I’m sharing my itinerary for how I spent 4 days in Los Angeles for the first time! I visited L.A. in November to visit my friend and the weather was perfect. We ate so much good food and balanced it out with a hike and plenty of walking around. This year of travel seems to be the year I finally visit all the large U.S. cities, especially with my first visit to New York City earlier this year.
Now to the itinerary! This post includes what I did in Los Angeles for our first time visiting, including where we ate and areas we visited. Although it was my first time, there’s so much to do in L.A. that this can be helpful for the returning visitor too.
Where I stayed in Los Angeles
Staying in Hollywood
I visited Los Angeles to hang out with my friend and it was easiest to stay in a hotel closest to her home so we could carpool. I booked a hotel at the Kimpton Everly Hotel via Costco Travel and the package included a rental car.
The hotel was in a great location, with quick access to the highway and a block away from Hollywood Blvd. The decor was modern and clean, we also had a great view of the city from our room. We felt safe walking around the area near the hotel and it was quiet at night.
If I go back to Los Angeles, I would stay here again or experience a different area like West Hollywood, Silverlake, or La Brea.
How I prepared to visit Los Angeles
With plenty to do when visiting Los Angeles for the first time, do your research before you get there to make the most of your time. The city is so large and traffic times can throw a strict schedule off, so it’s best to gather your recommendations by area and go with the flow. Check the weather to know what to pack and review my travel essentials for any trip as a guide to your packing list.
Gather L.A. recommendations in Google Maps
Los Angeles is a huge city! It can take over an hour to get from one part of town to the other. There are plenty of museums, shopping, entertainment, sporting events, and restaurants in this city. There’s also tourist activities like celebrity tours, movie studio tours, or Disneyland.
I organized recommendations from friends and internet searches by saving places in a custom Google Maps. This Google Maps help link generally explains how to create your own Google Map. By saving recommendations on a map, I can start to see if clusters of things to do appear and plan what areas of town to visit.
Book L.A. entertainment or restaurants in advance
When I travel, I often see tourists waste their time by standing in line or get turned away by not booking in advance. If you want to visit a museum, see a show, watch a sports game, or eat at a popular restaurant, look up if you can book in advance to avoid disappointment!
Museums in Los Angeles
Some L.A. museums require reservation in advance, like The Broad. I usually like to visit museums on trips but this time, there was so much to do I didn’t fit in a visit. Other museums I considered visiting:
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
- The Getty
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
- Griffith Observatory
Comedy shows in Los Angeles
I thought it would be fun to see a comedy show in L.A. with all the talent in the city. We saw a show in New York City and loved it. I booked tickets ahead of time to at The Comedy Store and our group had a great time. Other comedy venues I considered visiting:
Restaurant reservations in Los Angeles
There are so many good restaurants in L.A. I’ll look at sites like Eater Los Angeles, Open Table Los Angeles, and Resy Los Angeles to see what restaurants are popular and who has a reservation available.
How to get around Los Angeles
Los Angeles has public transportation options, but it was easiest for us to get around with a rental car. Finding parking can be tricky depending on where you go, it’s important to read the street signs! Relying exclusively on Ubers seemed expensive, with an average Uber from LAX airport to Hollywood around $100 alone.
Day 1 in Los Angeles – Arrival and Koreatown
Arrival
Los Angeles has several airports to fly into, but most fly into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). We landed when the sun was setting and picked up our rental car at the airport.
Randy’s Donuts
This place has a famously large donut on top of its building, seen in movies like Iron Man 2. We picked up some cake donuts to hold us over the 1 hour drive from LAX to our Hollywood hotel.
Koreatown
We spent our first evening in Koreatown! I love Korean food and there aren’t a ton of options available in Austin. According to the LA Times Koreatown Guide, this is the largest Korean community outside of Korea and spans over 2 square miles. Our friend recommended we Uber here to avoid parking craziness in this area.
Baekjeong Ktown
This KBBQ spot had a 1.5 hour wait! We ordered the small beef set with kimchi soup and dumplings and we were FULL! They cook the beef on the grill for you and provide plenty of sides. My hair definitely smelled like KBBQ smoke afterwards but it was so worth it.
Escala Ktown
We went to this nearby Columbian-Korean fusion restaurant to have a drink while we waited for Baekjeong to text us. Their cocktails were a bit sweet but their kimchi empanadas were really good.
Honey Night Korean Pub
We walked to this pub for drinks from Baekjeong. This place also offers food options but we didn’t get to try any. This spot had a waitlist and we decided to try a different bar.
Potions & Poisons Bar
In the same shopping center as Honey Night, this small bar also has private karaoke rooms. We tried a drink from their specials menu.
Day 2 in Los Angeles – Hollywood Sign, Silverlake, Sunset Strip
Hollywood Sign Hike
I wanted to get a good view of the sign and the city but also to get a good workout! There are many ways to get to the Hollywood sign, check out all of the trail options on Google Maps. There is limited to no car parking near the sign.
Mt. Lee Dr. and Hollywood Sign Vista
Our friend lives in the Hollywood Dell area. We parked and hiked through the Hollywoodland neighborhoods, about 3 miles roundtrip. You can also park at Griffith Park and hike a couple routes to the sign.
Beachwood Cafe
After our hike, we had a long wait for brunch at this cafe. Turns out, it’s famous from a Harry Styles song and his concert in L.A. was the same day, calling all the fans to this spot. Even with the long wait, we still enjoyed the food and could witness weird fan photo phenomenons.
Silverlake
Shop Yolk
This cute small shop has home gifts and other artisan goods. It’s a good point to start from and continue walking East to see other cute shops along this strip.
