Located on legendary Sunset Boulevard, Amoeba Music is a proverbial mecca for stereophiles in Los Angeles. The store is a monument to vinyl, with over 250,000 titles in LP and EP formats and a similarly breathtaking inventory of CDs, DVDs, BluRay discs, and even cassettes (remember those?). Titles range from every genre and era imaginable, so no ma... Moretter your taste, you’re sure to find something that catches your fancy. The extensive selection of used items means you won’t have to break the bank, and you can unload used albums for cash or store credit—if you can bear to part with them.

Address:
6400 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(323) 245-6400Less

Built around the 1960’s Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, the legendary ArcLight cinemas returns the glitz and glamour to the movie-going experience with 15 state-of-the-art screens, top-quality sound systems, assigned armchair-like seating with plenty of leg room, and spoken movie introductions that are occasionally given by the movie’s dire... Morector. ArcLight also has a gift shop, costume displays, and a restaurant and bar that features regularly scheduled 21+ screenings for those who prefer to watch movies with a martini in hand.

Address:
6360 W. Sunset Blvd., Cinerama Dome
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(323) 464-1478Less

Bob Baker carves marionettes and trains apprentices to animate them. With its houselights on, the theater is nothing: squirming kids and cheesy, dusty Christmas decorations. With the lights down, it’s unforgettable—part Ice Capades, part Muppets, part Chinese opera, part Bolshoi Ballet. And you see the puppeteers, a rainbow of ethinicit... Moreies, walking among the audience, hands flying, convincing you that the marionettes are alive and the humans are struggling to keep up with them. Admission $15.

Address:
1345 W. 1st St.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213) 250-9995Less

For more than half a century, this old-school cafeteria has been serving hearty comfort foods inside a space with redwood forest décor. Clifford Clifton, who established the restaurant in 1935, was inspired by the Santa Cruz Mountains and a desire to bring cheer to Depression-weary downtown. The result was this woodsy dining room with a 20-f... Moreoot waterfall, soaring redwoods, and statues of woodland creatures. Today, patrons are still delighted by the largely unchanged décor as they load vintage trays with items like slow roasted turkey, fresh veggies, mac and cheese, and creamy custard pie.

Address:
648 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213) 627-1673Less

One of four theatres comprising the downtown Music Center, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion opened in 1964 thanks to a $20 million fundraising effort from Dorothy Buffum Chandler, wife of Los Angeles Times publisher Norman Chandler. Designed by renowned local architect Welton Becket (also responsible for the Capitol Records Building and Ciner... Moreama Dome), the theatre has a towering glass façade, a fountain-filled plaza, and 3,200 seats surrounding one of the largest stages in the nation. The pavilion is home to the Los Angeles Opera and also hosted the Academy Awards 24 times during the 20th century.

Address:
135 N. Grand Ave., Music Center Plaza
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213) 972-7211Less

On the top floor of the Wurlitzer Building in downtown, the shop’s loft-like space features the ever-evolving works of Korean-American clothing designer Christina Kim. A wall of window allows sunlight to shine on Kim’s sheer garments, vibrant art installations, and wares discovered by Kim on her travels across the globe. Simple and eco-... Morefriendly, the designs range from loose muslin tops and delicate camisoles to white crop pants and flowing dresses in pale seashell orange. The one-of-a-kind pieces have subtle yet unique details, such as the glow-in-the-dark Joshua tree design along the trim of a silky chemise slip.

Address:
818 S. Broadway, 12th floor
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213) 489-2801Less

The Downtown Art Walk draws about 4,000 people, ranging from artists to West L.A. collectors.

Address:
Gallery Row, Between Spring and Main Sts.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(714) 883-3502

Designed to resemble a 1970’s 7-Eleven, the store sells dinosaur eggs, robot milk, and "leeches—nature’s tiny doctors." It may take a minute, but then the visitor gets it. This is a put-on—an art installation: a convenience store stocked for a road trip through time. But the merchandise sells, and almost as soon as... More the store opened last spirng, it earned enough to pay rent for the nonprofit walk-in tutoring center for neighborhood kids, called 826LA, that occupies the rest of the building.

Address:
1714 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213) 413-3388Less

David Kramer, co-owner of Family, bills it as "a curated bookstore." This means that the emphasis, at least where the book selection is concerned, is on quality over quantity. This one-of-a-kind shop is a hipster’s dream on prime Fairfax real estate. The bookstore’s back wall is papered with a blown-up black-and-white photo of... More a gun-toting Eastern European Jewish vigilante group formed to guard against pogroms. Aside from a well-pruned book inventory, Family also offers up hard-to-find magazines, indie films and videos, and an ample music section.

Address:
436 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(323) 782-9221Less

Los Angeles institution, the Griffith Observatory opened in 1935 with the mission of “inspiring everyone to observe, ponder, and understand the sky.” The highlight of the observatory is the spectacular Samuel Oschin Planetarium, a 300-seat facility that offers a number of programs complete with a lecturer who is an expert in his or her ... Morefield, a rarity among planetaria. The public can also gaze at the sky through the Zeiss telescope, which is open day and night. In addition to the planetarium and telescope, the Griffith Observatory features exhibits on the planets, the sun, and tools created specifically for space exploration.

Address:
2800 E. Observatory Rd.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213) 473-0800Less

The swankiest gas station you will ever see.

