LA Suggestions Please -
 

We are having 3.5 days in Los Angeles on the first leg of our Honeymoon next June. We're staying at the Hyatt West Hollywood and would like suggestions on the best things to do in the LA vicinity. I've been thinking of Mann's Chinese Theatre and one of the star tours, along with a trip up Mulholland drive at dusk to see the lights. What is unmissable in LA?

Also we'd really appreciate suggestions on good restaurants we could visit.

Also, is a car rental essential in LA or are taxis a better option?

The Getty Art Museum is a wonderful spot. It's not "just" a museum, it is a destination unto itself with great views, architecture and a very good restaurant.

It's always fun taking a drive around Beverly Hills to see the beautiful homes...!

Also, Malibu is a lovely place to take a drive. Stop at one of the restaurants (Geoffreys?) on the way and have a great view of the ocean.

Santa Monica is a fun place to walk. There are a TON of great restaurants in Santa Monica, one of my favorites is JirAffe.
You MUST rent a car!!!

The Getty enjoys a unique, lovely setting and is architecturally a triumph (Richard Meier's masterpiece). You don't go there for the standing art collection, but it does get outstanding visiting exhibitions, and it's absolutely worth a long visit. Take a meal up there; the restaurant at the Getty is quite wonderful.

Doing a Hollywood tour is a good idea. The "stars' homes" tour is a mixed bag; the houses you see in the Beverly Hills area are pretty swank, but most of the homes that the Golden Age stars owned have all been either torn down or severely altered. However, a spin through the swank shops and boutiques of Beverly Hills, followed by drinks at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, should give you the Star Treatment you deserve.

Santa Monica is certainly nicely set up for tourists (well, the coastal section), but the Third Street Promenade is now simply an outdoor mall. Having worked two blocks away for 16 years, I can now say I'm over the Promenade. For a more unique experience, Venice Beach is still more fun.

If you can arrange a tour of the Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA, you will see some of the wildest architecture in the world (Frank Gehry).

If you feel like taking a spin farther down the coast, there are some great beach cities down in Orange County: Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. The last is my favorite-- a unique, slightly Bohemian town, with a heavy emphasis on the arts (it's historically been an artists' community, although it's now too expensive for most artists). Bette Davis lived here for years, and was an active participant in the Pageant of the Masters (world-famous show of tableaux vivants).

Restaurants? Too many to mention. If you want a quintessential LA experience, you could try to get dinner at Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian, then take drinks at the SkyBar (I think that if you're not a guest at the hotel, not traffic-stoppingly hot and/or not in a front-page story in "Daily Variety", eating at Asia de Cuba is the only way to get into SkyBar). Geoffrey's is famous for its fantastic Malibu views, but the food has seemingly taken a dramatic turn for the worse (the "LA Times" gave it a regretful pan). What kind of food do you like? You'll find all of it here.

Oh, and rent a car. Do you want to spend every last dime you have on cabs? The LA metro area is huge. The Hyatt WH is almost 12 miles from the beach, to give you one example of the distances involved. It's not hard to drive in LA. And by the way, congratulations!

Thank you both - fab responses. Thank you for the congratulations too. Personally I'm so excited about our honeymoon to the South Pacific and West Coast US at the moment that the wedding has taken a back seat. ;)

We'll be sure to hire a car then if it's relatively easy. We're English and drive on the left hand side of the road though - sure my fiance will get used to it.

Food wise, we both enjoy good steak, Mexican, Chinese and want to sample a couple of good LA restaurants - not necessarily expensive but not too budget either.

If you would like a wonderful, but inexpensive theatre experience while in Los Angeles, you can get 1/2 tickets before you leave for L.A. at www.theatrela.org. They are mostly small theatres (equity waiver), but there are wonderful performances.

You definitely need a car. Check out orbitz and biddingfortravel before bidding on a car on Priceline. You can also check out Hertz with Costco and AAA discounts (and www.rentalcodes.com).

If you haven't tried Thai Food, check out Thai Dishes in Santa Monica. The food is yummy and the prices are very reasonable.

Congrats!