Los Angeles

Geography

The city of Los Angeles is huge, stretching from the suburbs of the San Fernando Valley in the north to the Port of Los Angeles in the south, a distance of almost 50 mi (80 km). And that's just the primary city; the sprawling L.A. metropolitan area spreads across portions of five counties and includes numerous smaller cities, some of which are regional centers of their own, like Burbank, Pasadena, Long Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Riverside and San Bernardino. Some of these cities were founded around the end of the nineteenth century and grew alongside Los Angeles, and even today retain distinct identities.

Such is the nature of Los Angeles: because it is so spread out and its individual cities and neighborhoods are so distinct, the city is often thought of less as a cohesive whole than as a collection of disparate communities. Even some of the neighborhoods officially within the city of Los Angeles are so well-known that they are often thought to be distinct from the city, such as Hollywood, Van Nuys, Bel-Air, and Venice Beach, which sit astride officially independent municipalities such as West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills.

Most of the city sits in a broad basin that stretches from Santa Monica along the shoreline across the southern portion of the county and into Orange County. The basin is the most intensely developed part of the region, with a strong grid pattern of streets and freeways that's evident from the air. This basin is framed on the north by the Santa Monica Mountains, which gradually soften into a series of hills as they run east past Hollywood and Downtown L.A. and through East L.A. On the other side of these hills are two heavily developed valleys, the San Fernando Valley to the northwest of Central L.A. and the San Gabriel to the east, which today are filled with suburban neighborhoods. North of the valleys are the steep San Gabriel Mountains, which reach a high enough elevation that their peaks are sometimes coated with snow in the winter. Beyond this lies the Mojave Desert.

History

Prior to European contact, the Los Angeles basin was occupied by the native Tongva people, a set of hunter-gatherer tribes that were spread across much of Southern California. Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo was the first European to visit the region, sailing along the coast in 1542 and claiming the land for the Spanish Empire, but it took over two hundred…

By plane

The Los Angeles metro area is served by five major commercial airports and more than a dozen private airports. Three of the major airports are in L.A. County proper while the other two are nearby.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX IATA), 1 World Way, +1-310-646-5252. LAX is one of the major ports of entry for international flights to the United States as well as a major destination for domestic flights so it can be quite busy, especially around holidays. Nearly all major airlines as well as some smaller regional airlines fly into LAX. All of the major rental car agencies have a location near the airport with hundreds of cars available for rent. Many connecting bus routes have service to destinations all over Southern California.

Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR IATA), 2627 N Hollywood Way, Burbank, +1-818-840-8840. Has a range of flight options, mainly to Western U.S. destinations and some east coast cities. Located in the San Fernando Valley, northeast of Downtown L.A, it's closer to Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles than LAX is. To reach Hollywood, take a free shuttle to the North Hollywood Red Line subway station and ride 2 stops south. To get to Downtown LA, take Metrolink/Amtrak train or the Red Line.

Long Beach Airport (LGB IATA), 4100 Donald Douglas Dr., Long Beach, +1 562 570-2600. Delta, Hawaiian, and Southwest fly into this airport located in southern Los Angeles County.

Ontario International Airport (ONT IATA), 1940 East Moore Way, Ontario in adjacent San Bernardino County, Inland Empire, +1 909 937-2700. Alaska, American, Avianca El Salvador, China Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Southwest, Starlux, United and Volaris serve this airport located 37 mi (59 km) east of Downtown Los Angeles, about a 40-minute drive without traffic. Omnitrans #61 bus runs to the Pomona Transit Center, with a connection to the Silver Streak to Downtown LA or the ONTConnect bus (Omnitrans #380) to the Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink Station.

John Wayne Airport (SNA IATA), 18601 Airport Way, Santa Ana in adjacent Orange County, +1 949 252-5200. Alaska, Allegiant, American, Breeze Airways, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, United, and WestJet serve this airport located 40 mi (64 km) southeast of Downtown Los Angeles, about a 45-minute drive without traffic. Closest airport for Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm.

