LA! Active, FUN couple - area to stay/itenerary
 

We are a young at heart, active couple in our 40's traveling to LA for the first time in TWO weeks and have yet to secure a hotel. Please advise on best area/what makes sense.
We plan to visit Hollywood Blvd/touristy stuff for just one day (half day??) We will be heading to Santa Monica and Venice Beach on one (two?) day(s), and definitely do some hiking a few days+. Do not plan on Disneyland at this point unless Downtown Disney is fun??? Advice on that? Also, Q re: Hollywood Bowl - is nothing on calendar for November? Love Farmers Markets - would love to do the one on 3rd/Fairfax....
We would love to be close to nightlife and bars/restaurants, heading out for casual beers/happy hours within walking distance each night, walking streets at night, etc. We are open to Uber for areas we visit during the day or may even rent a car (not sure yet). Help! He's put me in charge of hotel and itenerary and we're two weeks away. Oops.
Also, best hiking trails? Looking at Runyon Canyon for sure, perhaps Topanga (Los Liones to Parker Mesa Overlook?) Solstice Canyon (Rising Sun Trail?), Escondido Canyon & Falls or Eaton Canyon, Griffith Park?
Would love ideas for local favorite (NOT fancy) restaurants/bars? We love casual places and love those hole in the wall/diamond in the rough places.
We like FUN, food, and active activities! We set our alarm to get up early in the morning and are gone till late! No time to rest! :)
We'd like to do the "have to's" such as Hollywood Blvd, etc. just to say we did it, but most interested in the non-touristy stuff that locals recommend. Help with itenerary as far as which areas for each day that make sense to mesh together and best area to stay to do all of this (nothing too expensive, but not sketchy. Mid range is fine - even best area to look for a vrbo.com) is greatly appreciated!!

Thank y'all, in advance! Clueless in Kentucky

You have a long list of activities. How many days are you in L.A.?

In answer to some of your questions...

"Downtown Disney" is a concert hall (Disney Hall), home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra although other type of concerts are also held there. Joan Baez appears Nov. 5th, Kamasi Washington (jazz) Nov. 6th, otherwise classical music in early November.

The Hollywood Bowl is generally a summer venue. Occasionally, there are contract events booked in the off season, but I don't see anything yet for this November.

The Farmers Market at 3rd/Fairfax is one market. Grand Central Market in downtown L.A. is another. Santa Monica holds multiple farmers markets during the week. Chefs from all over L.A. shop at the Wednesday/Saturday markets on Main Street.

Your hiking ideas are all good. I like the Solstice Canyon trails. Runyon Canyon gets very crowded on weekends, so not a place for solitude.

What is your hotel budget? Restaurant/bar recommendations would depend on where you end up staying.

I think by downtown Disney you mean the shopping area outside of Disneyland? If you've been to WDW, the Downtown Disney in CA is nothing at all like it. It's much smaller, and I don't think it's worth the separate trip. But if you're Disney fans, keep in mind that the holiday stuff may have started so that might be worth a day to the parks.

I loved The LA county art museum- it's world class and has a very California feel to it. I also enjoyed Grand Central and the Fairfax Farmers market. My best meals were the lunches I ate in both. Santa Monica has some great restaurants as well, especially the seafood restaurant that overlooks the pier.

I don't have any specific hotels I can recommend, as I stayed in a hostel in Santa Monica. However, I really liked the Santa Monica area for walking around, shopping and dining. If you can find a hotel there that fits your budget, that's where I would stay. Usually I try to stay somewhere central but that doesn't seem to work in LA as everything is so spread out.

I'd rent a car. That way you don't have to rely on uber. Parking is really cheap in LA, I found it easy to drive, and one of my favorite things to do there turned out to be just cruising around. I don't generally like to drive. But weirdly, LA it kind of ugly on foot- and almost magical behind the wheel.

>>"Downtown Disney" is a concert hall (Disney Hall), home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra<<

Nope. Downtown Disney is the dining and shopping street linking the Disneyland Hotel, Grand Californian and the parks.

>>Do not plan on Disneyland at this point unless Downtown Disney is fun<<

DD is fine - House of Blues, ESPN Zone, Brennan's etc . But certainly not worth a detour all the way from LA unless you were doing something else in the area.

Airbnb will have a lot more listings than Vrbo. Look for something in Beverly Grove, near the Farmer's Market, and check that it has a parking spot.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4861040

Sorry, I misread the Disney sentence... I can't see traveling to Downtown Disney (public trans, Uber, one-day car rental?) just for the shopping and dining options. Universal City Walk and L.A. Live are other options.

Short-term rentals are not legal everywhere in L.A. Airbnb and VRBO are banned in Santa Monica and West Hollywood, for example. If you don't plan to rent a car, you can save some Uber $ by picking lodging close to public trans.

