3 Days in L.A.

What do you do if your family loves Hollywood magic, food, and discovering offbeat gems? Follow our recent family trip to L.A for a long weekend. Bring your patience, because this is a L.A. and the traffic is rough!

Day 1: DTLA Delights

Morning: Arrive and Refuel at Grand Central Market 

After an early flight into L.A., we picked up our rental car and headed straight to Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) for breakfast. Our first food stop was the Grand Central Market, a culinary landmark since 1917. We indulged in delicious Chilaquiles and a must-try Spanish Latte (espresso, sweetened condensed coconut milk, cinnamon, and oat milk) that perked us right up. The vibrant atmosphere of the market was the perfect introduction to the city. It was early so many vendors were still prepping for lunch service but there were plenty of options open.

Tip: Parking is a breeze at the adjacent garage on Hill Street—just $5 for the first 90 minutes. While you're in the area, take a quick walk across Hill St. to Angels Flight ($1 per person per ride).

Mid-Morning: Explore Art, Architecture, and Literature 

If time allows, check out these spots, all within a 7-10 minute walk from GCM.

• The Broad Contemporary Art Museum is a treasure trove of modern masterpieces

• The Victorian architecture of The Bradbury Building

• Don’t miss The Last Bookstore, a labyrinth of literature where you can get lost among the shelves. 

  
  

Afternoon: Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Funko Store and Warner Bros. Studio Tour  Next, we made our way to Hollywood & Vine, where our daughter’s first “must see” attraction was finding the stars for Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has watched all 10 seasons of Friends at least 3 times so to say she was excited is an understatement. 

Tip: Parking in Hollywood can be a challenge. Although we lucked out with street parking nearby, consider using the Metro Redline or parking at nearby garages like the Easton Complex.

A visit to the nearby Funko Store Hollywood was an absolute highlight—this isn’t just a store, it’s an immersive experience with something for every fandom. My daughter even created a custom Funko Pop! to commemorate our visit.  We had such a good time here finding all our favorite characters (but where is the Creature of the Black Lagoon, Funko Pop?)

 Tip: If you are going to get a custom Funko, do this first as it takes about 25-30 minutes to complete depending on how busy it is. Stroll around the store and take pics of all your favorite characters while you wait. 

Warner Bros. Studio Tour: Grab an insider's look at Hollywood magic on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. This 2.5-3 hour adventure offers guided and self-guided tours of backlots, sound stages, and iconic sets and hands on experiences from Friends, Big Bang Theory, Harry Potter, and more. Even if you’re not a die-hard fan, the experience is fascinating and well worth the visit (I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would!)  We loved the interactive Harry Potter experiences and of course, photo ops on the Friends recliners and couch!

TIP: Grab an In-N-Out Burger nearby for a true California experience, but be prepared for long lines—they move fast, though!

I know this place is popular (and close to Universal) and always on a visitors hit list, but I was still surprised at the extremely long drive through line --at least 15 cars deep creeping down Cahuenga Blvd. The fresh cooked fries were delicious!

On our way back to the coast, we took a detour through the Hollywood Hills to admire the stunning architecture and breathtaking views. The narrow, winding roads and unique homes are quintessential L.A.We made a quick stop at the Stahl House for a peek at one of L.A.’s most famous mid-century modern homes. TIP: Check opening times as entry is allowed but only at certain times.

Evening: Santa Monica Sunset

The day was not over yet! After a quick rest at our hotel, we enjoyed an evening walk along the ocean, the Santa Monica pier and ending point for Route 66. We strolled around Ocean Ave. and 3rd Street Promenade. We’ve visited here before and were very surprised to see all the retail stores that have gone out of business in the area. Overall Ocean Ave. and the surrounding area are very lively at night with many open air restaurants and bars. Finally, time to sleep --

back to the Shore Hotel. 

Day 2: Beach Time, More DTLA and a Scenic Drive to the  ROCKS!

The next day, for breakfast, a stop at the Santa Monica’s Saturday farmers market and Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee.

No first time trip to L.A. is complete without a visit to Venice Beach. We strolled along the boardwalk, soaked in the eclectic atmosphere, and watched the skateboarders at the iconic skate park. A visit to Rico’s for empanadas and a quick stop at the German in Venice shop (sorry to see that it closed!).  Be sure to check out the canals while in the area. 

We headed back to the DTLA area to stop at Little Tokyo - Shopping and sipping on matchas! My daughter was in heaven at the Claw Machine Bar. So many ways to lose money!  It was very busy on this beautiful Saturday afternoon so there were a lot of people in the area. Not too far from here is also Koreatown. Time was running short so we didn’t get a chance to visit. 

