ksbeem

We're going to be in Los Angeles for a day in mid-March before our cruise ship leaves. We'll have an entire Friday (the boat leaves on Saturday.) Our kids are 12, 11 and 6, and we'll be traveling with my husband's parents, too (mid 60s.)

What should we do? I'm overstimulated. The kids haven't been to L.A. before, and the folks haven't spent much time there, either. I'm thinking Santa Monica Pier, but where to go from there?

I welcome any and all suggestions except those involving Disneyland.

Thanks!

sf7307

The LaBrea Tar Pits is great. The Farmer's Market is fun. The beach, of course (but you're going on a cruise, so maybe not). When are you arriving and leaving? Where are you staying? Will you have a car?

ksbeem

We'll have a car. Can't remember where we're staying -- a Marriott somewhere because my husband has points. But we're mobile. My husband spends a fair amount of time in L.A. on business but never does touristy things. He can navigate the city well.

Yeah, the tar pits would be great.

TTess

Well, Disneyland isn't in L.A. so you shouldn't receive that suggestion, anyway.

Take the kids to Hollywood to see the stars in the sidewalks, along with their foot and handprints.

Griffith Park is full of great things: http://www.lacity.org/rap/dos/parks/...thpk/index.htm

There are always studio tours. How about Universal?

logandog

Try The Magic Kingdom!

MikeT

Disneyland

DalaiLlama

Tar pits in the morning, http://www.tarpits.org/, and the nearby Petersen car museum, http://www.petersen.org/.

Then park in the multi-level carpark of the ritzy new shopping center GROVE, check it out if it interests you, but mostly - walk around the corner to the Farmers' Market for some browsing among the wacky and hilariously kitschy shops, some have fun stuff to buy, others actually have nice items. Prices are moderate, it is a bit of a cute jumble sale really.

Then have a yummy lunch that you put together yourselves from the many food stands with all sorts of food types.

http://www.farmersmarketla.com

Yes, the Santa Monica Pier, park in Santa Moica in the structure near Broadway and Third Street Promenade (see below) and walk, the pier doesn't really come to life until the afternoon. There is an amusement "park" - charmingly modest and decidedly non-ritzy but fun.

And in the shed there is the plethora of games, play skee-ball amongst yourselves for a while and see who gets the highest score (as you enter on your right).

Walk to the end of the pier and catch the seabreeze, maybe see some big fish out there.

In Santa Monica itself, not far from the pier (use http://maps.google.com/) is the Third Street Promenade, good for a stroll (park at the Broadway end in the above-ground parking, cheap for a few hours, also good for a walk to the Pier where parking can be a pain), there are street entertainers, shops, cinemas, restaurants, it is pedestrian-only, kinda mellow.

SiteC_er

Griffith Park Observatory and/or Santa Moncia Pier / Venice Beach.

luv2plan

We took our kids to the the Getty Museum. They were young, 2 & 5, but they managed ok. There are lots of outdoor steps and fountains that they were interested in.

We (the adults) enjoyed the museum very much. It's very beautiful.

Santa Monica Pier was nice too.

Happy planning!

Jean

I like DalaiLlama's plan because it doesn't have you driving all over the place (especially on a Friday). I'd go to either the Grove or 3rd Street Promenade but not both.

You could eat lunch at Pentimento in the inner courtyard of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) which is adjacent to the Tar Pits and across the street from the Peterson. (There's also a decent cafeteria.) If any of the exhibit signs look interesting, you could spend an hour or two exploring the museum. (BTW, LACMA's new Broad Contemporary Art Museum is fun and not too large. My pre-teen niece loved it.)

http://www.patinagroup.com/pentimento/