Updated 15th June, 2007

Activities and Attractions in the LA Area

This compilation is provided courtesy of various Pacific Coast Blues and one New York Blue. Comments reflect the opinions of the individuals who submitted them, not necessarily the whole group, and in some cases there may be contradicting opinions expressed about the same entity. Use the links provided to do some research on your own. Enjoy your time in sunny SoCal!

Transportation:

• Bear in mind that public transport sucks, and the only options are to cab it for local jaunts or to rent a car.
• In LA, public transport does not exist. MUST HAVE A CAR.
• I cannot attest to the use of our public transportation. Car rental or chartering a coach might be the best viable plans.
• Most of the hotels have shuttle services in that area. If not, Santa Monica has a reliable bus service.
• Public transport is pretty awful here, but if traveling between Santa Monica and the west side, there is the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus.
• No one walks in Los Angeles, and public transportation outside of the Big Blue Bus mentioned above is not recommended.
• Santa Monica is the Brit home of LA, but it is EXTREMELY difficult to get in and out of and can be very expensive.
• Santa Monica to Home Depot Center could take 40 minutes or two-plus hours to get to for the Tuesday game.
• Anytime after 3 p.m. I would allot two hours for the commute in rush hour to the game. That is the worst stretch of freeway in LA traffic-wise. Afternoon/evening traffic is horrendous in that area.
• Public bus service between Santa Monica and UCLA is easy. Anything else will be charter. Don’t know of a company off top of head, but could help research if you have specific head count/location thoughts.
• The metro trains run out of Downtown L.A. (red line goes to Hollywood, blue line to Long Beach, yellow to Pasadena). However, there is no line from Santa Monica to Downtown or vice versa.

Lodging:

• Some links with information on lodging in the Santa Monica area:
  http://www.smchamber.com/accommodation/index.html
  http://www.santamonica.com/index.php/hotels.html
  Of course, use the places like http://www.cheaphotels.com to get the rooms, but this should help. Also, request the Santa Monica visitors guide from the “publications” link.
• Food and Drink (beyond Yankee Doodle’s):
• Pier Avenue bars, in Hermosa Beach.
• Union Cattle Company, in Hermosa Beach. Ride the mechanical bull. Yeehaw. (Also in Oldtown Pasadena.)
• In-n-Out Burger, various locations. A California tradition since the ‘40s.
• Pink's Hot Dogs
• Tito's Tacos
• Phillipe's (french dips - good for pre/post-Dodger game food)
• Original Pantry (LA diner downtown near Staples Center)

Attractions:

• Amusement Parks (for kids and adults, unless otherwise indicated):
• Santa Monica Pier has some carney rides, and Venice Beach is nearby.
• Disneyland, Anaheim – 90-minute to two-hour drive; no public transport.
• Knotts Berry Farm, Anaheim -- 90-minute to two-hour drive; no public transport.
• Universal Studios, Studio City – 60-minute drive (and BORING); it’s unlikely public transport is available. From Downtown, you can also take the Redline westbound to Universal Studios and Citywalk.
• 6 Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia (mostly adults; great roller coasters, with some rides for younger folks) – 90-minute drive and long lines in summer, but high-school-age kids love it.
• Legoland, San Diego (mostly kid rides) -- Three hours from Santa Monica.
• Animal Parks and Zoos (for kids and adults, unless otherwise indicated):
  If in the Griffith Park area, you can visit the LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Not quite as impressive as the San Diego Zoo, but worth a look.
• Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific is good for kids.
• Seaworld, San Diego -- Three hours from Santa Monica.
• Wild Animal Park, Escondido (San Diego area) -- Three hours from Santa Monica.
• San Diego Zoo -- Three hours from Santa Monica.

Beaches

• You must note YOU CANNOT DRINK ON THE BEACHES in Los Angeles County. The cops patrol all day and you will be ticketed/fined on the spot.
• Some beaches are NO SMOKING!!
• Santa Monica Beach – Three-and-a-half miles of beach, cleaned daily.
• Zuma Beach, Malibu -- Great place to spend a day or two. There should be a bus, 30-minute ride.
• Other beaches such as Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Dana Point, Laguna Beach -- Great beaches. The last are the best, but are furthest from Santa Monica. CIAs would love Manhattan/Hermosa Beach/Pier areas, particularly on a Thursday or Friday or Saturday (but that is match day) -- lots of beaches, girls and pubs pubs pubs. You also can rent bikes and do the bike crawl. Not sure if there is public transport from Santa Monica, as these beaches are 30 minutes away just on other side of LAX. Dana Point and Laguna Beach are beautiful, slower paced and minimum 90-minute to two-hour drive from Santa Monica.
• Venice Beach (another link)-- Good place on the weekend for watching the weirdos and freaks. Right around corner from Santa Monica -- some CIAs would fit right in!!! [ed.: We won’t mention any names.