Address:
8770 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(310) 855-9346

This historic cemetery is the final resting place of many Hollywood founders, Golden Age movie stars, and even punk musicians. Established in 1899, it contains the graves of such celebrities as Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Jayne Mansfield, and Johnny Ramone. The site is also home to Rudolph Valentino’s crypt, which is stained with... More the lipstick of his admirers, and the grave of Warner Bros. voice actor Mel Blanc, whose tombstone reads, “That’s all, folks!” During summertime, the cemetery hosts Cinespia, a popular film-screening series in which movies are projected onto the vast marble wall of a mausoleum.

Address:
6000 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(323) 469-9933Less

The London West Hollywood, formerly the Bel Age hotel, received an ever-so-grand makeover from Irish architect David Collins. The all-suite hotel even features a Gordon Ramsay dining room. Room to Book: Second-floor London Veranda suites have huge terraces with chaise lounges and a breakfast table. Doubles From $229.
... More
Address:
1020 N. San Vincente Blvd.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(310) 854-1111Less

One of America’s premier art museums, with an inventory of more than 100,000 works, LACMA is unsung compared with its crosstown rival, the Getty Center. But a multiyear transformation, planned by architect Renzo Piano, is currently under way; when the Broad Contempora... Morery Art Museum opens in late 2008, the hype may finally arrive. In the meantime, LACMA’s permanent collection spans the globe and the millennia, ranging from French Impressionism to Greek and Egyptian antiquities; its Japanese Pavilion is dedicated to graceful artworks dating from 3000 B.C. The museum’s collection of Latin American artists, including Mexican masters like Diego Rivera and Rufino Tamayo, is also notable.

Tip: Admission is pay-as-you-wish after 5 p.m. every day.

Address:
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(323) 857-6000Less

The restored theater is known for its triannual cult spectacle Lucha Vavoom, a chaotic mingling of burlesque dancers, masked lucha libre Mexican wrestlers, and lowrider cars. The Mayan is also one of the historic movie houses that host the Last Remaining Seats, a Conservancy program screening vintage movies to support such ongoing projects as the r... Moreesotration of Frank Lloyd Writght’s 1924 Ennis House in Los Feliz.

Address:
1038 S. Hill St., The Mayan
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213) 746-4674Less

Philippe Starck’s signature look has recentrly been updated by Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz.

Address:
8440 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(323) 650-8999

One of the most renowned landmarks on downtown’s row of Broadway theatres, the Orpheum dates to 1926 and originally hosted vaudeville shows, legendary comedians like Jack Benny, and musical greats such as Duke Ellington and Aretha Franklin. Today, the theatre still presents a wide variety of events, from concerts and movie premiers to plays a... Morend film festivals. The Orpheum houses nearly 2,000 bright red seats in the orchestra, loge, balcony, and boxes, and the building also contains a white marble lobby, a wood-paneled lounge, and the Mighty Wurlitzer, one of only three original theatre organs in the region.

Address:
842 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(877) 677-4386Less

The exceptional Japanese food has drawn locals and adventurous West Siders since 1991.

Address:
923 E. 2nd St.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213) 687-7178

A monument to film’s silent era, West Hollywood’s Silent Movie Theater was originally opened by John Hampton in 1942. For many years, the theater exposed the public to some of Hollywood’s greatest silent films. Today, the theater is home to the Cinefamily project, which shows films from around the world, including independent and ... Morelesser-known titles. The organization also hosts a number of special events and festivals, including Friday Night Frights, a showcase of the best horror films from around the world, and the Silent Treatment, a celebration of silent films.

Address:
611 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(323) 655-2510Less

Once home to downtown L.A.’s first power plant, this cavernous two-story speakeasy still has plenty of buzz (and not just because of the electrical relics and vintage lightbulb chandeliers hanging around the bar). Here, guests lounge on overstuffed leather chaises, sipping single-malt Lowland scotch and waiting for the cutesy aerial acrobat p... Moreerformances that take place every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after 9 p.m.

Address:
108 W. Second St.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213) 613-0000Less

Part of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, The Geffen Contemporary was first founded as the Temporary Contemporary in 1983 before becoming a permanent gallery and shop. The space, a renovated former warehouse in Little Tokyo, is now a multi-room canvas used to display the contemporary tours de force. For instance, the 2011 “Art in t... Morehe Streets” exhibit brought graffiti to the Geffen, enlivening the space with bold, explosive works by artists like Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, and Banksy.

Address:
152 N. Central Ave.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213 )621-1741Less

Hip digs, reasonable prices, and a too-cool night scene are the draws at this André Balazs outpost. The trendy, whimsical interiors here are fun and don’t take themselves too seriously: both George Jetson and Austin Powers would feel at home hobnobbing over cocktails in the canary-yellow restaurant, or lounging on the shocking-pink sec... Moretional in the lobby. Accommodations range from 280-square-foot “Cheap” rooms to 1,000-square-foot penthouses. With their platform beds, predominantly black-and-white décor, and abstract art, the hotel’s 205 rooms are chic studies in minimalism. Funky design elements are everywhere, from the massive Roman foot sculptures in guest bathrooms to the bright-red podlike cabanas housing vibrating waterbeds that surround the pool. The Rooftop Bar, with its stunning downtown views, potent mojitos, and movies projected onto a nearby building façade, attracts the young, the beautiful, and the soon-to-be-famous.

Address:
550 S. Flower St.
Los Angeles, California
United States

Phone:
(213) 892-8080Less