Visitors?

Close-Up, Watts Towers

People call me L.A. Ell. As my banner states, L.A. is my Beat...from Boyle Heights to the Beach...from Manchester to Mulholland. Friends with out of town guests often ask me for different places to take their visitors while in L.A. Of course, there are the obvious, crowded places like Disneyland, Universal City, Magic Mountain, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Santa Monica Pier, Marina del Rey, the big museums (LACMA, MOCA, the Getty, Norton Simon, Huntington Gardens, L.A. Arboretum) and the cluster of downtown spots including Chinatown, Little Tokyo and Olvera Street. Then there's shopping in Beverly Hills, at The Grove and the Original Farmers Market, 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica, South Coast Plaza in Orange County, among other places.

I like to offer suggestions for out of the way places to visit. Here's a list of some of my faves:

The new and improved Griffith Park Observatory. We're going there this coming Friday with our out of town guests!

Hollyhock House in Barnsdall Park. A Frank Lloyd masterpiece.

Hollyhock House, photo by Mark Willis

The Museum of Jurassic Technology....next door to the Center for Land Use Interpretation. Both of these museums are quirky and fun. The MJT has a tea room.

Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum. An extremely interesting collection of early California homes and gardens.

Watts Towers. An amazing feat of engineering, construction and mosaic madness.

The Adamson House. My favorite example of Malibu Tile used in a Spanish Revival home. The tour and gift shop are excellent and informative, plus you're right on the beach!

Tiled Kitchen at The Adamson House

Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Where many famous stars are buried. The grounds have been improved and this is a lovely spot for a picnic lunch.

William S. Hart Ranch. One of our early western movie stars. A working, rough and ready ranch near Magic Mountain.

Self-Realization Fellowship, Hollywood and Pacific Palisades. Both locations have beautiful gardens.

The Egyptian Theater. The home of the American Cinematheque. The building is beautiful and historic and the movies are faboo.

Artwork at the L.A. Metro Stations. This is one of my fave tours. You start downtown at Union Station...get on the Red Line and stop at every station to see the artwork. Then, zoom back on the Red Line to Union Station and pick up the Gold Line......continue viewing artwork. Along the way you can come up for air and food.

Don't get me started about great restaurants near all of these tourist attractions. If you want more detailed information on our travels around L.A., just go to the "search" window at the top of my blog and type in "Los Angeles." Many fun places will appear. For restaurant suggestions, go to my restaurant review blog and plan your sight-seeing trip around eating!

I love having out of town guests. We rarely stop and look around our town when we're on the go during our routine work week. Having guests forces us to really look at and experience the beautiful City of Los Angeles. Where are you favorite places to visit in L.A.?