What to see in Los Angeles

Los Angeles highlights

The places you can’t miss. In the app we sort them by day and close to each other.

1. Santa Monica Pier

   A pier with a Ferris wheel over the Pacific and the symbolic end of Route 66; at sunset the light is something else.

2. Griffith Observatory

   A free observatory in the hills, with the Hollywood Sign and all of Los Angeles at your feet.

3. Getty Center

   An art museum on a hilltop, with gardens and views; admission is free (parking isn’t).

4. Venice Boardwalk

   A seafront promenade of skaters, street performers and Muscle Beach; two blocks away, the canals.

5. Hollywood Sign views

   The sign is best seen from Lake Hollywood Park or the trail to Griffith Observatory.

Day trips from Los Angeles

We take you straight to the best-rated tour on GetYourGuide, with its reviews and dates.

• Film studios ★ 4.6 (8,801 reviews)
• Hollywood tour ★ 4.5 (2,889 reviews)
• Universal Studios Hollywood ★ 4.6 (9,969 reviews)

Some links are affiliate links: if you book through them, Bagintravel may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Typical food of Los Angeles

The dish you have to try there and how to make it at home, to whet your appetite before the trip (or to go back to Los Angeles from your kitchen).

California roll

The “inside-out” maki, with the rice on the outside, invented by a Japanese chef in Los Angeles in the 1960s: crab, avocado and cucumber. It opened sushi up to half the world.

• Serves 4
• 1 h

Ingredients

• 300 g sushi rice
• 60 ml rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 sheets of nori
• 200 g crab sticks (or crab)
• 1 avocado
• 1 cucumber
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Mayonnaise, soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger

How to make it at home

1. Wash the rice, cook it and, while it’s still hot, mix it with the vinegar, sugar and salt. Leave it to cool slightly.
2. Cut the avocado and cucumber into strips and shred the crab with a little mayonnaise.
3. Place half a sheet of nori on a mat covered with cling film, spread a thin layer of rice over it and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
4. Flip it over so the seaweed is on top, lay the filling in a line and roll it up tightly with the mat.
5. Cut into 8 pieces with a wet knife and serve with soy sauce, wasabi and ginger.

The trick: Dip the knife in water with a little vinegar between cuts.

Frequently asked questions about Los Angeles