Los Angeles City Guide – A guide to Lalaland Part I

Hopped in a plane to LAX with a full itinerary and places to go! Finally I’ve settled down after my last trip and I’m so excited to share with you all my lovely City Guide to Los Angeles.

L.A has been on my travel bucket list for years now and when I finally got the chance to book my flight back in April last year I knew I had to make the most of this iconic city. L.A is such a big, eclectic, unapologetically herself kind of city. There’s so much culture, incredible food, a vibe like no other and its filled with incredible places to go. I knew I wanted to make sure that there was a full travel guide that could help anyone that wanted to visit this amazing city. So with out much further ado, let’s get going!

This guide will be divided into areas and it will have Part I and Part II so you can easily see all the things you can do and visit while in Lalaland.


How to visit L.A without a car

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION – METRO + BUS or Uber

When you visit L.A renting a car can be your first option, in our case we knew we didn’t want to deal with parking, traffic and rush hour so we used the public transportation instead.

TAP CARD – METRO + BUS
For the metro + bus you can use the TAP Card and buy daily, weekly or monthly tickets. We used the weekly fare and used it every single day, for the bus you can add value to the card so you can easily hop on and off the bus depending on where you’re going.

You can use Google maps to see the directions, schedules and the stations you need to go to!

Stay & Explore – Downtown LA

Finding a place to stay is the first thing I research after booking a flight. After endless blog posts and city guides we decided to stay in an Airbnb at Downtown LA. Mostly because we knew from the start we didn’t want to rent a car so that meant we needed to find a great location that could be close to a lot of places we wanted to visit.

Don’t get intimidated when people say you can’t get to know the city without a car, that’s a lie. The public transportation system works perfectly (metro and bus) you just need to be open to the idea of walking and enjoying the city by foot. This City Guide is designed by areas so whenever you visit you really get to know the city and all the possible places to visit.

Downtown LA

Downtown LA was our first stop in our trip, we wanted to get to know the heart of the city and we decided to wander through all of its cafés, galleries, bookstores and plazas.

TO EAT

Eggslut – Grand Central Market

If you are a foodie by heart you need to visit the Grand Central Market in Downtown. Head over to Eggslut and order a Fairfax Sandwich, you will not be sorry!

Places to visit inside Grand Central Market
– Coffee: Go Get Em Tiger @ggtla
– PB & J: @pbj.la
– Lucky Bird LA @luckybirdla
– Tacos: Horse Thief Bbq @horsethiefbbq

OUTSIDER TIP: Eggslut is AMAZING so there’s alway a long line, be an early bird so you can skip the line

TO VISIT

Angel’s Flight

When you’re finished at the Grand Central Market hop on the Angel’s Flight across the street. It’s a fun ride to the top where you can see the city and it costs only $1.

TO EAT

Chicas Tacos

Hands down the best tacos I’d had in LA! As you could imagine I LOVE TACOS, so I was pretty excited to see how amazing Chicas Tacos was. I could eat their Carnitas Tacos all day everyday.

TO EAT

Bottega Louie

I’ve been wanting to visit Bottega Louie for years and it was worth all the wait. This parisian style restaurant will make you fall in love with each and every detail. You can choose to have brunch on the weekends, order their incredible pizzas or simply pass by and order some macarons and pastries to go. A definitely MUST while visiting Downtown!

TO VISIT

The Last Bookstore

This gem is located in the heart of Downtown LA. The Last Bookstore is known for its magical tunnel of books. Here you can slow down grab a book and enjoy while reading a little bit of everything before you head out with your newest purchase.

TO VISIT

The Broad

If you love contemporary art and beautiful installations you have to add The Broad to your list. It’s an amazing museum, you can find the famous Infinity Room art installation by Yayoi Kusama.

OUTSIDER TIP: The entrance is free, you can book your tickets online before hand so you can skip the long line to enter. After you enter sign up to the Infinity Room waiting list so you can visit it right after you enter.

TO VISIT

OUE Skyspace

OUE Skyspace is such a cool place to visit to see an amazing 360-degree view of LA. Climb up to the 70th floor and slide down their glass slide (which is 1000ft suspended above).

Where to eat and visit in Melrose

TO VISIT

Melrose Trading Post

Sundays are meant to be spent exploring Melrose, if you ever get the chance visit the Melrose Trading Post. Each Sunday you can visit this vintage trading post and find the most beautiful antiques.

TO VISIT

Glossier

If you are in love with skincare and are a true lover of aesthetically pleasing branding you need to make Glossier a must place to visit. In the heart of Melrose Place you will find a pink storefront and beautiful girls in pink jumpsuits ready to make your Glossier experience one of a kind.

TO EAT

Alfred Tea

After your lovely visit to Glossier head down to Alfred Tea for some Boba Tea and croissants. The iconic Alfred Tea offers amazing drinks perfect for the gram! If you want a classic order the “Pink Drink” with boba and some raspberry rose croissants from Mr. Holmes to go. Because “TEA YES, YOU MAYBE”!

TO VISIT & EAT

Mansur Gavriel

After a quick snack on Alfred we visited the lovely Mansur Gavriel, this iconic store has been on my list for years. You can head inside to see all the eye candy pieces and their latest collection and unwind having a drink or lunch in their lovely cafe with the most beautiful bougainvilleas ever.

TO VISIT & EAT

Eataly – Westfield Century City

The first time I went to Eataly I fell in love with EVERYTHING. We were back in NYC and after doing some research I found out that there’s an Eataly in LA located inside Westfield Century City. After strolling through Melrose we grabbed an Uber and went directly to Eataly for lunch. This lovely italian market is the perfect place for food enthusiasts!
Head over to La Pizza e La Pasta and order some Cacio e Peppe and some Aperol Spritz and you’re good to go!

TO VISIT

Anthropologie – Westfield Century City

If there’s a place I love to visit when traveling the US is Anthropologie! After lunch we wandered through Westfield Century City and of course Anthro was my first stop. Here you can find the most beautiful decor, beauty, fashion ever. A MUST if you love eye candy shopping!

Los Angeles Part II

L.A was such a dreamy city to visit, it’s filled with so many places to visit that I needed to create 2 guides so it would be easier to see all of the cool things you can do when you visit the City of Angels.

Click here for Part II on this lovely guide! Let me know if you have visited these places in Los Angeles and if you have any recommendations to add on this guide.
x
Ka

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5/19/2019

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Los Angeles City Guide – A guide to Lalaland Part I

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Hi! I'm Karina

I'm a content creator, designer and photographer based in Costa Rica & Miami. I'm an iced latte lover, Sagittarius soul, travel enthusiast that loves to create genuine and real lifestyle content for brands.

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