LAX has historically been the main airport for the city, with frequent service and low fares, but the other regional airports are seeing increasing service. Check as one of them may be better, depending on your circumstance. These airports can save a lot of hassle because they are less busy than LAX. Also, the L.A. area is so wildly spread out and populated that going anywhere will generally require a lot of travel, as well as possibly enduring traffic jams. So using the nearest airport will only be of convenience to you.

All five airports lack direct train services; only the Bob Hope Airport is somewhat proximate to a Metrolink commuter rail station (not to be confused with the Metro Rail service). LAX has a comfortable, fast, and relatively frequent express bus service, the LAX FlyAway, to Union Station (in Downtown) and Van Nuys. LAX does not cater to small…

By rail

The Los Angeles area's Metro Rail subway/light rail system opened its first line in the 1990s and has been expanding since. Most prominent neighborhoods and sightseeing destinations can be reached using Metro Rail, including Downtown L.A., Koreatown, Hollywood, Universal Studios, Chinatown, Pasadena, Exposition Park, Wilshire, Culver City, Santa Monica, and Long Beach. For these areas, public transportation can be preferable to the gridlock that often occurs on freeways and streets.

The Metro Rail system consists of two subway lines, four light rail lines, and two bus rapid transit lines, with operating hours and frequencies varying from one line to another. Note that in 2022 lines were given letters instead of names, but the names are still in colloquial use.

Subway service is provided by the B and D Lines, with the B running from Downtown to Hollywood, then to Universal City and North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley, while the D connects Downtown to Beverly Hills along Wilshire Boulevard via Koreatown and Mid-City. In Downtown, these lines overlap with a terminus at Union Station; check the train's destination signs to make sure you are on the right train. D Line trains outside of rush hour are only two cars in length and will not fill the length of the station; signs on the platform will help guide you to where the train will stop. Due to the traffic along the 101 freeway, it's usually faster to take the B Line between Hollywood and Downtown than to drive.

The A Line light rail service runs between Pomona and Long Beach through South Los Angeles, with a stop convenient to the Watts Towers. The E Line light rail service runs from East Los Angeles through Downtown Los Angeles to the University of Southern California and the museums of Exposition Park before turning west to Culver City and Santa Monica. In Downtown, these two lines overlap for a segment that includes the 7th St/Metro Center Station, where you can transfer to the B and D Lines; check the train's destination signs to make sure you are on the right train. Note that only the A Line serves Union Station.

The C Line is one of two light rail lines that doesn't serve Downtown, running east-west along Interstate 105 on the southern side of L.A. between LAX and Norwalk, with a transfer point to the A Line at Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station in South L.A.

The K Line is the other of two light rail lines that doesn't serve Downtown, running north-south from the E Line at Crenshaw to Redondo Beach via Inglewood and LAX.

There are also two bus rapid transit (BRT) lines which use bus-only roadways. The G Line runs across the San Fernando Valley between Chatsworth (with a connection to Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner) and the terminus of the Red Line in North Hollywood. The J Line runs between El Monte (in the San Gabriel Valley) and San Pedro through Downtown, and requires an extra surcharge in addition to the standard Metro fare.

There is no direct rail connection between Downtown Los Angeles and LAX, but a free shuttle to the airport terminals is available from the LAX/Metro Transit Center on the C and K Lines. A people mover is scheduled to replace the shuttle in January 2026. Until then, a much more convenient option is the direct LAX FlyAway shuttle service, which serves the airport directly from Union Station and Van Nuys.

Individual listings can be found in Los Angeles's district articles

Show business

Entertainment is what has earned L.A. its fame, so it's no surprise that many come for the sights of Hollywood, where you will find such landmarks to film as Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Walk of Fame or gaze up at the Hollywood Sign perched on the hill.

However, while the entertainment industry is still headquartered in Hollywood, most of the major studios have moved elsewhere, particularly San Fernando Valley; Universal City is home to Universal Studios and its associated theme park, CBS has set up shop in Studio City, while nearby Burbank is home to the Warner Brothers Studios and the Walt Disney Studios, among others. On the Westside, Sony Pictures occupies the historic MGM Studios in Culver City, the headquarters of 20th Century Studios sit in Century City, and many television shows are still taped in CBS Television City in Fairfax. Paramount Pictures is the last movie studio left in Hollywood, with its famed double-arched gate facing Melrose Avenue. Many studios offer tours, and at some you might even be lucky enough to attend a television show taping; check the individual pages for details.

