We're flying into LAX and will have one day in LA before heading to SF by train. We already have a hotel booked near the train station. My husband, sister and I are ages mid 60's to 70's. We're looking for suggestions of how to spend the little time we'll be there, as well as a great restaurant. Any ideas? Thanks.

When you say train station, I am assuming you mean downtown LA? Are you taking a cab or a shuttle from LAX to downtown? How much time do you really have? Is it a whole day? What kinds of things are you interested in? What time of year is the trip?

Downtown LA is dead at night but if you like musuems, it might be a good location to head to some museums in mid-Wilshire. There is also Chinatown (small) and Olvera Street which is based on a Mexican Village. Otherwise if you are using cabs, shuttles, etc to get around, you might want to stay in another location and just take the cab to the train station the morning of departure.

There is a FlyAway bus from LAX to Union Station. See http://www.lawa.org/welcome_LAX.aspx?id=292

These are large buses that carry your baggage underneath between the wheels.
Also check with your hotel. They may provide pick up from the airport or Union Station. They probably can also recommend local sights and nearby restaurants.
From your hotel in downtown Los Angeles you may want to walk to the Music Center and Disney Hall, Olvera Street and Little Tokyo. The Watercourt between 3rd and 4th streets on S. Olive is a very attractive area. It is busy on week days but dead on the weekends. The sidewalks do roll up at night.

The sidewalks downtown no longer roll up at night, especially with Staples Center, LA Live, Disney Concert Hall and the Music Center. There are gallery districts and some great restaurants. In fact many of the "new and trendy" restaurant openings are in downtown.

What part of downtown (eg Little Tokyo, Bunker Hill or LA Live), what kind of food, and how much per person?

If you are staying near the downtown Amtrak station, there is a delicious restaurant two block from the Amtrak Station. It is called Phillipe's. It is on Ord Street. It has been there forever. It is the home of the original French dip sandwich. Parking is free if you have a car. You don't want to be walking around the downtown area after dark though. Philippe's is open early for breakfast, but we prefer their lunch or dinner. You don't dress up for this place. You go up to the counter and order your food. Then you can leave a small tip on the tray they give you for your payment. Make sure you ask for your sandwiches to be DOUBLED DIPPED in the au jus. They have delicious lamb, roast beef (my favorite and the most popular), pork, turkey, etc. sandwiches. Their stew is great. So is their custard and their tapioca. It is a famous restaurant. I'm 62 and have been going there, since I was a child. So have a lot of other people.

If you've only got one day in Los Angeles, you probably couldn't have picked a worse place to stay. Well, a good place to see if you want to see Olvera Street, Disney Hall and architecture...but not if you want to see any of what most tourists go to Los Angeles to experience. Oh yes, and that beef sandwich at the joint that the health department recently closed down for a couple of days while they took care of the vermin infestation.


What time does your flight arrive, and is it a weekday or a weekend?

You asked for a great restaurant. They are a little out of my financial league, but I know that the Water Grill downtown has a great reputation. There is Louie's Trattoria, but it's very loud. The food is good though. I think there is a place called Patina over at the Music Center, which has a great reputation. Not sure if they are open every night. Ciudad, which is owned by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feninger is also downtown.

Philippe's is fun, and my family enjoys it, but I'm not sure it fits what you were looking for.

If you can make it out to the Getty Center, you will have a chance to see some art, have a great view of Los Angeles and have a good meal. There is a cafeteria style place there, and also a sit-down restaurant. It's probably not a cheap taxi ride, but it would a nice way to spend an afternoon and evening.

Cafe Pinot downtown is an excellent restaurant. If you are there in warm weather, it is delightful to eat outside.

I agree with some of the other posts above. Traffic is also a consideration in Los Angeles, so you should decide what you want to do and limit yourselves geographically.

Phillippe's is very popular, but it's not a great restaurant experience. There are plenty to choose from in downtown LA. Some of the suggestions above will be elegant as well as delicious.

Happy travels.

WOW! Am I glad I posted this! We arrive at LAX at 1:30 on a Saturday and leave the next morning at 10:15 from the Amtrac station. I booked the hotel direct, so it can be cancelled. Sounds like I need to research LA to see where we want to spend the evening and plan to take a cab in the morning, which will be Sunday and less traffic. We would like to be able to walk from the hotel in the evening, weather should be nice (mid-Sept). Would Wilshire be better to stay? Any hotels $150 or less?

September can be the hottest month so you might want to stay more towards the west. ALthough for just a 1 day stay you'll survive I guess. Sunday a.m. traffic is nil so you should be fine anywhere as long as you don't mind a cab ride.

Are you totally opposed to renting a car? Saturday traffic shouldn't be too bad leaving the airport, and you would be able to see so much more. Even a two hour drive at 7:30am on Sunday you'd be able to see quite a bit. I think you can rent a car at LAX and drop near Union Station if they're open on Sundays. If not, you could maybe change for a Burbank Amtrak departure and return your rental car right there, Amtrak is 200 feet from the Burbank airport car rental return.

