Ten Los Angeles places worth planning around

Timed entry, after-dark views, gardens and a canal walk: ten outings where timing and neighbourhood matter.

Saunter See · November 6, 2026

Los Angeles is easier to enjoy when the plan is local. A timed Getty visit, Griffith Observatory after dark, a day among the Huntington's gardens and a walk through the Venice Canals each ask for a different kind of outing. Choose a neighbourhood before setting out.

The Hammer and the Broad ask nothing at the door, and Frank Gehry's concert hall can be toured from the inside without a ticket to a concert. The Eames House is booked ahead and seen from its meadow, and a Downtown bank has become a bookshop. The list stretches from Pacific Palisades to San Marino.

The Central Garden at the Getty Center, its azalea maze floating in a pool

West Los Angeles at dusk from the Getty Center, the freeway glowing below

Sunset framed by a stone portal at the Getty Center

Photographs: brewbooks (CC BY-SA 2.0), Eric C Gardner (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Remi Mathis (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Brentwood

The Getty Center

Free, with a timed-entry reservation, and open until 9pm on Saturdays, which is the slot to book for the light. The collection runs from the Middle Ages to today, but the setting is half the draw: modern architecture and gardens up on a hill above the city.

Best for Choosing between the two big art stops: the Getty is the one for the setting.

Visit the Getty Center

The Broad's honeycomb facade rising over Grand Avenue

The Broad lit at night on its corner, the lattice glowing

The Broad's veil seen from the street at night

Photographs: Eric Garcetti (CC BY 2.0) and Dllu (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Downtown

The Broad

General admission is always free at 221 South Grand Avenue, which gets you more than 2,000 works by Jeff Koons, Anselm Kiefer, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol and others. Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room, The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, is free too, though advance reservations are recommended. On Thursdays it stays open until 8pm.

Best for Contemporary work, paired with Walt Disney Concert Hall a short walk along Grand Avenue.

Visit the Broad

Griffith Observatory under a blue sky, its three domes and obelisk

The sun setting behind the Los Angeles skyline from Griffith Park

The downtown skyline lit up at night from Griffith Observatory

Photographs: dconvertini (CC BY-SA 2.0), Kasper Bertelsen (CC0) and Mike Peel (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Observatory · Griffith Park

Griffith Observatory

Free to get in and open until 10pm, and the view is the headline: Los Angeles laid out below, with the Hollywood Sign in sight. Inside there are telescopes, exhibits and live shows in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium, and trailheads on the grounds lead to Mount Hollywood and Fern Dell. Sunset is the crowd. Come after it.

Best for After sunset, once the crowd has thinned, for the telescopes.

Visit Griffith Observatory

The Hammer Museum's striped stone block on Wilshire Boulevard

The Hammer Museum seen from Westwood Boulevard under clear sky

Photographs: Gary Minnaert (public domain) and Alexis Doine (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Westwood

The Hammer Museum

Free, no reservation, Tuesday to Sunday: the easiest museum on this list to walk into. LULU, the museum's restaurant, takes lunch and dinner reservations, and the courtyard is a good place to sit between galleries.

Best for Anyone who wants free art without reserving ahead.

Visit the Hammer Museum

The Saban Building on Wilshire Boulevard, its gold cylinder rising over the corner

The glass sphere of the Academy Museum seen through palm trees

An Oscar statuette in the entrance of the Academy Museum

Photographs: Carol M. Highsmith (public domain), Downtowngal (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Fred Cherrygarden (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Miracle Mile

The Academy Museum

Start with the Oscars Experience, which simulates winning one. Screenings do not need a museum ticket, so a film can be the whole visit. The building is at 6067 Wilshire Boulevard, at Fairfax, across from the Wilshire/Fairfax Metro station.

Best for Anyone who wants a film rather than a museum visit, as screenings need no museum ticket.

Visit the Academy Museum

A white stone bridge reflected in the lake of the Chinese Garden

The arched wooden moon bridge in the Japanese Garden

A pavilion with upturned eaves beside the lake in the Chinese Garden

Photographs: Daderot (CC0) and Thank You (24 Millions) views (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Library and gardens · San Marino

The Huntington

A library, an art museum and botanical gardens share the grounds in San Marino, with a visitor shuttle between them, so decide what you came for. The gardens are the easy answer: a Japanese Garden with a stream and koi, and a Chinese Garden built around a lake. Several cafes on site cover lunch.

Best for A full day on foot and by shuttle, with several cafes on site for lunch.

Visit the Huntington

The Eames House among eucalyptus trees, its glass and panel grid catching the light

The Eames House seen from the garden path, flowers in the foreground

The double-height living room of the Eames House, shelves and plants and a paper lantern

Photographs: Kyle (CC BY 2.0) and edward stojakovic (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Architecture · Pacific Palisades

The Eames House

Charles and Ray Eames lived here, and Case Study House No. 8 is preserved much as they left it. Book online for grounds and studio visits, guided exterior tours, or private interior tours by arrangement. Exterior photography is encouraged. There is no parking at the house: park at 14840 Corona Del Mar and walk to the gate.

Best for Anyone willing to book ahead and walk in from Corona Del Mar.

Visit the Eames House

Walt Disney Concert Hall's stainless steel curves at dusk, with a streak of passing headlights

The Douglas fir auditorium of Walt Disney Concert Hall with the orchestra on stage

Photographs: courtesy of the LA Phil

Concert hall · Downtown

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Frank Gehry's stainless steel hall opened in 2003, with a Douglas fir interior, and it is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. You do not need a concert ticket: self-guided audio tours run most days, last an hour and start in the Grand Avenue Lobby.

Best for Anyone who likes architecture and wants it indoors as well as out.

Visit Walt Disney Concert Hall

The columned main floor of the Last Bookstore, with sofas and book-laden tables

Another view of the Last Bookstore's main floor from above, columns and tilted shelves

The tunnel of books curving through the Last Bookstore

Photographs: Benoît Prieur (CC0) and Alexis Doine (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons

Bookshop · Downtown

The Last Bookstore

A former bank at 453 South Spring Street that its owners call part landmark, part labyrinth. Vintage books live in the vaults, a tunnel of books runs through the shop, and there are vinyl records and art too. It is a block from Pershing Square Metro.

Best for An evening Downtown, open until 11pm Wednesday to Saturday.

Visit the Last Bookstore

A canal in Venice under a blue sky, with a palm tree and bungalows on the bank

Still water and moored boats on a Venice canal, houses reflected on the surface

A white footbridge crossing a Venice canal

Photographs: Carol M. Highsmith (public domain) and Américo Toledano (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Walk · Venice

The Venice Canals

Abbot Kinney opened Venice of America on July 4, 1905. Six of his canals survive, about 1.5 miles of them, now a National Register historic district. Nine footbridges link the grid, and Dell Avenue crosses four of them. Start at the four-story Abbot Kinney mural at Venice Boulevard and Pacific Avenue.

Best for Anyone who wants a walk rather than a venue, starting at the Abbot Kinney mural.

On the map

Check timed entry and opening hours, then choose one area for the day. The Getty, San Marino and Venice each make a different outing.

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