Adventure in Los Angeles, California - 24-Hour Travel Guide
Breakfast - Restaurants come and go in L.A. quick enough to break your heart. But not Duke’s Tropicana Coffee Shop on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Duke’s is a Hollywood legend, the favorite breakfast spot of rock musicians and indie filmmakers and rising young starlets. It’s located next to the famous Whisky a Go Go. You can get a pretty good breakfast for a reasonable price but the reason to come here is the colorful and entertaining people who come here, too.
Morning - You could go for a stroll along Rodeo Boulevard in Beverly Hills – and you’d have a good time. But I think you should spend the morning in Culver City, the one-time home of movie studios like MGM. It’s terrific. The MGM lot is now Sony Pictures Studio and you can take a walking tour amidst sound stages where Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane, and countless other film classics were made. Culver City has undergone an urban revitalization in the last few years and now there are great cafes, restaurants, and galleries up and down Culver Boulevard. This has become a very cool part of town.
Lunch - The Ivy in Beverly Hills, on Robertson Boulevard. You haven’t really experienced L.A. in my book until you have lunch or dinner at The Ivy. It’s California Rustic, homey, a sort of cottage feel with a picket fence and running rose by the patio – so subtle and e3n famille un-chic that it’s very chic. The food is innovative and the crowd is made up of Beautiful People from every era.
Afternoon - Melrose Avenue between Fairfax and Poinsettia in West Hollywood draws an interesting mix of young and not-so-you (but still interesting) Alternative types. There are all sort of clever shops and hip boutiques here, some “R” rated, a lot that are vintage, and few that are top shelf, like Fred Segal and Betsy Johnson. Even if you think you don’t have a non-conformist bone in your body, you should spend a few hours visiting this part of L.A.
Dinner - A.O.C. on West 3rd Street in West Hollywood is one of those places that you’ll adopt as your own hangout and come back to the next time you’re in town. The cuisine is Mediterranean and the wine bar is superb. (They serve over 50 wines by the glass.) This is a very easy place to come to when you’re by yourself. Another place I like is Falcon, on Sunset Boulevard. It’s east of Hollywood, on a stretch of Sunset that is forgettable. Once you get inside the restaurant, the design and the food make a dramatic impression. The menu is expansive – The food, actually, is why you want to come here. Traveling still farther east on Sunset, you could try Tantra, in Silverlake, if you like Indian food. The place has a gorgeous design and you can get a broad range of tandoori dishes.
After Dark - The comedy club, The Improv, on Melrose in West Hollywood is a L.A. institution. Stand-up comedians like Richard Pryor and Lily Tomlin performed here early in their careers. You might want to go to the infamous Viper Room on Sunset and San Vicente. This is the music club opened by Johnny Depp a decade or so ago. House of Blues is also on Sunset. You might see anyone here from Etta James to Pete Townshend.
Sleep - I have to bring up Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, on Hollywood Boulevard, which has been refurbished and restored and is now a very hip and glamorous hangout. This is Hollywood’s oldest hotel and if you can get it you ought to stay here. I have also stayed at Le Montrose Suite Hotel for years and would recommend it highly if you pass on the Roosevelt. Le Montrose is in West Hollywood, tucked away on Cynthia Street between San Vicente and Doheny. Executives in the music business often stay here. Each room is a suite, with a separate bedroom or sleeping area. The living room is sunken and there’s a fireplace. The deck around the rooftop pool is a good place to have breakfast the next morning.
Tags: Solo Travelers