Besides the studios, there are many sights that attract movie buffs and are worth checking out for those interested in the history of film. Hollywood has plenty of museums and classic cinemas related to the Golden Age of Hollywood, while Hollywood, Downtown, Northwest L.A., Wilshire, and Beverly Hills are chock-full of iconic filming locations in a city that's full of them. There are also a few cemeteries noted for being the final resting places of many celebrities and influential writers and directors, particularly the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, the Westwood Village Memorial Park in Westwood, and the massive Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, where you're guaranteed to run into the famous of yesteryear.

Of course, many also come in the hopes of seeing living celebrities. While your chances of running into one in Hollywood are rather low, you may get lucky in the glamorous neighborhoods of Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Malibu, which are home to many celebrity mansions and whose fancy restaurants are sometimes frequented by movie stars. Awards season brings a lot of celebrity-spotting as well, with most of the famous awards shows hosted in Los Angeles: the Academy Awards take place in Hollywood, typically in late February; the Grammy Awards have settled into the Staples Center in Downtown each February; the Golden Globes take place in Beverly Hills each January; and the late summer Primetime Emmys have spent the last several years at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown.

Historical

Los Angeles, as a general rule, hasn't been too careful about retaining its historical artifacts, and that's ignoring the fact that much of the city was only built in the last half-century or so. However, there are some historical attractions for those interested in learning about L.A.'s past:

El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument in Downtown is the site of the original Spanish settlement where Los Angeles was founded in the 1780s. Today it's preserved as a historic district with som…

The Pacific Ocean! Visitors will have to charter a boat to see this most magnificent thing to see in Los Angeles. OnBoat charter boats in Los Angeles has numerous choices. See https://onboat.co/los-angeles-yacht-charter/

Individual listings can be found in Los Angeles's district articles

Beaches

The Westside is home to the most famous beaches of LA: Venice Beach, with its colorful Boardwalk and Muscle Beach, and the adjacent town of Santa Monica, with its popular pier and amusement park. Both communities share an expansive stretch of sandy beach which gets very crowded in the summer and which have plenty of amusements and facilities available, as well as a very festive scene in Venice that's fantastic for people watching. Just south of Venice is the less-crowded Dockweiler State Beach in the aptly-named town of Playa del Rey (Spanish for beach of the king). Further north, where the coastline meets the Santa Monica Mountains, are scenic beaches in Pacific Palisades and Malibu; Pacific Palisades' Will Rogers State Beach is expansive and quite popular, while Malibu's narrower Surfrider Beach is famed for its surf breaks.

South Bay is home to a number of beaches that are also very popular, in particular the Beach Cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach, with piers and expansive stretches of sand lined with expensive houses. Hermosa is famed for its festive atmosphere, regularly holding volleyball tournaments and surfing competitions, and all three are popular with families and beach-goers. Also good but less crowded is Torrance Beach further south, which is noted for great surfing, and the very scenic stretch of coastline in Palos Verdes, which holds many rocky coves and tidepools that make for fun exploration.

Off the coast and enormously popular for people taking a day trip out of L.A. are the picturesque beaches of Catalina Island. Additionally, the Beach Cities of nearby Orange County are very popular with locals. For those who are more into boats than sand, Marina del Rey is located just south of Venice and is the world's largest man-made small-craft harbor, offering plenty of mooring as well as motorized and non-motorized rentals.

