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 hours, so check the website before setting out.
That's the good news. The bad news is that Bergamot Station has been imperiled since 2016 as galleries have been threatened with, in some cases, a tripling of their rent. Several key galleries and other tenants had closed up shop as we went to press.
11.46 MILES
With eyes on both the galaxy above and palm-flanked boulevards below, the Griffith Observatory hovers above LA like a hulking spacecraft. This is one of…
29.79 MILES
What started as a simple berry farm is now a sprawling 160-acre operation with rides, live shows and lovable Peanuts characters roaming the grounds. Knott…
2.77 MILES
Prepare for a sensory overload on Venice's Boardwalk, a one-of-a-kind experience. Buff bodybuilders brush elbows with street performers and sellers of…
2.27 MILES
Once the very end of the legendary Route 66 and still the object of a tourist love affair, this much-photographed pier dates back to 1908 and is the city…
Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
21.61 MILES
One of the most delightful, inspirational spots in LA, the Huntington is rightly a highlight of any trip to California thanks to a world-class mix of art,…
12.61 MILES
From the instant it opened in September 2015, the Broad (rhymes with 'road') became a must-visit for contemporary-art fans. It houses the world-class…
3.49 MILES
In its billion-dollar, in-the-clouds perch, high above the city grit and grime, the Getty Center presents triple delights: a stellar art collection …
10.05 MILES
Dodge dinosaurs, hang with Homer Simpson and morph into a Minion on the sometimes hair-raising, always entertaining attractions at Universal Studios…
1.05 MILES
In his creative life before the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Frank Gehry was primarily known as that crazy guy who sculpted houses from chain-link fencing,…
1.84 MILES
This meticulously designed green space connects Ocean Ave to the Santa Monica Civic Center area. Well-lit and maintained, there are palms and agave groves…
1.93 MILES
A shopping mall like no other, this was designed by Frank Gehry, whose signature LA work is Walt Disney Concert Hall. It's a relatively early design of…
1.99 MILES
Close by the Original Muscle Beach, the search for the next Bobby Fischer is on at the International Chess Park. There are more than 65 regular-sized…
2 MILES
For a trip back in time, check out the latest exhibit at this museum housed in one of Santa Monica’s few surviving grand Victorian mansions – this one…
2.02 MILES
South of Santa Monica Pier is the Original Muscle Beach, where the Southern California exercise craze began in the 1930s and '40s. While it's more…
2.02 MILES
Don’t miss this homespun, steampunk-paradise museum and shop, grinding with old gears and spare-part robots, antique clocks, concept planes and cars, old…
2.03 MILES
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…