LA Help
 

I am having a difficult time planning my sightseeing in Los Angeles. I only have 1 1/2 days before the start of a convention. Am staying at the Westin Bonaventure and will have a car.

This is what I really want to do/see:

1. Santa Monica Pier/Beach
2. Walk from Santa Monica Beach to Venice Beach
3. Drive down the Sunset Strip
4. See the Hollywood Sign
5. See the Walk of Fame
6. Shopping on Rodeo Dr. and Robertson Blvd.
7. Griffith Observertory

I will arrive about 1pm on Saturday and my first convention event is at 6pm on Sunday. Can I fit all of this in that limited time??

Thanks for any help/advise!

Of course you can. I would pass on going to the pier if I were you. Full of bums and beggars these days. It's also starting to get a little on the dumpish side. It hasn't been maintained all to well in the past 5 years. It's nice to look at from the beach or Hwy 1 but don't waste your time stopping there.

You can see the Hollywood sign from the Hollywood & Vine shopping complex which is also located where the Walk of Fame is.

You can take Sunset all the way to Rodeo which is nice but there is a lot of traffic so doing this on Sunday afternoon is your best bet. Although not all the shops on Rodeo will be open on Sunday.

Any other suggestions? Thanks!

My standard suggestion is to time your visit to the Griffith Observatory for right before sunset (around 8pm lately, but I don't know when your trip is). This way you can see the views of LA during the day, watch the sunset, and then see the city lights.

Maybe after landing at LAX, you can head to Robertson then Rodeo before heading downtown to check into your hotel. Then hit Griffith Observatory and maybe Mulholland Drive in the evening. The bar on top of the Bonaventure also has good views of the city.

On Sunday Morning, drive to Santa Monica/Venice, then up PCH to Sunset. Take Sunset all the way into Hollywood. The shopping center at Hollywood and Highland has good views of the Hollywood sign. You could then continue to the convention center downtown.

If you have to cut something out, I would agree with cutting out the SM Pier.

Thanks - I'm going at the end of July. I'll check the sunset schedule and try to schedule my visit to the Observatory accordingly.