Sports

Los Angeles has great opportunities for seeing live pro sports. The Major League Baseball Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the most famous teams in baseball and a game at Dodger Stadium in Elysian Park, in the hills north of downtown, is an absolute treat for baseball fans. However, LA's most successful sports franchise has been and remains the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA, undoubtedly one of the greatest basketball teams in history. They play at Crypto.com Arena in Downtown, which they shared with another NBA team, the much less successful Los Angeles Clippers, before the Clippers moved to the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood in 2024. Also playing at Crypto.com Arena are the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League and the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. The city has two Major League Soccer teams—the LA Galaxy, which plays at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, and Los Angeles FC, which started play in 2018 at BMO Stadium in Exposition Park. Angel City FC started play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022, playing in LAFC's stadium.

Individual listings can be found in Los Angeles's district articles

The Los Angeles area is one of the best places in the country for food - you can find just about anything you can imagine somewhere within its loose borders. From traditional American diner culture (try Mel's Drive-In in West Hollywood) to the new wave of organic cafes, to inexpensive taco trucks, and swanky eateries with breath-taking food, there is no shortage of options.

Los Angeles abounds with inexpensive, authentic food that represents the culinary traditions of L.A.'s many immigrant communities. You have to be willing to do a little legwork, go to neighborhoods you might not otherwise go to and often deal with charmless fluorescent-lit storefronts in strip malls, but your reward is hype-free, authentic cuisine from around the world served up at bargain prices. The late and dearly missed food critic Jonathan Gold found and reviewed these gems starting in the 1980s, mostly for the free LA Weekly before he moved to the food section of the Los Angeles Times, and most of his reviews are still relevant today.

The newest arrival on the L.A. food scene is the gourmet food truck. These are not your average taco trucks and construction-site catering operations (although those exist too), but purveyors of creative and surprisingly high-quality food. Food trucks, particularly taco trucks, can be found in most parts of the city. A few noteworthy food trucks are "Grill Em All," run by 2 metalheads doing outstanding gourmet hamburgers, "Nom Nom," doing Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, and "Kogi," doing Korean-inspired tacos and burritos. Many trucks also have their own websites and post their daily schedules and locations on social media.

On the opposite spectrum from food trucks, those seeking high-end dining have some of the country's finest restaurants to choose from. While the Michelin guide stopped reviewing Los Angeles in 2010, Beverly Hills had several eateries that were rated by Michelin, including Wolfgang Puck's first restaurant, Spago. While there are numerous destinations for an upscale meal throughout the LA area, Santa Monica is notable as the only city besides Beverly Hills that can lay claim to multiple Michelin starred restaurants.

Coverage of regional food from other parts of the U.S. is spotty. Migration into the city has been disproportionately from Texas and Oklahoma, the South, Midwest and greater New York City and food representing these areas is easy enough to find. Food representing New England and other parts of the East Coast, the Pacific Northwest, and the Intermountain-Rocky Mountain regions can be elusive, along with many ethnic cuisines with central- and east-European origins. However L.A. is the birthplace of the drive-thru and numerous fast food chains clog the roadsides. The In-N-Out Burger chain is far above average for hamburgers, french fries and milkshakes. Another famous Los Angeles establishment is Original Tommy's, which specializes in chili burgers.

The cultural diversity of Los Angeles is an evident influence on the local vegetarian food restaurant industry. You can find strictly vegan and vegetarian dining, be it American, Mexican, Chinese, Ethiopi…

Individual listings can be found in Los Angeles's district articles

Hotel bars are generally considered by Angelenos to be the nicest places to have drinks. Some of the more popular upscale ones include Chateau Marmont, Skybar at The Mondrian, and Tower Bar at the Sunset Tower on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, and The Rooftop Bar at The Standard in Downtown LA. Hollywood and the Sunset Strip are generally considered the nightlife centers of LA, though neighborhoods such as Silver Lake, Los Feliz, and Echo Park in Northwest LA are home to the dive bars and cafes favored by trendy hipsters. Downtown has recaptured some of its former glory with a selection of popular nightlife destinations such as The Golden Gopher, The Edison and the bars/clubs at LA Live. Hollywood's Cahuenga Corridor (Cahuenga between Selma and Hollywood Boulevard) boasts several popular bars in a row, making bar-hopping a possibility in a city where it's not the norm.

