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Highlights
The greater Los Angeles area, which stretches from the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in
the north to Santa Catalina Island in the south, is the repository of every grandiose vision, no matter
how extraordinary, that comes under the heading "California dream." This is where people come to liberate, stimulate, and even re-create their lives. Brunch at a beachside cafe in Venice and you can watch some of these individualistic spirits parade by on roller skates. It's also where they go for a night on the town, in places such as 2nd Street in Long Beach.
Other parts of the sprawling metropolis are equally soul-inspiring. Downtown you will find not one but two branches of the Museum of Contemporary Art. In between them is the ornate Bradbury Building, whose interior skylit lobby and creaking elevator set the mood for that quintessentially futuristic vision
of Los Angeles in the movie Bladerunner. Moving west, one comes upon the stellar Hollywood Bowl, where on any given evening you might hear the booming cannons of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture or James Taylor crooning "Fire and Rain." And then there's the incomparable Getty Center, which sits perched over Brentwood like the modern-day temple to the arts that it truly is.
The county shows off its diversity gastronomically as well as culturally. There's a rich, vibrant Asian community in the San Gabriel Valley, where you can dine on the finest steamed pork cakes and salted duck eggs this side of Hong Kong. Portuguese heritage is celebrated in the little mom-and-pop cafes
of San Pedro-longshoremen working at adjacent Los Angeles Harbor frequently start their days off with linguica and scrambled eggs. And throughout the city, from Santa Monica to San Fernando, Pacoima
to Pasadena, Mexican and Central American taquerias and antojito restaurants prove that tacos and tamales, the most conventional examples of Southern California cuisine, can be unconventional treats.
Los Angeles, you see, is a feast for the senses, so the only way to properly appreciate it is to sample
a little bit of everything. Explore the city's roots along colorful Olvera Street, or go back even further in
time with a stop at the La Brea Tar Pits, where sticky, bubbling tar trapped mastodons and other prehistoric creatures long before humans appeared on the scene. In Hollywood, celluloid history
reigns along the legendary Walk of Fame, with its 1,800-plus speckled sidewalk stars, and at Mann's Chinese Theater, home of countless famous hand- and footprints. And then a few blocks south are the
palm-lined boulevards of Beverly Hills. The fashions along Rodeo Drive are as eye-popping as the
price tags.
Getting Around Los Angeles Area
Upon your arrival know that the Los Angeles Airport is situated so that you can get to the fun quickly. It's close to the beaches and is only a 30-minute ride to Downtown. There's easy access to all seven regions via, buses, taxis and limos. But you may want to check out airport shuttles, which offer a nice balance between cost and convenience.
If you're flying into the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena airport, which is served by 6 major airlines, you might want to take Amtrak trains to your ultimate destination in Los Angeles, especially if you're headed downtown. Call 800.USA.RAIL
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Ride the rails via trains, light rail, subways, or glide on the wheels of a growing network of buses, all of which can get you around without a car. |
And this is a reliable, inexpensive way to get to and from the airports. Check out schedules, routes and cost of all the Metro offerings. Call 800.COMMUTE (266.6883)
DASH - a fleet of shuttle buses provide inexpensive public transportation in several communities, including Downtown LA, Hollywood, the Westside, Venice and the Valleys. For more information call 818.808.2273.
Begin your L.A. experience with the California Welcome Center, Los Angeles. Located in the prestigious Beverly Center, the Welcome Center offers information from attractions to movie tickets and much more. While visiting the Welcome Center, enjoy some of the best shopping in California!
California Welcome Center, Los Angeles
California Welcome Center, Los Angeles
8500 Beverly Blvd., Suite 150
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel: 310/854-7616
www.lacvb.com
Directions:
Located at the intersection of Beverly Blvd. and La Cienega Blvd. at Beverly Center. From Interstate 10, exit La Cienega, to San Vicente, to Beverly Blvd.
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