7 DAY LOS ANGELES ITINERARY
Customise this to your chosen pace and have the most amazing trip ! She is a long post so here we go ....
Hotel in West Hollywood -
We split our week between West Hollywood and Santa Monica and stayed in each a few nights. Why ? Because its lessened the travel and allowed my partner to get a good feel of the nightlife of both - it meant we could sometimes leave the car at the hotel and less sitting in traffic is always a good thing. You do not need do this - it was personal preference
The first hotel we stayed in was in West Hollywood & was the Best Western Sunset Plaza - the perfect stay on Sunset for those not on a A lister budget. The hotel is grand and the rooms and decor mirror this. The pool area is surrounded by flowers and trees and feels so secluded and quiet, whilst at the front of the hotel you step right out onto Sunset Blvd ! Breakfast is included in the price which is unherd on Sunset and you can walk to the strip at night feeling safe.
Car -
We hired a car through Alamo and because we wanted to see as much as possible - it just made things so much easier for us .
DAY 1 MELROSE
We started our LA trip on a Sunday - and Sunday is LA is flea market day so the perfect day to explore Melrose.
- Start at Jet Rag - the have a $1 sale on a Sunday - be there early to get the best bits !
- Walk down Melrose Avenue checking out all the vintage and independent shops. Including Wasteland, World of Vintage Tshirts, Crossroads, Sorella, American Rebel.
- Head to Melrose Trading Post which is on from 9am - 5pm
- Check out the shops on La Ciengega
- Get coffee and brunch at Toast
- Try Pinks Hotdogs for lunch
- Head to the Grove and the Farmers Market -its a cute shopping area with a market, trams, lots of big stores and beautiful fountains
- Finish the day watching a film at New Beverley Theatre - owned and programmed by Quentin Tarantino and projected on 35mm ( often pulled from his personal collection )
- Visit LACMA to see the iconic lamps
DAY 2 HOLLYWOOD & SUNSET STRIP
Today was a lot of seeing places you will always have herd of - a very touristy day but it has to be done in Los Angeles !
- Start with breakfast at Chateau Marmont - the best breakfast we had. The terrace is stunning, quiet and you will feel a million miles away. The perfect place to catch up with the person you were with, have a relaxing breakfast and forget about the real world for a bit. This iconic building is obviously a must see - and I was so glad to discover the food is also delicious
Now the walking starts.... places to hit up are -
- Guitar Centre and the Rock Walk
- Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theatre
- Capitol Records Building ( you will also see The Beatles star is outside here )
- Ameoba records - you can spend hours in this music shop - be warned Vinyl lovers
- The Records Parlour
-In-And-Out Burger ( obviously )
Then head to Sunset strip to see all of the iconic buildings and have food & drinks into the night !
- Carneys
-Saddleranch Chop House
- The Comedy Store
- Tower Records
- The Viper Rooms
- Whisky a go go
- The Roxt
- Troubadour
- Dan Tanas for food
- Rainbow Bar & Grill for good people and drinks
DAY 3 BEVERLY HILLS
- Head to the strip between Robertson Bvld between Beverly Blvd & Third St for breakfast and to explore some of the local shops there.
- Rodeo Drive - Always check to see if any pop ups or exhibitions are happening before you go!
- Beverley Hills Sign/Pond - wander to the famous sign and look up the amazing wide streets into Beverly Hills
- Sprinkles ATM - some of the best cupcakes I have had and you get them from an ATM ( this is connected to the shop so they are still all fresh ! )
-Have lunch at the Beverley Hills Hotel
DAY 4 HOLLYWOOD SIGN
We decided to walk to up to behind the Hollywood sign and it is always hand down one of the best things to do in LA. Take plenty of water with you and it gets hot up there and there is very little shade! Also try to go first thing in the morning so that it is a little cooler.
- Park at 3160 Canyon Lake Drive and start your walk from there. You will see several amazing views of the sign from out front before reaching the top and heading up to behind it and look out over all of Los Angeles.
- Start at the car parking and walk up Canyon Lake Drive onto Mulholland Highway. You will start to reach a residential area. You ARE allowed to walk here ! Keep to the left and walk uphill.
- You will snake around to the right and eventually get to a gate, walk past and around the gate and then keep left.
- You will now have started the trail up Mount Lee which leads to the sign !
DAY 5 SANTA MONICA
So we moved hotel & went to the Hotel Carmel Santa Monica - the hotel was in an amazing location but we had issues with hidden fees 'for a daily newspaper and water' that we didnt want or use and the valet parking although a great asset sometimes had us waiting up to 20 mins for someone to come to the desk to get our car - not because they were busy with someone else I may add - so I wouldn't recommend this stay but do check for fees before booking hotels always !
- Explore Santa Monica Pier - grab some food and use the Photobooth obviously
- Wander down Montana Ave & Third Street Promenade to shop
- Head to Santa Monica Place for more shopping
- Also Wilshire Blvd has good food places & designer shops - we loved this part of Santa Monica
- For places to eat I would recommend, Chez Jay, Seaside on the Pier for their rooftop, Mels Drive In and the Cheesecake Factory
DAY 6 VENICE BEACH
- Explore Santa Monica Mean Street on the way to Venice
- Venice Beach Boardwalk
- Pacific Ave & Lincoln Blvd for lots of Vintage shops
- Grab food & drinks on the rooftop of the Erwin Hotel
- Wander around the Venice Canals - a lovely place to get some quiet and explore all the beautiful houses and canals
- Shop, eat and drink on Abbot Kinney. Special mention for Menottis Coffee Shop
- For Tacos head to Lincoln Blvd in front of the Whole Foods at night - its $1.25 a taco and the long line tells you its good !
- Drinks and/or food at The Venice Whaler - once the place to go for The Beatles/ The Doors and The Beach Boys!
DAY 7 MALIBU & OBSERVATORY
- Head to Paradise Cove in Malibu where Baywatch and scenes from the O.C were filmed
- Wander along Carbon Beach - my favourite beach in L.A. Lots of billion dollar homes sit on the beach and its a beautiful view along the coast
- Get food at The Old Place or Neptunes Net