It does depend on what you hope to see and do in your short time there. Public transportation will get you from LAX to downtown, and you can subway up and see the Hollywood walk of Fame. ON Saturday evenings there is a shuttle from Hollywood up to Griffith Observatory and that would be a must-do for me. If this, plus dinner, is enough for you, the downtown hotel plan near Union Station works fine I suppose. But if you're hoping to see Beverly Hills, have dinner at The Getty Center (great idea if you have a car), see Malibu or beaches....you can't do it in your short time & from a downtown hotel with public transp.

If you are landing at LAX, you are not far from the beach cities. There are nice semi-affordable hotels & plenty of places to stay & it will be safer & you can see the ocean & watch the sunset & all that stuff. Santa Monica would be the closest but not the nicest. I would recommend Manhattan, Hermosa or Redondo Beach. They would be a short van or cab ride away. And you would be seeing the nicer areas of Los Angeles instead of the downtown area.

Manhattan is a little higher class & the village area is a little hilly which may be harder for older folks. Hermosa is more of a college crowd type area. Redondo may be the best for your group. They have a nice pier which has plenty of restaurants & other things to see. There are a couple hotels by the harbor which are walking distance to more restaurants & the pier. They are the Crowne Plaza Hotel Redondo Beach 310-318-1888 & right next door is the Best Western Sunrise Hotel 310-376-0746.

These hotels are right across the street from the Cheesecake Factory, Ruby's Grill & many other resataurants - Mexican, seafood or American. Then a short walk to the pier can keep you busy for the day with all the restaurants & sights there. It is not a regular pier that just goes out into the water. This pier is huge & it is shaped like a horse shoe - more like a little mini mall on the water type thing.

The beach area here is fairly clean too. I think this area will keep you busy most of the day & evening & it will be easy to navigate for people in their 60's & 70's. Then a short ride up to LAX & you are off to S.F.

How about this hotel? www.figueroahotel.com

If I had only one evening in downtown Los Angeles I'd probably go to one of the old-timey places, like Olvera Street, Chinatown, or the Farmers Market.

oops, sorry i see you've already booked your hotel. The places I mention seeing are close enough to the train station any of them could work.

So many choices, so little time. No one has mentioned the Hollywood Bowl. There is a concert the night we'll be there (9/11)which sounds really good. I've read that shuttles are available, and I imagine we could find out from the hotel if we decide to stay in Hollywood. That would give us a few hours to do the touristy sights first. I think we'll pass on the beach towns this time, as we have been there before, but that was a great option to put in the mix. The Getty is hard to pass up, but it may be too hard to get to without a car. Also, we spent some time in Chicago this summer and visited the museums and planetarium there. That said, shall we look for a hotel in Hollywood instead of downtown? Any thoughts on how to narrow down the area on Priceline? Thanks for all the input.

I think an evening at Hollywood Bowl is classic LA!
Downtown and Hollywood are not all that terribly far a distance apart. I don't think it much matters between those two areas, as far as being able to get around for just one evening.

A few thoughts:

There is a Bowl Shuttle that leaves from Hollywood & Highland. http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/visit/g...us-shuttle.cfm There don't seem to be any shuttles or park-and-ride busses from downtown to the Bowl.

September 11th is during their Fireworks Finale weekend, which is very popular.

If you go with Priceline, make sure you go 3.5 stars or higher to get a decent place in Hollywood or Downtown. On weekends, you are much more likely to get great deals on 3-4 star hotels in downtown L.A. than you would in Hollywood, as downtown caters mostly to business travelers.

The Renaissance hotel is at the Hollywood & Highland complex, and is rated 4* by Priceline.

The Metro Red Line subway connects Hollywood with Union Station in downtown LA. Plan your trip at www.metro.net

If you could get the Renaissance at Hollywood and Highland through Priceline that would be great. Then you could take the Bowl shuttle lvk mentioned. Sounds like a great way to spend an evening.

What hotel do you have booked right now? If you are worried about booking through Priceline, you could stay at your present hotel, spend the afternoon looking around downtown LA (Olvera Street,etc) then take the metro to Hollywood where you can pick up the shuttle to the Hollywood Bowl. The only reason I suggest that is because I'm not sure what sightseeing you'd do all afternoon in Hollywood.

Thank you all so much! Paula1470, that's exactly what we'll do. We'll stay downtown and see that area and then take the metro to Hollywood and pick up the shuttle to the Hollywood Bowl. I've already checked and tickets are available. Ivk, thanks for the link.

The only problem I see with this plan is your return trip from the Bowl to your downtown L.A. hotel. I'm not sure I would want to be on the Metro Red Line after 10 pm. Cab fare would probably run around $40. You would still want to take the shuttle back to Hollywood & Highland, then take a cab or public transport from there. The gridlock in front of the Hollywood Bowl after shows is legendary. Shuttles and Park-n-Ride vehicles get preferential pickup locations and are able to get in and out quickly. Cabs and limos don't.

I'll be at the Bowl this week. If I see other transportation options waiting outside after the show, I'll report back.

I like your plan, but would spring for taxi fare to get back to your hotel in downtown LA after the Bowl concert. Rather than trouping around a city you're not familiar with at that time of night.