LA Essentials

There are so many amazing things to do in LA, but honestly some of my favorite places to visit are basic spots that LA is well known for. Two places stand out for me – Santa Monica and Griffith Park.

Santa Monica is one of California’s most famous beaches, and for good reason, it’s a lot of fun! Although the beach is usually packed close to the pier, it thins out really quick if walk further down the beach. There’s no better way to de-stress from school than sitting on a beach reading a good book (yea I do read in my free time…).

 

 

In addition to beach itself, there’s Santa Monica pier, which as an amusement park with some rides and a pretty sweet Ferris wheel. There’s also Third Street Promenade a couple blocks up, which has all sorts of shopping and food places. I love going Santa Monica because it’s so easy to get to – a quick drive down I-10 gets you there quickly, and hopefully the extended Metro line that runs all way to Santa Monica will open up soon as well. In general, there’s always interesting people and fun stuff to do at Santa Monica.

 

Another great place to visit is Griffith Park. Griffith is an easy way to get outdoors and go hiking close to campus. There is a network of trails that can take you all over the park, including up to the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign! The scenery is quintessential Southern California.

 

 

The Observatory is a great place to nerd out about space. The planetarium has stunning shows that run each night, and the displays around the building are really cool, with information on everything from our current space technology, to our solar system, and to other galaxies. The views from the building aren’t bad either!

 

 

LA is such a big city with so much to explore, but these sites are a great way to get started on your LA adventure.

 

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