Bars close at 2AM with most last calls at 1:30 or 1:45AM. It is worth noting that some bars and almost all clubs charge cover and some may have VIP lists that are relatively easy to get on. Look up promoters and ask them to add you to their list. This is the easiest way to get into many of the popular Hollywood clubs.

Individual listings can be found in Los Angeles's district articles

It's hard to summarize the plethora of hotel options in L.A. From some of the most opulent (and expensive) hotels in the world to budget hostels to apartment-hotel crash pads, there's something for everyone. Deciding where to stay will have a lot to do with what areas you plan on visiting, and how you're going to get there. As usual in Southern California, a car opens up a world of options, but be sure to check the parking arrangement at your accommodations before you arrive.

Hollywood and the Sunset Strip are probably the most popular options for those wanting to sight-see and chase their image of that world. Downtown has long been popular with the business crowd but is rapidly receiving a makeover with newer hotels drawing a hipper crowd. Beverly Hills has some of the nicest hotels in the city, and one should expect the prices to reflect its reputation. Sun and sand seekers can head to Santa Monica or Venice, while those just in town for a day or two might consider staying in one of the suburbs near LAX. To the northeast of Downtown L.A., Pasadena is a peaceful and leafy city and a good alternative that's still proximate to many major attractions, while Burbank has many places convenient to the Valley. Long Beach offers plenty of cheaper accommodations on the south side of the city.

For emergencies in Los Angeles County, dial 911 toll-free from any phone including payphones. Dialing 911 from a cellphone will place you in contact with the California Highway Patrol.

Most tourist destinations within the Los Angeles area tend to be fairly safe, including Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Westwood, and West L.A. However, walking at night in some areas of the city (and some suburban cities as well) should be conducted with caution; and depending on the area, in groups. If traveling by car there is little threat of being harassed day or night, provided you avoid driving around neighborhoods with blatant signs of gang activity as mentioned below.

Certain areas in or near downtown, such as Skid Row (which is where the Greyhound station is located), Pico-Union, Westlake, Boyle Heights, South Los Angeles, Compton, Inglewood, Harbor Gateway, and Wilmington can be dangerous regardless of the time of day and should be avoided altogether when walking if possible. If traveling in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, the neighborhoods of Pacoima, Panorama City, Van Nuys, North Hills, and Canoga Park are also best avoided on foot.

Though cities such as Detroit, St. Louis, and Atlanta have higher reported crime rates per capita than Los Angeles, these numbers can be deceiving. L.A. statistics are skewed because safe neighborhoods such as Bel Air, Pacific Palisades and Westwood help balance the numbers from the very dangerous neighborhoods. If South Los Angeles were counted as its own city, it would have the highest crime and murder rate of any city in America. Neighboring Compton, which is an independent city, ranks as the fourth most dangerous city in America. Luckily for Los Angeles, Compton's statistics are not counted as part of L.A.'s crime data, but the cities border each other. As a general rule, you should exercise great caution if walking in the area roughly bounded by Interstate 10 on the north, Interstate 710 on the east, Artesia Blvd/Highway 91 on the south, and La Cienega Boulevard on the west. East LA also has a higher crime rate than other areas and has gang problems as well.

Los Angeles (City and County) is considered to be the gang capital of America. Gangs generally confine themselves to certain areas and should be of little concern to the typical traveler, who is unlikely to venture into such areas. Gangs will usually identify their territory with graffiti markings. While most visitors to L.A. will not visit neighborhoods where gang violence is a concern, common-sense precautions apply should you become lost and end up in a bad neighborhood: remain on high-visibility roads or freeways, avoid confrontations with groups of young men, and should a confrontation arise flee immediately. If a person who appears to be a gang member asks you where you are from, prepare to flee or to defend yourself, as that is a common gang challenge. Use common sense on freeways to avoid incidents of road rage, which accounts for ten or so deaths per year.

Most homeless individuals are harmless; they will likely only ask you for money and if you refuse, will simply go on to the next person. They are most heavily concentrated in Hollywood, Skid Row, and Venice Beach. Avoid walking along Skid Row near Downtown at any time of day or night.