Cities

• Third Street Promenade/Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica for shopping, pubs, street performers, pubs, people watching, pubs, movie theaters, pubs. Adjacent to Ye Olde Kings Head.
• Hollywood is worth missing (except for Grauman’s Chinese Theater, famous for its celebrity hand and footprints and stars on the sidewalk). The one thing it does have is a lot of nightclubs. The nightclubs are very trendy and young. The El Capitan theatre across from the Chinese Theatre shows Disney movies, and before the show there is a live show with all the Disney characters. Nice for kids to see; mine really enjoyed it.
• Citywalk Hollywood also might be of some interest.  Dining, entertainment, shopping and events.
• Hollywood is further inland, and public bus is likely available, but would take 60 minutes. Hollywood is actually a mix of interesting and seedy.
• Chelsea will be staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Blvd., which is worth taking in, especially the Polo Lounge. It is all very old Hollywood. (Note that while the team are there you may find it hard to get in due to heightened security)
• Beverly Hills -- Speaks for itself with great stores (expensive). A good place to spend a few hours. Public bus available; 30-minute ride due to traffic.
• Torrance -- Shopping, movie theatres, restaurants at Del Amo Mall.
• Don’t bother with downtown Los Angeles.
• Stay away from Downtown Los Angeles.
• On the other hand, Olvera Street in Downtown LA, across from Union Station, is worth a look. Oldest street in the city, like being in Little Mexico, and there are a couple of nice restaurants. You can take the number 10 Santa Monica bus to LA and then take the eastbound Redline subway.
• For architecture buffs, the LA Conservancy has walking tours of LA, such as a history tour or art-deco tour of Downtown LA. The tours are usually held on Saturday mornings for smaller groups, but if you were interested, I could contact them and see if an alternate day/time could be scheduled.
• Long Beach is also very nice. Across the way from the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific is the Queen Mary, which is now a hotel and tourist attraction and has some historical exhibits, such as Titanic artifacts, etc.  There are some decent places to eat on board, ranging from high-end at Sir Winston’s to pizza and hot dogs for children.
• San Diego is a good place to visit, but as it is approximately 100 miles away, it’s an overnight trip. Old Town is fun to walk around and has good restaurants. GREAT PLACE, BUT three-hour drive from Santa Monica.
• Tijuana, Mexico -- It’s 15 miles south of San Diego, and passports are required, but if you want to get rowdy and shop for some cheap bargains, it’s worth a visit. Three-and-a-half-hour drive AND some CIAs could get in trouble. [Again, we won’t name names.]

Museums and Places of Learning

• In the area at the 5 and 134 freeways (near the LA Zoo) is the Gene Autrey Western Heritage Museum, which I found very interesting and also worth a look.
• The Getty Center (and Museum), is in the vicinity of UCLA (where the lads trained last year). The museum is right off of the 405 very near Santa Monica and is very impressive. It's something to do between training sessions (assuming they train twice a day like last year). You'll have to call in advance. Admission is free. Requires brief transport, maybe a bus.
• Besides the Getty Center in West LA/Brentwood, there is the Getty Villa in Malibu/Pacific Palisades.
• Public bus is available to get to UCLA. It takes 30 minutes, but is cheap and easy.
• UCLA is in Westwood, which is a nice college area with shops and pubs, but likely slow since school is out in July. My understanding is that Chelsea are here from July 9th to July 21st and will train at UCLA every day.  Note that it is highly likely that the training sessions will be closed to the public this year.  We are currently talking to Chelsea to try and get access for our supporters to one of the sessions.
• Peterson Auto Museum -- I love cars -- almost as much as soccer -- and they have excellent rotating exhibits, very cool and near Rodeo Drive/Beverly Hills/Miracle Mile. Peterson Auto Museum 6060 Wilshire Blvd. (at Fairfax), Los Angeles, CA 90036.

Music

• The Hollywood Bowl is pretty awesome; we should see what is on during that time. [ed. Looks like Classics Under the Stars 7/17; 50 Years of Staz 7/18; Beethoven & Brahms 7/19; Cool Britannia! With Jamie Cullum 7/20 and 21; Savion Glover: On Tap 7/22]
• For those of you who have never been to the Hollywood Bowl, it's a great place to see outdoor music and to bring a picnic and a few bottles of wine. The Hollywood Bowl calendar will give you an idea of who is playing when.
• The Greek Theater is another cool outdoor music venue (in Griffith Park) with the Fray, Snow Patrol, and others playing in July.

Sports

• There are a lot of great hiking opportunities in LA, especially in Griffith Park (Los Feliz area). It is also where the Griffith Observatory (link #2, link #3) is and the Hollywood sign.
• Dodger Stadium is a nice ballpark if the Dodgers are in town. Home games all week: v. Philadelphia 7/16-18; v. New York Mets 7/19-22.
• If you plan on staying in the OC to check out Disneyland, The Angels play pretty close to the Disneyland Resort. They will play at home July 18-20 and July 22-27 vs. Houston, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City:

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