans building).
It's worth it to go into at least the first floor rotunda of City Hall. You may be able to go to the top floor view as well, not sure but ask at the security desk.
Feb 23rd, 2009, 11:51 AM
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Kristina & mlgb, thx a mint for the GCM and bldg recs. I'd read one person said it wasn't worth going to the GCM so I didn't look into it anymore since the Fairfax FMkt seems to get all the attn. I love Mexican food so authentic tacos have me storming a trail there now - that they're inexpensive is a bonus...LOL! I'll look into your recs tonite but just wanted to post back now to let you know they sound like fab suggestions.
Appreciate the assurance, suze!
Enjoy-la!
Appreciate the assurance, suze!
Enjoy-la!
Feb 23rd, 2009, 12:19 PM
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Perhaps it was me who didn't love the Central Library tour. It was just more info than I really needed - more of a "what's where" tour of the library. Having said that, at least the first 15 minutes of my tour was great because the guide talked about the history and architecture of the library and showed us the impressive parts. But the remainder of the 45 minutes was going to childrens section, map section, reference section, computer terminals section... you get the idea. But it's worth going in to check out the dome room and the murals.
For food, I think Central Market is better than Farmers Market. Much cheaper and lots and lots of Mexican stalls to choose from. apart from the Bradbury building, don't forget to take a quick look of Angel's Flight.
Don't know if you watch PBS at all, but last night we watched Globe Trekker on TV and the episode was LA City Guide. Our favorite, Meghan, was the host of that show. If you haven't seen it, it's worth watching.
For food, I think Central Market is better than Farmers Market. Much cheaper and lots and lots of Mexican stalls to choose from. apart from the Bradbury building, don't forget to take a quick look of Angel's Flight.
Don't know if you watch PBS at all, but last night we watched Globe Trekker on TV and the episode was LA City Guide. Our favorite, Meghan, was the host of that show. If you haven't seen it, it's worth watching.
Feb 23rd, 2009, 12:24 PM
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If you like traditional soft tacos, then make sure you have the pork carnitas tacos at Ana Maria's in GCM. They are huge. I recommend you start with just one. I've made the mistake of ordering two twice now before I realized I could order just one. They are about $2.50 each.
Oh, and the Bradbury Bldg is open to all visitors. You just can't go up the stairs inside because it is still an office building. They are used to tourists checking it out inside.
If you exit the GCM onto Broadway, look across the street to the left and you will see the entrance to the Bradbury Bldg (next to a Sprint store).
I have some photos of these places I was going to put on my website. This thread has given me a little incentive so I'll try to get it done in the next few days and post a link back here.
Oh, and the Bradbury Bldg is open to all visitors. You just can't go up the stairs inside because it is still an office building. They are used to tourists checking it out inside.
If you exit the GCM onto Broadway, look across the street to the left and you will see the entrance to the Bradbury Bldg (next to a Sprint store).
I have some photos of these places I was going to put on my website. This thread has given me a little incentive so I'll try to get it done in the next few days and post a link back here.
Feb 24th, 2009, 06:33 AM
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Hi klam-
If you're going to visit the Library and Grand Central Market, Bradbury building, Biltmore etc, I found the "self-guided tour" info very useful here from the LA Conservancey website:
http://www.laconservancy.org/tours/t...elfguided.php4
I did the Printable tour, which I printed out the map and the descriptions of the buildings. Didn't try the podcast tour. You should be able to visit the buildings listed # 1-6
http://www.laconservancy.org/tours/downtown/index.php4
If you're going to visit the Library and Grand Central Market, Bradbury building, Biltmore etc, I found the "self-guided tour" info very useful here from the LA Conservancey website:
http://www.laconservancy.org/tours/t...elfguided.php4
I did the Printable tour, which I printed out the map and the descriptions of the buildings. Didn't try the podcast tour. You should be able to visit the buildings listed # 1-6
http://www.laconservancy.org/tours/downtown/index.php4
Feb 24th, 2009, 05:45 PM
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what great info, yk - thx! I hadn't come across that at all in my trip planning. I'm going to revamp my itin to take in the GCM and more of these sites!
suze, hometowns always are a special place (=
Enjoy-la!
suze, hometowns always are a special place (=
Enjoy-la!
Feb 24th, 2009, 06:11 PM
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Hi klam -
I cannot take credit here. It was Fodorite lvk who alerted me of the LA Conservancy's tours, when I asked about LA activites here a few months ago.
http://www.randomhouse.com/category/...=9781400019441
I'm heading back to LA for a weekend in April, and we are planning to take a guided tour by them at that time.
I cannot take credit here. It was Fodorite lvk who alerted me of the LA Conservancy's tours, when I asked about LA activites here a few months ago.
http://www.randomhouse.com/category/...=9781400019441
I'm heading back to LA for a weekend in April, and we are planning to take a guided tour by them at that time.
Feb 24th, 2009, 06:13 PM
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Whooooooooops! Wrong link. Here's the correct one:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...omment-2793135
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...omment-2793135
Feb 24th, 2009, 07:32 PM
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Klam, which weekend in March will you be here? There's going to be a Fodor GTG on the weekend of March 20th which will include Dim Sum at Empress Pavilion.
yk, I'm so bummed you won't be here that weekend. But I'm thinking your brother will be?
yk, I'm so bummed you won't be here that weekend. But I'm thinking your brother will be?
