Los Angeles has many famous and attractive scenarios, like the Hollywood sign, the Walk of Fame and Beverly Hills. But what if you want to try something different? This article is about finding spots that are related to your personal interests. You can visit places according to what you are most fond of, and not only in LA. In that way, you may enjoy your trip even more and explore a different county.
1. Science
If you really like discovering new things you should try the Science Center or the Griffith Observatory, both of them are located in LA, so you don’t have to move around that much.
In the Science Center there are a lot of different things to see. In the permanent Exhibition, there are six different categories that you can explore. Each category has it’s specialties, in the Air & Space you can visit old planes and get to know a little more about telescopes. But in the Creative World, you end up discovering more about technology itself, how the structure of the buildings are and what the word “evolving” actually means. Connected to that, is the World of Life, that shows how the human body works and its relations with the life around us. And talking about life, there is the Ecosystem and the Parking Garden, both show different forms to see the nature, the first one has a lot of animal species and the second a lot of plants species.
This structure was created for families to participate, in some of those there is always an interactive activity that you can try. For example, the “Discovery Rooms”, where kids can build or experiment something related to the topic they are visiting.
The General Science Center is always free, but sometimes some of the Special Exhibits, that are for limited time, you may have to pay. But don’t worry, they have discounts for students, children and for seniors. Since is a place that the public is mostly families, they also have a group discount, so check it out before you go.
Even though the Griffith Observatory talks about Science, it is sicily different from the California Center. In the Observatory the experience you will have is totally connected to the space. One of the most attractive spots at this place is the roof and the terraces. In there you can get a whole view of LA, and access the public telescopes, so you can see the stars.
There are a lot of exhibitions, one about planets, other about the constellations and other about the progress of human observation of the sky. More than that, you can actually get a greater view of the Milky Way Galaxy, like a closer look. And to discover more you need to have a map close to you, because the place is gigantic, becoming easy to get lost. There are two divisions: the historic levels and the lower levels. To enjoy your experience the most, it’s better to stay up until the night, so during the day you visit the inside and at night you can use the telescopes.
The Observatory is always free, and not necessary a place to go with family, it’s a nice spot to discover on a solo trip or with friends.
2. Sports
Do you like sports and want to connect with the US culture? Nothing better than visiting the arenas and stadiums. You can choose a football, a NBA or even a baseball game. And if you won’t be able to see the match, just visit the arena, a lot of different events happen on these spaces.
For example, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, it’s a house for the Football of the University Of Southern California. Most of the games that happen on this Stadium are hosted by the universities teams, but every now and then the Los Angeles Rams, a bigger team plays there. Furthermore, the arena is also host for some public events, where you can have fun with your family and friends. But if you are really interested on watching a game, check out the programmation and the organizations of the seats.
Just like the Stadium above, the Staples Center is located in LA. Staples Center is mostly known for hosting the Los Angeles Lakers, a famous basketball time. Despite that fact, this place is used for a lot of different activities, like shows and events. So before you go, always check the programmation to see what you are more into. The most interesting thing about this gymnasium, it’s who he hosts, because a lot of people travel to US just to visit it.
And last but not least, there is the Angel Stadium, primarily used for baseball games. This arena is the only one that is not located close to the center of LA, but the time on a bus and on a car it’s almost the same: 40 minutes. The best thing to do in a place like this is to dig in the food, you can have a hot dog, popcorn or even nachos. That way, absorbing the cultural habits of the country becomes so much easier!
3. Geek
Who doesn’t like movies and series? One of the favorite destinations for movie lovers is the Warner Bros Studio Tour. In there you can get in touch with the scenarios that you love the most, and discover some tricks that the filmmakers use. To get to the studio by car it’s around 20 minutes, however, there is the option of taking public transportation, it’s one hour.
There are two types of tickets: classic tour and the deluxe tour. The classic one shows a lot of artifacts used on the universe of DC Comics, and they have an exclusive space just for Batman. They also have an exhibition on The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter, where you can pretend to be chosen by the magic hat. In addition to that, there is a special visit on the studios of the series and Tv Show programs, like Pretty Little Liars or the Ellen’s show. The ticket for this tour costs US$ 69 for adults and US$ 59 for kids.