Disneyland and Downtown Disney are in Anaheim, not LA. DD is mostly just shops and restaurants. If you are not planning to visit Disneyland I would not bother.
Hollywood Bowl regular season is over and they are now into lease events.
Hollywood tourist stuff only takes a couple of hours max unless you take a tour.
Runyon Canyon has really become such a cliche the last few years, go hike in Griffith Park or the Santa Monica mountains.
I don't like AirBnB's arrogant attitude towards cities that have enacted bans on short term rentals like Santa Monica and NYC, it just strikes me wrong.
Getty Villa is nice, Huntington Library and Gardens although not the best time of year for the gardens, maybe Petersen Automotive Museum.

Thank you, everyone, for the replies. We are headed there 11/5-11/12, arriving early Sat so will have a full 7 days.
Our budget for hotel is open, though we would love to keep it $200/night or less.
Based on the comments, we will skip downtown Disney and perhaps do Universal City Walk, as Jean suggested. After looking at that, started thinking of Universal Studios, although that would take up a full day. The studio tour looks neat. Worth the price of a ticket? What about Warner Brothers studio tour?
Confused about the ban of airbnb/vrbo in Santa Monica, as I saw listings for this area? Also will look in Beverly Grove area.

>>Confused about the ban of airbnb/vrbo in Santa Monica, as I saw listings for this area?<<

Yes -- there are listings. But the owners are breaking the Law -- just like in New York City and in Paris. Airbnb does not say that any of their listings are legal -- only that that owners are willing to pay them to use the site.

(But at least that has ended in NYC since there is a new law that goes after the <i>advertising medium</i> not just the owner.)

It's a misconception that airbnb is "illegal" in Santa Monica or Manhattan Beach. Apartment rentals of shorter than 30 days are illegal. But one can still legally rent out a room in their home, or the upstairs floor if they live below, or a guest house, or a part of their home that they've turned into a guest studio. These are the ads that you see, basically the law says that the owner must be on the premises. You can often see their license number in the airbnb ads (and check it with the city if you wish) and they will have to charge you tax as well as the rental fees.

West Hollywood has indeed banned all rentals and all advertising, however.

Warner Bros is a much better tour, small groups in a cart with a guide and you actually get to walk onto some of the sets and studios (not while filming is being done of course) whereas Universal you are on a train with 200 other people listening to narration over loudspeakers and you do not get to get on and off.

Thanks for the tip, Jamie99! We'll probably just go check out the Universal City Walk one night. And thanks for the clarification on the airbnb "bans", DebbieDoesDulles.

I grew up in LA, but from that golden era, I would say the La Brea Tar Pits http://www.tarpits.org/la-brea-tar-pits and the Griffith Observatory http://www.griffithobservatory.org/ are my favorites.

If you want to try something unusual, a stay at the Magic Castle Hotel http://magiccastlehotel.com/ is one of the few ways to get into the exclusive Magic Castle. http://www.magiccastle.com/

You would be close to the Hollywood Bowl & the walk of the stars on Hollywood Blvd, but the hotel is in a more residential area. Up the hill from the Magic Castle is the most fabulous view of LA at Yamashiro's restaurant http://yamashirohollywood.com/, which has a fascinating history with the film industry. http://yamashirohollywood.com/about/yamashirohistory/

Agree that the Farmer's Market is wonderful, I never grow tired of Bob's cat shaped donuts (and frosted dinosaurs) and watching taffy be made. http://www.bobscoffeeanddoughnuts.com/#

My favorite hotel in LA is the Chateau Marmont where I have seen dozens of celebrities, and it is in a fun walking & shopping area. It is a beautiful old Holly wood hotel with pools and bungalows and sordid activities and million dollar deals over lunch. http://www.chateaumarmont.com/

I know this doesn't answer your questions about hiking! Living in Northern California I almost never go hiking when I visit LA, except for Arroyo Canyon in Pasadena, but then I'm there to visit friends for the most part.

I just saw you are there now! Well, since I wrote this out I'll post anyway. Hope you are having fun!

we love to stay at the Crescent Hotel when we go to LA to visit family. family are in Hollywood. friends are in Santa Monica. We love the happy hours there... .some great ones ... and love that we can walk out for a drink at midnight, and stop at the big drug store for sundries on our way home.

the new broad museum downtown is free but requires reservations in advance. it's next to the disney center.

one of our favorite dinners is at the well-known Osteria Mozza... check the hours, but from 530ish on most week nights you can have dinner at the bar... three amazing courses for $33 (ish).

all your hiking spots sound good. Runyon hiking trail is a real trip if you go at 6ish . everyone with a dog for miles around walks them there... it's just fun to see all the locals out after work. then they stop of at the lovely Wattles Mansion and many let them off leash to run wild on the grass. good place to meet locals and just enjoy the madness.

p.s.- rooms at the bev. crescent are really small, but it is clean and modern and often has super reasonable prices. we also have stayed at an airbnb studio apartment in a lovely old apartment building that was lovely not too far away if you are interested.

Here is my California Dreaming section of my website...lots of attractions to check out, most in L.A. area...

<B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/california-dreaming-1/</B>

...and Tom's Dining Out...most restaurants are in L.A. and vicinity.

<B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/toms-dining/</B>

Have a great trip.

((H))

Great info all

(unfortunately the lodging advice may not be all that helpful since they are out here now. 11/5 - 11/12)