Night + Market Song
With several locations, this Thai restaurant in Silverlake is loud with color and had such a fun vibe. We arrived right when they opened to snack on peek gai hey-ha (party wings), gai tod naeng noi (fried chicken thighs), and som tum (papaya salad).
Sunset Blvd
The Oppenheim Group
Okay I love reality TV, it’s my go-to TV to wind down. I watched Selling Sunset on Netflix and had to walk by their Sunset Blvd office to see it in person!
The Comedy Store
This comedy club has 3 different rooms with plenty of show options. We purchased our tickets in advance for The Belly Room and had a good time hearing comedy from several comedians we weren’t familiar with.
Mel’s Drive-in
After the show, we wanted a late-night bite and walked down the street to Mel’s. This diner served okay diner-type food but is apparently famous for celebrities visiting and featured in movies.
Day 3 in Los Angeles – Downtown L.A., Little Tokyo, Street Tacos
Downtown L.A.
Smorgasburg L.A.
This Sunday food market is located in downtown L.A and has a convenient parking garage for Row DTLA. This food market features food trucks and food vendors making cuisines from all over, which is exactly what I was looking for! There are also shops in the same area to visit after all the eating is done.
Here’s all the food we tried:
- Ube brioche from Ensaymada Project, probably tasted better fresh but we saved it for a day later
- Manila BBQ chicken from Mano Po, absolutely delicious and paired with garlic rice
- Asada tacos from Tacos 1986, fresh corn tortillas and good salsa
- French fries with mayo sauce from Super Frites, okay french fries, probably should have tried a combo for more flavor
- Red velvet beignets and pralines from Treme Kitchen, this rotating special of beignets were light, airy, and delicious
Little Tokyo
Midori Matcha
We parked near this shop to get a green tea soft serve as a good pick-me-up. It’s near other shops like Kinokuniya.
Fugetsu-do
This bakery shop offers deliciously soft and chewy Japanese mochi! It’s been in business since 1903 and offers so many options. We picked a preset selection of 12 mochi because I was overwhelmed with the selection! They all tasted great though and lasted for a couple days afterward.
Japanese Village Plaza Mall
This plaza is a good place to spend an afternoon with its plenty of unique shops and food options. I ended up buying a toy blind box, cute pens, and ceramics for my kitchen.
Street Tacos
After watching Netflix’s Street Food Los Angeles and Taco Chronicles, we wanted to try street tacos. There were so many options to pick from, like Carnitas el Momo and Leo’s Tacos Truck. We wanted to try tacos from one of the many vendors that set up tents on the sidewalk.
Tacos Guelaguetza
This taco spot is located in a grocery store parking lot and had a line when we pulled up. We tried their asada, pastor, and tripa tacos and they did not disappoint! We also tried their quesadilla and the cheese was so good.
After Dinner Drinks
Tabula Rasa Bar
Located near Thai Town, this bar is a great selection of natural wines, beer, and sake. Musicians were playing and the inside was dimly lit, making for a cozy vibe. We enjoyed a couple of their orange wines.
Day 4 in Los Angeles – La Brea, Venice, Downtown L.A.
La Brea
I wanted to do more in this area but we only managed to eat breakfast here. If I had more time, I would have tried to visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
Republique
Republique is a cafe and bakery in the morning and a restaurant with reservations later in the evening. We grabbed breakfast at Republique because I’ve read their cookbook! We tried a couple pastries and their ricotta toast and quiche. Everything was delicious.
Venice
Abbot Kinney Boulevard
This street has plenty of cute shops with a couple of eating options. My favorite shop was Burro. After walking here, we drove through the Venice Canals bridges.
Venice Beach
We entered Venice Beach by the Venice Sign and walked to the Venice Beach Skatepark. It was cool to see many different skateboarders and rollerbladers in the area. We continued down the boardwalk for a short bit before getting bored of the touristy shops.
Firestone Walker
The Venice taproom for Firestone Walker offers pub food and many beer options. We had a beer here while we decided what to do next.
Downtown L.A.
Bavel
For our last meal in Los Angeles, my friend secured a reservation at Bavel. This Middle Eastern restaurant was so good! We tried their hummus duck ‘nduja with pita, grilled prawns, roasted cauliflower, oyster mushroom kebab, lamb neck shawarma, and ended with a cinnamon star anise creme brulee. Our favorite by far was the oyster mushroom kebab!
What I’ll do next time I visit Los Angeles
Next time I visit Los Angeles, I hope to explore more parts! I had so many points of interest saved for Los Angeles. Here’s what I want to do next time I visit.
Food
- Dollar Hits: Filipino Food
- Girl & the Goat: Restaurant reservations needed
- Animal: Restaurant reservations needed
- Half & Half Tea House: Boba tea
- Huge Tree Pastry: Taiwainese food
- Boomtown Brewery: Brewery in the Arts District
- Grand Central Market: Food hall in downtown LA
Shopping
- Now Serving: Cookbook store in Chinatown
- Shorthand: Stationary store
- The Last Bookstore: Used and new bookstore in downtown LA
Things to Do
Visiting Los Angeles for the first time
I had so much fun in Los Angeles! The food was my favorite part and it did not disappoint. Although I’m disappointed I didn’t see a celebrity, I did see some crazy Harry Styles fans at Beachwood Cafe and TikTokers in the wild and that was enough for me. It was great to see iconic parts of LA like the downtown skyline and the Hollywood sign. I’m looking forward to going back.
What places in Los Angeles did I miss? Let me know in the comments!
