Los Angeles vacation planning guides, itineraries, and best things to do. Tips for saving time & money, visiting museums and beaches, and photos by Tom Bricker.
If you’re visiting downtown Los Angeles, one can’t miss location is the L.A. Times Building, which offers free tours and has its beautiful Globe Lobby open to the general public. Gordon B. Kaufmann designed the Times Building, which won a gold medal at the 1937 Paris Exposition. At minimum, the Times Building is a must-visit 15 […]
MOCA, or the Museum of Contemporary Art, has three locations in Los Angeles: MOCA Grand Avenue, the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, and MOCA Pacific Design Center. This review focuses on the ‘main’ downtown location, offering thoughts about the museum’s exhibitions, logistical information, and whether it’s worth the price of admission. If it seems like we’ve been […]
The Broad is a free museum in downtown Los Angeles, California with an impressive collection of contemporary art, including conceptual art. It’s an impressive museum that cost $140 million to build only a couple of years ago. This review of the Broad offers photos from inside its galleries, tips for visiting, and pros and cons […]
Southern California has a lot of incredible beaches, but without question, the best beach near Los Angeles is El Matador State Beach in Malibu, which is one of the pocket beaches in Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach (all of which are part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area). In this post, I’ll […]
My expectations for the Hollywood Museum were not high. I had walked passed it many times while wandering around Hollywood & Highland to show visitors the Walk of Fame, Grauman’s, and other tourist-y spots that are on everyone’s bucket list. In this post, I’ll review the Hollywood Museum and offer some tips for visiting it. […]
The California Science Center is a free museum in Los Angeles offering interactive exhibits focusing on innovation, technology, the environment, and more. In this post, we’ll review this popular science museum, and share some tips for making the most of your visit to the California Science Center. If you’ve heard of the California Science Center, there’s […]
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest museum of its type in California (and throughout the West), with 35 million specimens, spanning exhibits on dinosaurs, birds, gems & minerals, and more. The museum features dioramas, fossils, and a variety of interactive displays. In this post, we’ll review the Natural History Museum of […]
Thanks to Little Tokyo and Little Osaka, Los Angeles has a thriving Japanese culinary scene, which is probably best evidenced in its many delicious ramen shops. We’ve tried many of these restaurants in Sawtelle and Little Tokyo, and think the two best choices for ramen are Tsujita LA and Daikokuya. It would seem that many […]
Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin with this review of Madame Tussauds Hollywood. Out of all the things to do in Los Angeles, I never expected that I’d actually visit this wax figure museum. In fact, it’s been something of a running joke between Sarah and I. We go somewhere that has a […]
The Sony Pictures Studio tour takes guests behind the scenes of the former MGM studios, one of the most famed studios of old Hollywood. During this walking tour, guests go inside various sets and soundstages, and get a general taste for life on the Sony lot. In this review, we’ll cover the pros & cons of […]