First time in L.A. (Fri. 10/27 - Mon. 10/30) Will be flying into LAX and staying at the Omni downtown. Would like to know good places to shop for deals and wholesale shop. Also, would like to know some good sights to see and would like to spend a little time at the beach. (will have a rental car) Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I had fun shopping in the garment district in downtown LA. I bought skirts for my daughters, a knock-off purse and a few funky beaded bags.

Have people at the Omni point out the way to Disney Hall and the central library and the Chandler - great buildings all close together.

Don't know about beach - keep your clothes on in Oct., but it will be nice to walk and look out etc. - near Santa Monica is good, park for free at the parking structure corner Broadway and Third Street Promenade, then walk to the pier and beach.

Also drive to Huntington Library and Gardens, to Old Town Pasadena, on the weekend to Venice (the boardwalk with all the crazies - much fun, just don't leave anything in the car and hope for luck with parking).

If you have the time, pick up Sunset Blvd in East Hollywood (where it splits off of Hollywood Blvd) and follow it all the way to the ocean, maybe 15 or 20 miles - L.A. changes many times along Sunset and you get to see all aspects, and famous names (Comedy Club, Mondrian Hotel etc., UCLA, etc.).

Drive up to the lookout at the observatory in Griffith Park, great mountain scenery then views - feels like not in L.A. at all.

Drive Mulholland Drive from Cahuenga Pass (Hollywood Bowl area) all the way to the 405 Freeway - great famous drive with super views on L.A. and on San Fernando Valley!.

Drive to L.A. Harbor then around Rancho Palos Verdes to Redondo Beach etc., another great drive.

Drive from Santa Monica all the way along the coast road (1) through 20 miles of Malibu then turn inland and near Oxnard/Camarillo pick up the 101 to Los Angeles again.

And so it goes...have fun.

Don't know about shopping, the hotel people will tell you what you need to know (Beverly Center, Farmers Market on West 3rd St. near Fairfax, also brand new shopping complex adjacent, Melrose, others).

YES! You gotta go to the Santee Alley area. I don't find much for myself (except sliced mango) but my daughter LOVES this place. Loads of cheapo crap and great bargains on highly perishable fashions. There are great fabric shops in the area, too.
Don't forget American Apparel... they have an outlet on 5th in Downtown:
http://www.americanapparel.net/index.html

Lots of info about the downtown garment district on their website, fashiondistrict.org. Check the "retail" section, also the sample sale Section. Friday October 27 is a sample sale day!
Sample sales are held participating showrooms in the California Market Center, Cooper Design Space, Gerry Building and The New Mart, all located at the intersection of 9th and Los Angeles Streets. Sample sale hours are generally 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

At the moment you can't go to the Griffith Park Observatory without a reservation, but you can certainly drive thru Griffith Park.

You have gotten good advice, so far. I just wanted to let you know that the SantaAna winds are forecasted again for this coming weekend, so it should be pretty warm at the beaches (80's). Just try to ignore that brown layer of "air" on the horizon. Water temps will still be chilly, though.

The easiest route for you would be to get onto the 10 freeway and head west until you hit the ocean. You can then hang out in the Santa Monica area, or head north on Pacific Coast Highway towards Malibu.

Enjoy!

What time do you arrive on Fri and depart on Mon? Because you may want to make the beach your first stop or your last, it's right there near LAX. Once you're way downtown, if you only have Sat & Sun to explore...you're not gonna wanna head all the way back to the beach, probably.

Thank you all for your help. I am from the east coast and really just wanted to view the pacific and compare the east and west coast beaches. So, my thought was to just stop on the way out on Monday. I do however want to do some shopping and sightseeing (Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, historical sights....etc.). Being that I just heard that traffic is horrific in LA, I may be attempting to do too much. But what the heck, you only live once!!! :-} What are your thoughts on some good eateries or is there any place that you think I should definately visit? Thanks again.

Saturday and Sunday would be better days for exploring outside downtown, traffic wise. Some parts of downtown are best visited on weekdays when there are more pedestrians around (esp the Financial District).

A number of good restaurants downtown for you to try, Ciudad is fun. Upscale Patina is adjacent to the Disney concert hall, expensive but worth it. The inside cafeteria is pretty good, too.

Watergrill on 5th and Grand is consistently voted the best seafood restaurant in town. Expensive. While downtown you might want to visit the Central Market on 4th/broadway, lots of stalls selling tacos, sopes etc for less than $3. Not just mexican food either, you name it, they'll probably be selling it. The Bradbury building is right across the street from the market, don't miss it. I believe there is an office in the Bradbury that has walking tours of downtown, ck with your hotel.

Hi totie..
I would head up the 101 along the coast to Malibu..gorgeous coastline and stop at Neptunes Net and have some great seafood..it's a dive but you might see a celebrity or two there..
Happy Hour at Gladstones too..
Have Fun!
www.neptunesnet.com
www.gladstones.com