San Diego
South of Plaza de Panama looms the tiered benches, curved colonnade and ornate pavilion housing a 5017-pipe organ, said to be the world’s largest of its…
Must-see attractions in Southern California
Huntington Beach
A 3-mile-long strip of sand favored by surfers, volleyball players and fishers, Bolsa Chica State Beach stretches alongside Pacific Coast Hwy between…
Huntington Beach
The 1853ft Huntington Pier is one of the West Coast's longest. It has been here – in one form or another – since 1904, though the mighty Pacific has…
Disneyland Resort
Disneyland resort's larger but less crowded park, Disney California Adventure celebrates the natural and cultural glories of the Golden State but lacks…
Santa Monica
There are endless ways to enjoy this 3.5-mile stretch of sand, running from Venice Beach in the south to Will Rogers State Beach in the north. Sunbathing…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
The pier marks the beginning of Malibu’s commercial heart. It’s open for strolling and license-free fishing (note the brackets for your rod and reel) and…
Death Valley National Park
Closed due to flood damage and not likely to reopen until at least 2020, this whimsical castle was the desert home of Walter E Scott, alias ‘Death Valley…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
With jumbo jets soaring overhead, sailboats bobbing beyond the rolling surf, bonfires raging in the pit and a waxing moon rising high, summer nights on…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
North of the Farmers Market is CBS, where game shows, talk shows, soap operas and other programs are taped, often before a live audience, including the…
San Diego
Just beyond the ‘Hotel Del', this beach is consistently ranked in America’s top 10. Four-and-a-half miles south of Coronado Village is the white-sand…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
A visual cacophony of billboards, giant ad banners and neon signs, the sinuous stretch of Sunset Blvd running between Laurel Canyon and Doheny Dr has been…
Watts Labor Community Action Committee
Los Angeles
Watts was around the epicenter of two sets of LA riots – first in 1965 and then in 1992 – when this vibrant community and cultural center was burned to…
Newport Beach
Four miles long but less than a half-mile wide, the Balboa Peninsula has a white-sand beach on its ocean side and countless stylish homes, including the…
The Deserts
As if from a page out of a Dr Seuss book, the whimsical-looking Joshua trees welcome visitors to this 794,000-acre park at the convergence of the Colorado…
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
Rodin’s The Burghers of Calais standing guard by the entrance is only a mind-teasing overture to the full symphony of art in store at this exquisite…
Joshua Tree National Park
It may look just like a white-domed structure, but in reality it's an electrostatic generator for time travel and cell rejuvenation. Yup! At least that's…
Newport Beach
A few miles of open beach and 2400 acres of undeveloped woodland at this state park let you forget you're in a crowded metropolitan area, at least once…
Santa Barbara County
The Channel Islands is an eight-island chain lying off the coast from Newport Beach to Santa Barbara. The four northern islands – San Miguel, Santa Rosa,…
Los Angeles
The soft lilt of a saxophone purrs from a storefront. Excited chatter streams from a coffee house. The savory aroma of barbecue wafts into the steamy…
Disneyland Resort
This land gets kudos for its incredibly detailed design based on the popular Disney Pixar Cars movies. Top billing goes to the wacky Radiator Springs…
Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
It’s easy to spend hours amid the global vegetation, waterfalls, spring-fed lake and historic buildings of this fantastic, rambling, 127-acre park…
San Diego
Old Town Front St’s turn-of-the-last-century storefronts and wooden sidewalks make for an attractive stroll – pick up the Historic Old Town Temecula…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
The former home and studio of Vienna-born architect Rudolph Schindler (1887–1953) offers a fine primer on the modernist elements that so greatly…
Santa Monica
This former rail yard has been converted to one of LA's best centers for art galleries, mostly for contemporary art. A couple dozen of them keep varying…
Disneyland Resort
An iconic Disneyland attraction (for better or for worse), this indoor boat ride takes you past hundreds of audio-animatronic children from different…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
The best art gallery in Venice, and arguably the best in LA, LA Louver was established by Peter Gouls in 1975, and since 1994 has been housed in a…
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
Kidspace is one of the best children's museums we've seen, with hands-on exhibits, outdoor learning areas and gardens luring the single-digit set. It…
Disneyland Resort
At the far end of Main Street USA, Sleeping Beauty Castle is an obligatory photo op and most recognizable landmark. Its towering blue turrets, loosely…
Santa Monica
A National Historic Landmark at the beginning of the pier, the 1916 Hippodrome building housing the carousel appeared in the movie The Sting. The 44…
Gaslamp Museum & William Heath Davis House
San Diego
This house, a prefab affair brought from Maine in 1850, contains a small museum with 19th-century furnishings, plus historic newspaper clippings in the…
Death Valley National Park
Named for a lucky French miner who struck gold at the nearby Eureka Mine, Aguereberry Point sits at a lofty 6433ft above the desert floor and delivers…
Santa Ynez Valley
Richard Sanford left the powerhouse winery bearing his name to start this new winery with his wife, Thekla, using sustainable, organic farming techniques…
Anaheim
The Anaheim Packing District launched in 2013 around a long shuttered 1925 Packard dealership and the 1919 orange packing house a couple miles from…
Star Tours – The Adventure Continues
Disneyland Resort
Star Tours clamps you into a Starspeeder shuttle for a wild and bumpy 3D ride through the desert canyons of Tatooine with C-3PO, on a space mission with…
Disneyland Resort
One of the most popular rides in Paradise Pier. This 4D ride lets you earn points by shooting at targets while your carnival car swivels and careens…
Disneyland Resort
Fun for the whole family as kids and adults drive their own miniature cars (don't worry, they're on tracks). Drive too slowly, and you may get bumped from…
Disneyland Resort
Tractor-towed trailers swing their way around the 'dance floor' at Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, named after Tow Mater from the Cars movie. It's sort a…
Laguna Beach
The grassy, bluff-top Heisler Park offers vistas of craggy coves and deep-blue sea. Bring your camera – with its palm trees and bougainvillea-dotted…
Disneyland Resort
Grizzly River Run takes you and seven friends in a circular raft up 275ft before sending you down a faux Sierra Nevada river. You will get wet, so come…
Disneyland Resort
Enormous Humvee-type vehicles lurch and jerk their way through the wild for spine-tingling encounters with creepy crawlies and scary skulls in re…
