One Day in Los Angeles - 24-hour L.A. Itinerary
From the entertainment industry, multicultural areas with amazing food, art scene, to amazing beaches — L.A. has it all.
But what if you only have 24 hours to visit? In this article, we created an itinerary ideal for a one-day visit to L.A.
Read all the way to the end, as we also included some great tips to organize yourself before you go.
At 7:30 am (to see all the main sights, let's start early) – our first stop is the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Although attractions in L.A. usually open late, anywhere from 9 to 10 am, you can visit Hollywood Boulevard in the morning. While you might not see the crowds, you can enjoy its most famous spot, The Hollywood Walk of Fame.
It features over 2,600 stars embedded in the sidewalks along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. The stars are permanent public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of actors, directors, musicians, producers, fictional characters, and others.
Look for the famous Chinese Theatres, featuring handprints, footprints, and signatures of some of Hollywood's biggest stars. Visit the Hollywood & Highland shopping mall with a perfect view of Hollywood Sign.
At 9 am, time for breakfast, so let's head out to the Grand Central Market in Downtown L.A.
Grand Central Market is a 30,000 square-foot arcade featuring the food emporium and retail marketplace in downtown L.A., and a great place to get your breakfast. The place opened in 1917 and has been operating ever since with a mission to provide Los Angeles with a national caliber eating experience that showcases California's best ingredients, chefs, and entrepreneurs.
Grand Central Market is a great place to experience the cultures of Los Angeles by merely walking through or even getting something to eat from one of the numerous food vendors. And while you're there, don't miss the Angels Flight located right outside the Market. With its 298 feet inclined railway, it is supposed to be the world's shortest railway.
If you have time, you can just walk around Downtown at Pershing Square, Grand Park, or admire beautiful buildings like The Bradbury Building, The Biltmore Hotel, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Eastern Columbia Lofts, and many others.
After breakfast, at 10 am, let's experience L.A. from above at the OUE Skyspace LA
OUE Skyspace L.A. is California's tallest open-air observation deck of the iconic U.S. Bank Tower with breathtaking views towards Los Angeles.
For the brave ones, you can take a 45-foot Skyslide, a fully enclosed, all-glass slide designed by NASA, nearly 1,000 feet above Downtown L.A. that gives you an entirely new perspective of the city. Also, feel free to skip any of the attractions if you are running out of time.
Next, let's head out to Santa Monica. On the way there, if you don't have time to stop at the famous Rodeo Drive, just pass through Sunset Boulevard and/or Beverly Hills and make a short stop to take a selfie with the Beverly Hills street sign.
At 1:30 pm, and we arrive at Santa Monica Pier
A large double-jointed and over 100 years old Santa Monica Pier is located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica. Its iconic entrance made the pier popular with both residents and visitors.
Don't forget to look for the pier mark indicating the end of the legendary American highway Route 66. The pier is a trendy tourist spot, so expect it can get very crowded. Santa Monica Pier is also home to an entire mini-adventure-park offering several rides, called Pacific Park.
If you are hungry, you can just grab a slice of pizza or a burger on your way or sit down in a restaurant on the pier or in Downtown Santa Monica, such as 3rd Street Promenade or Ocean Avenue next to the pier. You can easily find cheap eats in the area. Check out our guide for links to great cheap eats in L.A.
Our travel guide is a mobile-friendly .pdf document that covers the top 20 things to do Los Angeles, including maps, links, opening hours, and other information that will help make your trip to L.A. stress-free. The link is in the description.
At 4 pm, let's visit the nearby Venice Beach
Venice is a residential, commercial, and recreational beachfront neighborhood. It was founded in 1905 as a seaside resort town. Over the years, it transformed into a free-spirited boardwalk and residential area full of funky shops, imaginative street performers, and public art.
Rent an electric scooter or a bike and ride along the Venice Beach, play some sports in one of many public sports areas, or simply sit in the sand, watch the waves and enjoy the vibe.
If you have time, also visit the nearby Venice Canals. The canals were created in the early 1900s to mimic the famous canals in Venice, Italy.
To wrap up your day at 7 pm head to the Griffith Observatory and watch the sunset.
If you're not too tired and depending on the actual sunset time, this is a great way to finish your day. The Griffith Observatory overlooking Los Angeles offers excellent views of Hollywood Sign and downtown L.A., especially for the sunset. It features an extensive array of space and science-related displays.
One of the more memorable exhibits is a Tesla coil. Designed by inventor Nikola Tesla in 1891.
And now, let's look at some of the tips that might come in handy on your day-trip to L.A
Tip #1: Get a Car
You will need a car or pay for UBER to take you around. Otherwise, you simply can't reach all these places easily, since the public transport in L.A. is, well, not great. Take advantage of renting an electric scooter or a bike so you can explore the area much faster.
Tip #2: Skip Some Attractions If You Don’t Have Time
Feel free to skip any of the attractions depending on how tired you are, how early in the day you want to start, whether you are stuck in traffic longer than anticipated, etc. You can spend hours driving around L.A. and being stuck in traffic before you reach your destination. So, you better just get used to the traffic, listen to some nice music, relax and enjoy the vibe.
Tip #3: Reverse Your Plan
You can reverse your plan and start your day in Venice Beach, then continue to Santa Monica Pier, Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood walk of fame, and end your day at the Griffith Observatory. However, there's not much going on Venice beach early in the morning. Or even change your plan and add new attractions to the list.
There are tons of other amazing things to do in Los Angeles, from attractive neighborhoods, parks, museums, and much more. So…
🌊☀️ Want a complete L.A. pdf guide for $6.99?
Our travel guide is a mobile-friendly .pdf document that you can store on your phone for offline use. It covers the top 10 things to do in L.A., plus 10 additional attractions, maps, links, opening hours, 1, 2, and 3-day itinerary, and other information that will help make your trip to L.A. stress-free.
Photo credits: Unsplash