LA Day Tour Itinerary

[TigerTown]

Hello all...I just finished listening to the email show for this week discussing Disneyland and I thought I would give a little input. One of the callers asked about other things to do besides the theme parks while in So Cal. Pete was very concerned about venturing into LA because of the traffic and while it’s true that the traffic is awful, I don’t think it should stop you from visiting LA, especially if you have never been there before.

Before I give you my tour plan let me give a little back ground info. First I must say that I do not live in LA, never have lived in LA, and don’t plan on living in LA. This is coming strictly from a visitors view point. I used to work for a company headquartered in Torrance. I was required to make many business trips out there and frequently had to spend the weekend in the LA area. It seemed that almost every time I spent the weekend there I was traveling with someone who had never been to LA. Because of this I decided to put together a little one day tour of the area. In case anybody is looking for a day trip while at Disneyland I thought I would share my tour itinerary.

First a couple of warnings about this tour:

1. I wanted to hit some of the more known tourist areas so be warned that most everything on this list is very touristy (If that’s a word).
2. Be warned that LA is a very big area. I have tried to make this tour as compact as possible yet still highlighting some major tourist areas.
3. You will be driving a lot on this tour. According to Map Quest the total driving time is two and a half hours

Since most of the people reading this are going to CA for Disneyland I have started the tour from the Disneyland Hotel. On with the tour:

A. Your first stop will be Mann’s Chinese Theater and the Kodak Theater.

Chinese Theatre

Kodak Theatre

Both of these places are great to visit and tours are available if you have the time. Parking is available all around the theater.


B. The next stop is optional. If the person I was with liked music, I would head to the guitar center in Hollywood. The store is huge and a must see for guitar lovers. Be sure to visit the vintage guitar room as well as the “Rock Walk” outside.

Rock Walk


C. On to Farmers Market for lunch. This is always a fun place. The market has been on the corner of 3rd and Fairfax since 1934 and according to their website they have over 100 shops. Also next door the market is a very nice outdoor shopping mall.


Farmers Market


D. After lunch it’s time to head to 90210. This is my wife’s favorite part of the tour. The place I have mapped is a perfect location. You park in an underground garage right under Tiffany on Rodeo drive. The parking is valet but still very affordable. Take the elevator up and you are right in the heart of Rodeo Drive.


210 N Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210



E. After daydreaming in Beverly Hills it’s off to the world famous Santa Monica Pier. This is a nice place to stop for a bit but we usually don’t spend too much time here. I just like to visit the pier and take a few photos.


Santa Monica Pier



F. The last stop on the tour is for dinner. One of my favorite restaurants is Gladstones in Malibu. To get there from Santa Monica you take a beautiful drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. I must throw in another word of caution here. The food is good but you are really here for the atmosphere. The restaurant is mostly outdoors and sits right on Malibu beach. I love it.

Gladstones of Malibu


Anyway that’s the tour. If you would like directions just send me a PM. I’ll also try to submit a link to Map Quest for these places.


TT's LA in a day tour

As I mentioned it’s just one persons idea and since I’m not from LA, I’m sure there are plenty more “day trips”. I just thought I’d give you mine…Enjoy.