Los Angeles
Accommodation in Los Angeles
Los Angeles offers a wide range of themes to help you plan your trip: expansive parkland, wildlife, theater tours and places connected to the city’s history. When choosing a hotel for your stay, it can help to first decide what you want to focus on. Would you like to spend more time in nature and on trails, explore behind-the-scenes insights into theaters and a campus on guided tours, or focus on collections and city history? The following places offer different starting points for organizing your interests.
Parkland, Trails and Wildlife
Griffith Park covers more than 4,210 acres of natural chaparral terrain, landscaped park areas and picnic spots. Miles of hiking and horseback-riding trails give the park a strong outdoor focus. The historic Greek Theatre is also located there. Parkland, trails and the venue represent different aspects of the area; you can consider them as separate themes when planning.
A miniature train ride is another experience on offer: the Griffith Park Southern Railroad runs along a route more than one mile long. To get to the park, the DASH Observatory/Los Feliz Shuttle serves Griffith Park daily from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., with shuttles running every 15 to 20 minutes. Since schedules can change, check the current times before your visit.
The Los Angeles Zoo is home to more than 1,700 mammals, birds, amphibians, fish and reptiles from more than 270 species, including more than 60 endangered species. A particular highlight is Rainforest of the Americas, an immersive 2.2-acre habitat with monkeys, jaguars and giant otters. The animal groups and species counts, as well as the specific habitat theme, offer different points of interest if wildlife is important to your trip.
Tours and Culture
The Music Center offers two types of free tours of its theaters and campus throughout the year, led by volunteer guides. One 90-minute tour includes the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Ahmanson Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, Walt Disney Concert Hall and Jerry Moss Plaza. This lets you set aside a specific time for a comprehensive tour when planning. Availability, tour content and schedules can change, so check the current date and itinerary in advance.
LACMA offers a different cultural focus: its collection includes 155,000 objects and illustrates thousands of years of artistic expression from around the world. If you are interested in art across different periods and cultures, this collection offers a broad thematic perspective. A tour at the Music Center, by contrast, focuses on theaters and the campus. These differences can help you prioritize your interests for your stay.
City History and Specific Themes
El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument offers insight into the early history of one of America’s largest cities. The America Tropical Interpretive Center explores the history of and controversy surrounding the America Tropical mural. Plaza Firehouse is designated California Historical Landmark No. 730 and was the first building in El Pueblo to be restored. Together, these places raise different historical questions: early city history, the story of a mural and the restoration of a particular building.
These themes can help guide your hotel choice without requiring you to follow a particular itinerary. Decide whether parkland and wildlife, cultural attractions or city history should play a bigger role in your stay. This way, you can choose accommodation based on the interests that truly matter to your trip.
Discover more destinations: Sun Valley, Granada Hills, Sylmar, San Fernando Valley, North Hollywood, Venice, Westwood, San Pedro, Reseda, Harbor City, North Hills, Wilmington, Playa Del Rey, Tarzana, Brentwood, Studio City.
For the broader travel overview: Los Angeles.