There is also de Deluxe Tour, it has everything that the classic one does. But, you will be able to get access to the costume department, with some of the original clothes used by the actors. And you can see a video before the tour, that explains the history of Warner Bros. This option costs US$ 295, with no discounts.
Either way, during the tour you might get the chance to see someone shooting, what if is someone you are a big fan of?
Besides that option, another place to be entertained is the place called Downtown Disney. It’s basically a street with many stores, where you can buy whatever you want that is related to Disney world. But if you don’t feel like shopping, there is a great place to have dinner, because they have a lot of restaurants with different types of food. To get there buy car, coming out of LA, takes around 40 minutes.
4. Adventure
What kind of adventure you are looking for? California has a lot of amusement parks, but each one of them are different somehow. If you are looking for a park that will make your heart explode, you are looking for Six Flags. This park has a lot of different thematic rides, like the Apocalypse, Batman or Superman: Escape from Krypton, but they all are thrilling. The only kind of entrainment of the park are the roller coasters, which means, there are also softer rides for thoses who don’t like the sensation of a free fall. Six Flags is located 40 minutes from LA by car.
Another park that has thrilling experiences is Knott’s Berry Farm. Despite from having some exotic roller coasters, the park has a special theme: Farming. So every attraction is connected to the central idea, which provoques a different experience. Besides, there is more space to do things in a group, like watching the special paredes promoted by the park or going to a ride with everybody. This park is located 30 minutes from LA, going by car.
Going for this thematic style there is also the Universal Studios Hollywood. Even though this place offers a special tour around, showing some of the cenarius or objects used at films, it’s still an amusement park. What this park has from special are the simulators, like the Simpsons, which attracts more public because it’s not an actual roller coaster. Simulating the experience it’s not only on the ride, the whole place is decorated and has products to capture your attention. Going from LA it’s pretty easy on this case, because it only takes 15 minutes buy car, and you can also use public transportation, it always depends from the place you are staying, but in general it takes more or like 50 minutes.
Just like Universal, the California Adventure use themes that may attract the public. This park doesn’t have emotional rides, it’s a more soft one, with Ferris wheel and Roller Coaster for Kids. The special thematic is Disneyland, so most of the rides are related to movies, like “Cars”. This park has at the end of each day a special show, with water and different lights in front of the Ferris wheel with Mickey Mouse’s face. It’s a place to chill with family and friends. And you can get there buy car, it’s around 35 minutes to reach the adventure.
Image Source: Personal Archive – Carolina Rodrigues
5. Beaches
If you are going to California, you most certainly are thinking about visiting some beaches. But how to choose? The first and most famous option is the city Malibu, where surfing is the real deal. It’s important to say that most beaches in the west side of the US have a really cold water, because it comes from the Pacific ocean. So, it’s not that easy to swim around. Unless you go with the purpose of surfing, you will probably choose to say chilling and lying down on the sand. Coming out of the center of LA, you may reach the city by car in one hour and twenty minutes, and by public transportation around two hours.
Another beach that has it’s special chilling touch is La Jolla, in San Diego. This beach it’s very particular because it has a connection with the animals around. It’s full of rocks and the seals are always resting on them. You can walk around, but you must respect the animal’s space, therefore, it’s hard to get into the water. So, as an alternative, the place is surrounded by threes and places to rest. It takes more or less two hours by car and three by public transportation. And if you are really into it, try to move around San Diego, it has an huge influence coming from Mexico.
Furthermore, there is the city Santa Monica, where the most famous attraction is the pier. This place has a small amusement park in it, where almost all the rides have a great view to the sea. You have to pay for all of them, but if you don’t have that much that money left and you have to choose just one, pick the Ferris wheel, because you will be able to enjoy the view for a longer time. This beach is not that far from LA, 50 minutes by car and one hour and twenty by public transportation.