Scenic drive outside the city to Vasquez Rocks Nature Area. This was a little random but something my family would be totally in to! Besides the battle of Kirk vs Gorn (Star Trek, 1967, season 1 ,episode 18), it's also the filming location of many other films/shows including Planet of the Apes, John Wayne’s Lawless Range, the Flintstones and others.  It’s slightly over an hour drive out of the city - but may be much more depending on the traffic and where you are starting from. If you plan to hike, bring lots of water, sunscreen and don't go at 3pm like we did! Way too hot. Also note, lots of snake holes on the trail so be warned (we didn’t see anything).

We checked in to the Garland Hotel for some well needed rest and relaxation with a visit to the pool and dinner at the Front Yard. 

TIP: For those of us who grew up on The Brady Bunch, don’t miss the Brady House is .4 miles from the Garland Hotel!  11222 Dilling St, North Hollywood, CA 91602

Day 3: Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood: Our final full day was dedicated to the magic of Universal Studios. The Garland Hotel trolley runs every hour on the hour except for 1 and 3 for shift changes) so it was super easy and convenient to get to the park. It's a short 10 minute ride over and they practically drop you at the front gate. We had only one day to spend at the park so we splurged on Express Pass tickets, which allowed us to skip the lines and make the most of our day. 

TIP: You get one ride per ride on the Express Pass so if the wait time is 15 minutes or less, just wait in line. That way if you want to do it again you have your skip the line express pass to do it. 

First stop was checking out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Hogwarts(™) castle was impressive and there was so much to see along the quque for the Forbidden Journey ride (which is inside the castle). In the morning the lines were not long in Harry Potter land so we could ride the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride a few times non express. By noon the ride wait times were up to 56 minutes and up so we started using our express pass. We visited Super Nintendo World but didn't ride the Mario Bros. Bowsers Challenge as the Express Pass was not valid for it and the wait times were over 2 hours. 

The Universal Studio Tour takes you through several interactive studio attractions including Jurassic Park, King Kong and Amity Island, where you encounter Jaws. We also enjoyed seeing the Psycho house and the Bates motel. For more about Universal, read my full review. 

TIP: Take the Studio Tour in the mid afternoon for a quick break from the heat. It’s about an hour and mostly a ride on the golf cart (bring a cold drink!) 

After the long day, we took the shuttle pack to the Garland for some relaxing pool time before dinner.  

Departure Day: Other Notable L.A Landmarks

Griffith Observatory and Hollywood Forever Cemetery After breakfast, we took a drive up to Griffith Observatory for panoramic views of the L.A. skyline and the Hollywood sign. It’s a must-see for any first time visitor.

On our way back, we made a unplanned stop at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where we paid our respects at Hattie McDaniel, daughter wrote a report on her for “Most Notable Kansan”, Chris Cornell (my fave) and Vampira’s gravesite (Jose’s fave).  We did ask a groundskeeper to point us in the direction of Hattie McDanial and she was located next to the Statue of Dee Dee Ramone. The cemetery’s website does have a map with location numbers but we had terrible cell service so it was useless.If you are into visiting gravesites, you can also check out Forest Lawn in Glendale which is nearby, for more celebrity graves.  

TIP: Plan ahead and use the Find A Grave app to help locate sites easier! 

Now it’s time to head out - so long L.A. See you next time!

Food Stops:

• Egg Tuck: Must-try egg sandwiches from their Sunset Blvd location. Note: To Go only. This was a great option for food on the go.

• Rico's Empanada's in Venice Beach

• Javista Coffee: A cozy spot on Sunset Blvd with a community vibe.

• Tlayuda L.A.: Don’t miss the Mole Tacos and refreshing cucumber lemonade. 

• Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee: Overall this place is overpriced but the Huckleberry and lemon poppy seed doughnuts were worth every penny!

• Midori Matcha: Blueberry matcha and a dirty matcha with espresso were perfect companions for our Little Tokyo shopping trip. 

Destination Insights

• "June Gloom" is a real thing. We visited it June and it was overcast every morning but the clouds usually were gone by 11 am-noon.

• The climate varies drastically from one area to another. It can be 65 degree in the morning in Santa Monica and then 89 degrees in DTLA while it's around 100+ inland.

• Traffic and parking is tough but do-able (with some patience)

  
  

A little glamor, a little grime, and a lot of pop culture, Los Angeles never fails to surprise and delight. Whether you’re a movie buff, a foodie, or just love to explore unique spots, I hope you enjoyed a few of the things on this trip!